I just went to see it last night. I read the book and thought it followed pretty closely. What did you guys think of it? I loved the book, and found it interesting and loved the movie just as much- although I think they could have had a better Robert Langdon.
I have only read the book and just wish the factions on both sides would shut up. It's fiction, and good fiction at that. So take it for what it's worth and don't treat it as an affront to Christianity or a history of it either. Just enjoy.
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No kidding. I actually heard one person say that it is a sin to watch the movie. WHAT!!! People are insane. Fiction is just that. I liked the book. Angels and Demons wasn't bad either. Digital Fortress stunk.
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I never read the book, but wanted to see the movie. It was a little long....slow at times, but overall a great thriller. Now, I don't have to read the book!
Liked the book, liked the movie for the most part. I think I was a little bit bored, but only because I remembered more of the book than I thought, so I knew what was coming before it happened the whole movie. Might have found it more entertaining if I hadn't read the book first, but it wasn't bad.
I haven't seen the movie or read the book, but I'm amazed at the number of people making money debunking it. There are several books out and even a couple documentaries disputing it. What cracks me up is that Dan Brown tells everyone it's fiction!!
Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors, and I can't wait to go see it.
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What cracks me up is that Dan Brown tells everyone it's fiction!!
Actually that's what probably started alot of this whole problem, he doesn't say that. In one of the first few pages he says organizations and other historical facts are true. I read the book a couple of years ago, so I can't tell you exactly what it says.
I liked the book and I'll probably see the movie pretty soon. My wife is finishing it up now so we may check it out this weekend.
I still can't see how Tom Hanks is going to pull off being Robert Langdon. Tom Hanks isn't at all what I pictured how he would look.
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"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
- Christopher Reeve
Actually that's what probably started alot of this whole problem, he doesn't say that. In one of the first few pages he says organizations and other historical facts are true. I read the book a couple of years ago, so I can't tell you exactly what it says.
From what I've heard, the book starts out with "FACT..." then delves into some of that stuff. That doesn't necessarilly mean it's a fact, it's just how he started his novel. I've seen some of his interviews, and he clearly states it's a work of fiction. He uses some alternate theories and some lore, but it doesn't mean he believes any of it to be true.
And all these people who are bashing it, saying it's blasphemy and what not are just fueling the interest in it, making it sell more copies, and making Dan even richer!
I need to write a book...
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Those who live by the sword, get shot by those who don't.
The story is fiction, yes. Some of the things in his story are based on the work of a couple of historians who wrote a few books on the subject. Holy Blood Holy Grail, The Messianic Legacy, and a few others on the Knights Templar. Very fascinating books, but hardly edge-of-your-seat thrillers. I read them back in the early 90's. I liked the way Dan Brown worked in the story that those books told into a summary told by Langdon to his lovely accomplice. It was much more digestable. The claims are a big deal to the Church for obvious reasons.
Incidentally, those books did not go into all the DaVinci paintings and stuff. That was all part of the framework of the fiction.
I don't see why it has to ruin Christianity if one were to learn that Jesus had been married and had a child. There was a lot of "editing" that took place during the Council at Nicea in 303 AD. What's more improbable? That a man performed miracles that defied the rules of science, died on a cross and came back to life in three days, or that a very intelligent, enlightened man lived and died in that era and sparked a religious movement that didn't really get traction until centuries after his death?
What is more important? His teachings of selflessness, giving and love, or the facts surrounding his death and supposed rebirth? I think that the message has gotten mixed in with politics, which surprisingly haven't changed all that much from then to now.
I realize I'm opening a huge can of worms here, but hey, that's what this thread is for, right?
From what I've heard, the book starts out with "FACT..." then delves into some of that stuff. That doesn't necessarilly mean it's a fact, it's just how he started his novel. I've seen some of his interviews, and he clearly states it's a work of fiction. He uses some alternate theories and some lore, but it doesn't mean he believes any of it to be true.
And all these people who are bashing it, saying it's blasphemy and what not are just fueling the interest in it, making it sell more copies, and making Dan even richer!
I need to write a book...
The Fact page says in the topics in this story .. blah, blah, blah.
So it wasn't part of the story. He was trying get some press and it worked. Obivously the guy is good at selling books and he's good author. Kudos for him.
JP,
I'm not going to get into this in O/T, but trying to argue what's more probable has nothing to do with religion. BTW, the authors of Holy Blood Holy Grail don't ever says it's a fact. They just say it's a possibilty. The whole Da Vinci Code thing has been debunked about a million times since the book came out, so I'm not sure why everyone is making a big deal about it.
The reason Christians don't like people saying Jesus was married is because it makes him more human than he actually was. And the whole idea about editing at the Council of Nicea is wrong and debunked as well. For a long time Christians thought the coming of God's Kingdom was just around the corner. They didn't feel the need to formalize it and put everything down in one book. Plus many were illiterate at the time so it wasn't a big deal. After a few centuries they decided to take what was already known to be true and combine it. The gnostic gospels and others had been kicked out long before the council.
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I think anything that brings your faith up in conversation is good. Hopefully people have read/seen the Da Vinci Code and then began to examine their faith more.
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"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
- Christopher Reeve
The whole Da Vinci Code thing has been debunked about a million times since the book came out,
As a whole, yes, Brown borrowed from several conspiracy theories from history and creatively glued them together. But some of the stuff that he mentioned seperately were actually legitimate theories as to what actually happened.
As far as being "debunked", that suggests that the very premise (about Jesus being mortal and such) that it was all "made up." As you pointed out. Those were just possibilities, as the author said. To me they just make a lot more sense than the alternative proposed history (that he walked on water, rose from the dead and such).
To me they just make a lot more sense than the alternative proposed history (that he walked on water, rose from the dead and such).
And that's why you're not going to heaven. j/k
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"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
- Christopher Reeve
I haven't read the book, and hadn't planned to. SOme of this discussion brings up interesting points, though. In the book, Jesus was married and had children? Huh. Why not? Is it before or after his resurrection?
I mean, if as man he shared in our weaknesses (anger in the temple, doubt on the cross, etc.) then why couldn't he have possibly shared in our type of human bonding (marriage)?
Maybe certain people way back when really didn't want certain things known...
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
Maybe certain people way back when really didn't want certain things known...
Luckily most people know that just because it's old doesn't make it true. People could write fiction in the first few centuries, just like they can now.
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"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
- Christopher Reeve
Tom Hanks is a great actor, but he just wasn't convincing as Langdon. The scenes with him and Ian McKellan debating the Church's attack on the sacred feminine should have been spell-binding, but Hanks really didn't pull it off.
The movie had all of the makings of a great film (great director, stellar cast, great story), but it just didn't click, IMO.
I'm so glad that I wasn't the only one who thought Hanks wasn't the best choice. I thought Sophie was a great choice though.
Rockhard, part of the reason that they were afraid that it would hurt the church was because it claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene- the whore. It's one thing to say that Jesus was married (cause the Bible leaves out lots of stuff about his teenage years so people could accept that it had happened during one of those years)- but I think where the issue comes from is that he was married to a woman that we had been told was a whore and nothing more. I believe it comes down to the fact that not only was the marriage omitted from the Bible but that Mary's role in society was a complete and total lie. But that's just my .02 cents.
I found it interesting that not only were religious people freaking out about the movie but the Albino community started shrieking that they're not murderers -no one said you were- he was a character people. Jeez!
Luckily most people know that just because it's old doesn't make it true.
Right. I agree we shouldn't take the other gospels as literal truth either.
Can we learn important lessons from them? No argument there.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
The DaVinci Code Movie
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