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A.J. ✝️’s first review of the year
did not like it
As I said in my reviews of two of her other books, Browne passed away in 2013, and I do not like speaking ill of the deceased. These are my thoughts on what she wrote and predicted and not about her necessarily. I'll get the most random note out of the way: covert and clandestine are the most used words in this book.
To be honest, I felt that chapters 1-4 served mostly as filler, being only somewhat relevant, and honestly didn't really add very mu As I said in my reviews of two of her other books, Browne passed away in 2013, and I do not like speaking ill of the deceased. These are my thoughts on what she wrote and predicted and not about her necessarily. I'll get the most random note out of the way: covert and clandestine are the most used words in this book.
To be honest, I felt that chapters 1-4 served mostly as filler, being only somewhat relevant, and honestly didn't really add very much to the book. The content didn't really start to get interesting until part II on pg 63. Even within what is interesting, it is mostly a mixture of history and conjecture--a bit of Miss Browne's "history" purportedly came from her "spirit guide" whom she referred to in life and in print as "Francine."
Part 1 is political societies.
1. Skull and Bones (A Yale University exclusive club with strict guidelines for entry)
2. The Council of Foreign Relations
3. The Trilateral Commision
4. The Bilderberg Group
And 5. The Freemasons.
Part 2 is on religious societies.
6. The Knights Template
7. The Knights of Malta
8. The Rosicrucisn Order
9. The Priory of Scion
And 10. Opus Dei
The third and final part is about the dark side of secrecy.
11. The illuminati
12. The "New World Order"
13. SCAN (Secret Coalition for American Nationalists) [Possibly made up by the author as this group is supposedly only listed in this book and no one "knew" of them till this book's release. Sus.🧐]
14. Lies about Jesus Christ🤦🏻
15. Suppression of the Gnostics
And 16. Conspiracy Theories and Corruption.
On pg 114, Browne claims that we Christians don't actually follow Christ's words as much as we put our own spin on them. Load of bollocks...which was enough before pg 143 where she basically claimed that Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush were/are illuminati. She says that one of the names for this supposedly real group (my opinion pending, leaning toward dissent) is Skull and Bones. You have got to be kidding me! What's head-scratching is that despite basically claiming the Bushes are illuminati and connected to the New World Order idea, she didn't mention President H. W. Bush's mention of it in one of his State of the Union addresses.
On pg 150, she predicted that we would be very close or already there for a worldwide government in 10 years. This book was released in 2007, so draw from that the only thing that can be drawn from it...
On pgs 157-158, Browne claims Jesus' "supposed" death took place in three hours. The actual death took place in six or more. Speaking of which, I can summarize the claims in the chapter "Lies about Jesus Christ" for you.
1. That Jesus had a wife and kids (nothing new).
2. That He wasn't the Son of God, but rather just a holy man.
3. That He, Pontius Pilate and his wife, and maybe even a small amount of others helped Jesus survive the crucifixion.
4. That He was given an opiate to ease His pain during the chastising.
5. That what pierced His side didn't pierce Him enough to kill Him.
6. That the water He was offered on the cross was mixed with a sedative that knocked Him out.
7. That while He looked dead, He was taken down from the cross and placed in "hewed-out room of solid rock."
8. That He wasn't carried into the tomb--He was carried out of it. One can't help but infer from this claim that this "revelation" from "Francine" accidentally--or otherwise--claims Jesus sleepwalked from a spot considered to be a safe distance from the Romans and the Sanhedrin, and simply strolled groggily into the "hewed-out room of solid rock."
9. That somehow a stained-glass window in France is proof of 8.
10. That the ointment that He told Mary Magdalene (MM), who was actually his "wife," to save for his funeral was actually spices and other accoutrements for reviving Him.
11. That Nicodemus took these ointments and accoutrements to the tomb instead of MM.
12. That His legs not being broken is somehow proof of this conspiracy theory.
13. That blood and water coming out of Him after the piercing of his side is proof that He was still alive.
14. That the stone having been rolled away is somehow proof that He had not left his body and needed a physical way out of the tomb.
15. That the resurrection couldn't have possibly happened because Jesus supposedly strolled out of the tomb after people silently rolled the large stone away which somehow didn't make any noise.
16. That MM didn't recognize the Savior when she saw him, not because of God's power, but rather because he was wearing a disguise.
