The Christian Churches, starting with the Catholic Church after the Council of Nicaea of 325 AD, require their members to believe in the Gospels, and to accept the leadership of their clergy. Those who so believe are possible candidate to Salvation. No special knowledge is required, only faith.

Initially, at least according to those who accept that there were more gospels than the four included in the New Testament, the way to Salvation requires some personal work, and not only faith.

This document reviews the Christian religious history from its beginning as it is known and described, not only in the New Testament, but also in the Gospels that have not been included in it by the Fathers of the Church who participated in the Nicaea Council.

The life, beliefs and teachings of the Apostles, as well as of Jesus Christ, can be described in two ways:

- Their traditional versions are to be found in the New Testament, and only there. This is, of course, the present Christian Churches' doctrine according to which Jesus Christ was a living person sent to earth to redeem our sins.

- However, a historical review of all the writings of the early centuries AD shows that there were other and different views, that for many ancient writers and philosophers, Jesus Christ was never a living person but a symbol similar to those that existed before in the various Mystery Schools. [read more]

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The years from 1,000 to 1,500 AD have been a fertile ground for many politico-religious organisations in the western world. Some of them were linked to the Catholic Church - the only important church of that time - but some were preaching another creed and as such were described as heretical by the Pope.

This document aims to look at the differences and the similarities between three groups:

- The Cathars lived in the 12th to 14th century, mainly in Languedoc, France. Their doctrine was a reaction to the abuses of the Catholic Church. They required their members to live a ?pure life? in direct contradiction to the behaviour of the Catholic clergy. They were, in some ways, the followers of a previous sect known as the Bogomils that flourished in the Balkans. Their doctrine had nothing to do with Christianity; they were first declared heretics by the Christian Church, and then persecuted and exterminated during a crusade organised by the current Pope.
- The Templars. They were members of a military-religious order, who was initially created, with the approval of the Pope, to defend the pilgrims that went to the Holy land following the success of the crusades. They soon started to participate directly and successfully in the fight against the Muslims. Even after they had to leave the Holy Land they were rich and powerful. The King of France for various reasons accused them of being heretics and the Pope agreed with the king. The knights were arrested, tortured and condemned and their order was dissolved. [read more]

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Since the earliest times, Man has been a religious being. Some people -and there are many of them- state and behave like they do not believe in anything of the kind but, deep down inside them, they want to know where they come from, who created them, and what there is after death. Modern science is able to give us some answers to many questions, but it is still unable to explain, in a satisfactory way, the most puzzling points:

- The "Black Hole" theory explains how the solar system, of which we are part, originated. But does this tell us really where we came from?
- Darwin Theory of Evolution is very convincing, and generally accepted these days. However it does not clarify at all how the process started!
- Medicine has made huge progress these last 50 to 60 years, and more or less everything about our body, and how it works, is known. But it cannot really tell us, in a definite way, what death is, not to mention what happens after.

Man wants a clear answer to all these questions. Unfortunately, up to now, nobody seems to be able to satisfy his requests and, since the earliest time, he had to look outside the material and rational world to receive at least some indications. [read more]

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President George W. Bush first called his war against the terrorists, a "Crusade for Freedom". This did not please the pro-western Arab Nations. The word "Crusade" reminds these countries, and their people, of unfortunate wars against them, organised and patronised by the Catholic Church to regain possession of the Holy Land in the 11th and 12th centuries. In these wars a large number of Muslims were murdered, together with many Jews, and a great number of Christians.

He had to change the name and he chose to call it “Operation Enduring Freedom". Not much better, but politically correct and acceptable.

There is no doubt that the attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001, as well as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq later on have brought changes, good and bad, in all the world. Hopefully, they will make the world safer, but we will have to "wait and see" a few years before the final consequences are known. [read more]

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