Guardians of the Holy Grail: The Knights Templar, John the Baptist, and the Water of Life [Paperback]

I'm a big fan of anything Knight related (though nowhere near an expert), and am willing to read even the most 'out-there' theories, but in this case, Mark takes a great leap into the history and myth, then falls off the planet - literally.

He rehashes a lot of already known history of the Knights, which is fine in case some readers are just starting out learning about the Knights, but then he goes pretty much X-files when he adds in extraterrestrials to the mix, then adds other cultural legends into the story of the Knights, which kind of confuses me. I'm all for looking at the Knights from the view of other monotheistic and polytheistic religions around from the time of the Knights, but some seem to be just grasping.

To add to his image as a head honcho Modern Knight, his WIFE is his 'co-knight' (I thought the Knights were supposed to be MONKS and CELIBATE), maintains the present Earl Sinclair is the Fisher King (which I thought was supposed to be attached to the Arthurian legends and not the Knights Templar, and the Fisher King was supposed to be suffering from an unhealable wound), and I think that halfway through the original editing of this book his proofreader/spellchecker either quit or died.

He DOES add some little-known data of the Knights, which is why I won't use the book for kindling, but I was sort of hoping he would have organized the book a little bit better. I learned a bit more about some John the Baptist lore, but ended up confused. I'll try to read through the book again in case I missed something, but I was hoping for a better read.

Guardians of the Holy Grail, while undoubtedly controversial to some, is nonetheless a creative look at two popular themes -- the Templars and the Holy Grail, with a unique focus on the Divine feminine...a welcome addition to the number of books out there! The Sri Lanka history is a 'new twist' on old themes; the author's overall courage should be commended

In Guardians Of The Holy Grail: The Knights Templar, John The Baptist, And The Water Of Life, author and spiritual instructor Mark Amaru Pinkham lays out the history of the Knights Templar and the legendary Holy Grail. During their one hundred year presence in the Middle East, the Templars received the Holy Grail from a lineage of Holy Grail Guardians that had already been in existence for many thousands of years. Originating on Sri Lanka (the island paradise recognized within the Arab world as the true location of the fabled Garden of Eden), this ancient Grail lineage included John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and John the Apostle. Readers will learn of the relationship of John the Baptist and the Mandean from Sri Lanka; the mystery of Baphomet (the Templar "Demon"); the gnostic and sexual tantric rites practiced by the Knights Templar; the alchemy and mystery of the Black Madonna; secrets of the Rosslyn Chapel and the Sinclairs of Scotland; the mysteries of the Freemasons and Johannites; and the Knight Templars of today. Also very highly recommended from Adventures Unlimited Press are two earlier books about the Knight Templars: Charles G. Addison's The History Of The Knights Templars (HKT, $16.95) and Francine Bernier's Templars' Legacy In Montreal (TLIM, $21.95).