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De tombe van God
This controversial international best-seller sheds new light on the ancient mystery of the burial place of Jesus. Dissatisfied with the explanations of previous researchers, Richard Andrews & Paul Schellenberger applied mathematical logic to the enduring mystery of Rennes-le-Chacircteau & the "treasure" alleged to be buried there. Beginning with a healthy skepticism, they assumed the enigma would wither under scrutiny. The quest began with an investigation into the activities of a group of 19th-century priests, but as the trail was pursued, it became apparent that the mystery's scope stretched far beyond the mountains of southern France. A series of paintings, maps & tombstones pointed to one very specific location. The authors combined their knowledge of archeology, theology & surveying to produce a startling account of what they believe to be the true events surrounding the burial of Jesus.
463 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 8, 2014
I approched this book expecting new insights into Jesus' burial and resurection as suggested by above title. Instead, I found a long and far-fetched esoteric theory based in obscure geometry with reference points which are totally arbitrarily set by the authors. An hypothesis that is merely plausible will become a certainty in the next chapter and a whole new certainty is built on a completely erroneous and inexistant evidence. The book is a waste of time. I do not doubt the esoterism may have some lost wisdom somewhere but to hail a 'solution' to Jesus' mystery and then proceed with such lacking of basic proof leads to disappointment. It becomes worse when they try to connect the Priory of Sion, the Knight Templars, Leonardo da Vinci, Mary Magdalene etc all into the same pool with their esoteric measurements and geometry. The "truth" that they proclaim becomes so impossible to swallow that reading it further is nauseating.
Such amount of non-sense made me curious to why two people would take the trouble to waste so much time. The book is just one of the many trying to explain the 'mystery of Rennes-les-Chateua' (a priest in the end of the XIX century became suddenly very rich. The priest named "Sauniere" probably robbed graves in the courtyard of his church or, in any case, found some sort of buried treasure). With the time, especulation and fantasies started developing and a whole lot of books were written, each one built on the improbable findings of the previous, giving origin to a huge chain of unbased fantastic theories.
Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" ows part of its plot to 'The Tomb of God' as well as to another book called 'Holy Blood, holy Grail', where most of the material for its story is rooted. Buried knight templars, Mary Magdalene, Sauniere, grail, secret organizations and hidden obscure esoteric clues in paintings all ring a bell as "Da Vinci code". Easy to see the links?
Unfortunately quite far away from the theological breakthrough the catchy title may suggest.
Example of how the reasoning goes :)
page 14: "but what exactly was the nature of the parchments? this is a question not easily answered, for they may not be seen. They are not to be found in any museum or library accessible to the public; indeed their current location is completely unknown. Some doubt the parchments ever existed..."
and then, page 15: "At some time [...] the Prieure de Sion [...] leaked two of the parchments [...]. Although illustrations of them have been published in books, no author has claimed to have held the original parchments".
page 16/17 "But for the moment we have chosen to ignore the question of authenticity..."
page 19 "This slab dalle of stone(the Dalle de Coume Sourde)survives only in the drawings [...] There is good reason to doubt it ever existed, but for now we ignore this..." The authors even say that it is a "conspiracy theory that may gain credibility as they investigate".
This approach is a continuous in the book, page after page. When they start drawing lines, triangles and cirles over parchments and paintings and "correcting" them to make it fit their assumptions it is really difficult to carry on reading. The authors go on like this:
"We have no knowledge of the relative scales of the diagrams in the two Parchments, so let us therefore make the simplest possible assumption: that the smaller square (and for that matter the large one too) and the equilateral triangle are to have the same centre; also, that the side of the square and the side of the triangle, which are at 45 degrees, are to be brought into coincidence. This apparently vague assumption was found to yield a clear and surprising result."(page 91)
I do not wonder that - after above level of assumptions - any piece of paper "talks".
More interesting is the speculation that Jesus could have "survived" the crucifixion (and, of course, walked all the way to Rennes-les-Chateau). That was something I had never heard as theory, meaning, that Jesus was badly wounded but with the care, balm and bandages he was up and running 3 days later...Plausible.
For the authors, in one way of another (Jesus himself with Mary Magdalene pregnant, or, at least his body - via Knight Templars) ended up in this little village in Southern France and should be found buried under Mount Cardou... No one seems to believe them enough to start an excavation of the site :))
It seems rather that any type of excavation is now curbed by local authorities since fr. Sauniere most likely found richness robbing some of the local graves and - reality seems to be more sober - inspired many others to try their luck in the same business until no stone was left unturned.
