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Famous hoaxes: Difference between revisions
→The Da Vinci Code (Christianity)
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== Religious hoaxes == | == Religious hoaxes == | ||
=== The Da Vinci Code (Christianity) === | |||
* while a work of fiction, Dan Brown's series, "The Da Vinci Code" is based on an unsupported claim that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married | |||
* much of the plot line is derived from that claim, including a blood line of Jesus and the Holy Grail (which is supposed to provide eternal youth) | |||
=== Letter of Benan (Christianity) === | |||
* in 1910, Ernst Edler von der Planitz claimed he had discovered a 5th century Coptic (ancient Egyptian derivative language) text | |||
** he claimed it was a translation from a Greek text in 83 AD | |||
** the text was about the encounters of an Egyptian physician with Jesus and the apostles | |||
=== The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (Judaism) === | |||
* published in 1903 in Russia, which was strongly anti-Semitic (anti-Jewish) at the time | |||
* a literary forgery, the papers outlined Jewish plans for global domination | |||
=== Scientology (cult) === | |||
* technically not a hoax, as its inventor did not deliberately aim to deceive or he never admitted it | |||
* however, its practices have been questioned by governments, medical experts, and theologians | |||
** especially the claim of secret Scientology texts that were created 70 million years ago by an outer space alien ruler | |||
* in 1950 author L. Ron Hubbard published, "Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science" in a science fiction magazine | |||
** the book mentioned the term, "Scientology" | |||
** Hubbard, who had undergone psychiatric treatment, hated psychology and offered a new counseling treatment, "Dianetics" | |||
** it was intended to be a form of psychotherapy, but he morphed into a "religious philosophy" in 1952 | |||
** he said he created it as "scientific rather than religious" thought | |||
** however, after being banned from running a medical clinic, he established it as a religious organization, instead | |||
* over 25,000 people follow Scientology today | |||
=== The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ === | |||
* in 1894, a Russian journalist published a book that claimed historical evidence that Jesus had visited India and studied under Hindu & Buddhist priests | |||
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== Scientific hoaxes == | == Scientific hoaxes == | ||