PREVIEW BOOKS

FBEEMASONBY

The key to Christianity

The secrets behind Christianitys origins are buried beneath a Scottish chapel. according to an

Matthew. Mark. Luke and .lohn. By comparison; the Dead Sea Scrolls yy ould look like a bunch ol‘ l’ost-lt

inoles.

' material for the Biblical books of

The authors haye tioyy put together a

team of academics \y ho \y ill argue that

the yaults underneath Rosslyn (‘hapel t should be e\ca\‘atcd. either proy ing

l Knight and l.omas right or exposing

them as tyyo amateur historians dabbling in a field \y here c\pcrts hayc

'sl‘L‘tll :I lilt‘lilllc‘ til. research. .\\'L"I'L' lllll percent sure the scrolls yyerc buried at

from grace and lied to Scotland l‘rom l’apal persecution. bringing yy ith them the \ aluablc scrolls \y hich had been

entrusted to them.

The other central figure. lit'om yy hom

the book takes its name. yyas an ancient ligyptian called Hiram ;\bit' \yho built

King Solomon's tctnple. and is

described by Knight and l.omas as the lirst l:l‘L‘Cil);l.\'tlil. lle \\';ts killed l‘or

l'elittsilig to disclose the secrets oi his

cral‘t. yy hich the authors belieyc links

the stoncmason's cralt as s_\ mbolised

by the compass and rule with the rituals

ls‘osslyn and W) per cent sure they are ol a secret society. "l'hc l’reemasons won't quite knoyy \y hat to do \yith this l I they'll either make us (irand Lodge ol’l‘icers or boot us out.‘ says Knight. ! , - It The ll/m/n Air is right. and some i The Freemasons WP" t (lune . leading biblical scholars haye already : know What to do w'th ""5 _ i lined tip to endorse the research. many they’ll either make US Grand ol the tenets ol modern (lit'lslidlfll) are Lodge officers or boot us out] undermined. l’ot' instance. Jesus is no . , Son ol‘(}od but merely the leader ol a ChrIStopher nght small ‘resurrection cult‘ yyith remarkable leadership tltldllllc‘s. Knight ' and l.omas\ arguments make a Kllléllll Ulld l.oma.s are both mockery ol' the idea that the Bible l'il'eelllttsons \\ ho l-Ulllltl the t‘iltltlls til' contains literal [['ll[l)\_ arguing [Imt

astonishing book by' two : . . . .

c . . v stillthcrc. saysnght. Freemasons. lLdLllC Gibb bears some ground—

breaking claims.

lhe lliram Key. billed as a book that will ‘shakc the (’hristian world to its ycry roots’. reads like a history ol'the last .W'H years. linking iust about every signil'icant \y orld cy'ent hour the birth ol .lcsus (host to the discoy'ery ol' .-\mcrica \y ith l‘rccniasonry. \Vhat's more. it argues that the most important

arcbaetiloszical site ey er is iust outside T the l.odgc ceremonies both bi/arrc and (’hristianity' “as bacimlly (In (\c‘d (is ;1

lidinburgh. beneath the 15th century . e laintly ludicrous, lloyye\et'. they [minim] mm,“ mkmmwl. Km‘ym lx’ossly n ('hapel became intrigued by the archaic doesn't necessarily belic\c this is bad In ;t titassixc c\crcisc ill tlt‘c‘hiytll i symbols and iltcdttlitllolis \.\ltose neyys (or [he ('liristian church, lioyy c\cr. detectiy c yyoik that reads like the lllk‘llllilif.‘\ haw been long liol'goltcn. "l‘here are lot ol' people today \y ho lind opening pages o!~ an Indiana Jones 'lills‘ll' ill'fllllllt‘lils are complicated. it dillicult to belieyc the ancient myths moy ic script. ( 'hristopher Knight and though yy ritten in accessible sty lc. but but want to belicyc in something] he

Robert l.onias hayc y‘. rittcn an ll‘k' s'k'lll'i'l l“"“l “inf-RN on the say s. ‘(’hristianity is a [\yo-licl' religion

absorbing account ol' their = 7 I importance ol a band or lltli century incorporating both intellect and street inyestigations into the origins ol‘ ' I religious \yarriors ktioyy n as the mythology \ye are bridging the gap.‘ l‘rcemasonry. What they believe they ' ' Knights 'l‘emplar \y ho acted as a kind (it tl-iddie (iibbi

discoyered is ol much greater I ' ' peace-keeping lorcc in the Holy Lands '/'/1(' l/mun Ix} y by ( '1’1/‘ryto/H'nr/x'n/g/r/ sigtiili~.';iiicc. hoyy e\cr: the Nasorean Freemasonry: could be at the roots of alter the ( 'rusades. Although poyyerlul um/ Robert l.l’Hlti\ .’\ prt/A’M/H‘t/ /)\ scrolls containing the original source Chrisuaniw l” 1‘ “mu ll‘L' Klllill‘“ ilk'll'l‘li” l9” I (Tn/my (1/ {I 7AM i

WATERST ONE’ S

83 George Street. Edinburgh EH2 am 0131 225 3436 and

ASSEMBLY ALIVE! Tuesday 16 April at 7.30pm

JOHN HODGE & ROB LONG

discuss their screenwriting work behind the scenes for “Trainspotting”, “Shallow Grave” (John Hodge) and “Cheers” (Rob Long) - from scribbling notes on napkins to creating a box office sell out.

WATERSTONE’S West End Branch, 128 Princes Street Edinburgh EH2 4AD (0131) 226 2666

Tuesday 16 April at 7.00pm - to be confirmed

IAN MCKELLAN

One of our best-loved and most respected actors talks about his new film of Richard III. (Screenplay and notes. Transworld £7.99) FREE TICKETS FROM BRANCH

Wednesday 17 April at 7.30pm

RODDY DOYLE

Monday 22 April at 7.00pm AN EVENING or POSITIVE THINKING WITH

URI GELLER

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER will be reading from his latest novel

“The Woman Who Walked Into Doors». Come to the Traverse theatre and hear

Uri Geller talk about his life and the untapped powers in us all. ' (Uri Geller’s Mind Power Kit. Virgin £18) TICKETSI£2.FROM BRANCH - ' REDEEMABLE AGAINST BOOK ON EVENING

at THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS

TICKETS FROM THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS AND WATERSTONE’S

’l‘he l.ist 5— l 8 :\pr two 77