Finally, their summary of 'history of the church' and praise of gnostics against the main stream christianity seems to serve more for the purpose of their book than to present an accurate and valuable account of it.
Such amount of non-sense made me curious to why two people would take the trouble to waste so much time. The book is just one of the many trying to explain the 'mystery of Rennes-les-Chateua' (a priest in the end of the XIX century became suddenly very rich. The priest named "Sauniere" probably robbed graves in the courtyard of his church or, in any case, found some sort of buried treasure). With the time, especulation and fantasies started developing and a whole lot of books were written, each one built on the improbable findings of the previous, giving origin to a huge chain of unbased fantastic theories.
Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" ows part of its plot to 'The Tomb of God' as well as to another book called 'Holy Blood, holy Grail', where most of the material for its story is rooted. Buried knight templars, Mary Magdalene, Sauniere, grail, secret organizations and hidden obscure esoteric clues in paintings all ring a bell as "Da Vinci code". Easy to see the links?
Unfortunately quite far away from the theological breakthrough the catchy title may suggest.
Example of how the reasoning goes :)
page 14: "but what exactly was the nature of the parchments? this is a question not easily answered, for they may not be seen. They are not to be found in any museum or library accessible to the public; indeed their current location is completely unknown. Some doubt the parchments ever existed..."
and then, page 15: "At some time [...] the Prieure de Sion [...] leaked two of the parchments [...]. Although illustrations of them have been published in books, no author has claimed to have held the original parchments".
page 16/17 "But for the moment we have chosen to ignore the question of authenticity..."
page 19 "This slab dalle of stone(the Dalle de Coume Sourde)survives only in the drawings [...] There is good reason to doubt it ever existed, but for now we ignore this..." The authors even say that it is a "conspiracy theory that may gain credibility as they investigate".
This approach is a continuous in the book, page after page. When they start drawing lines, triangles and cirles over parchments and paintings and "correcting" them to make it fit their assumptions it is really difficult to carry on reading. The authors go on like this:
"We have no knowledge of the relative scales of the diagrams in the two Parchments, so let us therefore make the simplest possible assumption: that the smaller square (and for that matter the large one too) and the equilateral triangle are to have the same centre; also, that the side of the square and the side of the triangle, which are at 45 degrees, are to be brought into coincidence. This apparently vague assumption was found to yield a clear and surprising result."(page 91)
I do not wonder that - after above level of assumptions - any piece of paper "talks".
More interesting is the speculation that Jesus could have "survived" the crucifixion (and, of course, walked all the way to Rennes-les-Chateau). That was something I had never heard as theory, meaning, that Jesus was badly wounded but with the care, balm and bandages he was up and running 3 days later...Plausible.
For the authors, in one way of another (Jesus himself with Mary Magdalene pregnant, or, at least his body - via Knight Templars) ended up in this little village in Southern France and should be found buried under Mount Cardou... No one seems to believe them enough to start an excavation of the site :))
It seems rather that any type of excavation is now curbed by local authorities since fr. Sauniere most likely found richness robbing some of the local graves and - reality seems to be more sober - inspired many others to try their luck in the same business until no stone was left unturned.
Finally, their summary of 'history of the church' and praise of gnostics against the main stream christianity seems to serve more for the purpose of their book than to present an accurate and valuable account of it.
February 10, 2019
This idiotic book uses numerology, "sacred geometry," lies, and fantasy to pretend the writers found where someone named "Jesus" (whom the writers equate with a god) was buried. The book assumes that which is not in evidence--- that the person actually existed, when there is no evidence supporting that claim (let alone that the person was a god). Readers interested in asinine hysterical paranoid conspiracies will probably enjoy the book: sane people will not.
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February 5, 2022How can I write 3review on a book I'm unable to open and read?
January 28, 2024
The fuzziest of fuzzy "logic" underlies this book - a constant parade of assumptions (which are then later taken as fact), drawing lines all over paintings, maps, etc., to "prove" that the body of Jesus lies under Mount Cardou in southern France (conveniently out of reach). The authors throw out numbers (and then twist them), handwave away the things that don't fit, and claim that they have shown the existence of a ridiculously complex conspiracy, so complex that it has no possible point. Part of the Rennes-le-Chateau literature and based on the same long-since exposed as a fraud material as "Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Fun to play with in a video game like Gabriel Knight 3, just silly when claiming any truth behind it.