17. That when He told MM not to touch Him after she realized who He was, it was because he didn't want to be in more pain from the wounds that would've otherwise made it impossible for Him to walk.
18. That when He went to let the disciples know He wasn't dead, this wasn't actually with the context that He'd died and resurrected; He was supposedly telling them He'd faked His death.
19. That Him eating food after His revelation is proof He didn't die on the cross.
20. That He told the disciples that He had somehow fulfilled scriptural prophecy without actually having died.
21. That Him parting from them as opposed to just disappearing into thin air is somehow proof that He survived the crucifixion and wasn't divine.
22. That Thomas not seeing Him for days after He appeared to the other 10 is proof He needed time to let His wounds heal before Thomas could touch Him.
23. That the apostles didn't see Him ascend into Heaven.
24. That He traveled in disguise to continue His work for God in places where He wouldn't be recognized, possibly even in the Americas (theoretically good news for the Mormons/LDSs).
25. That another author claims an unidentifiable man (except to the other author) claimed to have letters from Christ that were written to the Sanhedrin, informing them of his survival.
26. That the math adding up is somehow proof of this conspiracy.
27. That (implied) the secret that Popes are made privy to after conclave selection is that Jesus survived the crucifixion and lived out His life with His supposed wife and children.
28. That a Vatican council removed MM's status as a prostitute (I have never read or heard about this anywhere else).
29. That the Bible not saying that He wasn't a husband and father is proof that He was a husband and Father.
30. That the Apocrypha mentions Christ and that He often kissed MM on the mouth (The Apocrypha are old testament additions in the Catholic Church. It is a Gnostic Gospel that nearly claims the kiss thing, but time and damage don't let us see certain words).
31. That MM took the ointment to the tomb to heal His wounds (pg 168) even though this contradicts the claim that it was actually Nicodemus (pg 158).
32. That the real reason MM freaked out at the tomb was that she knew her still-living "husband" was still live but was unaware why he wasn't there.
33. That the wedding in Cana was actually His wedding to MM.
34. That the bridegroom at Cana may have actually been Jesus' best man.
35. That the Apocrypha mention MM (again, these are old testament books for the Catholic Church).
36. That much like how in the Gospel of Judas when Jesus asked Judas to betray Him, Jesus filled the 11 remaining disciples about the plot and ordered them to tell everyone He resurrected--and them they went off on their ministry.
37. That Jesus went to modern-day Turkey with the Blessed Mother, MM, Joseph of Arimathea, and several disciples.
38. That none of the disciples died as depicted by the Catholic Church and the Bible, but rather some stayed with the Blessed Mother and some joined Him and his "wife" to India and other locations.
39. That they were met by countless well wishers who became the first Gnostics.
40. That after He and MM toured the world on their honeymoon, they settled in France, by which point MM had already given birth to their "daughter" Sarah.
41. That they allegedly had 7 children, of which only 4 survived.
42. That Gnostics protected this "Holy Family."
43. That both He and MM preached and He did more unwritten healings.
44. That Jesus doubled as a helper of children and focused on writing when he wasn't going to Britain with Joseph of Arimathea.
45. That MM became revered.
46. That the Blessed Mother died 10 years before He did.
47. That before Jesus "really died," He and MM had made the south of France a Gnostic stronghold which ultimately complicated things for the Catholic Church in that region.
48. That this different version of Christ's life doesn't exclude His divinity.
49. That St. Paul came up with this death hoax idea.
50. That Jesus isn't the Savior.
Phew! It doesn't even stop there. There are numerous Biblical innacuracies like when on pg 180, she claimed St. Paul was a self-proclaimed apostle--He was dubbed an Apostle in the book of Acts (9:3-6) as well as Galatians (1:1)--and, on the same page, when she claimed Jesus' own family didn't believe in a Virgin Birth or that He was God incarnate. As my fiancè put it: how could the Blessed Mother not believe in a Virgin Birth when Jesus originated with her in His earthly form (I realize that Jesus being one with the Father is not accepted by Pentecostals and Mormons/LDSs, so when I say "Biblical," I am referring to Catholic, (Orthodox?) and Protestant teachings.
There are also historical inaccuracies within 225 pgs--including the listed 50--like when on the same pg as the Biblical inaccuracy, she claims that the Council of Nicea in 325 was strictly to hide the "real truth" of Jesus--and she often praised Dan Brown, the author of "The Da Vinci Code" as being as "Amazing" and important to Gnosticism as anyone who wrote a Gnostic Gospel. This is confusing considering Brown (Dan not Sylvia) stated that he made a bunch of stuff up in the book and just added a bunch of the Gnostic beliefs.
