“During the first century A.D., Alexandria was a veritable hotbed of mystical activity, a crucible in which Judaic, Mithraic, Zoroastrian, Pythagorean, Hermetic, and neo-Platonic doctrines suffused the air and combined with innumerable others.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“In December 1945 an Egyptian peasant, digging for soft and fertile soil near the village of Nag Hammadi in upper Egypt, exhumed a red earthenware jar. It proved to contain thirteen codices— papyrus books or scrolls—bound in leather.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The Nag Hammadi scrolls are a collection of biblical texts, essentially Gnostic in character, which date, it would appear, from the late fourth or early fifth century—from about A.D. 400.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The "treasure," he declared flatly, did not involve gold or precious stones. On the contrary, it consisted of "incontrovertible proof" that the Crucifixion was a fraud and that Jesus was alive as late as A.D. 45.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The Gospel of Matthew states explicitly that Jesus was of royal blood—a genuine king, the lineal descendant of Solomon and David.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“the Ordre de Sion was founded by Godfroi de Bouillon in 1090,”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“under the same cross that Christopher Columbus’s three caravels crossed the Atlantic to the New World.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“in 1522 the Templars’ Prussian progeny, the Teutonic Knights, secularized themselves, repudiated their allegiance to Rome, and threw their support behind an upstart rebel and heretic named Martin Luther.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“the first historical information on the Templars is provided by a Frankish historian, Guillaume de Tyre, who wrote between 1175 and 1185.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“According to tradition as well as certain early Church writers, Lazarus, the Magdalen, Martha, Joseph of Arimathea, and a few others were transported by ship to Marseilles.16”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“between 1195 and 1220, Wolfram composed his epic romance Parzival, he conferred on the Templars a most exalted status.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“the Temple of Solomon was founded in 1118.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The final recorded act in the order’s history had been the burning of the last grand master, Jacques de Molay, in March 1314.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The declared objective of the Templars, Guillaume de Tyre continues, was, "as far as their strength permitted, they should keep the roads and highways safe ... with especial regard for the protection of pilgrims.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“Among the most popular and evocative of medieval myths is that of Lohengrin, the "Swan Knight.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“When the king’s head fell beneath the guillotine, an unknown man is reported to have leaped onto the scaffold. He dipped his hand in the monarch’s blood, flung it out over the surrounding throng and cried, "Jacques de Molay, thou art avenged!”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“Rennes-le-Château and its environs had been on the ancient pilgrim route, which ran from northern Europe to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“In 1956 a series of books, articles, pamphlets, and other documents relating to Bérenger Saunière and the enigma of Rennes-le-Chateau began to appear in France.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The Templars were sworn to poverty, chastity, and obedience.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“I TEGO ARCANA DEI (BEGONE! I CONCEAL THE SECRETS OF GOD.)”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“All members of the order were obliged to wear white habits of surcoats and cloaks, and these soon evolved into the distinctive white mantle for which the Templars became famous.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“In 1146 the Templars adopted the famous splayed red cross—the cross pattée.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“In 1977 a new and particularly significant "Prieuré document" appeared—a six-page pamphlet entitled Le Cercle d’Ulysse written by one Jean Delaude.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“In 1738 Pope Clement XII issued a papal bull condemning and excommunicating all Freemasons, whom he pronounced "enemies of the Roman Church.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The sack of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the destruction of the temple prompted a massive exodus of Jews from the Holy Land.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“In 1099, immediately after the capture of Jerusalem, a group of anonymous figures convened in secret conclave.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“To drink like a Templar" became a cliché of the time.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The "Donation of Constantine" purported to date from Constantine’s alleged conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“René d’Anjou—"Good King René" as he was known—was one of the most important figures in European culture during the years immediately preceding the Renaissance.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
“The name derives from Charles Martel, although it is generally associated with the most famous of Carolingian rulers, Charles the Great, Carolus Magnus, or, as he is best known, Charlemagne.”
― Michael Baigent, quote from Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Michael Baigent
Born place: in Christchurch, New Zealand
Born date February 27, 1948
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“The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace,
The prurient ape's defiling touch:
And do you like the human race?
No, not much.”
― Aldous Huxley, quote from Ape and Essence
“I loved you before you took your first breath on this earth because that was my fate but you made me love you because you’re just… fucking… you.”
― Kristen Ashley, quote from With Everything I Am
“Kunst sollte für alle sichtbar sein', hatte er mir erklärt. 'Denn sie ist ein Seelengeschenk des Malers. Was vor den Blicken anderer verborgen werden muss, ist wertlos.”
― Lucinda Riley, quote from The Seven Sisters
“New metaphors are capable of creating new understandings and, therefore, new realities. This should be obvious in the case of poetic metaphor, where language is the medium through which new conceptual metaphors are created.”
― George Lakoff, quote from Metaphors We Live By
“After you die, you go to be "with Christ," but your body remains dead. Describing where and what you are in that interim period is difficult, and for the most part the New Testament writers don't try. Call it "heaven" if you like, but don't imagine that it's the end of all things. What is promised after that interim period is a new bodily life within God's new world.
I am constantly amazed that many contemporary Christians find this confusing. It was second nature to the early church and to many subsequent Christian generations. It was what they believed and taught. If we have grown up believing and teaching something else, it's time we rubbed our eyes and read our texts again.”
― N.T. Wright, quote from Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
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