Two stars for the humor value of how crazy it all is.
Two stars for the humor value of how crazy it all is.
May 28, 2025
Speravo in un saggio più serio e impostato meglio. Le teorie non hanno alcuna base scientifica e storica, la ricerca fatta dagli autori mette in collegamento elementi basandosi su variabili casuali. La geometria che tanto viene decantata è presente in molte opere anche moderne ma non significa che si parli del corpo di Gesù. Mi ha lasciato perplessa.
January 25, 2020
Got very confused with all the geometry but apart from that, it was very interesting.
January 6, 2014
This book may be of interest to persons who've read Dan Brown's books or the book he primarily worked from, The Holy Blood & the Holy Grail. It is harder going, however.
Like the latter text, this book doesn't prove that Jesus--or something related and almost as important--is buried at such and such a place in southern France. What it does more and less convincingly demonstrate is that a lot of people over a long time have believed that something important is, and should remain, hidden in the area. Thus we have claims, some stronger than ever, about particular clergy and aristocratic families in the area, about certain Church figures, about some Templars, about the Priory of Sion, about some Rosicrucians and, most importantly, about some early modern artists who, according to the authors, appear to have both revealed and concealed the supposed secret.
A great portion of this book is about decoding the art works and a few texts which the authors claim have bearing on the mystery. This leads into an intriguing overview of the past religious significance of geometry, the kind of thing attributed to the near-legendary Pythagoras and his successors, and to some jokes about similar arguments concerning the geometries of some of the Egyptian pyramids. The authors seem to be careful and they don't seem to be utterly crazy, but the proofs they offer require painstaking review--an effort I frankly gave up on after the first few chapters.
There is also, towards the end of the book, a broad overview of the relevant history, an overview which could have benefitted by being vetted by a church historian because it is filled with common errors and overstatements.
Overall, I'd say approach this book with caution--especially if obtaining it would cost a lot of money. Much of it is neither an easy nor a pleasant read. Real intellectual work will be required to be able to follow its arguments critically. Further, don't expect much. The "mystery" remains a mystery unless and until a mountain is dug up.
Like the latter text, this book doesn't prove that Jesus--or something related and almost as important--is buried at such and such a place in southern France. What it does more and less convincingly demonstrate is that a lot of people over a long time have believed that something important is, and should remain, hidden in the area. Thus we have claims, some stronger than ever, about particular clergy and aristocratic families in the area, about certain Church figures, about some Templars, about the Priory of Sion, about some Rosicrucians and, most importantly, about some early modern artists who, according to the authors, appear to have both revealed and concealed the supposed secret.
A great portion of this book is about decoding the art works and a few texts which the authors claim have bearing on the mystery. This leads into an intriguing overview of the past religious significance of geometry, the kind of thing attributed to the near-legendary Pythagoras and his successors, and to some jokes about similar arguments concerning the geometries of some of the Egyptian pyramids. The authors seem to be careful and they don't seem to be utterly crazy, but the proofs they offer require painstaking review--an effort I frankly gave up on after the first few chapters.
There is also, towards the end of the book, a broad overview of the relevant history, an overview which could have benefitted by being vetted by a church historian because it is filled with common errors and overstatements.
Overall, I'd say approach this book with caution--especially if obtaining it would cost a lot of money. Much of it is neither an easy nor a pleasant read. Real intellectual work will be required to be able to follow its arguments critically. Further, don't expect much. The "mystery" remains a mystery unless and until a mountain is dug up.
March 31, 2016
An interesting book, I can certainly see where the idea of "Da Vinci Code" came from, the book is based on the authors ideas and research and ends with what they believe to be the location of Jesus's body. They don't force you to believe they are right it's up to you to decide! Do I believe them I'm still sceptical till I see undisputed proof I'll always be sceptical!
Well written and easy to follow despite the use of trigonometry and Pythagoras and other such mathematics. If you're interested in this area or enjoy conspiracy theories it's worth a read!
Well written and easy to follow despite the use of trigonometry and Pythagoras and other such mathematics. If you're interested in this area or enjoy conspiracy theories it's worth a read!
June 4, 2016
Well, I enjoyed reading this book but found the theory to be a bit far fetched. To be honest the authors have not found the tomb of anyone they have just decided through their own research that there could be one in a certain place in France. Not very convincing but entertaining all the same.
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May 17, 2009interesting mystery, interesting concept
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews