[slejhamer]

Anyone read this? Have an opinion? Work of the devil, or reasonably accurate history of the early Church (even if presented in a work of fiction)?

[Toad]

I read it, but I am no longer posting opinions on religious issues.

From a literary perspective, it is Dan Brown's best novel - I haven't felt his other novels were as well crafted.

[shuttertalk]

No, haven't read it.... anyone got a synopsis?

[Toad]

It is set as a murder mystery and literary thriller similar to Arturo Reverte-Perez's "Club Dumas" or Uberto Eco's "Name of the Rose". It evolves into a Holy Grail search where the final premise is that Jesus Christ had a daughter - and that His bloodline persists into modern times.

There is nothing original in this book philosophically - it is based on several dry pseudo-intellectual books that purport to be research into this idea. I read one of them and didn't buy the conclusions frankly. If you have strong religious convictions - don't waste your time with this one - it will disturb you.

Strictly as a novel, I would give it a 7 out of 10. Read Club Dumas, Faucault's Pendulum, or Name of the Rose instead.

[shuttertalk]

Haha, I'll stay away from it then

You seem to be an avid reader... what sort of stuff do you read?

[Toad]

I read everything. My wife is a libraian. I read 100+ books a year.


(edit)...but I am also unemployed - your mileage may vary...

[Rufus]

I read it, but I am no longer posting opinions on religious issues.


I'm not posting on anything contentious either.
At least, not if it's unimportant, relatively spooking...... Speaking.

[slejhamer]

Aside from the murder-mystery elements, the "historical" components of the book rely on theories that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene, that He intended for Mary Magdalene to be the foundation of His Church, that power-hungry men had a bit of trouble with all this and decided to discredit Magdalene (and women in general) by calling her a whore when in "fact" she was a wealthy and perhaps noble woman, and that a secret society (Priory of Sion - which does exist!) was established for keeping Jesus' and Magdalene's royal bloodline safe from the oppressive Church.

The bases for this "history" are the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi documents, and the Gnostic Gospels. All of this is widely documented and supported by many so-called academic researchers, as Toad said.

The story also encompasses the origins of the Knights Templar, the Masons, Rosicrucianism ("Rosy Cross"), and discusses how pagan symbolism is present in Christian symbology.

It's actually quite fascinating from an art/architecture perspective, and I'd agree with Toad's score of 7 out of 10 for the novel.

The issue I have with it is that millions of copies have been sold, and many people believe it presents the truth. Perhaps it does, on some points ... if nothing else, it is the source for much discussion on web forums!