Another example of some of the many inaccuracies in this book comes to the academic realm when still on the same pg (180), she claims that in religious education for pastors and priests, it is always Pauline scripture (Acts-Hebrews). My fiancè is a trained pastor--he studied the entire Bible, sometimes with more of an emphasis on the Old Testament than the New...so I don't know where she got her information on that. I don't know where she got her information on St. Paul, either. On pg 181, she claims that he made everything up and somehow the Willem Dafoe film "The Last Temptation of Christ" is proof of this. 🫤
She refers a lot to what the Catholic Church did to others. She conveniently didn't mention that Pope John Paul II publicly, in a prayer, asked for God's forgiveness for the church's past sins. She was not wrong to say that these actions were committed by the church (though not all of the nefarious ones she mentions about them covering up Jesus' supposed sex life, offspring, and marriage), she recontextualized the church's reasoning. They weren't suppressing a hidden truth. They were fighting for the Christian Gospel as they--much like most Christians--believed/believe in it. They just seriously went the wrong way about it--and like I said, even one of the Popes agreed with this statement. You get the point directly while reading this that she considered the Catholic Church to be a secret society.
She clearly did not have a good opinion of mainstream Christianity and resented things as if they'd happened to her directly--I wonder if she would've supported reparations for Gnostics from Christians. 🤔😅 She obviously did not have a good opinion of Catholicism, either. She spent most of this book trashing the church and trying to dissuade the reader from joining it or to convince them to leave it, and took the reader down a path of false history. She didn't stop there. She said things that could make a devout Christian gasp--like when on pg 209, she tried claiming that sex and being strictly carnally driven weren't sins; that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have zero truth to them; and that Mary wasn't actually a virgin when she gave birth to Christ. *Sign of cross and smh* On the same page, she disavowed basic Christian doctrine by rewriting it all with much the same reaction from the Christian as specified between the asterisks. All the while, ignoring that public repentance that Pope John Paul II did. I guess it didn't support her narrative.
The exhaustive list above will leave me baffled for awhile. I did extensive research on Gnosticism in the past and never came across anything about that "alternate" version of Christ's life. Perhaps it's a teaching of her church, The Society of Novus Spiritus, which is located in Campbell, CA, and is still open once a week on Tuesdays (yes, Iactually looked it up).
It's interesting just how much about Sylvia Browne that one doesn't get to know just by watching some YouTube clips of her, or even sitting through a number of her special appearances on the talk show 'Montel.' I watched her on that show with my mother about twenty years ago (good God) and have no memories of her discussing these heretical and blasphemous beliefs. To each their own, of course, and I am using the words 'heretical' and 'blasphemous' in regard to her teachings vs Christian teachings; compared to Christianity, Gnosticism (aka Gnostic Christianity) is heretical and blasphemous, of course.
On 'Montel' and in various interviews you can find on YouTube, she speaks mainly about her predictions and on being allegedly psychic. You will find her also often referring to her "spirit guide" Francine. Perhaps I just stumble upon the wrong videos and missed more controversial tv moments, 🤷🏻 but I have never seen her describe her views on Jesus and the Gospel as she does in these books. This is the third book of hers that I've read, and while I will read more out of curiosity, I have a very hard time believing most of their contents (though I do agree with her about how we should treat people).
The truth is that one could say Browne was a false prophet even though she was often at pains to stress that she wasn't a prophet. It's easy to feel like she made a lot of stuff up even though she injected self-deprecating humor into the text--like when she included sarcasm, such as (paraphrasing), "right now, you're probably thinking I'm crazy, but let's take a look at the [facts]." [Facts], of course, being "facts." While I stand by my statement that I put at the beginning of every review of one of her books, she still makes me think of a heretical "pastor" that I met once who told her congregation that prostitutes were holy, that God doesn't demand anything of us, and that we can keep sinning because God loves us (She was an heretic with the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists; AWABs). For obvious reasons, I won't identify who she is in this review. 😆👽🦝
Ultimately, I can't help but compare her version of Gnosticism--which seems to be part Gnostic belief and part Sylvia-fantasy--to watered down Christianity. She often put love and kindness and community on a pedestal, putting any firm doctrine down in the process--and while there's nothing wrong with love, kindness, or community, watering down teachings for the sake of touchy feely lovey doveyness while at the same time spraying encouragement to sin because "God loves you" seems morally and religiously repugnant to me.
