The Da Vinci Code

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
After months of prodding, I have finally given in to the demands of my fiancee and read this book.



The Good:

- It brings some ugly truths about Christianity to a mainstream audience who might not trudge through more complex (read: better) books.

- It was fun.



The Bad:

- It was written like a screenplay for a made-for-TNT movie.

- The characters were horrific. (The Teacher... *retch*)

<SPOILER>

- The ending was a complete cop-out. "Let the mystery be" MY ASS!



The whole "the holy grail is a metaphor for Magdalene" thing isn't new to me, so maybe that lessened the book's intended effect.

</SPOILER>



The effect it did have on me was to want to read some non-fiction historical analysis of early Christianity, particularly pre-Nicene Creed. Particularly the story of Jesus Christ and how it came to be what it is today.



I was kind of surprised that a book that deals such devastating blows to Christianity has become so popular. Though I am also aware that Christians have gone hog-wild writing anti-DaVinci Code books.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    Quote:

    "Let the mystery be" MY ASS!



    Hmmm. In what way would you say your ass is mysterious?



    How many anti-Da Vinci code books asre there? It seems to be a mini-industry.
  • Reply 2 of 33
    when ron "little opie cunningham" howard does the movie he'll put in a nice hollywood ending for you.
  • Reply 3 of 33
    giaguaragiaguara Posts: 2,724member
    i tried to listen to that book in audiobook format in june .. it was boring. i quit in chapter 6. rare from me..
  • Reply 4 of 33
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar

    when ron "little opie cunningham" howard does the movie he'll put in a nice hollywood ending for you.



    It already has a nice Hollywood ending, that's the problem.
  • Reply 5 of 33
    then it's just going to get ickyer......pass the saccharine.
  • Reply 6 of 33
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    SPOILERS



    Quote:

    Originally posted by groverat

    - It brings some ugly truths about Christianity to a mainstream audience who might not trudge through more complex (read: better) books.



    I'm not sure which truths it brings. That Jesus was married? Probably not true. That Mary Magdala was the holy grail? Almost certainly not true. That Jesus was in the line of kings? Hmmm, David couldn't have been his ancestor because Joseph wasn't his father. That Jesus was really just a man who was deified by Christianity after his death? Well, yeah, that's the definition of Christianity.
  • Reply 7 of 33
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BRussell

    That Jesus was really just a man who was deified by Christianity after his death? Well, yeah, that's the definition of Christianity.



    Do you honestly think mainstream Christians know, collectively, that the divinity of Christ was determined by a vote?



    Do you think mainstream American Christians are aware of the wholesale adoption of ancient religious festivals/practices/beliefs and how they were co-opted (Christmas, Easter, communion, virgin birth, etc...)?



    Most American Christians are about as interested in the true historical record of their faith as they are about how their TV works.
  • Reply 8 of 33
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Why is it that it's always someone's girlfriend (or fiancee) who is gushing about "The DaVinci Code," and inevitably forces her boyfriend to read it? I've noticed this to be true too many times for it to be a coincidence.



    And no, I don't have a girlfriend, but if I did, I bet she'd try to make me read The DaVinci Code.
  • Reply 9 of 33
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Most Christians, well, the educated ones, are aware of the religions adoption (co-option) of pagan rituals, symbols, myths and so forth: bunnies and eggs, the winter solstice, the basilica building type, wine and bread, etc. Only the ignorant and fearful reject these things, others don't see the great harm and understand how and why these sorts of things were adopted.



    Anyway, reading real non-fiction about Jesus, christians and the Catholic church is a lot more interesting and put together much more interesting theories than silly half-formed conspiracies that can't tie piecemeal trivia together into an actual theory -- aka, Dan Brown's books. Hell, I thought the Catechism of the Catholic Church was a lot more insightful about the Church and Jesus than Angels and Demons.



    It drove me nuts too that Brown treats the treader like an idiot, stating the obvious and going through incredulous dialog to make a simple point.



    It's a good start, but I think groverat and most others here are above that level of reading.
  • Reply 10 of 33
    shetlineshetline Posts: 4,695member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar

    when ron "little opie cunningham" howard does the movie he'll put in a nice hollywood ending for you.



    We can at least hope (vainly) that Ron would fix the complete astronomical impossibility of seeing Venus rising in the closing scene (whether it is doing so symbolically or not!), while the sun is setting. Can't happen! At least not without a cataclysmic rearrangement of the solar system that would do Immanuel Velikovsky proud.
  • Reply 11 of 33
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by shetline

    We can at least hope (vainly) that Ron would fix the complete astronomical impossibility of seeing Venus rising in the closing scene (whether it is doing so symbolically or not!), while the sun is setting.



