The Da Vinci Code
For the past two years, I have barely gone a full week without having Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code� in my hand. If it’s not in my hand, it is most likely within a ten foot radius of where I am standing. And the idea of not seeing it in front of me first thing every morning? Unacceptable. The thing is, I didn’t read it until a few months ago…I just work in a bookstore.
To put it simply, “The Da Vinci Code� has been THE book of the past two to three years. It jumped onto bestseller lists soon after its release. It has stayed on them almost every week since then. It has stayed in the top three or four spots during the majority of its time on the lists. And when it comes to personal favorite lists, let’s just say it is either at the very top or the very bottom.
“The Da Vinci Code� is an action/adventure story with a historical/religious twist. It is the story of a secret, the quest to uncover that secret, and a determination to keep it hidden. It pulls readers in with a fast-paced action-filled story of numerous escapes and revolutionary discoveries. And it hooks anyone who has ever been curious about faith, religion, or history.
With its pull and with its hook, “The Da Vinci Code� has been read by millions of people since it first came out in 2003. Many of the millions who have read it claim it as their favorite book. But just as many people have no shame in calling it trash.
As a novel, “The Da Vinci Code� is far from a literary masterpiece. Brown’s writing is “popular� writing, blow-by-blow, action-packed, ready to be pasted directly onto the big screen, and easily reproduced at the rate of one to two books a year. The story isn’t that complex. And his characters never become much more than skin deep personas. But even so, “The Da Vinci Code� has garnered more attention, more praise, and more condemnation than any of Clancy’s, Cussler’s, or Grisham’s similarly adventurous intrigues.
Although “The Da Vinci Code� is not a masterpiece, its story delves into faith, into religious institutions representing faith, and into both convictions and curiosities we all have about faith. The claims and conclusions made in the story have angered many, but they have also drawn many to them. Numerous scholars may have proven them to be unsubstantiated, but still the ideas presented pull readers in.
Many people may hate “The Da Vinci Code� for even suggesting an alternate reality to standard Christian history. But the fact is, the idea presented, even if it is not a reality, has drawn people to it. It has caused people who would never even think of discussing faith to talk about faith. And, it has caused people to think of the Christ Story as real.
More than any other book recently published, “The Da Vinci Code� has caused masses of people to consider who Jesus Christ was. It has brought him closer to the common man than almost any religious institution has ever been able to do on any sort of large scale. And although the details that “The Da Vinci Code� uses to point to Jesus’ humanity may not be true, the reality of his humanity is.
The idea of Jesus as God is nice, but if he is only God, he is difficult to connect to, sometimes hard to even see as real. Sometimes it is difficult to remember that Jesus was also human like us. Not just sort of human, but fully human, a human man who experienced life as we experience it and knew life and its struggles as we also know life and its struggles. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Jesus is that he became human so that he could actually meet us and help us right where we are. And even if its writing is average and ideas controversial, “The Da Vinci Code� reminds us of that fact.
Today “The Da Vinci Code� still sits on the bestseller list. It will be out in paperback very soon and out on the big screen soon after. It has connected with people all over the world and made its mark. Love it or hate it, all of us should at least stop and think about why the story has connected with us or those around us and what that has to say about what we seek.
To put it simply, “The Da Vinci Code� has been THE book of the past two to three years. It jumped onto bestseller lists soon after its release. It has stayed on them almost every week since then. It has stayed in the top three or four spots during the majority of its time on the lists. And when it comes to personal favorite lists, let’s just say it is either at the very top or the very bottom.
“The Da Vinci Code� is an action/adventure story with a historical/religious twist. It is the story of a secret, the quest to uncover that secret, and a determination to keep it hidden. It pulls readers in with a fast-paced action-filled story of numerous escapes and revolutionary discoveries. And it hooks anyone who has ever been curious about faith, religion, or history.
With its pull and with its hook, “The Da Vinci Code� has been read by millions of people since it first came out in 2003. Many of the millions who have read it claim it as their favorite book. But just as many people have no shame in calling it trash.
