Comments on: Da Vinci Code

By: corey

corey — Mon, 15 May 2006 22:01:04 +0000

can I play too?!?!? I think a good example might be those lemony snicket books. at the front of them it says that everything in them is compleately true. where though is the out rage at the incompitence of the authorities? Why didn’t the people angered by the da vinci code do something to fix the system that hurt those children so. its almost like they knew it was fiction or something.

By: Keir

Keir — Mon, 15 May 2006 17:56:00 +0000

I’m not John and yes Brown intimated that his book is only part fiction. It is only part fiction, mostly so, but there is still truth in it. Truth makes fiction all the more fun. Aside from that, anything presented as true in a fictional book should be taken with a grain of salt, even a preface. As to the preface, my copy has acknowledgments at the front that asserts research, but not truth. There is also, at the beginning of the novel, a small section that list facts. I have seen this in many novels including some fantasy novels. If it said “Fact: The overlord of the Dragon Empire was overthrown in…..”, would you believe it? Well, maybe you would, but it should probably be taken as fiction none the less.

I was actually shocked at how positively the book portrayed Catholics and their church considering the complaints. It made the assumption that the modern Catholic church and Catholics, aside from a few nutjobs, are doing mostly positive things in today’s world. That must be fiction too, eh? Just imagine how much positive stuff could be done if they put as much time and energy into it as they put into whining about a fictional book.

By: swiftee

swiftee — Mon, 15 May 2006 16:56:49 +0000

John, I can’t speak for “Christians”, but as a Catholic I can tell you that the objection the Church has (and I have) to the book is not the blasphemy, nor the obvious anti-Catholic ax grinding that is going on (we’re pretty used to that).

It’s the fact that Brown uses absolute fabrication to blacken the Church’s eye and that he has intimated that his book is only part fiction…check the preface.

As you say, the Church has done a fine job of blackening it’s own eyes, and I hold the hierarchy accountable for aiding and abetting in way too many instances…so if someone wants to throw stones through the Church’s windows, OK fine…but don’t make crap up to do it.