This past weekend, I read The Da Vinci Code. The book starts off with a bang and never lets up. The plot is quite interesting and the author has weaved a complex plot based on the search for the Holy Grail, secret societies, cryptology, symbology, and the Catholic Church. I can easily see why it’s a number one bestseller. And I can also see why it’s a controversial book.
There is one major point I see in the book that is sacrilegious. Some claim in the book that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. And that Jesus intended to pass the Church through Mary, not Peter. And this is the basis of the Holy Grail. I won’t get into how they are linked since it’ll spoil the plot.
Throughout the book, things are mentioned that makes you think, “Can this be true?” For example, there are 666 glass panes in the pyramid at the Louvre (which is true). In Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, Mary (not John) is sitting next to Jesus and that there is a mysterious hand holding a knife.
I can see how the book can shaken one’s faith. It makes one wonder “What do I really believe and why”? But the danger is in taking everything in the book as true. It’s not written as a nonfiction book, but a novel. And it weaves fact with fiction to make the story interesting. And it’s the job of the reader to discern what is true or false. It challenges the reader not only to think about the claims made in the book, but also beliefs held by the reader.
Overall, it’s a book worth reading. But it’s important to keep in mind it’s just a novel, not a nonfictional conspiracy thesis.
Official sites:
Dan Brown
Opus Dei
Rosslyn Templars
Knights Templar
Debunking:
The Da Vinci Code, the Catholic Church and Opus Dei
Cracks in the Da Vinci Code
Leonardo da Vinci, Mary Magdalene, The Hand and Knife
Facts vs. Fiction in The Da Vinci Code
Eight surprising fictions in Dan Brown’s ‘Da Vinci Code’
Breaking The Da Vinci Code
Dismantling The Da Vinci Code
Deciphering the Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code: Of Magdalene, Gnostics, the Goddess and the Grail
Blogs:
Nobody Knows Anything
Wikipedia:
Leonardo da Vinci
Isaac Newton
Opus Dei
Images:
The Last Supper
Mona Lisa
The Virgin of the Rocks
Discussion:
Debating Christianity
BeliefNet