Some truths are a little too hard for most people to take. The fact of the matter is that not only have conspiracies been shown to rule the world time and time again, but they have also been seen to furnish the very means by which it is run. What makes this proposition a particularly tough nut to crack is that conspiracies usually work best from behind the scenes. What you don’t see is what you get.

‘Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,’ Jesus advised his disciples, ‘and unto the Lord that which is the Lord’s.’ Over the years, a lot of smart people have continued to argue over who or what really runs this world: the choice, as ever, remains one between earthly powers and spiritual ones, God and Mammon.

This, however, leaves an even bigger question unanswered: who runs God and Mammon? The universal popularity of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baignent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, both of which deal in their own fashion with the proposition that Christ fathered a bloodline with Mary Magdalene, suggests there are a lot of people ready to challenge the established orthodoxies of their faith.

'No man can serve two masters,' advises Jesus, 'Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.' And yet, if these books harbour even a grain of truth, then it seems that many a devout cleric has contrived to do just that. What is revealed in both these books is a twilight world of codes and ciphers, secret societies and arcane knowledge – all essential components of a fully functioning conspiracy.

The word ‘conspiracy’ is derived from Latin, meaning ‘to breathe together’ – a term that captures perfectly a state of quiet collusion, of heads bowed together in confidential exchanges. It’s also exactly what Jesus had been doing with his disciples. The Last Supper, the subject of one of Da Vinci’s most celebrated paintings, represented the moment when a small group of conspirators came together for one final meeting. After that, Caesar didn’t stand a chance.

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