|
|
| ||||||||||
| | ||||||||||
 |
| | | | | | |||||
The Templars: The Mini-Series, The Myths, and the Truth | Sandra Miesel and Carl E. Olson | Ignatius Insight Podcast | January 25, 2009 Carl E. Olson, editor of Ignatius Insight, talks to Sandra Miesel, a medieval historian and co-author of The Da Vinc Hoax and Pied Piper of Atheism, about the NBC mini-series, "The Last Templar". The mini-series, which airs Sunday, January 25th, and Monday, January 26th, is based on the 2005 novel, The Last Templar, written by Raymond Khoury. The novel was on The New York Times bestseller list for 22 months and sold over four million copies. The novel is similar in many ways to The Da Vinci Code, including its use of the Templars, its reliance on the "Gnostic gospels," and its claim that ancient documents provide definitive proof that Jesus Christ was not divine. USA Today, for example, writes of the mini-series, "The last time you saw this template, it was called The Da Vinci Code." The novel, according to its website, is "a thought-provoking exploration of religion in today's world, and of historic fact versus faith, particularly regarding the origins of the Catholic Church. Through the investigation into the Templars' history and their mysterious discovery, and though the interplay between Tess - the agnostic, scientific skeptic - and Reilly, who turned to the Church after his father shot himself when Reilly was just a boy, the book presents a spirited look at the early days of the Church and invites the reader to question matters which most of us take at face value." Carl and Sandra examine some of historical claims of the novel and discuss the ongoing popularity of the Templar mythology. Listen to mp3 audio file (25 minutes): • RIGHT CLICK to download the mp3 audio file (11.5 megs) Related IgnatiusInsight.com Articles and Excerpts: • Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code | Excerpts from The Da Vinci Hoax | Carl E. Olson and Sandra Miesel • The "It's Just Fiction!" Doctrine: Reading Too Little Into The Da Vinci Code | Carl E. Olson • Danned If You Do, Danned If You Don't | Carl E. Olson • Meeting the Real Mary Magdalene | An Interview with Amy Welborn • What Do Christians Know? | Carl E. Olson • Dan Brown Reveals How Little He Really Knows | Sandra Miesel • The Da Vinci Code's Sources: Did Dan Brown Really Borrow From Holy Blood, Holy Grail? | Carl E. Olson • The Atheist and the Code: An Interview with Tim O'Neill | Carl E. Olson • The Code and Gnosticism: A Response to Steve Kellmeyer | Carl E. Olson 
Sandra Miesel is the co-author, with Pete Vere, of
Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy and co-author, with Carl E. Olson, of the best selling
The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing
the Errors in The Da Vinci Code. She holds masters’ degrees
in biochemistry and medieval history from the University of Illinois.
Since 1983, she has written hundreds of articles for the Catholic press, chiefly on history, art, and hagiography. She regularly appears in Crisis magazine and is a columnist for the diocesan paper of Norwich, Connecticut. Sandra has spoken at religious and academic conferences, appeared on EWTN, and given numerous radio interviews. Outside the Catholic sphere, she has also written, analyzed, and edited fiction. Sandra and her late husband John raised three children. If you'd like to receive the FREE IgnatiusInsight.com e-letter (about every 1 to 2 weeks), which includes regular updates about IgnatiusInsight.com articles, reviews, excerpts, and author appearances, please click here to sign-up today! |
|
