The Da Vinci Code

So, what’s with all the fuss and bother over “The Da Vinci Code”? Why are so many people so upset over a piece of fiction?? Are the Illerati so sure of the ignorance of the common man that they think we can’t tell the difference between fact and fiction?

I’ve read the book. Twice, the second time in preparation of seeing the movie when it comes out. I’m looking forward to the movie. If they haven’t messed with the plot too much, it should be a good one. And, once again, a work of FICTION.

Of course, there are people out there who think Oliver Stone’s “JFK” was based on reality. As PT Barnum may have said, “There’s a sucker born every minute”. Fortunately, most of the people I know are informed and intelligent enough to realize that what you see in the movies and on TV is, for the most part, completely untrue. Fiction. A story. A tall tale. You get the picture.

I’ve been trying to figure out what this book reminds me of. It occurred to me last night. It reminds me of “Chariots of the Gods”. You remember, that book from the ‘70s that purported to ‘explain’ the ‘mysterious’ by suggesting that the phenomenon were caused by visitations from being from outer space. The author took familiar places, events and art works, mixed them together with a good story, and claimed to have a valid explanation.

The Da Vinci Code does the same thing. It takes familiar places, events and art works and blends them into a fiction escapade. It has just enough ‘truth’, mostly of place and art work, to seem tantalizingly real. It makes for a wonderful book but I don’t think most people have problems telling fiction from reality to the extent that they think anything suggested in the book is real. Sure, you can visit the Louve and see the pyramids and the art works mentioned in the book. You can go to the churches mentioned in Briton but no one really expects that, if they dug in the right place, they would find the body of Mary Magdalene!!

I find the hullabaloo from Christain leaders actually quite insulting. They’re assuming that I’m too stupid to tell the difference between fact and fiction. Thanks, I don’t need the obvious pointed out to me by self-appointed ‘experts’.

The other thing about this whole bru-ha-ha that bothers me is the people so upset of this book that haven’t bothered to read it. If you’re going to blather on and on about how heretical a book is, you should at least read it for yourself. Otherwise, you are basing your opinion on hearsay and possible misinterpretation by others who may be playing to their own agendas. Why take those risks when you can easily go directly to the source??

In addition, if seeing a movie can make you seriously question the religion of your fathers and lead to your abandoning it, maybe you shouldn’t have been there in the first place!

In the end, it all comes down to the ability to differentiate between fact and fiction. Think you’re up to the challenge? Read the book.