THE CRAZINESS OVER THE DAVINCI CODE
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Now that the film based on Dan Brown's book "The DaVinci Code" is opening, the church
is revving up its furor and accuses the media of making the big stink over it. Members of
various churches are protesting the film, some demanding fifteen minutes be removed
from it, some saying it's an outrage and blasphemous. The Council of Churches in Jordan and
Roman Catholic activists in India want their governments to ban the film altogether. Some, like
Opus Dei, are taking the educational outreach approach. One Catholic "father" is trying to
point out the mistakes in the novel to prove that what is in the New Testament is all fact. (I think
that's being delusional, but that's his belief.) This "father" wrote about how Jesus respected women
and was pro-woman like nobody else in his day, or ours, and how he first appeared to Mary Magdalene.
Yes, Jesus did. Then what happened to the church? Why does it not respect women? To those questions
I asked of him, the good "father" wouldn't respond (even though he asked for reader feedback).
Maybe the church is annoyed that the book sold more copies than the bible?
Some are concerned that boycotts don't work and that protesting too much might
encourage more people to see the film. Albinos have launched their own response in the form of parody in "The Albino Code,"
protesting the stereotypes Albinos are given to play in films and showing how they couldn't possibly fit the role.
But, there's something they're all failing to acknowledge: The book is a novel. It's mostly fictional. It doesn't claim to be all factual, nor does it tell you in what to believe. I loved the book. It was exciting, even if sometimes predictable. I had to read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. I read all of Brown's books and they all have the same pattern. They're so fast-paced I wondered if any of the characters had time to go to the bathroom! The physical demands of the characters are akin to those for superheroes. But the theme of the movie is important - the denial, the rape, the oppression of the feminine, the goddess. For those who feel threatened by this book, I ask you why. What does it trigger for you? If your religious beliefs are so rattled by this book, then maybe you need to reexamine your beliefs. If you are confident in your beliefs, then this book won't change a thing for you. It's just a story. And what if Jesus was married and had kids? What if the church really is hiding something? Nah....the church? (They're so shaken by this book that it can only mean they just want to keep faithful believers firmly locked in place and remind them that they can't think for themselves.) What if, what if, what if...so what? Figure it out for yourself. It's entertainment, just like religious pageantry. Lighten up a little, and if seeing the movie would be too upsetting for you, then don't see it. |