[Cody Dawg]

Have any of you read the book?

What do you think?

I haven't read the book - I don't read things just because they're on a bestseller list.

But, I heard this morning that some groups (Christians) are taking umbrage because one of the premises of the book is that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene had a relationship of some type and there are some people that think that Jesus may have descendants. (Personally, it makes no difference to my belief system if he did or did not - if he did it doesn't make any difference to me.)

But, as far as the book goes, what are some of your thoughts on the book?

Based on what I read here maybe I'll read it if it seems worthwhile, but I must say that some of it seems rather implausible.

[Peter]

its a good book; read it.

[Ilgaz]

No, buy Umberto Eco's book instead

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034...Fencoding=UTF8

"Foucault's Pendulum"

For Dan Brown piece, you can safely go to movie. It looks like a movie script rather than a "novel" anyway. Oops what did I just say?

[SpaceMonkey]

I read it about a year ago. Wasn't impressed with the writing or story.

[Maflynn]

I started reading it but I did take issue to the central theme of the book and to be honest, I couldn't enjoy the book because of that.

While it is a work of fiction (and there's no historical/archeological evidence to support Brown's thesis) it was enough for me to sour on the book.

I wonder how the move will do. As some astute person noted, most people who go see the movie already read the book and knows what happens - will that be enough to keep the crowds down or being such a hugely successful book drive people to the theaters - only time will tell.

Mike

[Ilgaz]

Problem is, it is "book" or a movie script written as novel format.

Dan Brown's possible agenda makes you a bit irritated too.

[jasonsRX7]

My mom gave me the book so I read it and enjoyed it, but take that with a grain of salt... As far as literature goes, it doesn't take much to impress me, I read technical manuals for the fun of it.

Everyone I know who's read both tells me Angels and Demons is the better book.

[Scotttheking]

Originally Posted by jasonsRX7

Everyone I know who's read both tells me Angels and Demons is the better book.

Yep. Brown's books are good airplane books. You read them because you have nothing better to do and it provides some entertainment. I just wish I'd buy my books before getting to the airport...

[waxcrash]

The problem with his books is people take them too personal. His writing isn't that good, but he does write entertaining stories that read fast. You have to take his stories with a grain of salt to enjoy them. Since the book first came out, some Christian groups have publicly come out on the defensive, such as the Catholic Church and Opus Dei - which just helps sell more copies. I have many Christian friends who have read his books and enjoyed them because they realize it is just fiction. As others have mentioned, Angels & Demons is better than Da Vinci Code.

[Helmling]

Originally Posted by Ilgaz

No, buy Umberto Eco's book instead

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034...Fencoding=UTF8

"Foucault's Pendulum"

For Dan Brown piece, you can safely go to movie. It looks like a movie script rather than a "novel" anyway. Oops what did I just say?

Right on, brother! You want an everything-is-connected-in-a-vast-secret-conspiracy novel, then Eco's blows the living crap out of that inch-deep claptrap of Brown's.

Don't get me wrong, Da Vinci Code is a fun read. It's characters are two inches deep (at best) but it has the sort of thriller pacing that makes Michael Crichton fun. And I think it's good that people realize the history of the Catholic church is more complicated than they've been led to believe. (Of course, they should also know that the Priory of Scion is almost certainly a fraud and that Mary Magdalen in all liklihood did not go to France, but hey, "question everything," I always say.)

[Helmling]

Originally Posted by Maflynn

I started reading it but I did take issue to the central theme of the book and to be honest, I couldn't enjoy the book because of that.

While it is a work of fiction (and there's no historical/archeological evidence to support Brown's thesis) it was enough for me to sour on the book.

I wonder how the move will do. As some astute person noted, most people who go see the movie already read the book and knows what happens - will that be enough to keep the crowds down or being such a hugely successful book drive people to the theaters - only time will tell.

Mike

I'd hardly say there is "no" historical evidence. What there is is simply spurious at best.

Strictly speaking, there's no historical/archeological evidence to support any conclusion about the life of Jesus. Nobody wrote about him while he was alive.

[production_coordinator]

The real problem with the book is... some people are taking the book too literally.

Brown nicely blends fact with fiction...

