Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Jim Rovira (jrovira@juno.com)
Tue, 27 Jul 1999 21:28:49 -0400
is to modern Biblical scholarship what Chariot of the Gods was to
astronomical and archaeological research in the 70s.
(Ok, I know NO ONE wants to talk about this, but I did give a clear
subject line, no?)
Thor, Thor. . .never trust a journalist's "research" in any serious
discipline. Too much of an eye for sensationalism. The real facts tend
to be much more mundane.
I admit, I didn't read the whole thing. I read the introduction and his
chapter on "where the gospels came from." It was enough for the time
being. Thor, if you've read the book I recommended, let me know and I'll
still go out and read this one front to back. But if not...tell ya what.
If you really want to read about the Templars and all that crap, I
recommend Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum as the most responsible take
possible on that kind of research (and it's a novel! :) ). If you want
real Biblical scholarship, I recommend Word Biblical Commentary's volumes
-- any of them. They tend to be moderate theologically, take into
account numerous points of view, describe different positions regarding
dating and authorship of various Biblical books, and AFTER doing so make
an argument for their own position.
It's not that the authors of HBHG assume some of the premises of liberal
scholarship uncritically, offering them up as fact. I respect liberal
Biblical scholarship. But I don't think any scholar would take this
particular book very seriously.
Jim Rovira
Check out "Up Against the Wall" for links to numerous
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