The Lost Symbol By Dan Brown | Know Ye Are Gods?

So after a little while I decided to jump on the literary band wagon and read the latest installation from Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol. I have read the other books this author has read and The Lost Symbol is very comparable in both writing style and content. I’ve heard the argument that all the books are basically the same, and I can see the approach that they are taking.

In particular ‘The De Vinci Code’, ‘Angels and Demons’ and now ‘The Lost Symbol’ all carry extreme religious undertones, often pointing out that Christianity is not as most people view it. It does not specifically try to tear the religion apart; although it does undermine the values that christians hold today. The Lost Symbol especially looks at the idea that the Bible is ‘The Word’ of god, of man. It follows the idea that, as the bible describes, God made man in his own image- in his exact image. That is, he made man into Gods however the book describes how man have forgotten this. Over time those who have studied the bible have taken its words too literally and have forgotten that even the book itself says that the Bible is written in parable, code, metaphors and secrets.

Often people see Browns novels as being heretic; against religion. In this book, however, it is shown through numerous ways that the Bible is to be believed- in some ways. It even says that through the recent advancements in Noetic Sciences, the ‘miracles’ described in the Bible can be proven to have happened and that people should not cloud their mind from believing in such things. Even if one does not believe in God, can they not  believe that oneself is divine?

To me the book looks at the most basic principle, as it explains in the epilogue: If we look back at an ancient civilisation they once wished that man could turn one chemical into another, that man could fly, that we could communicate instantly with those on the other side of the planet… all the things that we can do today. The book has a great tone of the world coming together and it is expressed from a science base. As I mentioned earlier the book revolves a lot around ‘Noetic Science’, which is the study of thoughts effecting the material world. I think that people can already agree that thoughts can effect the emotional world- me being upset can upset someone else. We often see this in young children when one begins to cry, others cry despite there being no obvious reason for it. Noetic sciences are yet to really boom in the world, but can explain everything from Global Economic movements of today, right through to the ‘walking on water’ and ‘water to wine’ of Jesus Christ.

As mentioned this book does not try to rip apart the Christian belief in the bible, but rather backs it up by showing that no matter what religion we look at, they all share one thing in common: God. It seems obvious to think about, but it delves more into it. Every single religion around the world preaches from a book, The Bible, Qu’ran, etc. All of these books tell how their message is metaphorical and in parable [this, though, seems to have been lost and mistranslated by those in power].

I honestly urge anyone interested in philosophy, religion, history to read this book. I mentioned to a friend of mine today that I believe that the concepts are incomparable to anything else, as much as the writing is overly simple to read.

Without trying to pull thunder from the book, I honestly had to think hard about some of the things mentioned in The Lost Symbol. The idea of the book is that men ourselves are divine, we simply no longer possess the knowledge of this. Through cleansing ourselves of certain things, we could once again remember this. Rather than think of our lives as ‘Waiting for God’, think of it as God waiting for us to reach enlightenment.The following is scripture mentioned in The Lost Symbol

The famous Hermetic aphorism—Know ye not that ye are gods?—was one of the pillars of the Ancient Mysteries…This persistent message of man’s own divinity—of his hidden potential—was the recurring theme in the ancient texts of countless traditions. Even the Holy Bible cried out in Psalms 82:6 “Ye are gods!” [308]

Doing a quick Google I have come across many pages which seem hell bent on portraying Dan Brown as a bad Christian, anti-christ etc etc. They say that he takes things out of context and puts them where he needs to ensure his message his heard. Even if this were true, does this not just sound like any and every church around the world?

Also, in no way does The Lost Symbol say that Christianity is wrong. My own perception of the book is that it is to replace christiniaty.

One of the things that I find interesting is the relationship in his work between The Illuminati (from his book Angels and Demons) and The Masons in this book. The Illuminati were revered scientists who vowed that one day the world would be taken over by a New World Order, where a singular religion would be selected and man would reach enlightenment.

As the legend goes, when the Illuminati went into hiding during the witch hunts of the  Catholic Church in the early centuries of this millenium they seeked refuge in a secret society which were open to all religions, as well as set on the same idea of reaching enlightenment. The Illuminati apparently had a secret which, when reveal to the world, would change things overnight. It just happens that the entire purpose of the secret order of The Masons was the exact same thing: they were the protectors of a secret which, when revealed, would be able to change the world overnight.

Like I said earler, Noetic science is proving the impossible to be merely the unknown. It is still in the early stages and many people are strongly opposing it: which is comparable, I  suppose, to those who denied at first that the world could possible be round, I mean the water will fall right off! The many ideas that are springing forth are able to change everything. It is being proven over and over again that thought has mass, and anything that has mass has the ability to effect other things with mass. Imagine being able to think about something, and making it change. Water into wine…

The theory then goes that if two minds focus on the same thing and reach a  higher level of meditation, being able to focus on the exact same thing not only do the effects double, but they exponential increase. Imagine, with the benefits of the internet and instant access how many people around the world can think of the same thing?

Take, for example, what I said before about the children. The bad mood of one person can effect another. If you were to enter a room full of people of somber people, such as a funeral, you may often feel a somber presence. This works in other situations. After September 11, the entire world focused their thoughts and energy on those who had lost loved ones. This was felt the world over, even by those who were not directly effected. Many psychologists and economists believe that all aspects of our lives were effected by this.

Anyway, I’ll rap this up as I  could go on for a long time about the things I’ve read about Noetic science, and that isn’t what I wanted to post about.

In short, read the book and keep an open mind!

Memorable quotes:

• “Knowledge is a tool, and like all tools, its impact is in the hands of the user.”

  Trish Dunne

• “Wealth is commonplace, but wisdom is rare.”

  Peter Solomon

• “To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wondering about in a great library without touching the books.”

  The Secret Teachings of all Ages

• “From the crusades to the inquisition to American politics, the name Jesus has been hijacked as an ally in all sorts of power struggles. Since the beginning of time, the ignorant had always screamed the loudest, herding the unsuspecting masses and forcing them to do their bidding. They defended their worldly desires by citing scripture they did not understand. They celebrated their intolerance as proof of their convictions.”

  Father Dean Galloway

• “If the infinite had not desired man to be wise, he would not have bestowed upon him the faculty of knowing.”

  Robert Langdon recalling a passage from the work of the philosopher Manly P. Hall