[Cody Dawg]

So, the message I'm getting is that it's a piece of crap?



Okay...I'll go with that. A very good friend of mine says it's a piece of crap also.

[angelmb]

Robert Langdon has a Macintosh… besides that… I think Dan Brown's 'Angels & Demons' is better. Nevertheless, all those Dan Brown books are very much alike…

[RobOnTheCape]

I liked the read quite a bit. I enjoyed having the ibook open and plugging in terms/sites organizations into Google and having them come up. I suppose I got caught up in the "what ifs" of the book, but Brown had good timing. With the cover ups of sexual abuse by priests in the catholic church the worldover, but here especially in the states I think people where much more open to yet another cover up being possible.

It's easy to think the church would cover up something like this. It's male domintated, male run, and it has changed views and incorporated other religions/beliefs since it's earlier beginnings in order to reach out to as large a population as possible.

Anyway, I enjoyed the read as an entertaining and eye opening piece of fiction. Thanks for the tip on Eco's work. I'm off to the bookstore to pick up his book in awhile.

[Jawbone54]

I disagree strongly with the premise, but I'm reading the book right now (as of a day ago). Does the suggestion that Christ had an affair with Mary of Magdelane offend me? People are offended by so much for the strangest things, and behave ridiculously because of it. I take offense, but I'm not offended...make sense? There'se enough anti-Da Vinci Code literature out there anyways, refuting everything that the book presents.

[sknapp351]

Get the book from your public library and give it a try. If you don't like it you've lost nothing. I'm always sceptical of making descisions based on what others tell me, especially if it doesn't cost me anything to try it myself.
SAm

[SpaceMonkey]

I prefer the Da Colbert Code

It really works!

[Super Mario]

I prefer the documentary that prove Da Vinci Code and Holy Grail Holy Blood are cocknbull.

Did you notice the publisher house was so greedy for more sales it told the authors of one book to sue the author of the other book both published by the same people and now both books are selling even more???????

[BRussell]

I enjoyed the book. It only took a few hours to read. I'll probably rent the movie once it comes out on DVD. The writing is crap, but that's OK. I enjoy Tom Clancy novels too. I'll second the Foucault's Pendulum recommendation. It'll wash that Dan Brown taste out of your mouth quite effectively.

I got a flyer from a local conservative church yesterday advertising a seminar to debunk the movie. They seem to be taking it seriously as a threat.

The thing is, both liberal and conservative religious scholars agree that the premise behind Da Vinci Code is crap, historically speaking. It's fine for a novel, but there's an implication that the book is based on fact, and it's not clear which parts are fact and which aren't. If people read the book and come to believe that most scholars of Christianity think Jesus was married and had offspring, they'd be wrong.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

It was Stanley Kubrick's idea to direct a movie based on Foucault's Pendulum but found it too heavy and long to make a movie out of. Same goes for Vanity Fair. The latest movie version was a jolly Bollywood Bastard version of the cruel dark reality of Thackerary's story.

[scottiB]

Originally Posted by Scotttheking

Yep. Brown's books are good airplane books. You read them because you have nothing better to do and it provides some entertainment. I just wish I'd buy my books before getting to the airport...

Originally Posted by production_coordinator

The real problem with the book is... some people are taking the book too literally.

Brown nicely blends fact with fiction...

Originally Posted by BRussell

I enjoyed the book. It only took a few hours to read. I'll probably rent the movie once it comes out on DVD. The writing is crap, but that's OK. I enjoy Tom Clancy novels too...

I'm reading it now, and I agree with these sentiments (Clancy, too). I picked it up and Costco and am enjoying it. I read it for the same reason I read Ian Fleming, Clancy, Martin Cruz Smith, and Anne Rice: a decent plot-driven page turner that gives me some escapism.

[Railroader]

I don't like Brown writing style.

The "I'll tell you the result of this HUGE cliff-hanger in the next chapter, but it will not be all that I led you to think it will be"-style of writing is tiring and boring after awhile.

[Salty]

I need to read it... that said I don't want to buy it... I had a friend from Best Buy when I worked there start quoting stuff from it as if it was fact. I nearly doubled over and laughed. I explained to him that anyone who thinks that Christians don't realize that there are deutrocanotical works out there hasn't done their research. I then suggested he go read the Infant gospel of Thomas. I should read the book, I've heard it's a good book with bad theology. I might enjoy it. But it annoys me when people get their facts from fiction.

