'Da Vinci Code' malarkey revisited

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A couple weeks ago I had stopped over at my folk’s house, and my Mom (a lapsed Catholic) told me of this book she wanted to show me. She comes back with a library copy of The Da Vinci Code and tells me how it supposedly teaches the “true” facts about Jesus.” I said, “Ma, it’s a novel, which means it’s a work of FICTION. She says yes it is, but it’s been well researched. I had briefly read the Catholic Answers tract on this novel, so I had some answers. I explained that the research was BOGUS and told her that one of the organizations in the book (the Priory of Sion or something like that) was started by a couple of KIDS in France in the ‘50s. She then says, “Well, yes, but what about the Knights Templars? They were very powerful. What about Opus Dei…” etc. I told her again the research was bogus. However, I thought I might need more ammo, so while ordering some books from Catholic Answers I decided to order The Da Vinci Hoax.

Last night I had my folks over for pizza. As they were leaving, I decided to go on the offensive (but in a gentle way, of course). I presented my Mom with The Da Vinci Hoax and explained that this book debunked the claims made by Dan Brown in his book. She said she’d love to read it, but couldn’t at this time as she had a large stack of library books she wanted to read and besides, “it was ONLY a novel” (a statement I found rather ironic since that was what I was trying to tell her in the first place!). She said she would like to read it some time in the future.

It seems to me from this whole episode that she had some ulterior motive. It seems to me she was trying to attack the Church for some reason, but when I stood my ground and offered evidence to the contrary she backed off. Any thoughts or comments?
 
I have the same experience. Someone always wants to introduce the 'Truth" or “New Light” and when I present rebuttal it’s blown off. I think the truth challenges people but nonsense like the D’vinci code allows people an easy way out.

Good job!
 
RNRobert,

All I have to offer is that I experienced a similar turn-around (if you will) with a friend. I never got involved in the conversations but, over this friends house one evening I heard her talking to a friend about how wonderful the book was. She went on to say that she doesn’t really care if the conical Gospels are Truth or if Browns version of Jesus was truth, “Because, as far as I am concerned, it’s all about God and my relationship to God”. She places no value on the Church and it’s teaching, she believes she can believe whatever she choses as long as she is “good”.

Then, at another time some months later while at the beach, She had a bag full of books. She was simply recommending some of the books in general and by happenstance pulled out Browns book. This time she recommended it but under a different motive it appeared. This time she said something to the effect of, “this is a good book to read but you should remember it is just a novel”. This time she seemed to not wish to recommened the book on merit, just on entretainment.

I can only assume something happened in the mean time. Maybe, what is happening is that uponm reading the novel thier Faith is disturbed. As time passes they resort back to thier mroe foundational beliefs. Not sure. Just wanted to tell you I have witnessed the same flow of events. It struck me as strange.
 
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RNRobert:
A couple weeks ago I had stopped over at my folk’s house, and my Mom (a lapsed Catholic) told me of this book she wanted to show me. She comes back with a library copy of The Da Vinci Code and tells me how it supposedly teaches the “true” facts about Jesus.” I said, “Ma, it’s a novel, which means it’s a work of FICTION. She says yes it is, but it’s been well researched. I had briefly read the Catholic Answers tract on this novel, so I had some answers. I explained that the research was BOGUS and told her that one of the organizations in the book (the Priory of Sion or something like that) was started by a couple of KIDS in France in the ‘50s. She then says, “Well, yes, but what about the Knights Templars? They were very powerful. What about Opus Dei…” etc. I told her again the research was bogus. However, I thought I might need more ammo, so while ordering some books from Catholic Answers I decided to order The Da Vinci Hoax.

Last night I had my folks over for pizza. As they were leaving, I decided to go on the offensive (but in a gentle way, of course). I presented my Mom with The Da Vinci Hoax and explained that this book debunked the claims made by Dan Brown in his book. She said she’d love to read it, but couldn’t at this time as she had a large stack of library books she wanted to read and besides, “it was ONLY a novel” (a statement I found rather ironic since that was what I was trying to tell her in the first place!). She said she would like to read it some time in the future.

It seems to me from this whole episode that she had some ulterior motive. It seems to me she was trying to attack the Church for some reason, but when I stood my ground and offered evidence to the contrary she backed off. Any thoughts or comments?
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Sure, as long as she was presenting her anti-Catholic position, she was interested in the conversation. You presented her with a well written retort to the spurious and nefarious claims by Brown, and she doesn’t have time. Just give her a hug and a kiss and pray like crazy for her.
 
I don’t think Dan Brown’s mother held him enough when he was a baby.

The book is a formulaic pice of contrived literature, geared to sell many copies to vacationers and beach dwellers who wanted a mindless diversion.