Browne seemed hellbent on tearing down the Catholic Church and the basic doctrines about Jesus Christ to the point of convincing people to turn away from the mainstream version of Him and the church--and while I do not like to speak ill of the deceased, it is not wrong to speak against false teachings.
With that in mind, I give this book 1 star--one less than I gave her other two that I've read. What is actual history is somewhat interesting, though doesn't come across as interesting as reading through her predictions in those other two books did. The fictional version of Christ's life was interesting, but one I cannot accept from someone who was an heretic who called any devout religious person ignorant if they weren't her version of a Gnostic and if wouldn't become one. She outright claims that any religion (she waited till the second to last page of the final chapter to stab Judaism and Islam in the heart) that isn't her brand of Gnosticism is occultist in nature and that all of Christianity, especially the Catholic Church, is corrupt and bad; that it's used to control women, instill fear of hell and excommunication in people. I still stand by my belief that religion in and of itself is not designed to control women (sorry, Barbra Streisand), to be homophobic (sorry easily swayed fellow lgb people), and fear mongering (only the LDS and overly conservative churches do this). Religions unfortunately have bad people within them who utilize these bad things while having the gall to claim they are of a religion. As my fiancè said: that doesn't make the church inherently bad. I add to that: it only makes those people inherently bad.
I'll leave you with a gem found on pg 5. I hope this was written with humor. 🧐😂🤣
"You may wonder why I didn't impart what I knew then, and all I can say is I can only do so much with my hectic schedule." ...more
To be honest, I felt that chapters 1-4 served mostly as filler, being only somewhat relevant, and honestly didn't really add very mu As I said in my reviews of two of her other books, Browne passed away in 2013, and I do not like speaking ill of the deceased. These are my thoughts on what she wrote and predicted and not about her necessarily. I'll get the most random note out of the way: covert and clandestine are the most used words in this book.
To be honest, I felt that chapters 1-4 served mostly as filler, being only somewhat relevant, and honestly didn't really add very much to the book. The content didn't really start to get interesting until part II on pg 63. Even within what is interesting, it is mostly a mixture of history and conjecture--a bit of Miss Browne's "history" purportedly came from her "spirit guide" whom she referred to in life and in print as "Francine."
Part 1 is political societies.
1. Skull and Bones (A Yale University exclusive club with strict guidelines for entry)
2. The Council of Foreign Relations
3. The Trilateral Commision
4. The Bilderberg Group
And 5. The Freemasons.
Part 2 is on religious societies.
6. The Knights Template
7. The Knights of Malta
8. The Rosicrucisn Order
9. The Priory of Scion
And 10. Opus Dei
The third and final part is about the dark side of secrecy.
11. The illuminati
12. The "New World Order"
13. SCAN (Secret Coalition for American Nationalists) [Possibly made up by the author as this group is supposedly only listed in this book and no one "knew" of them till this book's release. Sus.🧐]
14. Lies about Jesus Christ🤦🏻
15. Suppression of the Gnostics
And 16. Conspiracy Theories and Corruption.
On pg 114, Browne claims that we Christians don't actually follow Christ's words as much as we put our own spin on them. Load of bollocks...which was enough before pg 143 where she basically claimed that Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush were/are illuminati. She says that one of the names for this supposedly real group (my opinion pending, leaning toward dissent) is Skull and Bones. You have got to be kidding me! What's head-scratching is that despite basically claiming the Bushes are illuminati and connected to the New World Order idea, she didn't mention President H. W. Bush's mention of it in one of his State of the Union addresses.
On pg 150, she predicted that we would be very close or already there for a worldwide government in 10 years. This book was released in 2007, so draw from that the only thing that can be drawn from it...
On pgs 157-158, Browne claims Jesus' "supposed" death took place in three hours. The actual death took place in six or more. Speaking of which, I can summarize the claims in the chapter "Lies about Jesus Christ" for you.