As a novel, “The Da Vinci Code� is far from a literary masterpiece. Brown’s writing is “popular� writing, blow-by-blow, action-packed, ready to be pasted directly onto the big screen, and easily reproduced at the rate of one to two books a year. The story isn’t that complex. And his characters never become much more than skin deep personas. But even so, “The Da Vinci Code� has garnered more attention, more praise, and more condemnation than any of Clancy’s, Cussler’s, or Grisham’s similarly adventurous intrigues.
Although “The Da Vinci Code� is not a masterpiece, its story delves into faith, into religious institutions representing faith, and into both convictions and curiosities we all have about faith. The claims and conclusions made in the story have angered many, but they have also drawn many to them. Numerous scholars may have proven them to be unsubstantiated, but still the ideas presented pull readers in.
Many people may hate “The Da Vinci Code� for even suggesting an alternate reality to standard Christian history. But the fact is, the idea presented, even if it is not a reality, has drawn people to it. It has caused people who would never even think of discussing faith to talk about faith. And, it has caused people to think of the Christ Story as real.
More than any other book recently published, “The Da Vinci Code� has caused masses of people to consider who Jesus Christ was. It has brought him closer to the common man than almost any religious institution has ever been able to do on any sort of large scale. And although the details that “The Da Vinci Code� uses to point to Jesus’ humanity may not be true, the reality of his humanity is.
The idea of Jesus as God is nice, but if he is only God, he is difficult to connect to, sometimes hard to even see as real. Sometimes it is difficult to remember that Jesus was also human like us. Not just sort of human, but fully human, a human man who experienced life as we experience it and knew life and its struggles as we also know life and its struggles. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Jesus is that he became human so that he could actually meet us and help us right where we are. And even if its writing is average and ideas controversial, “The Da Vinci Code� reminds us of that fact.
Today “The Da Vinci Code� still sits on the bestseller list. It will be out in paperback very soon and out on the big screen soon after. It has connected with people all over the world and made its mark. Love it or hate it, all of us should at least stop and think about why the story has connected with us or those around us and what that has to say about what we seek.
11 Comments:
I didn't pick "The Da Vinci Code" up with an agenda. I had heard the title, so I picked it up at the library and read it. That simple. It was fast-paced. Thank goodness. Writers today should keep in mind our information-saturated culture and write things that are fast-paced if they have any desire to be read by anyone.
It's popular fiction. How is that a bad thing? The writing is so much better than the Left Behind books that there is just no comparison. I finally gave up on them because I was just so disgusted with the clumsy, ham-handed writing.
The only problem I have with "The Da Vinci Code" is the same problem that I have with some of Max Lucado's best (This Present Darkness, for instance). The problem isn't with the books; it's with the audience. Why are we again and again trying to base our theology on fiction, rather than spending the time to do the research and discover for ourselves what is really worth believing? We are too untrusting to listen to a pastor or anyone teach us. Fiction gets in beneath the radar, though. How much sense does it make to trust a fiction writer's approach to theology, when you won't trust the church's? Which one of these two has probably studied it more?
Interesting points made by the previous poster...just wanted to point out that Max Lucado didn't write This Present Darkness...Frank Peretti did.
In most, if not all, Islamic nations The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, is accepted as presenting the true face of Judaism. So what if it is nothing but antisemitic garbage. It is getting a lot of Muslims to take a look at the Jewish faith. By the same token, so what if TDV is full of anti-Catholic garbage, betraying Brown's clear bigotry for all things Catholic. At least it's getting people to talk about Jesus, the fraud.
So when can I expect the Hollywood Jesus review of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion?
I just don't get it -- why all the "fuss" about a book of fiction -- THE DA VINCI CODE? The premise is interesting; the writing, clear and concise; and the conflicts within the storyline are compelling -- exactly what a reader wants in a good book of fiction. I suppose the evangelical Christians object on the grounds that it might make someone think or even question some of the fundamental beliefs espoused by church leaders for centuries. A little thinking (and perhaps discussion) might actually be good for the soul. Bring it on -- my kind of novel! - Dot -
I am a Christian who loves Jesus with everything inside of me. I read The Da Vinci code and it did not shake my faith, or make me question my Savior, because it is a piece of FICTION pure and simple. I can't wait to see the movie...