That’s exactly what they got, in my opinion.

Let’s all have a debate about “Otis Spofford” by Beverly Cleary. It would have just about as much relevance to the truth.
 
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GoodME:
I don’t think Dan Brown’s mother held him enough when he was a baby.

The book is a formulaic pice of contrived literature, geared to sell many copies to vacationers and beach dwellers who wanted a mindless diversion.

That’s exactly what they got, in my opinion.

Let’s all have a debate about “Otis Spofford” by Beverly Cleary. It would have just about as much relevance to the truth.
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WHenever I go to MalWart or another store that sells both books, I make a point to put all of the “Cracking the DiVinci Code” on the shelf right next to the “DiVinci Code”. I figured that proximity will help people. That way they have both perspectives within close proximity. It usually drives the stock clerks nuts, but I care about truth, not making life convenient for a stock clerk.
 
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GoodME:
I don’t think Dan Brown’s mother held him enough when he was a baby.

The book is a formulaic pice of contrived literature, geared to sell many copies to vacationers and beach dwellers who wanted a mindless diversion.

That’s exactly what they got, in my opinion.

Let’s all have a debate about “Otis Spofford” by Beverly Cleary. It would have just about as much relevance to the truth.
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His mother didn’t hold him enough?! LOL, That’s a much simpler argument and maybe easier too. Too funny…
 
This is literature? I’m gagging my way through it so I can say I’ve read it (the “in” quote about the book is,“It’s a good read.”) AARRRGGGGGGHHHHH!
I’m about halfway through and there’s only one cliche he’s missed. I’m sure he’ll get there, though.
Dan Brown is a third rate author who hit on a can’t miss formula: romance-style characters with a mystery (sort of) that bashes the Catholic Church.
I’m at a complete loss as to why these ludicrous tales are believed by so many. Have we dumbed down logic and education that much, or are people just so desperate for something to believe in?
Why not try Catholicism?
 
I was reading one of our national papers at lunch hour today (not a tabloid) and a reporter had done a big full page article on the book & contraversey. Appearantly the authors of the book he based most of his claims on are sueing him for plagerism. The reporter started talking about how the Church had stated the book was a load of fiction and he said something like ‘and well they might as Peter never met Jesus, he came out on top of a power struggle with Jesus’s brother James’. This is a national paper giving this as a fact not as something the book claims.

I mentioned what the reporter said to a colleague (along the lines of I can’t beleive a reporter would state that as a fact) and she said I know it really makes you think. The way she said it sounded like she agreed with him so I asked if she had read the book. She had, she thought it was great for telling her about all the lies & the hidden true story and the stuff with the paintings. I said but it’s a work of fiction, even the author said that, and pointed out that St. John has always been protrayed as young & unbearded (I assumed that was what she meant about the paintings) and she said she believed every word of it. She doesn’t think it’s fiction. I was shocked - she’s intelligient and really believes that Peter never met Jesus.

Naturally enough, on my way home I realised that I should have pointed out that if Peter was going to write himself into the Gospels he would have protrayed himself better ie. no denial, being the one at the foot of the cross etc.
 
Last night I had my folks over for pizza. As they were leaving, I decided to go on the offensive (but in a gentle way, of course). I presented my Mom with The Da Vinci Hoax and explained that this book debunked the claims made by Dan Brown in his book. She said she’d love to read it, but couldn’t at this time as she had a large stack of library books she wanted to read and besides, “it was ONLY a novel” (a statement I found rather ironic since that was what I was trying to tell her in the first place!). She said she would like to read it some time in the future.
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Don’t let her off so easy. If she’s strapped for time, give a smaller treatment (The DaVinci Hoax is a great book, but it is formidable enough in size that someone could beg off due to time constraints). I’d recommend Amy Welborn’s “De-Coding DaVinci”

amywelborn.com/davincicode.html

It’s only 125 pages but effectively and clearly rebuts this whole nonsense. She can read it in one evening.
 
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Fidelis:
Don’t let her off so easy. If she’s strapped for time, give a smaller treatment (The DaVinci Hoax is a great book, but it is formidable enough in size that someone could beg off due to time constraints). I’d recommend Amy Welborn’s “De-Coding DaVinci”

amywelborn.com/davincicode.html

It’s only 125 pages but effectively and clearly rebuts this whole nonsense. She can read it in one evening.
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When I bought the Davinci Hoax, I got a free copy of “Cracking the Davinci code.” I should have offered that to her instead. Perhaps when the opportunity presents itself again…
 
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Apologia100:
WHenever I go to MalWart or another store that sells both books, I make a point to put all of the “Cracking the DiVinci Code” on the shelf right next to the “DiVinci Code”. I figured that proximity will help people. That way they have both perspectives within close proximity. It usually drives the stock clerks nuts, but I care about truth, not making life convenient for a stock clerk.
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wow, my opinion of StuffMart has just gone up, somebody in their book buying department must be paying attention, I could not find Cracking the Code at B&N or our local library.
 
