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First off, I’d better make it clear that I haven’t read this novel, so this is one of those “reviews”/discussions like the one many folk have about the Book of Mormon – without reading it! It does seem to have one major similarity with the BoM (see later) For those not in the know, “The Celestine Prophecy” was one of those books that were a fad for a few months, but which have retained a few followers. (Think “Da Vinci Code”, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, “Livingston Seagull” etc) Some quack who tried to flog NLP to me (at great expense) started raving about this book to me, in such a way to put me off. Basically it sounded a bit like “Sophie’ World”, great if you’ve not come across the ideas therein before, not so great if you have. “The Celestine Prophecy” is basically a vehicle for some pretty tired New Age ideas, which have been doing the rounds long beforehand. Like the Da Vinci Code (which I have read!!!), it apparently pursues its ideas with great enthusiasm, but sometimes the writing, the characters and plot are supposed to suffer. Or so it seems.
The reason I mention it here partly, is because of what the ever “reliable” Wikipedia says
Quote:
In the novel, the Maya civilization left ruins in Peru where the manuscript was found, whereupon the Incas took up residence in the abandoned Maya cities after the Maya had reached an “energy vibration level” which made them cross a barrier into a completely spiritual reality…Critics [yes, that old wikipedia chestnut] also point to improperly explained and, in some cases, completely unexplained “facts” as flaws in the story.[5] Examples of this include the author’s suggestion of the presence of a Mayan society in modern day Peru, rather than in Central America, as well as the suggestion that the manuscript was written in 600 BC in the jungles of Peru, despite the fact that it is written in Aramaic. This shares a thread with the Book of Mormon, which is a purported history of Hebrew people who migrated to the American continent 600 years B.C.[6] Another point of criticism has been directed at the book’s attempt to explain important questions about life and human existence in an overly simplified fashion.
Interesting… On another website, which I won’t link to, because of its anti-Mormon content, “The Celestine Prophecy” is listed as including the following features:
* Ancient truth has been hidden by orthodoxy.
* “We are on the verge of a paradigm shift in human evolution.” – similar to the end times.
*
Quote:“The Christian Church has been responsible for repressing the truth that in reality we are all “the Christ,” that we are truly God if we could only transcend our ignorance, or the “brainwashing” imposed upon us by the Church, the Bible God, the popular consensus, or modern scientists.”
– This is not in the BoM, but the idea resonates with other parts of Mormonism. It also ties in with the False church of the BoM though.
I read the book years ago. It was pretty decent, but it is a work of fiction (as far as I know). It reads like non-fiction, but the whole thing is made-up (my understanding). It presents interesting “new age” ideas, if you want to call them that. I’m not sure how to discuss inconsistencies regarding the existence of a Mayan record or the teachings in the book. It would be like arguing about the Elves in Lord of the Rings having a secret book of history or something.
FWIW, I thought it was a decent Adventure / Mystery / Quasi-Spiritual book. It was a good read, especially if you like some of that line of thinking that we are all fragments of God and can influence our experience of reality.
I seem to recall enjoying the book also. I think I found it somewhere, like on the side of the road or something, if that tells you anything, but I thought the message was valuable. Also, Sophies’ Worldand Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceare two of my favorite books, so maybe I need to try being a bit more upscale. I haven’t read “motorcycle maintenance” (although it is on my shelf with many other things). Sophie’s World is good as an intro, in my view, but I’d read into a lot of this stuff beforehand, so it wasn’t so fresh. I think SW is a book which would suit certain people at certain times of their lives, rather than being an epiphany to everyone. SamBee wrote:Quote:“The Christian Church has been responsible for repressing the truth that in reality we are all “the Christ,” that we are truly God if we could only transcend our ignorance, or the “brainwashing” imposed upon us by the Church, the Bible God, the popular consensus, or modern scientists.”
I’ve heard this mentioned or referenced from time to time by others, that we are all truly God, or our own Christ. Definitions of words and concepts are important for understanding, so can someone help me out and explain how we can be God. I have always viewed God as the Supreme Being, Father in Heaven, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnibenevolent, Perfection yet eternally progressing in glory.
Does the Celestine Prophecy just tell us that is all brainwashed teachings from Christianity?
It’s been a long time since I’ve read it, but I think the point the author makes is that “mainstream” Christianity teaches of an “unbridgable gap” between God and humans – that we are so different in nature that it is blasphemous to speak of becoming like God. It teaches that such an idea “lessens” or “diminishes” God and is nothing more than human conceit. Therefore, Mormonism’s teaching that we all can become gods and actually become like God, since we all are literally children of God (as in the same basic species with common potential), is blasphemous to pretty much all other Christians (THE fundamental blasphemy, really). So is the literal interpretation of the “joint-heirs with Christ” verse and the concept of being “saviors on Mount Zion” through the performance of vicarious ordinances. The author aruges, if I remember correctly, that it is this idea of an unbridgable gap that is so wrong and constitutes repression of the truth. (Fwiw, I believe “the Bible God” is consistent with the “Mormon God” – but it’s understandable that the author equates the unbridgable gap God with the Bible God.) I don’t think the author agrees with all points of Mormon theology, but I remember thinking this particular point could be taught in an LDS meeting without anyone batting an eye – as long as, like most things, the vocabulary was chosen intentionally to convey the message in familiar terms.
Yes. Heaven forbid that anyone should try to express something in unfamiliar terms. 
:clap: I’m afraid to say in the New Age conception, it’s often New Age or rich/celebrity folk like Oprah and Shirley McLaine going on about how they are a god. I think it massages their egos, as big as they are already.
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