[voodoo]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

I prefer the Da Colbert Code

It really works!

that was amazing. Five/five.



V

[zanyterp]

Originally Posted by Ilgaz

Problem is, it is "book" or a movie script written as novel format.

Dan Brown's possible agenda makes you a bit irritated too.

what is his possible agenda?

but it is a good read; Angels & Demons is better, in my opinion, but both are good, fun reads.

As for the premise that Jesus had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, why not? We don't truly know anything about her and, my understanding of history at the time Christ was teaching, you had to be married; so why not her?

[Rev-O]

Another vote for Foucault's Pendulum. Very good read.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by zanyterp

what is his possible agenda?

Attacking the Catholic Church. They do a good enough job on their own.

Originally Posted by zanyterp

As for the premise that Jesus had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, why not? We don't truly know anything about her and, my understanding of history at the time Christ was teaching, you had to be married; so why not her?

Do you think Jesus was like the other teachers at the time?

[zanyterp]

I don't think that Jesus was like the other teachers at the time in what he taught; but he would also want to be able to teach legally/lawfully; to be able to do that, you had to be married, or so is my understanding.

if that requirement was real, i can't find my reference for that now, Jesus would have met it.

[Salty]

It was typical but Jesus was a Rabbi I would be surprised if it was a mandate. There are examples of prophets not getting married, Jeremiah for example.

[MindFad]

I was entertained by the novel. Enough so that I will see the movie. And that is all.

[davesimondotcom]

I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons (which is better.)

But let's get this out there: There is no "premise" to the Da Vinci Code. It's not trying to convince you of anything.

It's entertainment. A novel. A work of fiction.

I like thrillers with fast paces, and I really liked the illustrated version of both of these books because I could see the art that goes with it.

I'll go to the movie probably the first couple weeks.

What we should be discussing is this: What's up with Tom Hanks' hair as Robert Langdon?

[Hawkeye_a]

I hadnt read a novel/book for ages. all my friends were recommending this book to me, which i got for free and ended up reading in 2003.

Since then...ive read all 4 of Dan Brown's books. the best of which are DaVinci Code and Angels and Deamons.

If the point is to get people to read and to keep them engaged and awake. Dan Brown has succeeded.

It's filled with a lot of facts, and the other stuff is his deductive reasoning to come to the conclusion. Why should it be a problem if Jesus and Magdaline have descendants today ?

I think the reason why the book is so succesful is because it challenges you to think different and actually presents some convincing evidence to back it up. Growing up a Catholic, you are taught one version of the 'story' and thats it. And then when someone comes along and presents a different version, you feel surprised , curious and it gets those wheels in your head turning thinking of the different possibilities, which i think is very cool. (similar to using a command prompt your whole life...and then you suddenly get to use MacOS1 )

But its a very good book. a page turner, original, well researched and an easy read. i highly recommend you read it before watching the movie.

Cheers

PS>>personally i think T.Hanks is a little too old to play the part of R.Langdon...but thats my opinion

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

It's filled with a lot of facts, and the other stuff is his deductive reasoning to come to the conclusion.

Actually, it's filled with a lot of half truths and flat out factually inaccuracies. And I am not even mentioning the Jesus stuff.

[Doofy]

So, writing-wise is it anything like the Celestine Prophesies? Because that was complete poop.

[Stradlater]

I haven't been interested in the book from what people say about it, especially those whose opinions I value. Harry Potter is popular, too, but I couldn't even riffle through the entire first book -- boredom and disappointment prevented it.

[Dakar]

I had trouble putting down the book when I first read it (finished it in two days), but then again, I never read mysteries. It's a page-turner. (But everyone is right, Angels & Demons is better).

[andi*pandi]

it was a good fast read--and you have to read it fast so you don't notice the plot flaws. Tom hanks with bad hair was not what I was picturing when I read it either. :/

as far as the jesus/mary children thing, Dan Brown is not the first to suggest it, it's an old theory.

