Thursday, January 26, 2006

The Da Vinci Code

Warning: Possible plot spoilers ahead

I started the book on Friday night at 11:30pm. I only read the Prologue which is not even 3 full pages and I was interested. I spent much of the day reading on Saturday as it was a lazy day with no agenda for us. I only got to read a little bit on Sunday between services and company. I finished the book on Monday afternoon after my immigration medical. Obviously at the rate I was reading it, you can tell that I enjoyed it. For a mystery novel, it had all the right elements. I'm not an book review expert, just my humble opinion. It was fast paced and kept me guessing.
One of the neat aspects of the book are the use of anagrams. I found myself trying to figure them out before the characters did. However my complete lack of art knowledge was my main obstacle. As a Protestant Christian, I did wince when the British Royal Historian Teabing began his diatribe on the "facts" of Jesus' life. He asserts that Jesus' marriage to Mary Magdalene is a matter of historical record. He then proceeds to refer to The Gnostic Gospels as his source. From the scant research I've done about the criticisms of this book, his use of this book is called into question. Why Dan Brown chose to include a book that has been widely criticized and apparently refuted by many scholars one can only guess. I'll let you conduct your own research into the matter if you so desire. The historian goes on then to claim that Jesus and Mary not only were married but that they had a child whose name was Sarah. He then asserts that this royal blood line(Mary supposedly came from the tribe of Benjamin) is the real meaning behind the Holy Grail, Royal Blood. Much of this being "hidden" by Leonardo Da Vinci in his painting The Last Supper.

Since I know nothing about some of the historical topics covered in the book, I am at a real disadvantage in knowing what is truth and what is fiction. So I probably will spend a fair amount of time with Google and Wikipedia to get it all sorted out. However, the one thing I know to be true is that Jesus, the Son of God, is who the New Testament says He is. If you're in doubt, do some research. But don't take Dan Brown's word for it.

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