Posted on 01/06/2003 2:11:30 PM PST by mgstarr
For centuries the intricately carved stones of Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh have tantalised historians, archaeologists and devoted Christians.
A labyrinth of vaults beneath the 15th-century home of the Knights Templar is reputed to contain dozens of holy relics, including early gospels, the Ark of the Covenant, the fabled Holy Grail - and even the mummified head of Christ.
More than 550 years after the first foundation stones were laid, modern technology is about to put the legend to the test.
A group of Knights Templar, successors to the warrior monks who sought asylum from the Pope by fleeing to Scotland in the early 14th century and fought for Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn, are to make a "non-invasive" survey of the land around the chapel.
They will use the latest ultrasound and thermal imaging technology in the hope of finding evidence of the existence of the vaults.
"The plan is to investigate the land around the chapel to a depth of at least 20ft," said John Ritchie, Grand Herald and spokesman for the Knights Templar.
"The machine we are using is the most sophisticated anywhere and is capable of taking readings from the ground up to a mile deep without disturbing any of the land.
"We know many of the Knights are buried in the grounds and there are many references to buried vaults, which we hope this project will finally uncover."Rosslyn Chapel, or the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew as it was to have been, was founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair, third and last Prince of Orkney.
Built as a celebration of Christ, it is also a monument to craftsmanship.
Bristling with flying buttresses and gargoyles in the highest Gothic style on the outside, the interior is carved with scenes from the Bible, the fall of man, the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the birth of Christ, the crucifixion and the resurrection.
"Rosslyn is an amazing building.
(Excerpt) Read more at nzherald.co.nz ...
Well, there you go prattling on again. I never declared you a Christian or non-Christian.
It should be evident for all to see that the first to start lying about the other with these emotional outbursts has lost the argument. And you have been declaring your lost position nearly every post.
But, then, your historical exemptions argument as a defense for blasphemy was pathetic to begin with.
Actually, I agree with Xenalyte. The authors don't claim anything, they present their findings and *several* hypotheses.
That he denies your claims, whilst never having read the tome in question, pretty much invalidates any comments about it.
He might not, but I will....
Woody, relax a little.... you're among friends and no one here is attacking Christianity.
B) Historians will NEVER say that Christ was resurrected.
But historians (Tacitus, Josephus) DID say He lived.
And history by His enemies (the Jews) say His body did not remain in the tomb. They said his disciples stole His body. His disciples (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul) all testify that He was resurrected. So we have two alternative explanations of the historical fact of the empty tomb. Which do you find more believable? That His disciples all were martyed and died for what they knew was a lie, or that He was resurrected?
Unless there's indisputable proof that he was resurrected (And face it, there isn't. Why else is it called "Faith"?), then no serious historian will ever claim that he was resurrected.
There is no indisputable proof for many historical facts. When there are ancient documents, there are various interpretations of the accuracy of such documents. Julias Caesar's historical work has only one copy known in extent--and historians believe it. There are 8,000 copies of the New Testement of various ages, from about 100 AD to 1000 AD.
There are very few indisputable facts indeed. Even Descartes' famous "Cogito ergo sum" "I think, therefore I am", is disputed by those who believe all our behavior is deterministic and our feeling of free will is merely an illusion.
We believe what we have been taught to believe, generally, and what is consistent with our experience. Since I have experienced God in my life, I have indisputable evidence. May you also receive such evidence.
http://www.princehenrymts.org/Militi_Templi_Scotia.html
Militi Templi Scotia/Scottish Knights Templar
Well Woody, I have read this book and, although it's been several years ago and I could have a faulty memory, I certainly recall no such claim made by these authors.
They did claim that Christ was married and had children, but to my recollection, they made no such claim that he was not crucified and I don't believe they made any attempt to address the resurrection directly.
Now, have you read this book? or not?
By the way, as I understand Christianity (and I am a sincere Protestant) I've read nothing in the scriptures which prevents Christ from having been married or from having children. I also know of nothing in the scriptures which says that he was married or had children, but if some theory exists that he might, that would not be necessarily blasphemy in my understanding.
Cheers,
Lloyd
How can one set a higher bar than that? What kind of evidence would one have to produce -- a working videotape of Christ coming out of the tomb? A signed affadvit from Jesus Himself? What? -- to make the case?
The witneses to Socrates' death reported what they saw. So did the witnesses to Christ's death and resurrection. The difference is that the witnesses to Jesus' resurrection were each tortured to death rather than deny that they saw what they saw. There is more historical evidence to support the death and resuurection of Jesus Christ than there is to support the merely physical life of the Sage of Athens -- and we may confidently accept both as truth.
Did you mean to read my post before responding blindly and without understanding? The only people I bashed were the story writers for blasphemously suggesting that anyone could possibly have the mummified head of Christ and the authors of various "historical romances" about what happened to the KT after they got massacred by Phillip. The KT was not about Christianity, it was about secular power dressed up in a Christian knightly order. The stories about it - like the legend that they discovered the head of John the Baptist in Jerusalem and that it spoke to give them guidance, like the legend that they moved all their treasure out of France and are still today using it to control the world - look a whole lot like Indiana Jones.
It doesn't matter how much "acceptance of coexistence" we can come up with... and I'm as willing as the next guy to live and let live... the Pathans won't rest until they own Jerusalem outright.
Not that I think that'll ever happen. It just looks like peaceful coexistence is something of a pipe dream.
Some say the Grail is the vessel containing the Blood of Christ.......the most common vessel for holding human blood is a human body and that means the Grail is a metaphorical person.....the child of Jesus who escaped israel for France.
Yep!!
I've been waiting for this thread for 5 years.
To add to the reference list herein above:
For additional reference read The Messianic Conspiracy and the Templar Revelation.
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