It's been a while since I wrote something here. What have I been upto? Basically some books, some gaming and some "consulting-investing" in the stock market besides the "Internship".
The internship was not much and I would rather not talk about it. I would rather talk about a recent book I read.
Warning - Spoilers ahead.
For those who have not heard the term "Templars" , let me elaborate. If you know about them and would like to know about the book experience, you can skip the next paragraph.
When I thought of Templars I imagined assassins who were hired by the holy church to protect them and their secrets. But this was partly true. They were trained fighters who were supposed to protect the people who travelled to Jerusalem for pilgrimage. The more interesting thing about them is how they were wiped out after they grew extremely wealthy and powerful - partly because they become too rich and powerful and more interestingly because they knew some big secret about the church - something that could change the way people looked at Christainity, the Church and even Jesus.
Christainity has had a bloody and mixed past. Spreading your relegion and letting people decide whether or not they should embrace it is one thing. The church took it to an extreme - any person who either refused to follow them or did something that was unrelegious was punished severely. Punished how? Well no points for guessing - Crucified. Sometimes upside down. Ouch!
So what would happen if somehow, one day, Jesus himself came down and said -
"Chaps! Whatever has been written in the Bible - you guys are taking it too seriously. I was a simple guy, a carpenter. I am no Son of God and neither did I come back from the dead. Like all men, I too liked a Lady and one day got her pregnant. The Pope is no holier than you guys and this whole christainity is too hyped. I never intended it to end up this way!"
An FBI agent and a beautiful (like they always are) archeaologist hunt for that ultimate truth that could change the world and shatter the way we look are relegion. So far so good!
The internship was not much and I would rather not talk about it. I would rather talk about a recent book I read.
The Book -
I usually choose the books I read carefully. Management education significantly increases your opportunity costs of spending time in not preparing PPT's but reading books. This time though - I decided to take a leap of faith and decided to judge a book by its cover. The book was - The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury.Warning - Spoilers ahead.
For those who have not heard the term "Templars" , let me elaborate. If you know about them and would like to know about the book experience, you can skip the next paragraph.
When I thought of Templars I imagined assassins who were hired by the holy church to protect them and their secrets. But this was partly true. They were trained fighters who were supposed to protect the people who travelled to Jerusalem for pilgrimage. The more interesting thing about them is how they were wiped out after they grew extremely wealthy and powerful - partly because they become too rich and powerful and more interestingly because they knew some big secret about the church - something that could change the way people looked at Christainity, the Church and even Jesus.
Christainity has had a bloody and mixed past. Spreading your relegion and letting people decide whether or not they should embrace it is one thing. The church took it to an extreme - any person who either refused to follow them or did something that was unrelegious was punished severely. Punished how? Well no points for guessing - Crucified. Sometimes upside down. Ouch!
So what would happen if somehow, one day, Jesus himself came down and said -
"Chaps! Whatever has been written in the Bible - you guys are taking it too seriously. I was a simple guy, a carpenter. I am no Son of God and neither did I come back from the dead. Like all men, I too liked a Lady and one day got her pregnant. The Pope is no holier than you guys and this whole christainity is too hyped. I never intended it to end up this way!"
An FBI agent and a beautiful (like they always are) archeaologist hunt for that ultimate truth that could change the world and shatter the way we look are relegion. So far so good!
What I liked & disliked about the book -
1. Practical - Even though the author is dealing with something that is thousands of year old, he has done a great job at putting things in the current context. Mass killings, Discrediting Science and forcing people into accepting a faith is something that has always been associated with relegion. Even today, we see people who just do not want the world to advance because it is somehow unholy. I mean, who would have thought that Jesus would have issues with Test Tube Babies. He would have a much bigger issue with countries killing in the name of relegion and people attacking each other because they have different beleifs.
2. Critical - The author has used the storyline, although weak, to really analyze the things that are wrong with the world today. How we know so less about what we believe in. He has made logical arguments, coupled them with verifiable facts to make you think about whether what you believe in is really the truth or merely a (mis)interpretation of some mortal. Now, that would really piss off many!
The book has a weak story line. Basically, the author tried to do a backward induction. He knew the end - an awesome end I must say - and then worked backwards. This meant, a story with a lot of twists and turns - a bit too much to digest at times. The result - A bollywoond story with "firnag characters" who travel around the world in search of the truth - while a love story runs parallely. A story with too many coincidences loses its charm after a point. This book suffers from that.
Ultimate verdict. If you are super-free and really interested in knowing about relegion - do go ahead and read the book. Some parts are good where an over-informed crazy history professor reveals some unsettling truths.
