A question about The DaVinci Code

[jeriendhal]

Isn't there any religious organization out there aware of the fact that the book and movie are, y'know, works of fiction? I just don't get all of this contraversy, which is approaching the level of HP shipping wars for sheer insanity. I don't believe Codes ideas have any validity in the real world from reading it, any more than I think I'll be able to find a Civil War ironclad buried in Saudi Arabia from reading or watching Sahara.

Comments

[shadur.livejournal.com]

That's odd, for a moment there I thought you were accusing religious organizations of being, well, inherently rational...

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Less an accusation than a forlorn hope...

[sraun]

Sure there are! You just aren't hearing about them.

Have you heard any Methodist district councils saying anything about it? How about other mainstream protestant denominations?

Did you notice that Bruce Schneier was mentioned in it?

[soulsdreaming.livejournal.com]

Religions love to feel insulted and raise a ruckus. >.> Guess the ideas presented in the Da Vinci code have been a topic that has spawned controversy even before the book and the movie.

But anyways, everybody will always be complaining about something... swear the muslims are still whining over that Muhammed gag comic thing. 9.9

[daveamongus.livejournal.com]

I think the basis of the complaint is that Dan Brown lays out alleged "facts" at the beginning of the novel, making the underpinnings seem more like a reasonable connection of the facts than a simple fictional construct. More than that, Dan Brown's rather earnest defense of his "facts" and the conclusions has prompted the vigorous offense.

In other words, The DaVinci Code is bad PR for Christianity and, specifically, the Catholic Church and they're retaliating with PR of their own.

Further, I think it would be utterly unwarranted if I hadn't heard people say, in all seriousness, "Geez, isn't it crazy that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married?" But I have. Nearly as bad as trying to explain to people who have seen Stigmata that, not only was the Gospel of St. Thomas not suppressed, at least not in recent memory, but that it's largely misogynistic and not quite as touchy-feely as the introduction quoted in the movie would have one believe.

[xinef.livejournal.com]

Exactly. If Dan Brown had said all along "hey, it's just fiction folks, don't take it so seriously", he wouldn't have sold so many copies, would he? That book is written as though its "historical" underpinnings are fact, not speculation, and many people read it as such.

[sabledrake.livejournal.com]

I'm sure a large part of it is all just riding the gravy train ... I'm sure they don't REALLY buy into it, but it's a good way of getting attention. Like saying the HP stories are about real witchcraft.

At least, I really HOPE that's the case. I would hate to think anyone is honestly that silly.

-- C.

[akhmed.livejournal.com]

Because The DaVinci Code is based on a work of real (albeit crackpot) history called Holy Blood, Holy Grail, some people actually believe that some of it, if not the part where Opus Dei hires albino assassins, is real.