1. That Jesus had a wife and kids (nothing new).
2. That He wasn't the Son of God, but rather just a holy man.
3. That He, Pontius Pilate and his wife, and maybe even a small amount of others helped Jesus survive the crucifixion.
4. That He was given an opiate to ease His pain during the chastising.
5. That what pierced His side didn't pierce Him enough to kill Him.
6. That the water He was offered on the cross was mixed with a sedative that knocked Him out.
7. That while He looked dead, He was taken down from the cross and placed in "hewed-out room of solid rock."
8. That He wasn't carried into the tomb--He was carried out of it. One can't help but infer from this claim that this "revelation" from "Francine" accidentally--or otherwise--claims Jesus sleepwalked from a spot considered to be a safe distance from the Romans and the Sanhedrin, and simply strolled groggily into the "hewed-out room of solid rock."
9. That somehow a stained-glass window in France is proof of 8.
10. That the ointment that He told Mary Magdalene (MM), who was actually his "wife," to save for his funeral was actually spices and other accoutrements for reviving Him.
11. That Nicodemus took these ointments and accoutrements to the tomb instead of MM.
12. That His legs not being broken is somehow proof of this conspiracy theory.
13. That blood and water coming out of Him after the piercing of his side is proof that He was still alive.
14. That the stone having been rolled away is somehow proof that He had not left his body and needed a physical way out of the tomb.
15. That the resurrection couldn't have possibly happened because Jesus supposedly strolled out of the tomb after people silently rolled the large stone away which somehow didn't make any noise.
16. That MM didn't recognize the Savior when she saw him, not because of God's power, but rather because he was wearing a disguise.
17. That when He told MM not to touch Him after she realized who He was, it was because he didn't want to be in more pain from the wounds that would've otherwise made it impossible for Him to walk.
18. That when He went to let the disciples know He wasn't dead, this wasn't actually with the context that He'd died and resurrected; He was supposedly telling them He'd faked His death.
19. That Him eating food after His revelation is proof He didn't die on the cross.
20. That He told the disciples that He had somehow fulfilled scriptural prophecy without actually having died.
21. That Him parting from them as opposed to just disappearing into thin air is somehow proof that He survived the crucifixion and wasn't divine.
22. That Thomas not seeing Him for days after He appeared to the other 10 is proof He needed time to let His wounds heal before Thomas could touch Him.
23. That the apostles didn't see Him ascend into Heaven.
24. That He traveled in disguise to continue His work for God in places where He wouldn't be recognized, possibly even in the Americas (theoretically good news for the Mormons/LDSs).
25. That another author claims an unidentifiable man (except to the other author) claimed to have letters from Christ that were written to the Sanhedrin, informing them of his survival.
26. That the math adding up is somehow proof of this conspiracy.
27. That (implied) the secret that Popes are made privy to after conclave selection is that Jesus survived the crucifixion and lived out His life with His supposed wife and children.
28. That a Vatican council removed MM's status as a prostitute (I have never read or heard about this anywhere else).
29. That the Bible not saying that He wasn't a husband and father is proof that He was a husband and Father.
30. That the Apocrypha mentions Christ and that He often kissed MM on the mouth (The Apocrypha are old testament additions in the Catholic Church. It is a Gnostic Gospel that nearly claims the kiss thing, but time and damage don't let us see certain words).
31. That MM took the ointment to the tomb to heal His wounds (pg 168) even though this contradicts the claim that it was actually Nicodemus (pg 158).
32. That the real reason MM freaked out at the tomb was that she knew her still-living "husband" was still live but was unaware why he wasn't there.
33. That the wedding in Cana was actually His wedding to MM.
34. That the bridegroom at Cana may have actually been Jesus' best man.
35. That the Apocrypha mention MM (again, these are old testament books for the Catholic Church).
36. That much like how in the Gospel of Judas when Jesus asked Judas to betray Him, Jesus filled the 11 remaining disciples about the plot and ordered them to tell everyone He resurrected--and them they went off on their ministry.
37. That Jesus went to modern-day Turkey with the Blessed Mother, MM, Joseph of Arimathea, and several disciples.
38. That none of the disciples died as depicted by the Catholic Church and the Bible, but rather some stayed with the Blessed Mother and some joined Him and his "wife" to India and other locations.
39. That they were met by countless well wishers who became the first Gnostics.
40. That after He and MM toured the world on their honeymoon, they settled in France, by which point MM had already given birth to their "daughter" Sarah.
