www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall what will you do?

I am curious about what you all think is the best response to the opening of the "DaVinci Code?" I know that Amy Welborn has a book out refuting it, but I haven't read it. I have seen some Protestant commentators suggest that Christians see the movie or read the book in order to be equipped to teach the truth and to maybe help people come to Christ when they realize that the book is full of lies. Some have pointed out that angry protests do more to hurt the cause of Christ in the public's eyes than they do to attract people to the Gospel, and I think this is often true. So what do you think is the best way to handle this offense to God and His people?
Blessings
Michele

I don't plan to read the book or see the movie. As for how I will refute it ... I might read one of the books that has been published on refuting the book.

I'm not sure. I don't believe that active protesting is likely to do anything but give people the impression that Christians are nut cases. Not unlike the damage to the public perception of Jews with the protesting of "The Passion".

I have heard that Fr. Benedict Groschel (sp?) suggests that if one reads the book that they do penance by reading one of the Gospels. I don't know if that is accurate or not, but it is at the least an interesting idea.

Hi Michele,

Christ is risen!

Personally, I have no intention of seeing the movie. And so far I have done my part to combat this stupid book and movie by coincidentally leaving a couple of copies of "The Da Vinci Hoax" on the rack at Borders where they're displaying "The Da Vinci Code." Maybe someone will pick that up by accident.

God bless,

Karen

Seeing that I am an educated full grown man I had no problem reading the book. It is obviously fiction. If people read into it and believe it, they better check themselves. We shouldn't take fiction and believe it is true.
Having said that the book is actually good. I couldn't put it down!

One more thing. I can't believe that the media and so many folks are thinking that this is a book to base facts on. It is not. It has no references, it isn't non-fictional and it is not an academic work.
If there was a book in the non-fiction realm that had a significant amount of CREDIBLE research then we might be able to take that information and ask questions.
However, it is just a tale, nothing more. It doesn't try to prove anything. If Dan Brown wanted to write a book trying to prove Mary Magdalen was the Holy Grail it would have been a non-fiction book. By that I mean, he would have clearly stated his hypothesis and then he would have spent hundreds of pages defending that claim with references and factual proof.
For instance, if he wanted to make a claim about Mary Magdelen being the Holy Grail and he had significant historical texts to prove it, then we could make a fuss about the issue, especially if the book were non-fiction. The book is not an academical work, it is a story.
When someone comes out with a book that had factual proof (that is credible sources and sources we can easily go and check ourselves) I wonder how many people would have read it, and if it would have been a big deal? Because if that book came out then it would be the actual time for the masses to panic. Instead the masses panic over a story, a story that isn't trying to prove anything. It is twisted in that manner to get you to read it, to have the story fit, to be a good story that is riviting and grabs your attention.
End Rant.

I'm with Pyrohy on this one. I've read the book. My biggest problem with it was that it was written for 5 year olds (no offense, 5 year olds). Try "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco, it's much more fun, much much much better written (even the English translation), and deals with the subject matter in a much more scholarly way.

I'll probably go see the film, just to see how they do it. I'm not into boycotting everything I don't like. I'm very pro-1st Amendment, and I like to see controversy and discussion on issues. Too bad it's such a terribly written book that's causing this fracas.

Pyrohy, I don't usually disagree with you but I have to say that I think this is more than "just fiction".

In the very least it is slander. I mean if I write a fictional book about Pyrohy and in that book I say that Pyrohy is a liar, a wife beater, a philanderer and a theif are you really going to care that the book is fiction?

Opus Dei is a real organization of real men who are being slandered becasue too many people cannot see that the book is fiction that is not even loosely based on fact.

While I do not fear for my salvation or the state of my faith in reading the book I simply refuse to line the pockets of Dan Brown by reading such a piece of literary rubbish. It is, at its very core, dishonest. And it has revealed yet another layer of the socially acceptable anti-Catholic and anti-Christian bias.

For that reason alone I refuse to support the author or publisher of the book or the makers of the movie.

But that's just me.

Oh and there's also the slight issue of the fact that the subject matter doesn't really appeal to me for either a book or a movie. For books if I'm not reading non-fiction about the faith I prefer science fiction and fantasy or mystery genre novels. For movies I like comedies. Life if full of enough drama I want to laugh.

I read the book way back when it first hit the racks. I thoroughly enjoyed it for the mystery and fiction that it was. Had there not been all the controversy over this book I would never have even considered that this was to be a book that "could change my religious beliefs forever". I must be naive but this was just a good mystery in my opinion. Nothing in it could make me think twice about my faith. I probably will not see it at the movies because I've been dissappointed when a movie doesn't follow the book it's based on. In a book you can imagine scenes - on the screen the scenes are usually not what I imagined in the book. I prefer to read and make up my own images.

I'm in on this too - I've read it and enjoyed it.

It's fiction - that's all - like all Dan Brown's works.

[ I've also read the Harry Potter ones too - and they are fiction too. ]

I doubt if I will go and see the film though - I'm always disappointed the way that the film never actually follows the original storyline - it's ' improved' and often out of all recognition as well.

I'm with Sue and the others.

Does everything have to be factual ?

I might go and see it but I do wish I had shares in it. I would be rolling in it.

XB!

Carole,
I am sorry, I completely forgot the Opus Dei angle. I was going on the theological side of the book. It is late, and I am trying to make a constructive thought on the Opus Dei portrayl in this book. I can't, so I'll just be frank, it was wrong and seemed to be an attack on a personal level. A fictional book should take real world "things" and use them as a primer for the piece of art they are going to verbally paint. A fictional book should not defile a very real and vibrant organization that seeks to do good in the world. I could go into my opinions but I do not have a copy of the book to reference my grievances.
So Carole, we don't disagree! I just completely forgot in my above posts about the mis-representation of Opus Dei.
I'm still your #1 Fan!
Pyrohy, the almost Illuminated
President of Carole's Fan Club since 2006

I think I will pay for another movie and sneak into this one. I don't want to support it financially, but it may be a good movie, we'll see...

Unfortunately, we can't just dismiss the book because it is actually fiction. The impression is often made that the book is based on some facts which, in fact, are not true. For some responses to the “DaVinci Code” you should check out the following:

Catholic Answers, San Diego
www.catholic.com/library/cracking_da_vinci_code.asp [catholic.com]

Sponsored by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops
www.thedavincidialogue.com/experts.cfm [thedavincidialogue.com]

Our Sunday Visitor
www.osv.com/davinci [osv.com]