Yes, I am a Christian and I have read it. Honestly, I wanted to know what all the hype and controversy was about. Actually, what really peeked my curiosity about it was hearing my pastor talk about it at church. He said that this movie was an opportunity for believers to share the truth of Christ now that people were now curious after reading the book or seeing the movie. Wow. I hadn't really thought of that. What an awesome outlook!
I must say, I did enjoy the book. Dan Brown is a good fiction writer and I see why people are enjoying this book so much. It hooks you. I read it in 2 day myself. I just love a good treasure hunting story; Sahara & National Treasure are a couple of my favorite movies. But then I got to all the stuff about Mary Magdelene and all I could think was, "What a load of crap!" I guess since I am a believer something that so goes against my core beliefs is something that is hard to wrap my mind around, even if I do know that it's fiction. And if I have to read about the "sacred feminine" again I'm going to be sick. That got old.
As a Christian, my fear for people is that this book will distort the truth and mislead people who don't know the truth. This book is what my pastor called "faction." LOL. It's a little bit of fact & weaved with a whole lot of fiction, hence the word faction. And Dan Brown weaves it really well. Guess that's why the book is selling so well. But how much truth is in there?
Well, I decided to check it out. There a lot of books on the subject. And even some free Podcasts, which I've been listening to. Josh McDowell has a really good one entitled The Da Vinci Code, if you're interested. It's entertaining and in short snippets. If you're interested in finding out the truth behind this book/movie, I highly recommend them.
I just started listening to the Podcasts and here's a couple of things I've learned already. First of all, the Priory of Sion did exist... but not until the 1950s. So there is no way that Da Vinci was a leader in the group. Also they were not affiliated with the Knights Templar, which also existed. I think the book did pointed out that the Knights Templar were created to protect pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem. That's it. And the Pope didn't burn any of them at the stake, but actually supported them. See, fact weaveds with fiction. Check it out.
So as I said, I did enjoy the book. It was a entertaining novel. :)
Good thoughts on the book. I, literally, just hung up from a conversation with my mother about the book, and we kept saying over and over, "It's FICTION!" Love the term Faction. Good thoughts! Thanks for sharing and your babes are beautiful! Love the hair!
Have a great weekend!
Sophia
Posted by: Sophia | May 28, 2006 at 09:20 AM
ooh, i also love the "faction" term. I think it describes it perfectly! We are also discussing this in church and I too looooved to book. It was amazing and in return made me buy all of Dan Brown's books to read. Because he writes good FICTION! What makes me laugh is that the book says RIGHT ON THE SPINE of it...FICTION. Think people need to remember that!
Posted by: Chasity | May 28, 2006 at 11:16 AM
My husband loved this book. Like you said, it's a great 'faction' book. I can't wait to read it now!
Posted by: Molly | May 28, 2006 at 04:16 PM
Hey, Sheila :) I have the same concerns as you, that people will be misled that any of this bogus stuff is true. I lol'ed @ your Mary Magdalene comments. :)
Like the "faction" term!
Jennifer
Posted by: Jennifer Stewart | May 28, 2006 at 08:32 PM
I LOVE the book and really like the 'faction' term, it describes it perfectly :)
Posted by: melissa | May 28, 2006 at 09:20 PM
hi sheila- found your blog through another pea friend. : )
awesome! i totally agree. can't wait to read or see the movie and we talked about this in our SS class recently too. and my pastor has had a sermon series going on sun. nights called 'debunking the da vinci code'. it has been really good. i agree totally that as a christian you should know what it's about so you can defend the fiction about it all. can't have a conversation when you aren't well read. :)
Posted by: Deanna | May 29, 2006 at 02:23 PM
I think if you remember that it is a work of fiction it is quite interesting and intriguing. I thought it raised some interesting points. Is it going to change my views of Christ or my views on Christianity no it is a fiction book with some facts thrown in how the author wanted that being said I only read the book last week and really enjoyed it.
Posted by: Chiara | May 31, 2006 at 08:08 AM