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Bring on Da Vinci

I just finished reading The DaVinci Code.

Some of you may be wondering, "Why?"

Well, the first reason is I prefer to read a book before I see the movie.

The second reason is that I am interested in historical religious fiction novels.

The third reason is that there are a bunch of hysterical conservative/fundamentalists running around thinking that the AntiChrist has finally hit the best seller list.

Let me tell you what I think about this book. It is a good read. I finished it in about 24 hours across 3 days. Most of it was done within the last 24 hours. That is a good read in my opinion. If it will engage me enough to drag me away from the computer for any length of time, it's a dandy of a book.

It is mostly an action book. The majority of the narrative is about action. Dead bodies. Albino religious fanatic assassins. Police chases and guns and shooting and jet planes. Whoosh! It is exciting.

It is a book that ties a lot of ideas together in a coherent form. If you read the structure of a book (That lost some of you.) this book uses a lot of themes that are tied up in a neat little package at the end. If Ron Howard does a halfway decent job, this is going to be a great movie. Although, I had a hard time seeing Tom Hanks as the lead.

The Catholic Church has a right to not like this book. They are not portrayed very positively in most of the novel. In fact, the Catholic Church looks down right evil. I am fairly sure the RC does a lot of political moving and shaking. And I'm sure they have done some shady things in the name of the greatest good. But the novel doesn't provide for very much good that has happened.

The conservative/fundamentalists are in a tizzy because of about 20 pages of material right in the middle of the book. It has to do with a theory regarding the humanity of Christ and his relationship with Mary Magdalene.

I'm not going to ruin the fun for you. If you haven't read the book, then go see the movie. If you can stand to read, get the book. It's in paperback now. But keep one thing in mind. Dan Brown is not out to take your religion away from you, much less your faith.



Post your comments by clicking on the green line below that says # comments.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I, too, have read this book and found it absolutely fascinating. I usually prefer non-fiction but this had a great story line and appealed to my curiosity about history and religion. I guess I don't understand what all the hub-bub is about. It's a FICTION book for goodness sake! Besides, how can we truly appreciate what we believe in if we are never challenged. Read the book. See the movie.
Anonymous said…
Consider:
The missing element in every human 'solution' is
an accurate definition of the creature.

The way we define 'human' determines our view
of self, others, relationships, institutions, life, and
future. Important? Only the Creator who made us
in His own image is qualified to define us accurately.
Choose wisely...there are results.

Many problems in human experience are the result of
false and inaccurate definitions of humankind premised
in man-made religions and humanistic philosophies.

Each individual human being possesses a unique, highly
developed, and sensitive perception of diversity. Thus
aware, man is endowed with a natural capability for enact-
ing internal mental and external physical selectivity.
Quantitative and qualitative choice-making thus lends
itself as the superior basis of an active intelligence.

Human is earth's Choicemaker. His title describes
his definitive and typifying characteristic. Recall
that his other features are but vehicles of experi-
ence intent on the development of perceptive
awareness and the following acts of decision and
choice. Note that the products of man cannot define
him for they are the fruit of the discerning choice-
making process and include the cognition of self,
the utility of experience, the development of value-
measuring systems and language, and the accultur-
ation of civilization.

The arts and the sciences of man, as with his habits,
customs, and traditions, are the creative harvest of
his perceptive and selective powers. Creativity, the
creative process, is a choice-making process. His
articles, constructs, and commodities, however
marvelous to behold, deserve neither awe nor idol-
atry, for man, not his contrivance, is earth's own
highest expression of the creative process.

Human is earth's Choicemaker. The sublime and
significant act of choosing is, itself, the Archimedean
fulcrum upon which man levers and redirects the
forces of cause and effect to an elected level of qual-
ity and diversity. Further, it orients him toward a
natural environmental opportunity, freedom, and
bestows earth's title, The Choicemaker, on his
singular and plural brow.

Human is earth's Choicemaker. Psalm 25:12 He is by
nature and nature's God a creature of Choice - and of
Criteria. Psalm 119:30,173 His unique and definitive
characteristic is, and of Right ought to be, the natural
foundation of his environments, institutions, and re-
spectful relations to his fellow-man. Thus, he is orien-
ted to a Freedom whose roots are in the Order of the
universe.

Let us proclaim it. Behold!
The Season of Generation-Choicemaker Joel 3:14 KJV

- from The HUMAN PARADIGM

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