If “Cracking The Code” is the one I am thinking about, I would not recommend it. Several posters in this forum have mentioned it has anti-Catholic overtones.
 
Michael C:
I have the same experience. Someone always wants to introduce the 'Truth" or “New Light” and when I present rebuttal it’s blown off. I think the truth challenges people but nonsense like the D’vinci code allows people an easy way out.

Good job!
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I think you’re exactly right. When I fell away from the Church in my teens, it was due to sin. I eagerly read stuff like “The Jesus Hoax” that would give me some sort of intellectual justification for putting the gospel aside so I could sin with a clearer conscience. I assume that that is what’s going on with people who seek out anti-Christian trash like “The DaVinci Code”.

BTW, the book that Brown plagerised his ideas from is “Holy Blood, Holy Grail” by Michael Baigent et al.
Paul
 
The Da Vinci code is a pot-boiler kind of fiction novel – fast-paced, non-sensical and leaving any thinking person with the strangest sensation that they’ve wasted the past hour reading it (yeah, you can go through it in one hour, with the number of clichés, simplistic settings and jargon tossed in).

The problem about it is that folks who have never bothered to read the Bible are picking up this book and assume that what it says is true.

I think the Church doesn’t teach its young about the early heresies enough – when I did my confirmation we went over the teachings (quite thoroughly), but I only got to know about the heresies when I joined a Catholic discussion group in my parish (for 20 year olds) – and then you realise that most of the 'what-ifs; and ‘whys’ spouted by all ‘protestants’ since Luther and Calvin have their roots in the early heresies.

And, of course, bashing the Catholic church has always been the in-thing for worldly ones
 
The Da Vinci Code was hands down, the WORST book I read this year.:yup:

The writing was terrible. I so sick of the lectures every two to three pages. It got old real fast.

Also, why did he nearly always refer to each character in their full names. If I had a dime for every time he used “Robert Langdon” in a sentence… well, I could have bought a book worth reading.

The art history was awful. Where in the world did he get the idea that the Last Supper’s arrangement was intended to make an “M”? Sheesh, a college level art history class 101 could have educated him better on Renaissance painting and technique.

Seriously, when I finished the book (which was a grueling affair:crying: ) the thought occurred to me that I would like to sue the author for the time I wasted in reading that garbage. I mean hey, if you can smoke for 50 years and still sue, then I think I have grounds… :hmmm:
 
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asquared:
wow, my opinion of StuffMart has just gone up, somebody in their book buying department must be paying attention, I could not find Cracking the Code at B&N or our local library.
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i love the book reshuffling. Maybe if you ask, the store will order the debunking books.
The above comment about the library leads to an excellent rebuttal opportunity. We should all recommend our local libraries buy at least one copy of the two rebuttals.They definitely should buy them on your recommendation but you need to give them some printed info- reviews of the rebuttal books or publishers summaries–easy enough for nethawks like us.If they refuse, complain to a library board member. If there is still refusal, try a letter to the editor. This gives you a chance to outline the DVC’s failings–and the library’s failure.

I have several times got the library here to order books. One was the Black Book of Communism–a well researched set of research essays on the death toll of different Red regimes. Someone walked off with it, so I got them to order it again.

I am following this one with interest. I am not a quick thinker and sometimes remember with regret opportunities I’ve missed to rebut such attacks on the faith. I can’t make myself think faster, but these forums do prepare me for likely current attacks.

It is so true that people take novels as truth–they know the plot is fictional, but the background they believe. And I do too, especially when it suits me–.ie. fits my own prejudices.

Recently a new member in a 12 step group Im in wanted suggestions for prayers he could “say” to help in his recovery. I showed him some from a Catholic book of meditations for our own addiction group. This set him off on the usual rant about churches being so rich and why don’t they help the poor more?

So I argued with him:Church Soup kitchens.In our town a different downtown denomination provides each meal of the day and a hangout the rest of the day. I brought up the St. Vincent de Paul Society.I asked where would congregants meet if we’ve sold the church? The parishioners themselves help the poor as individuals invisibly. I was too heavy-handed I think (I get too intense) but at least he may think twice next time about that particular one.
 
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Amber101:
The Da Vinci Code was hands down, the WORST book I read this year.:yup:

have grounds… :hmmm:
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Could you explain about renaissance art techniques and the seating arrangement? We need facts.
 
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