My Brain is Rather Hurting
Jan. 28th, 2006 09:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sanalithSo, I just finished reading The Da Vinci Code, and all I can really say is...wow. It took me a long time to get into this book, and trust me, you *don't* want to read it unless you can devote at least some time almost every day to it, otherwise you'll start forgetting stuff. Like the name of secret societies and their Grand Master's, the geography of the Louvre, characters' names and positions, and, you know, the plot. And yes, I do speak from experiences ^^;; I guess my main question after coming out on the other side finally, is basically this: Is all this stuff true?
Oh, and if you haven't read the book and plan on doing so, I would advise against reading further. Spoilers and speculations await.
Ok, so, I'm not too worried about the whole Mary Magdalene is the Holy Grail premise. After all, it's just as conceivable that such a relic can be a person as a chalice. After all, some believe that the Grail is different for all who seek it. The point is that it's the ultimate symbol of faith, and I think Mary can fit that bill. MY basic question revolves around the idea that she was married to Jesus and had his children. I'm not saying this couldn't happen or anything, but rather I'm surprised that such a thing could be kept so secret. Dan Brown's assertion, through his characters at least, that the Catholic church kept all these facts hidden is just an amazing idea. Again, I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but...wow! I just wonder if it's really possible. Could the church have altered the facts so much? Would they honestly turn the wife of Jesus into a whore simply to protect themselves?
And that brings me to another bothersome premise in the book, and that was that Mary Magdalene was ostracized in history in order to prevent the idea from taking off that Jesus lived as a mortal and had mortal children, and that this was done so the church could emphasize Jesus' divinity. Was Jesus really only proclaimed divine at the Council of Nicaea? I mean, isn't that kind of late in the game? It seems like something so important would have been formalized soon after the resurrection. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but there's just so many conspiracies mentioned...it would turn the roots of Christian faith completely upside down if it were all true.
I wish Brown had included a bibliography in the end of his book. I have historical *romance* novels that include bibliographies. Why in heck didn't he??? I checked copies of Da Vinci's Last Supper online and I think he might be right about there being a woman seated next to Jesus at the table, so that part could be true. Obviously all the societies and the church groups were accurate. But as for the rest, I'd just love to read his sources and see what actual historians are saying on the subject. Has anyone actually read or skimmed the Dead Sea Scrolls? (Are there even translations out there, or just summaries?) I'm not a religious historian at all, as you can tell, but this is just fascinating me to no end. This is the first time since I graduated that I wish I was back at St. Bonaventure, not for my friends, but for all the priests and friars. For four years I was surrounded by religious people and I had nothing to ask them concerning Christianity. I find it rather ironic that now I have a million questions ^^;;
So I guess what I'm after are thoughts, opinions, speculations, maybe even a few facts. Does anyone know of any real sources that lend credence to all these assertions? I have no doubt the church would be adamant in protecting secrets that would clash with their take on the life of Christ, and I know that history is always written by the victors, but...this would just be soooo much to hide and change. I guess I just wonder if it's really true.
Oh, and if you haven't read the book and plan on doing so, I would advise against reading further. Spoilers and speculations await.
Ok, so, I'm not too worried about the whole Mary Magdalene is the Holy Grail premise. After all, it's just as conceivable that such a relic can be a person as a chalice. After all, some believe that the Grail is different for all who seek it. The point is that it's the ultimate symbol of faith, and I think Mary can fit that bill. MY basic question revolves around the idea that she was married to Jesus and had his children. I'm not saying this couldn't happen or anything, but rather I'm surprised that such a thing could be kept so secret. Dan Brown's assertion, through his characters at least, that the Catholic church kept all these facts hidden is just an amazing idea. Again, I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but...wow! I just wonder if it's really possible. Could the church have altered the facts so much? Would they honestly turn the wife of Jesus into a whore simply to protect themselves?
And that brings me to another bothersome premise in the book, and that was that Mary Magdalene was ostracized in history in order to prevent the idea from taking off that Jesus lived as a mortal and had mortal children, and that this was done so the church could emphasize Jesus' divinity. Was Jesus really only proclaimed divine at the Council of Nicaea? I mean, isn't that kind of late in the game? It seems like something so important would have been formalized soon after the resurrection. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but there's just so many conspiracies mentioned...it would turn the roots of Christian faith completely upside down if it were all true.
I wish Brown had included a bibliography in the end of his book. I have historical *romance* novels that include bibliographies. Why in heck didn't he??? I checked copies of Da Vinci's Last Supper online and I think he might be right about there being a woman seated next to Jesus at the table, so that part could be true. Obviously all the societies and the church groups were accurate. But as for the rest, I'd just love to read his sources and see what actual historians are saying on the subject. Has anyone actually read or skimmed the Dead Sea Scrolls? (Are there even translations out there, or just summaries?) I'm not a religious historian at all, as you can tell, but this is just fascinating me to no end. This is the first time since I graduated that I wish I was back at St. Bonaventure, not for my friends, but for all the priests and friars. For four years I was surrounded by religious people and I had nothing to ask them concerning Christianity. I find it rather ironic that now I have a million questions ^^;;
So I guess what I'm after are thoughts, opinions, speculations, maybe even a few facts. Does anyone know of any real sources that lend credence to all these assertions? I have no doubt the church would be adamant in protecting secrets that would clash with their take on the life of Christ, and I know that history is always written by the victors, but...this would just be soooo much to hide and change. I guess I just wonder if it's really true.