[gumby5647]

I've read all four of his Novels

Da Vince Code
Angels and Demons
Deception Point
and Digital Fortress


As long as you take each one with a grain of salt and remember that they are FICTION, they are good, fast and enjoyable reads.

I dunno about Angels and Demons though, I"m gonna have to disagree with some of you. I thought it got a little "fat" at the end and went on for about 50 pages longer than it needed to.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by Railroader

Actually, it's filled with a lot of half truths and flat out factually inaccuracies. And I am not even mentioning the Jesus stuff.

Well, you can beleive what you want. Anything he mentioned in the book that i found far fetched, i looked up in encyclopedias and the net, just to see if what he mentioned was true, and surprisingly it was...i just never noticed it before. his theories can be debated upon for sure (like any theory)...... but things he pointed out in Da Vinci's art are actually ....well there for you to see. On the flip side....DaVinci isnt Jesus, and didnt live during the time of Chirst...so ASSUMING there's a connection between the two is just that.....an assumption, but a very big one i nthis argument.

Personally it's inconsequential to me if what he says is true or fales. i just think the book is a great, easy read...and is well researched and written, given the subject matter and availability of evidence.

It's a blend of fact and opinion thats used to come tothe conclusion. the art of it, imo, is the way he;s combined it all into a very compelling book.

The same can be said of Angel's and Deamons....the way he descibes the vatican and Berlinin's works is outstanding....then comes the 'fictitious' parts about the free masons and the illuminati, etc....but once again, very well written to provide a seamless experience for the reader, which is what, imo makes it a good book.

Cheers

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

but things he pointed out in Da Vinci's art are actually ....well there for you to see.

No....they aren't. That's not even a woman in the Last Supper. Da Vinci has a narrative to go with the painting that Dan Brown very conveniently left out that says the man next to Jesus is his beloved disciple John. Leo was gay and it was common for him to make men look effiminate.

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by Obi Wan's Ghost

Leo was gay and it was common for him to make men look effiminate.

Talk about wacky theories...

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Well, you can beleive what you want. Anything he mentioned in the book that i found far fetched, i looked up in encyclopedias and the net, just to see if what he mentioned was true, and surprisingly it was...i just never noticed it before. his theories can be debated upon for sure (like any theory)...... but things he pointed out in Da Vinci's art are actually ....well there for you to see. On the flip side....DaVinci isnt Jesus, and didnt live during the time of Chirst...so ASSUMING there's a connection between the two is just that.....an assumption, but a very big one i nthis argument.

Well, if he wouldn't have said this in the first page of the book I wouldn't have an issue with it.:

Originally Posted by Dan Brown

All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.

Here is a page proving he has made MANY flaws in the descriptions of items and his depiction of events.

http://web.archive.org/web/200502041...VinciCode.html

Here are a few highlights:

p. 309 ~ "The Jewish tetragrammaton YHWH – the sacred name of God – in fact
derived from Jehovah …."

Brown has it backwards. YHWH is the older word (from the time when Hebrew was written
without vowels). "Jehovah" is a Latinized word.

p. 21 ~ The big glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris "at President Mitterand's explicit
demand, had been constructed of exactly 666 panes of glass."

Is that accurate? Someone should tell the people at the Louvre, because their website says
that the Louvre's Pyramid, designed by I.M. Pei, has 673 diamond-shaped panes of glass.

p. 125 ~ "During three hundred years of witch hunts, the Church burned at the stake an
astounding five million women."

That's pretty astounding, all right. Dr. Brian A. Pavlac of King's College states that a more
accurate figure is in the neighborhood of 50,000 – 200,000, and that most victims were
hanged rather than burned, and they weren't all women.

p. 139 ~ Brown states that the "most obvious and frightening image" consists of the angel
Uriel "making a cutting gesture with his hand – as if slicing the neck of the invisible head
gripped by Mary's claw-like hand."

I don't think Leonardo would appreciate having his rendition of Mary's hand described as
"claw-like." The angel is simply pointing Jesus toward John the Baptist, so as to foreshadow
the time when Jesus would go to John to be baptized. Motifs like this (in which a future
event is "pre-figured") are not particularly rare in Renaissance art.

p. 139 ~ Brown states that Leonardo painted a second version of the picture "in which
everyone was arranged in a more orthodox manner."

