The Science of Conspiracy Theories

Vatican Library conspiracy

Vatican Library conspiracy

This conspiracy  theory says that there are many secret ancient texts in the Vatican Library that are not open to the public. Supposedly, these texts are so secret that many popes never knew about them. These ancient books and manuscripts come from many places, including the library in ancient Alexandria before it was burned down. Many of the writings include ancient occult magic and alchemy, and they include hidden knowledge never revealed to the public.

This one caught my attention, mostly concerning what was in the ancient library in Alexandria, which at one time contained the archival knowledge of the ancient Greeks, including Aristotle, Euclid, Archimedes, Eratosthenes, Herophilus, Erasistrahus, Hippachrus, Adesia, Pappus, Theon, and Hypatia, as well as many other great scholars and thinkers. There is a lot of controversy associated with how the library was destroyed, but its destruction resulted in the loss of great knowledge. If the Vatican has some of these documents or their copies, that would be significant.

The Vatican Secret Archives even has a Latin name: Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum. Allegedly, this secret label does not mean that the archive is confidential and qualified scholars from institutions of higher learning can get access to the archive. What is in the archive appears to be documents concerning the Vatican or the popes during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. That doesn't sound like the manuscripts from the Alexandria library.

Some people believe that the secret archives contain evidence of extraterrestrial life; ancient texts that disprove the existence of Jesus; or other secrets that could undermine the church. Remember that this was part of the plot in Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code'.

I don't know about those ideas, but the archive does contain Pope Leo X's 1521 decree excommunicating Marin Luther; a document from English clergymen asking Pope Clement VII to annul King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon - if Clement hadn't refused there would be no Anglican church; The papal bull from Pope Alexander VI that spit the New World between Spain and Portugal; Michelangelo's letter warning that the Vatican guards hadn't been paid in three months and were going to stage a work stoppage.

There are, of course, many theories about the secret documents that have not been revealed. Many of these supposed documents contain evidence of Jesus' lifeline, the Holy Grail, and paintings or drawings of Jesus made by people who actually saw him.

All of this sounds interesting, but there is no definitive evidence for any of it. That's sad. I would love to have seen what was in the Alexandria library before it was burned down. Darn it!

Thanks for reading.