41. That they allegedly had 7 children, of which only 4 survived.
42. That Gnostics protected this "Holy Family."
43. That both He and MM preached and He did more unwritten healings.
44. That Jesus doubled as a helper of children and focused on writing when he wasn't going to Britain with Joseph of Arimathea.
45. That MM became revered.
46. That the Blessed Mother died 10 years before He did.
47. That before Jesus "really died," He and MM had made the south of France a Gnostic stronghold which ultimately complicated things for the Catholic Church in that region.
48. That this different version of Christ's life doesn't exclude His divinity.
49. That St. Paul came up with this death hoax idea.
50. That Jesus isn't the Savior.
Phew! It doesn't even stop there. There are numerous Biblical innacuracies like when on pg 180, she claimed St. Paul was a self-proclaimed apostle--He was dubbed an Apostle in the book of Acts (9:3-6) as well as Galatians (1:1)--and, on the same page, when she claimed Jesus' own family didn't believe in a Virgin Birth or that He was God incarnate. As my fiancè put it: how could the Blessed Mother not believe in a Virgin Birth when Jesus originated with her in His earthly form (I realize that Jesus being one with the Father is not accepted by Pentecostals and Mormons/LDSs, so when I say "Biblical," I am referring to Catholic, (Orthodox?) and Protestant teachings.
There are also historical inaccuracies within 225 pgs--including the listed 50--like when on the same pg as the Biblical inaccuracy, she claims that the Council of Nicea in 325 was strictly to hide the "real truth" of Jesus--and she often praised Dan Brown, the author of "The Da Vinci Code" as being as "Amazing" and important to Gnosticism as anyone who wrote a Gnostic Gospel. This is confusing considering Brown (Dan not Sylvia) stated that he made a bunch of stuff up in the book and just added a bunch of the Gnostic beliefs.
Another example of some of the many inaccuracies in this book comes to the academic realm when still on the same pg (180), she claims that in religious education for pastors and priests, it is always Pauline scripture (Acts-Hebrews). My fiancè is a trained pastor--he studied the entire Bible, sometimes with more of an emphasis on the Old Testament than the New...so I don't know where she got her information on that. I don't know where she got her information on St. Paul, either. On pg 181, she claims that he made everything up and somehow the Willem Dafoe film "The Last Temptation of Christ" is proof of this. 🫤
She refers a lot to what the Catholic Church did to others. She conveniently didn't mention that Pope John Paul II publicly, in a prayer, asked for God's forgiveness for the church's past sins. She was not wrong to say that these actions were committed by the church (though not all of the nefarious ones she mentions about them covering up Jesus' supposed sex life, offspring, and marriage), she recontextualized the church's reasoning. They weren't suppressing a hidden truth. They were fighting for the Christian Gospel as they--much like most Christians--believed/believe in it. They just seriously went the wrong way about it--and like I said, even one of the Popes agreed with this statement. You get the point directly while reading this that she considered the Catholic Church to be a secret society.
She clearly did not have a good opinion of mainstream Christianity and resented things as if they'd happened to her directly--I wonder if she would've supported reparations for Gnostics from Christians. 🤔😅 She obviously did not have a good opinion of Catholicism, either. She spent most of this book trashing the church and trying to dissuade the reader from joining it or to convince them to leave it, and took the reader down a path of false history. She didn't stop there. She said things that could make a devout Christian gasp--like when on pg 209, she tried claiming that sex and being strictly carnally driven weren't sins; that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have zero truth to them; and that Mary wasn't actually a virgin when she gave birth to Christ. *Sign of cross and smh* On the same page, she disavowed basic Christian doctrine by rewriting it all with much the same reaction from the Christian as specified between the asterisks. All the while, ignoring that public repentance that Pope John Paul II did. I guess it didn't support her narrative.
The exhaustive list above will leave me baffled for awhile. I did extensive research on Gnosticism in the past and never came across anything about that "alternate" version of Christ's life. Perhaps it's a teaching of her church, The Society of Novus Spiritus, which is located in Campbell, CA, and is still open once a week on Tuesdays (yes, Iactually looked it up).
It's interesting just how much about Sylvia Browne that one doesn't get to know just by watching some YouTube clips of her, or even sitting through a number of her special appearances on the talk show 'Montel.' I watched her on that show with my mother about twenty years ago (good God) and have no memories of her discussing these heretical and blasphemous beliefs. To each their own, of course, and I am using the words 'heretical' and 'blasphemous' in regard to her teachings vs Christian teachings; compared to Christianity, Gnosticism (aka Gnostic Christianity) is heretical and blasphemous, of course.