Compare the pictures. About the only difference is the introduction of John's reed-cross, and
the position of the angel's hand, and the removal of the angel's robe, so as to show wings.
The arrangement is basically the same.

p. 206 ~ "After all, previous Priory Grand Masters had also been distinguished public
figures with artistic souls. Proof of that fact had been uncovered years ago in Paris'
Bibliotheque Nationale in papers that became known as Les Dossiers Secrets."

In an interview with ABC News, Dan Brown was asked: "Is there any documented proof
outside the secret documents discovered in France in 1966 that a society known as the
Priory of Sion exists or had existed at some point during history?" Brown's response: "Even
the Dossiers Secrets are not proof the order existed (although they do offer an intriguing
glimpse at possible lines of investigation)." How can both statements be true?

p. 231 ~ Teabing states, "His life was recorded by thousands of followers across the
land."

In a very general sense that is true, inasmuch as thousands of people talked about Jesus
during His ministry. But as far as written records of His life are concerned, there are not very
many extant first-century works about Jesus.

p. 231 ~ Teabing states, "The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan
Roman emperor Constantine the Great."

Is that accurate? Constantine did instruct Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, to produce 50
Bibles for use in his new capital, Constantinople. But there is no evidence that Constantine
took an active role in the selection of books or of manuscripts.

p. 233 ~ Teabing states that the decision at Nicea was "A relatively close vote."

Is 300-to-3 your definition of "relatively close"?

p. 233 ~ Teabing states, "Christ as Messiah was critical to the functioning of Church
and state."

Dan Brown spent a lot of time doing research for his book; yet he has apparently not grasped
that the words "Christ" and "Messiah" mean the same thing ("Anointed One").

p. 234 ~ Teabing states "The word heretic derives from that moment in history" (in the
time of Constantine, in the early fourth century).

It's pretty amazing, then, that New Testament authors, in the first century, were able to refer
to "heresies" (Second Peter 2:1) and "a man that is a heretic" (Titus 3:10), and that the
second-century bishop Irenaeus was able to write a thick book entitled "Against Heresies."

p. 236 ~ Teabing says, "Oddly, Da Vinci appears to have forgotten to paint the Cup of
Christ." This is strange, because on the same page Brown mentions that in The Last
Supper, "everyone at the table had a glass of wine, including Christ."

A wine-glass is plainly in view on the table in front of Christ. This may seem odd to people
who are used to thinking of the Holy Grail as a chalice, but the New Testament uses the
everyday word for "cup" when describing the cup Christ used at the Last Supper; there is no
Bible-based reason to expect it to be a chalice.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by BRussell

Talk about wacky theories...

Actually, I think that theory is supported by what Dan Brown says in The Da Vinci Code.

[iREZ]

its a fun and fast read and most will whiz right through. it gave me another angle to look at some issues, and i dont feel any less intelligent by reading it...i guess that means i like it

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by Railroader

Actually, I think that theory is supported by what Dan Brown says in The Da Vinci Code.

Hmm? I don't getcha. Brown said that the "John" figure in the Last Supper was feminine because Da Vinci was gay?

[Monique]

It all depends how books you have read in your life and what type of books you have read. I really disliked it, I thought of it boring and long. Like life of Pi too much hoop la about both books.

I am always looking for new titles so I will read that Foucault thing.

[Salty]

Wow Raillroader... you almost made me want to read that thing now... that's a whole lot of funny stuff! I can't believe he'd say that sorta stuff! Sounds more thrown together than the last seasons of Voyager!

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by Monique

It all depends how books you have read in your life and what type of books you have read. I really disliked it, I thought of it boring and long. Like life of Pi too much hoop la about both books.

I am always looking for new titles so I will read that Foucault thing.

If you thought those two books were long and boring, I'm not sure how you'll take Umberto Eco.

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by Scotttheking

Yep. Brown's books are good airplane books. You read them because you have nothing better to do and it provides some entertainment. I just wish I'd buy my books before getting to the airport...

Airport books are expensive, that's why I borrowed this one from scott.

On a slight derail I just read Decipher by stel pavlou and it is similarly out there. has anyone else here even heard of it?