New World Order (conspiracy theory) Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion''=== ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' is an [[antisemitic canard]], originally published in [[Russian language|Russian]] in 1903, alleging a [[Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory|Judeo-Masonic conspiracy]] to achieve world domination. The text purports to be the minutes of the secret meetings of a [[cabal]] of Jewish masterminds, which has co-opted [[Freemasonry]] and is plotting to rule the world on behalf of all Jews because they believe themselves to be the [[Jews as a chosen people|chosen people of God]].<ref>Soviet Jewry: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations, United States Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. 1984. p. 56</ref> ''The Protocols'' incorporate many of the core conspiracist themes outlined in the [[John Robison (physicist)|Robison]] and [[Augustin Barruel|Barruel]] attacks on the Freemasons and overlay them with antisemitic allegations about anti-[[Tsarist autocracy|Tsarist]] movements in Russia. ''The Protocols'' reflect themes similar to more general [[Counter-Enlightenment|critiques of Enlightenment]] liberalism by [[traditionalist conservatism|conservative]] aristocrats who support [[monarchy|monarchies]] and [[state religion]]s. The interpretation intended by the publication of ''The Protocols'' is that if one peels away the layers of the [[Masonic conspiracy theories|Masonic conspiracy]], past the [[Illuminati]], one finds the rotten Jewish core.<ref name="Berlet 1999"/> [[File:1920 The Jewish Peril - Eyre & Spottiswoode Ltd - 1st ed..jpg|upright|thumb|Cover of a 1920 copy of ''[[The Jewish Peril]]'']] Numerous polemicists, such as Irish journalist [[Philip Graves]] in a 1921 article in ''[[The Times]]'', and British academic [[Norman Cohn]] in his 1967 book ''[[Warrant for Genocide]]'', have proven ''The Protocols'' to be both a [[hoax]] and a clear case of plagiarism. There is general agreement that Russian-French writer and political activist [[Matvei Golovinski]] fabricated the text for [[Okhrana]], the [[secret police]] of the [[Russian Empire]], as a work of [[counter-revolutionary]] [[propaganda]] prior to the [[1905 Russian Revolution]], by plagiarizing, almost word for word in some passages, from ''[[The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu]]'', a 19th-century satire against [[Napoleon III of France]] written by French political satirist and [[Legitimism|Legitimist]] militant [[Maurice Joly]].<ref name="Spargo 1921">{{cite book|author=Spargo, John|title=The Jew and American Ideals|url=https://archive.org/details/jewandamericani03spargoog|publisher=Harper & Brothers|date=1921|author-link=John Spargo}}</ref> Responsible for feeding many [[antisemitism|antisemitic]] and [[anti-Masonry|anti-Masonic]] mass hysterias of the 20th century, ''The Protocols'' has been influential in the development of some conspiracy theories, including some New World Order theories, and repeatedly appears in certain contemporary conspiracy literature.<ref name="Barkun 2003"/> For example, the authors of the 1982 controversial book ''[[The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail]]'' concluded that ''The Protocols'' was the most persuasive piece of evidence for the existence and activities of the [[Priory of Sion]]. They speculated that this secret society was working behind the scenes to establish a [[theocracy|theocratic]] "[[United States of Europe]]". Politically and religiously unified through the [[imperial cult]] of a [[Merovingian]] [[Great Catholic Monarch|Great Monarch]]—supposedly descended from a [[Jesus bloodline]]—who occupies both the throne of Europe and the [[Holy See]], this "Holy European Empire" would become the hyperpower of the 21st century.<ref name="Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln 1982">Henry Lincoln, Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, ''The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail'', Corgi, 1982. {{ISBN|0-552-12138-X}}.</ref> Although the Priory of Sion itself has been exhaustively [[debunker|debunked]] by journalists and scholars as a hoax,<ref name=CBS>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/27/60minutes/main1552009.shtml|title=The Priory Of Sion|publisher=www.cbsnews.com}}</ref> some [[apocalypticism|apocalyptic]] [[millenarianism|millenarian]] [[Christian eschatology|Christian eschatologists]] who believe ''The Protocols'' is authentic became convinced that the Priory of Sion was a fulfillment of [[prophecies]] found in the [[Book of Revelation]] and further proof of an [[Antichrist|anti-Christian]] conspiracy of epic proportions signaling the imminence of a New World Order.<ref name="Aho on the Merovingians 1997">{{cite web|author=Aho, Barbara|title=The Merovingian Dynasty: Satanic Bloodline of the AntiChrist & False Prophet|date=1997|url=http://watch.pair.com/merovingian.html|access-date=11 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212030333/http://watch.pair.com/merovingian.html|archive-date=12 December 2009}}</ref> Skeptics argue that the current gambit of contemporary conspiracy theorists who use ''The Protocols'' is to claim that they "really" come from some group other than the Jews, such as [[fallen angel]]s or [[#Alien invasion|alien invaders]]. Although it is hard to determine whether the conspiracy-minded actually believe this or are simply trying to sanitize a discredited text, skeptics argue that it does not make much difference, since they leave the actual, antisemitic text unchanged. The result is to give ''The Protocols'' credibility and circulation.<ref name="New Internationalist 1 2004"/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page