1. The Federal Reserve Bank is the Beast in the USA that is really mucking things up – do some research M.B. & read some books on it. And no I am not a fan of the Libertarian Ron Paul but know the history of the USA & banking
2. Disagree that Elders of Zion was falsified too much info to the contrary
3. US is overtaxed & income taxes are a scam – why be taxed on work -check out many great sites on that front Michael…plus read some Dickens novels

Overall, this book is excellent aside from what is mentioned above & already rec’ed to my email list

Although, looking back, it almost looks like I buy this baloney based on the questions.

Those who believe in Armageddon might cause this prophecy to be self-fulfilling and instigate a major war in the Middle East. That is the danger.

Before reading this article, I would have agreed with this remark. Now, knowing that it was said by the author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, I find myself skeptical of the idea.
(Furthermore – if Baigent genuinely believes Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a work of historical fact, his suit against Brown makes little sense.)

I believe this is incorrect. What about the book of Daniel? Christian apocalyptic fantasies borrow heavily from older Jewish ones, or so I understand from reading Randel Helms.

Also, Michael Baigent has absolutely no idea what the words fundamental or fundamentalism mean.

I’m afraid far too much of the argument comes down to pedantics, but we do get into the substance of the argument, sometimes.

An important question is, what do you call a conspiracy? Do the wealthiest people in the world consolidate the most power? Of course. Do they talk to each other? Most likely. Do they come to mutually beneficial agreements sometimes? Quite probable. Is that a conspiracy to rule the world? That’s where pedantics sneak in.

Of course the wealthiest elite have the most power. Of course they collude to maintain that power. But is it a thousands of years old conspiracy? Very doubtful. Just look at the assent of the most recent billionaires. I highly doubt that an ultra religious based cabal that controlled the world would allow secularists like Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Warren Buffet to rise to the wealth and power that they have achieved during my 40 years on this planet. And mapping out the history of wealth and power as it ebbs and flows across the nations of the earth shows a very unguided flow.

In the end though, if we define a conspiracy as a group of people meeting unobserved and unreported to decide events which affect all of us, then we can see many commercial and governmental decisions in this way.

That’s pretty funny. How can you possibly say you see decisions that go unobserved and unreported? You don’t see them; you assume they were made.