Why can't we still believe that Jesus died for our sins and in the 10 commandments,etc. and still believe that he might have also been married (gasp!) and that mere MEN who wrote and decided what went into what we call the bible could POSSIBLY be one-sided?
Yes, there are women MENTIONED in the bible, but the enitre bible is based on MEN and what MEN wrote about them and what they did. The women mentioned are mentioned in passing, nothing more. History is based on MEN, very few women of power were given significance. Even today, in churches all over the world and religions themselves, men are in control. Could all this 'don't believe the DaVinci' hype be fear that people might actually start to question the way religion has been fed to us and led to us by men alone? Why shouldn't women expect a more prominent role in religion and church??
I see nothing wrong with questioning this, and I'm not questioning GOD, I'm questioning all of the MEN in history and today who have ruled religion and bent it to their way!
I am a christian as well, and I too love Jesus Christ with my all. I have read the Da Vinci Code, and it didn't shake me at all either...but I have the background that I was prepared to read it! You need to keep in mind that people who don't have a Christian back ground don't really KNOW what is right...what is fiction and not fiction! Dan Brown wrote a great novel...a great FICTIONAL novel...and you may think "oh, it didn't shake me" but to be honest, I'm not worried about Christians! The reality is, people ARE taking this book seriously! People ARE looking at is as truth...some aren't, but many are. My only advise is that, as christians, we read books that are causing contraversy so that we are prepared to stand up against it, knowing what we're standing up against is critical. The Da Vinci Code is definately a great book to use for witnessing.
I freely admit I have never read the book. But I don't have to read it. I've heard enough to know that it is just another attack on Jesus and Christianity. In this world where it is Politically Incorrect to even suggest someone doesn't know what he or she is talking about, the only ones it is safe to attack are Christians and of course the usual scapegoats, the Jews. People who preach tolerance really only mean tolerance of all the lies they spread in the name of secular hatred of God and His people. THe Da Vinci Code is a slanderous book, full of lies that give those who want to attack God fuel for their bigotry and ignorance of history. It may destroy the faith of many, but God will judge those who spread such lies about His gospel and His Son.
Instead of believing the lies of the Da Vinci Code, read some truth, such as THE CASE FOR CHRIST by Lee Strobel or any of a number of books by real historians debunking this antiChristian bigotted trash (yes it was written by a talented writer and so sells well- it is trash because it is a slanderous attack on Christians in general and on the Catholic Church (what else is new) in particular by thoroughly ignorant people who waste their lives and talents with such subtly vicious acts of real hate. And yet they are always preaching tolerance. But they do not tolerate the truth, preferring to make up their own. To them truth is just a word for what they want to believe. To Christians it is an absolute, residing in the loving but just Creator of the Universe. By the way, modern science (not the outdated evolutionary theory) agrees with them that God is and that He set up this world for us. Jn 3:16
Dieser Film hat die Kirche Saint Sulpice in Paris gefüllt. Eine gute Nachricht für unseren Papst.
www.chartaland.de
Consider that the alleged conspiracy underlying the “biggest cover up in human history� bears a remarkable resemblance to another phony conspiracy, the famous hoax called the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Apparently authored by Russian monarchist and anti-Semite Mathieu Golovinski in 1898, the Protocols tells of a secret society of Jewish elders that work to keep gentiles ignorant of a plot to rule the world through “Darwinism, Marxism, and Nietzscheism.�
In both conspiracy theories, an ancient world religion turns out to be a massive fraud perpetrated to gain or maintain power.
...Besides highlighting the word “Zion� or “Sion,� the two conspiracy theories share an understanding of how to deal with ideas you disagree with. Rather than taking traditional Christian beliefs at face value and arguing with them (as I do in my current book by the way), Dan Brown portrays the religion itself as resting upon a conscious deception. That excuses him from having to make arguments at all.
Anti-Semites do the same thing. Rather than coming out honestly against Darwinism or Marxism or modernity in general, they concoct a story about Judaism as a lie and a conspiracy. The Protocols remains a global phenomenon of staggering popularity, especially in the Arab world.
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