Affirmations and Confessions of a Progressive Christian Layman
Modern Novelists Spread Unorthodox Christian Ideas
Part 6 – Thief on the Cross

 
Lawyer and historian Cameron Thorne found an ancient Templar scroll that referred to Jesus as “The Thief on the Cross.” He and his fiancée, Amanda Spencer, try to uncover several secrets of early Christianity before a splinter group of Mormon zealots finds them and destroys them.

Similar to Cabal of the Westford Knight, they discover, examine and interpret ancient artifacts and legends scattered throughout North America that reveal a history of European exploration long before Columbus.

The following ideas and quotes are from Thief on the Cross by David S. Brody (2012).

A Mormon zealot asked, “Why is it you think our religious teachings would be so distasteful to other Christians? We are just another branch of Christianity, just like the Catholics and Baptists and Methodists.”

Cam answers, “With all due respect, no, you’re not. Since you asked, how many Americans do you think would vote for a candidate who is devout follower of a religion founded by a convicted con man …who claims to have been told by God to take at least 28 wives, some of whom were as young as fourteen? Where I come from, people who claim to have self-serving conversations like that with God are seen as either kooks or liars. And that’s being kind… and how about the Governor’s belief, as a devout Morman, that all other Christians – the very voters he is depending on – are in a state of permanent sin?”

[The Church of Latter Day Saints] “teaches that polygamy is practiced in heaven, where, by the way, unmarried women are not admitted. And how about a candidate who believes that ancient Israelites came here to fight a war against a race of giants, and that the descendants of these people became our Native Americans?”

“The ancient Cherokee name of their divine spirit is ‘Yo-He-Wah,’ almost identical to the Jewish ‘Yahweh.’”

“The Templars referred to Jesus as ‘The Thief on the Cross’.”

Jesus was called “the King of the Jews, which was an outrage to the true God who is in heaven. When Jesus, a few moments before his death, had his side pierced by the lance of Longinus, he repented of having called himself God and King of the Jews and he asked pardon of the true God; then the true God pardoned him. It is thus that we apply to the crucified Christ these words: ‘As God pardoned the thief on the cross.’”

“The church didn’t want common folks to read or be educated… knowledge – whether in the form of science or medicine or culture – threatened a church based on blind faith and obedience… the Church had for centuries whitewashed the history of early Christianity.”

“Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe the world has a right to know the truth?”

“The Templars inherited and followed the teachings of the Essenes, a Jewish monastic order living outside of Jerusalem in the first century A.D. You’ve probably heard of them because they wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

“According to these Scrolls, the Essenes believed that the arriving messianic era would be ushered in by two messiahs… A kingly messiah, descended from the line of King David, would rule the people in spiritual matters.” Amanda explained that when Jesus, a descendant of King David, and John the Baptist, a descendant of Aaron, rose to leadership positions in the first century, the Essenes along with other Jewish sects welcomed the two young men, who happened to be first cousins, as a fulfillment of these prophecies. “In fact, both Jesus and John the Baptist lived and studied with the Essenes in their youth. The two messiahs were meant to rule jointly, together ushering in the Kingdom of God. Upon their deaths, the priestly messiah would ascend and sit by the side of God.”

“The truth is holy, and must be honored as such. It is the cover-ups and the lies that undermine faith. And Faith ignores the odds… I believe truth is holy. And I believe the Church keeping secrets from its parishioners is wrong.”

“Over the years I have had many doubts about my calling, about the Church. So much wickedness has been done in its name… the recent sexual abuse incidents are the most troubling. Such wrongdoing, such arrogance, such… evil.”

“I think Leonardo da Vinci knew all about Jesus usurping John the Baptist and not really being immortal. His paintings are full of clues.”

This book is certainly thought provoking. Religious conspiracies are interesting reading. This is a historical fiction, but some of the ideas expressed seem to be more historical than fiction.

Read Part 1 Here
Read Part 2 Here
Read Part 3 Here
Read Part 4 Here
Read Part 5 Here
Read Part 6 Here