The Da Vinci Code

[theyeti]

Anyone read it?

I saw an article in the paper a couple days ago that interested me, so maybe I'll find it soon. Apparently there's a ton of meetings and lectures up here at churches and the like.

[Grimey]

I haven't read it, but the descriptions and reviews I've read in places like USA Today, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, etc., make it sound like a load of poop, theologically speaking.

[Alec]

We're not a very well read group, are we?

Sad, sad, sad.

[Outlaw TexasRed]

I've read it. It's a thriller like the books of Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum.

It addreses the role of Mary Magdalene and church history. The ultra-conservative Catholic group Opus Dei is addressed. Some say OD is like a cult within the RCC. But it is supported by the Pope. They do things like flagellate themselves for penance.

The protagonist is a symbologist from Harvard. His female comapnion is a cryptologist. It does have interesting plot twists.

Freemasonry is not specifically addressed, but a quasi-masonic body, The Priory of Sion, figures in the story.

Some Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians do not like it.

It does not contain any expression of nudity, though in one interlude a pagan ritual is portrayed as an event in the past of one of the characters.

[theyeti]

Originally posted by Outlaw TexasRed
It does not contain any expression of nudity...
Thank goodness - I was almost worried it might be pornographic and indecent! ;)

[jamesglewisf]

Outlaw,

Is it any good? How does it compare to Clancy and Ludlum?

[Outlaw TexasRed]

Originally posted by jamesglewisf
Outlaw,

Is it any good? How does it compare to Clancy and Ludlum?

It's okay.

If you have any interest in the 'sacred feminine" and freemasonry parts of it are fascinating. OTOH it's a "potboiler" much like the work of Clancy and Ludlum.

I like science fiction better than the thriller genre myself.

[theyeti]

I just started. So far it's very, very good. I'm probably not reading it as fast as I could be since I feel the urge to stop and think about every other paragraph ;) I'm sure I'll have a LOT to write about when I'm done!

What about Angels and Demons (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671027360/002-1837189-9520016?v=glance)? Anyone read that?

[KalenElendil]

Angles and Demons was good. It is mainly about how antimatter is created, practically proving god, and it's threat to the vatican city.

To like this one you have to be into alot of sculptures and paintings, sort of like how the da vinci code is about the free masonry, it also talks about the illuminati alout.

More or less if you liked the da vinci code you are going to like Angles and Demons.

[theyeti]

Uh-huh.

I think the antimatter stuff is one heck of a stretch though... but neat to read about for the trekkies out there :)

[KalenElendil]

No, the prelog explains how the antimatter is a real thing and has been made already. It is a proven that antimatter can be made and is real. Therefore it is possible to have it and it is pretty deep.

[theyeti]

Gee I guess you're right... here's what Dan Brown's website says:Q: Antimatter plays a startling role in Angels & Demons and sounds utterly terrifying. Is antimatter for real?

A: Absolutely. Antimatter is the ultimate energy source. It releases energy with 100% efficiency (nuclear fission is 1.5% efficient.) Antimatter is 100,000 times more powerful than rocket fuel. A single gram contains the energy of a 20 kiloton atomic bomb--the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. In addition to being highly explosive, antimatter is extremely unstable and ignites when it comes in contact with anything...even air. It can only be stored by suspending it in an electromagnetic field inside a vacuum canister. If the field fails and the antimatter falls, the result is a "perfect" matter/antimatter conversion, which physicists aptly call "annihilation." CERN is now regularly producing small quantities of antimatter in their research for future energy sources. Antimatter holds tremendous promise; it creates no pollution or radiation, and a single droplet could power New York City for a full day. With fossils fuels dwindling, the promise of harnessing antimatter could be an enormous leap for the future of this planet. Of course, mastering antimatter technology brings with it a chilling dilemma. Will this powerful new technology save the world, or will it be used to create the most deadly weapon ever made?