    He also made an inaccurate reference to left-brain/right-brain. Hell if he had flipped a coin he had a 50-50 chance of getting it right.
  • Reply 12 of 33
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by groverat

    Do you honestly think mainstream Christians know, collectively, that the divinity of Christ was determined by a vote?



    That's not quite fair. The Nicene conference voted on and set down Christian orthodoxy, but most Christians before that time believed Jesus was divine in one way or another.



    I agree that the book is good if people take an interest in historical aspects of religion. I just wonder if this book has the same effect on religious history as Stone's "JFK" had on that history.
  • Reply 13 of 33
    sammi josammi jo Posts: 4,634member
    Da Vinci Code is an entertaining read. I sort of see why mainstream Christians are so peeved about it, but their criticism is 100% unjustified since mainstream US Christianity has veered so far from the original teachings that it is barely deserving of the title.



    Oh well....
  • Reply 14 of 33
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by groverat





    Most American Christians are about as interested in the true historical record of their faith as they are about how their TV works.




    What you say applies to most christians. For them the base of their religion is that Jesus is a deity. Questionning this destroy their faith. Being able to separate the mystic Jesus and the historical Jesus is a sort of schizophrenic exercice. The duality between the real and the mystic is very difficult to conceptualize for many people : most of the people are unipolar (materialist or mystic).
  • Reply 15 of 33
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    Quote:

    It's a good start, but I think groverat and most others here are above that level of reading.



    Notice how I said I was coerced into reading it?

    As part of the deal, I am making her read Catch-22.



    Bad writing. Bad characters. Bad ending.



    Quote:

    That's not quite fair. The Nicene conference voted on and set down Christian orthodoxy, but most Christians before that time believed Jesus was divine in one way or another.



    Operative word, "most".

    The fact that it was even a question that had to be settled should tell you all you need to know. Almost the entire belief structure is the result of politics and gamesmanship. I am not basing this off of the 2 days I spent reading The Da Vinci Code, of course, that would just be silliness.
  • Reply 16 of 33
    airslufairsluf Posts: 1,861member
    Kickaha and Amorph couldn't moderate themselves out of a paper bag. Abdicate responsibility and succumb to idiocy. Two years of letting a member make personal attacks against others, then stepping aside when someone won't put up with it. Not only that but go ahead and shut down my posting priviledges but not the one making the attacks. Not even the common decency to abide by their warning (afer three days of absorbing personal attacks with no mods in sight), just shut my posting down and then say it might happen later if a certian line is crossed. Bullshit flag is flying, I won't abide by lying and coddling of liars who go off-site, create accounts differing in a single letter from my handle with the express purpose to decieve and then claim here that I did it. Everyone be warned, kim kap sol is a lying, deceitful poster.



    Now I guess they should have banned me rather than just shut off posting priviledges, because kickaha and Amorph definitely aren't going to like being called to task when they thought they had it all ignored *cough* *cough* I mean under control. Just a couple o' tools.



    Don't worry, as soon as my work resetting my posts is done I'll disappear forever.
  • Reply 17 of 33
    marcukmarcuk Posts: 4,442member
  • Reply 18 of 33
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AirSluf

    Literary Crack. Impossible to put down, but not really that good or good for you.



    Agreed. It even had cliffhanging chapters! How low can you go?
  • Reply 19 of 33
    spcmsspcms Posts: 407member
    I didn't read The Da Vinci Code. I did read, and enjoyed, Foucault's Pendulum (or whatever the title is in english). Someone told me the two are comparable so i might read it after all, but can someone who read both compare them a bit? I mean, are they equally good?
  • Reply 20 of 33
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SpcMs

    I didn't read The Da Vinci Code. I did read, and enjoyed, Foucault's Pendulum (or whatever the title is in english). Someone told me the two are comparable so i might read it after all, but can someone who read both compare them a bit? I mean, are they equally good?



    I've read them both - someone here at AI recommended it - and there's really no comparison. First, Foucault's Pendulum is a well-written book, even in translation. Second, "Foucault" takes the opposite approach to the whole Knights Templar/secret society conspiracy theory thing. Davnici: credulous, Foucault: skeptical.



    You read Da Vinci for the plot, just to see what's going to happen next. You grin and bear the horrid writing and dialogue and characters. You read Foucault for the plot but just as much to enjoy the dialogue and the characters and the journey those folks go through.



    On the other hand, most people I know who've read Da Vinci read it in a day or two, so what's to lose?



    Also the fun thing about Da Vinci is how real places and works of art - like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper - are integrated into the mystery story. It really is pretty cool.
Sign In or Register to comment.