DaVinci is Laughing At You
While on a business trip, I picked up "The DaVinci Code" to keep me occupied on the plane. I was raised Catholic, so I was wondering what the big hoopla was all about, anyway. About six chapters in, I was interrupted by a woman.
"Are you a Christian?"
I was rather taken aback at the abruptness with which she asked.
"Um, I grew up Catholic. Does that count?" I answered with a feeble smile.
"You can't read that garbage and call yourself a Christian."
Hmmm. Meanwhile, she's got a Danielle Steele novel poking out of her bag. Not that I don't like Danielle Steele, but I found it amusing that Dan Brown is GARBAGE while Danielle Steele is not.
Which brings me to my point. I loved "The DaVinci Code." It was a well-crafted mystery drenched in religious icons that reminded me of my childhood. My mother was Catholic. My father was a Mason. It was a really great STORY. A work of FICTION. Did everybody else miss that? FICTION. If I write a story and use Catholic history as a backdrop, that doesn't mean I'm attacking the entire religion. I'm writing about something I know, and dressing it up to make an interesting story. I liked it so much that I bought a couple of other Dan Brown books. Numerologists aren't in a tizzy because he used a mathematical genius in "Angels & Demons."
I understand people stand behind their religion, but can we take this issue at face value? Dan Brown presents a sacrilegious idea in his book. But he's not putting it out there as a reference manual to the Catholic religion. And if you actually read it all the way through, you might be surprised.
FICTION, people. Get a life.
"Are you a Christian?"
I was rather taken aback at the abruptness with which she asked.
"Um, I grew up Catholic. Does that count?" I answered with a feeble smile.
"You can't read that garbage and call yourself a Christian."
Hmmm. Meanwhile, she's got a Danielle Steele novel poking out of her bag. Not that I don't like Danielle Steele, but I found it amusing that Dan Brown is GARBAGE while Danielle Steele is not.
Which brings me to my point. I loved "The DaVinci Code." It was a well-crafted mystery drenched in religious icons that reminded me of my childhood. My mother was Catholic. My father was a Mason. It was a really great STORY. A work of FICTION. Did everybody else miss that? FICTION. If I write a story and use Catholic history as a backdrop, that doesn't mean I'm attacking the entire religion. I'm writing about something I know, and dressing it up to make an interesting story. I liked it so much that I bought a couple of other Dan Brown books. Numerologists aren't in a tizzy because he used a mathematical genius in "Angels & Demons."
I understand people stand behind their religion, but can we take this issue at face value? Dan Brown presents a sacrilegious idea in his book. But he's not putting it out there as a reference manual to the Catholic religion. And if you actually read it all the way through, you might be surprised.
FICTION, people. Get a life.
posted by Kristie at 11:14 AM
1 Comments:
Good point, it is fiction. And another good point, the lady shouldn't necesarily take a stab at what you're reading while she has her own choice of reading all about the seven deadly sins.
I read this book, and while well-written and interesting, the major flaw is that right in the very beginning and in many interviews, Dan claims that he is telling 'Facts' that are sooooo not true! Not historically, about the places, the people or even some of the events. Fiction does not have to keep to those rules but when you go around claiming to be factual, when you are so far off, it makes one wonder if the real purpose was actually to promote goddess worship. Again, in his interviews, he seems to be saying that this is his intent. So, the real purpose of the book becomes highly suspect.
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