SUB Gottingen 217 846 521

2005 A 9619 \j SECRETS

The Unauthorised Guide to the Mysteries Behind

Edited by Dan Burstein

MANAGING EDITOR: Arne de Keijzer CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: John Castro, David A. Shugarts, Brian Weiss CONSULTING EDITORS: Peter Bernstein and Annalyn Swan/A.S.A.P Media RESEARCH ASSOCIATES: Jennifer Boll, Kate Stohr, Nicole Zaray

Weidenfeld & Nicolson LONDON Contents

Editor's Note | xiii Introduction: Searchingjor Sophia | xv

BOOK I The Drama of Herstory, History, and Heresy

Parti and the Sacred Feminine

1 Mary Magdalene How a Woman of Substance Was Harlotized by History | 5

Mary Magdalene: Saint or Sinner? by David Van Bkma | 9 Sacred Sex and Divine Love: A Radical Reconceptualization of Mary Magdalene by \ 13 The Woman With the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalene and the by Margaret Starbird | 20 Mary Magdalene: The Model for Women in the Church An Interview with Susan Haskins | 23 Mary Magdalene: Myth and Metaphor by Susan Haskins | 27 Mary Magdalene: Beyond die Myth by Esther de Boer | 38 "The Da Vinci Code uses fiction as a means to interpret historical obscurity . . ." An Interview with Deirdre Good | 45 Critiquing the Conspiracy Theory An Interview with Katherine Ludwigjansen | 48 The Beliefnet Debate | 51 A Quite Contrary Mary by Kenneth Woodward | 51 Letting Mary Magdalene Speak by Karen L King | 55 "Is It Sinful to Engage in Sex within Marriage?" An Interview with Rev. Richard P. McBrien \ 59 VI CONTENTS

L The Sacred Feminine | 61

God Does Not Look Like a Man An Interview with Margaret Starbird | 62 Mary and : Re-enacting Ancient Fertility Cults? by Margaret Starbird | 66 Royal Blood and Mary's Vine by Margaret L. Starbird \ £>j The Gnostic Tradition and the Divine Mother by Elaine Pagels | 68 The Godman and the Goddess An Interview with Timothy Freke | 71 Sophia's Journey: The Pagan Goddess of the Centuries Lost in the Modern Christian World by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy | 72 The Chalice and the Blade: Archaeology, Anthropology, and the Sacred Feminine by Riane Eisler | 82

Part II Echoes of the Hidden Past

J The Lost Gospels | 87

An Astonishing Find: The Keys to the Alternate Tradition and Their Meaning for Today by Ekine Pagels | 88 What the Nag Hammadi Texts Have to Tell Us About "Liberated" Christianity An Interview with James M. Robinson \ 97 What Was Lost Is Found: A Wider View of Christianity and Its Roots An Interview with Elaine Pagels | 100 The Gospel of Thomas by Helmut Koester | 105 The Gospel of Thomas Translated by Thomas O. Lambdin | 106 The Gospel of Philip by Wesley W. Isenberg | 107 The Gospel of Philip Translated by Wesley W. Isenberg | 108 The Gospel of Mary by Karen L. King | 109 The Gospel of Mary Translated by George W. MacRae and R. McL. Wilson \ Introducing the Sophia of Christ by Douglas M. Parrott | 112 The Sophia of Jesus Christ Translated by Douglas M. Parrott | 113 CONTENTS

4 The Early Days of Christianities | 115

The Pagan Mysteries Behind Early Christianity by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy | 120 Early Mainstream Christianity Did Not Mean Simply Following Jesus by Lance S. Owens | 125 Diverging Views on Mythic Beginnings: Was Genesis History with a Moral, or a Myth with Meaning? by Stephan A. Hoeller | 126 Errors of Religious Omission and Commission in The Da Vinci Code by Bart D. Ehrman \ 130

J Consolidation Or Cover-up? The Establishment 0/ the One True Faith | 131

The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy | 133 Was Jesus Real? An Interview with Timothy Freke | 136 God's Word or Human Words? by Elaine Pagels | 137 The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Didn't Get a Chance to Know Interview with Bart D. Ehrman | 145 Heretics, Women, Magicians, and Mystics: The Fight to Become the One True Faith | 148 Why Were the Gnostics Considered Such a Threat? by Lance S. Owens | 158 Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Collin Hansen | 159

0 Secret Societies I 162

Recollections of a Gnostic Mass by John Castro | 164 The Templar Revelation by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince | 168 Researching Western Civilization's Darkest Secrets An Interview with Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince | 173 Holy Blood, Holy Grail by , Richard Leigh, and | 177 Opus Dei in the United States by James Martin, S.J. | 189 Opus Dei Responds to The Da Vinci Code | 196 Vlll CONTENTS

Part 111 Keeping the Secrets Secret

( The Mystery of Codes | 203

Da Vinci: Father of Cryptography by Michelle Delio | 205 Is God a Mathematician? An Interview with Brendan McKay | 207 Anagram Fun | 209

O Leonardo and His Secrets: The Secret Language of Architectural Symbolism | 211

The Secret Code of Leonardo da Vinci by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince | 212 Thinking Far Outside the Frame by Lynn Picknett | 222 Trying to Make Sense of Leonardo's "Faded Smudge" An Interview with Denise Budd | 224 "No, I do not believe there is a woman in the Last Supper . . ." An Interview with Diane Apostolos-Cappadona | 229 Musings on the Manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci by Sherwin B. Nuland | 232

7 Temples of Symbols, Cathedrals of Codes | 238

Paris: In the Footsteps of The Da Vinci Code by David Downie | 239 The "Symbology" of The Da Vinci Code An Interview with Diane Apostolos-Cappadona | 241 Rosslyn Chapel: The Cathedral of Codes and Symbols | 248 CONTENTS BOOK II The Da Vinci Code Revealed

Parti 24 Hours, Two Cities, and the Future of Western Civilization

1U Apocrypha and Revelations 253

The Plot Holes and Intriguing Details of The Da Vinci Code by David Shugarts | 254 Following the Rose Line From Rosslyn to ... Florence? Thoughts about the Last Act of The Da Vinci Code hy Dan Burstein | 283

Part II Reviews and Commentaries on The Da Vinci Code

1 1 Commentary, Criticism, and Observations | 289

The Real da Vinci Code by Lynn Picknett | 291 Religious Fiction by David Klinghoffer | 295 The Da Vinci Con hy Laura Miller | 297 French Confection by Amy Bernstein | 300 What the French Are Saying About The Da Vinci Code by David Downie | 305 A Philosopher Looks at The Da Vinci Code by Glenn W Erickson | 306 \ A Collision of Indiana Jones and Joseph Campbell The Web Interviewer', Craig McDonald Interviews | 310 The Latin Etymology of The Da Vinci Code by David Burstein | 316 CONTENTS

Part 111 Underneath the Pyramid

1Z Sophie's Library | 323

A Rose by Any Other Name: A Guide to Who's Who in The Da Vinci Code by David A. Shugarts | 323 Glossary | 329 Web Resources by Betsy Eble | 363

Contributors | 367 Acknowledgments | 373