Collie's Bestiary

or "Is the premise of The DaVinci Code really true?" Gospel of Mary (again) At the beginning of Chapter 9, Mary has just finished sharing Jesus' special teachings — most of which are lost to us, since the texts are unfortunately missing, darnit! [1] When Mary had said this, she fell silent, since it was [...]

or "Is the premise of The DaVinci Code really true?" Gospel of Thomas This book purports to give the "secret teachings" of Jesus, rather than the story of his life and death. Admittedly, many of the sayings are as confusingly strange as Zen koans, but I still find them fascinating. Like the other two books, [...]

or "Is the premise of The DaVinci Code really true?" Gospel of Mary Again, I recommend you read several translations of the original, as this also is a much-debated text. For now, this is the beginning of Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Mary, and Jesus has just "departed": [1] But they [the disciples] were [...]

or "Is the premise of The DaVinci Code really true?" Originally posted September 2004 Credits: For Lou, who asked first and made me decide for myself. Thanks also to Dan Brown, the author of The DaVinci Code (link leads to my review of the book). Short answer: Quite possibly, but we'll never know for sure. [...]

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown What's the real Truth? As a friend of mine wrote when commenting on a previous Firestarter, belief in truth demands a commensurate belief in logic and critical thinking, which accepts and permits the growth of knowledge and more truth. Once we do this, we can then accept that [...]

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown So how'd we get here? Remember the class I initially mentioned? Well, coupled with it was another one of similar intent, but focused on the New Testament. It was one of the readings of that class which caused me to have a small but fascinated revelation about the [...]

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown I've always considered it a crying shame most versions of Christianity are unable to tolerate any challenge to their theoretically monotheistic, hierarchical, all-male trinity. Consequently it does not surprise me in the least to find Mariolatry (or worship of Mary, the "virgin mother" of Christianity) was and still [...]

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown Originally posted May 2004 Thanks to Don, who was right when he told me I really should read this book! ;-)

The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha However, one must keep in mind what one is studying. The situation for women may have been either better or worse than is actually shown by the included books of the accepted New Testament. It is a sure bet these books have been either edited or [...]

The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha A quick review of how women's treatment in the early Christian church changed, as the fledgling church moved from 'cult' status to being part of the societal 'status quo.' The evolution of a cultural phenomenon can often be tracked by its response to independent thought, minorities, [...]