Talk:Da vinci code

2007-02-23T01:34:27Z

Snark:

The Da Vinci code article needed a LOT of work. I believe that the original author or authors have something of a misapprehension of the nature of an encyclopedia, which is really an objective source of basic information, rather than a source of editorial commentary. Specifically, the detailed refutation of the Da Vinci code's narrative has no place in a encyclopedic work; it'd be a fine blog or magazine article or something of the sort, but it's really got no place in a work of general reference. I did my best to clean up a lot of very subjective, biased language, but if anybody else cares to do more, there's more that can be done.

-- Snark

Talk:Da vinci code

2007-02-23T01:32:32Z

Snark:

Da vinci code

2007-02-23T01:27:40Z

Snark:

==='''Introduction'''===
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The Da Vinci Code is a bestselling novel by author [[Dan Brown]]. It has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, and has been translated into over 40 languages. (ParisInfo.com) It has been on the top of the [[NY Times]] Bestseller List since its release in 2003, often holding the coveted #1 spot for weeks on end. (Catholic.com) The book’s exciting storyline and interesting characters have contributed to its record sales—as has its highly controversial content.

[[Image: davincicode.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''The Da Vinci Code'' book cover (UK 1st edition)]]

The Da Vinci Code makes some astounding assertions about Christianity that, if true, would uproot everything traditional Biblical Christianity stands for, and could potentially destroy the faith of millions. Although only a novel, Dan Brown creates the impression throughout The Da Vinci Code of having meticulously researched, even including a “fact page” in the beginning of the book and making references to numerous subsidizing “historical” sources, historians and scholars throughout. While a work of fiction, these trappings add a sense of verisimilitude and discovery to the novel.

In an interview on [[Good Morning America]], Dan Brown stated with conviction that if he had been asked to write a non-fiction version of The Da Vinci Code he would omit or modify none of the historical material he included in the novel. In the same interview he even described a religious-sounding experience he had while conducting research for the book. Brown mentions in the same interview that that although he started out a “skeptic”—by the end of the book-writing he had became a “believer” in the alternative interpretation of the history of Christianity presented in the novel. By its author's admission, The Da Vinci Code incorporates both fictional and historical information in its narrative. It is important to note that it is a work of historical fiction, not a work of history, and that while it proposes an alternative view of Christianity it is not a historically definitive work.

==='''Plot Summary'''===
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The Da Vinci code is a detective-style thriller centering on Robert Langdon, a “symbologist” who is summoned to help solve a murder committed at the Louvre museum in Paris. (Incidentally, there is no such thing as a symbologist.) (Blogcritics.org) Langdon and Sophie are left with a trail of clues to unravel, and with the help of resident scholar Sir Leigh Teabing, crack the codes to uncover groundbreaking secrets.

The first astounding thing Langdon discovers is "the truth" about the biblical figure [[Mary Magdalene]]. According to Brown, Mary Magdalene was a Jewish woman from the tribe of Benjamin and [[Jesus]]’ single most important disciple—in fact she was more than his disciple, she was his lover and wife, and the mother of their child, Sarah. She was Jesus’ female counterpart, if not entirely “equal” to him, she was of nearly equivalent rank in Jesus' ministry.

Furthermore, Brown writes, Mary was actually intended to be the leader of the church after Jesus’ death (instead of Peter), but was demonized and diminished by Peter and his followers—the chauvinistic “winners"—until history saw her as nothing more than a prostitute. Although every historical document recording these so-called facts about Mary were destroyed by Paul's church, some groups of people throughout history knew and preserved the secret. Specifically, these organizations were the [[Knight’s Templar]] and the [[Priory of Scion]]—both real organizations, according to Brown, who were dedicated to preserving the truth of Mary Magdalene's identity. One way of doing this was through the legend of the [[Holy Grail]], a symbolic representation of Mary Magdalene’s womb—the sacred vessel which bore the supposed blood line of Christ. Both organizations worshiped Mary Magdalene as the female consort and counterpart to Christ.

Jesus’ divinity, however, is another issue altogether. It wasn’t until 300 years after his death, Brown asserts, that his divinity was “invented” by [[Constantine]] at the [[Council of Nicaea]]. His disciples did not view him as God in the flesh, but instead as a mere mortal prophet. As for the Biblical gospels, well they were four of “over eighty” which were selected at the Council of Nicaea—the four gospels that emphasized Jesus’ divinity and demonized women the most.

The rest were destroyed, and the canon as we know it today is not the inspired Word of God, but instead a power-hungry Constantine’s deceptive compilation—and somewhere, Brown suggests, lying in ashes beneath the earth, is the truth about who Jesus was, who Mary Magdalene was, and what Christianity is all about. The central theme of the Da Vinci Code is the unraveling of this fictional conspiracy and the revelation of the truth about Christianity.

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Talk:Da vinci code

Talk:Da vinci code

Da vinci code