I've always considered my self as christian through my upbringing as an Orthodox, though I wouldn't consider myself a religious person, However I've always heard of the resentment of the Greek Orthodox church from as long as I can remember and I disliked the criticism as I believe its been weak individuals who manipulated situations for there selfish purposes and portrayed the bad name of the church, though the more I've read lately the more curious I've become with this issue on the church as religion has never been my great topic of intrest, though i've recently ordered Kalopoulos's books so it should be intresting, in general though religion has done nothing more than segregate people and wreck society, A Greek author Michael kalopoulos has some intresting facts on the church and the ancient Patriarchs.
author Bio
Author and historian of religion Michael Kalopoulos was born in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1949. He spent several years in Germany where he acquired a background in applied science and then worked for several years as a manager for a large multinational corporation. His area of expertise was analysis of a large amount of data pertaining to the design of production lines. In 1981 he moved to Thessaloniki, where he has lived and worked as an author ever since.
Michael Kalopoulos studied human attitude towards religion with a critical focus. He has studied the biblical texts, Archaeology and Mythology for 15 years. He is a Member of the Association of Historians of Greece.
He is the author of four books, The Great Lie, ( 1st Greek Edition Thessaloniki, 1995, 1st English Edition Pennsylavania 2003) Weapons of Deceit (1st Greek Edition Thessaloniki 1998) Abraham the Magician ( 1st Greek Edition Thessaloniki 2000) and Miracle or Fraud? The "Holy Light of Jerusalem" ( 1st Greek Edition Thessaloniki, 2003) He has also participated with a chapter in the collective work: Revival of the ancient Greek Religion ( Publications Thessaloniki 2002 ) and has contributed a large number of articles in historical and archaeological magazines of Thessaloniki and Athens.
He is a much sought-after speaker in television talk-shows with subjects of social, religious and historical interest.
the following is a wrap up from a Greek oz on his work;
link for his website below;
The Great Lie
07/01/05 - LETTER FROM A READER IN AUSTRALIA
Letter
I ordered �The Great Lie� through the author�s website. I had heard much about the book and was aware of the cowardly attacks made against him. I wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about. �Modern� Greece is a theocratic state that monitors the movements of 'heathens' like Kalopoulos. For example, comments made on the net questioning the authority of the Orthodox Church, a multi-billion dollar industry, are monitored closely and personal details �passed on�, with the blessings of senior clergy of the Synod's Committee for Heresies. Unable to respond to the author�s arguments in a rational, objective manner, those that his books have 'rattled' have sponsored a coordinated yet childish attack involving spam, and libelous comments posted on web pages and chat rooms. Before readers chuckle, they should remember that the author lives in a state whose 'Intelligence Agency' (modeled on the CIA) includes a division for the monitoring of heresies; a sort of Christian mutawaeen*. The exposure of a simple scam involving self-combusting candles has caused much anxiety for the Church. This 'modern-day miracle' occurs annually in Jerusalem and is welcomed by the neo-Byzantine State with the military honours usually reserved for visiting heads of state. Michael Kalopoulos can perform this miracle on cue, and although the establishment is happy for him to bend spoons, alla Uri Geller, the reproduction of this more divine party-trick causes great offence. Kalopoulos� Holy Light miracle was even censored by a parliamentarian on a Greek talk show. The poor man must have feared for the consequences on his political career, having been seen on TV with such a well-known skeptic. This is the mediaeval environment in which the author has undertaken his research.
In his book �The Great Lie�, Kalopoulos exposes the ancient Patriarchs as liars and murderers. He makes statements that make one�s head spin, before expanding on his findings and providing compelling evidence for his conclusions. His style as an author evolves as he embarks on a journey that shows us how the world has been swindled for centuries by the performances of savage con artists. In retrospect, it becomes obvious that the original miracle-workers were much more sophisticated and malignant than most of their modern-day counterparts, hustlers like Geller, the dude with the magic candles and Miranda (a telephone clairvoyant who can predict your future for $4.35 per minute). Serious people already suspected this, but thought it below them to seriously study the superstitious nonsense that continues to put food on priestly plates. The Bible has only recently become available to the general public and the riots that followed the Modern Greek translation of the NT weren't that long ago. The Orthodox Church has never really wanted its money-spinner to be available to the parishioners, let alone studied in such detail. They would much rather the 'feeders' heard it in churches, whilst nodding in unison and adding a few coins to the collection tray.
I only have some minor criticisms. Parenthetical addresses to the reader and assumptions about what they ��must be wondering by now�, come across clumsily in English. The book takes a while to warm up, but by the end its pages become riveting. I found myself reading a page here and there for some days, before the book became more and more difficult to put down. The English edition of �The Great Lie� may benefit from some minor �structural� changes to the text.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the neo-Byzantine theocrats must be pining for the island concentration camp (Makronesos) where the "godless communists" used to be tortured. Today's inmates would certainly include "� heretics, atheists, pagans and crypto-pagans (sic)". After all, Democracy is the Civitas Diaboli** and times are tough.
Angelos Giannakoureas
Australia
* (Editor�s note): Mutawa'een n : religious police in Saudi Arabia whose duty is to ensure strict adherence to established codes of conduct; offenders may be detained indefinitely; foreigners are not excluded
** (Editor�s note): From the work of St. Aurelius Augustine (AD 354�430) Among his 93 works the best known are the Confessions (Confessiones), comprising reflections on his life and conversion, and The City of God (De civitate Dei). In the 22 books of the City of God, history is presented as a conflict between two opposing cities: the city of God (civitas Dei)�consisting of Christians�, and the city of Satan (civitas diaboli)�consisting of pagan unbelievers.