On 'Montel' and in various interviews you can find on YouTube, she speaks mainly about her predictions and on being allegedly psychic. You will find her also often referring to her "spirit guide" Francine. Perhaps I just stumble upon the wrong videos and missed more controversial tv moments, 🤷🏻 but I have never seen her describe her views on Jesus and the Gospel as she does in these books. This is the third book of hers that I've read, and while I will read more out of curiosity, I have a very hard time believing most of their contents (though I do agree with her about how we should treat people).
The truth is that one could say Browne was a false prophet even though she was often at pains to stress that she wasn't a prophet. It's easy to feel like she made a lot of stuff up even though she injected self-deprecating humor into the text--like when she included sarcasm, such as (paraphrasing), "right now, you're probably thinking I'm crazy, but let's take a look at the [facts]." [Facts], of course, being "facts." While I stand by my statement that I put at the beginning of every review of one of her books, she still makes me think of a heretical "pastor" that I met once who told her congregation that prostitutes were holy, that God doesn't demand anything of us, and that we can keep sinning because God loves us (She was an heretic with the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists; AWABs). For obvious reasons, I won't identify who she is in this review. 😆👽🦝
Ultimately, I can't help but compare her version of Gnosticism--which seems to be part Gnostic belief and part Sylvia-fantasy--to watered down Christianity. She often put love and kindness and community on a pedestal, putting any firm doctrine down in the process--and while there's nothing wrong with love, kindness, or community, watering down teachings for the sake of touchy feely lovey doveyness while at the same time spraying encouragement to sin because "God loves you" seems morally and religiously repugnant to me.
Browne seemed hellbent on tearing down the Catholic Church and the basic doctrines about Jesus Christ to the point of convincing people to turn away from the mainstream version of Him and the church--and while I do not like to speak ill of the deceased, it is not wrong to speak against false teachings.
With that in mind, I give this book 1 star--one less than I gave her other two that I've read. What is actual history is somewhat interesting, though doesn't come across as interesting as reading through her predictions in those other two books did. The fictional version of Christ's life was interesting, but one I cannot accept from someone who was an heretic who called any devout religious person ignorant if they weren't her version of a Gnostic and if wouldn't become one. She outright claims that any religion (she waited till the second to last page of the final chapter to stab Judaism and Islam in the heart) that isn't her brand of Gnosticism is occultist in nature and that all of Christianity, especially the Catholic Church, is corrupt and bad; that it's used to control women, instill fear of hell and excommunication in people. I still stand by my belief that religion in and of itself is not designed to control women (sorry, Barbra Streisand), to be homophobic (sorry easily swayed fellow lgb people), and fear mongering (only the LDS and overly conservative churches do this). Religions unfortunately have bad people within them who utilize these bad things while having the gall to claim they are of a religion. As my fiancè said: that doesn't make the church inherently bad. I add to that: it only makes those people inherently bad.
I'll leave you with a gem found on pg 5. I hope this was written with humor. 🧐😂🤣
"You may wonder why I didn't impart what I knew then, and all I can say is I can only do so much with my hectic schedule." ...more
A.J. ✝️’S
2024
BOOKS
really liked it
A.J. ✝️’s last review of the year
did not like it
Well, his Presidency had to have been better than this book. 🫤 I have a hard time believing that President Carter only did three things during his Presidency (another biographer did this to President Bush [1988-1992]). The book I just read on Vice President Harris lists more accomplishments and activities than this one does, which is a bit unfair. Basically, Elston listed one accomplishment (meeting and treaty between Egypt and Israel) and two un
Well, his Presidency had to have been better than this book. 🫤 I have a hard time believing that President Carter only did three things during his Presidency (another biographer did this to President Bush [1988-1992]). The book I just read on Vice President Harris lists more accomplishments and activities than this one does, which is a bit unfair. Basically, Elston listed one accomplishment (meeting and treaty between Egypt and Israel) and two unfortunate circumstances (natural gas shortage because of a harsh winter and hostages not being released till moments after President Reagan's inauguration) for which he was blamed. Aside from that, I didn't take too much away from this book; nothing about his political career before the presidency. I thought I'd read this while this man is still alive... but now I question if it was worth it. Was Elston a Ford supporter? 🤔
...more
What did you read this year?
