Is anyone else confused on the book, The Messenger?
405876
I didnt think that it was supposed to be directly related to the other books. It uses some of the same characters, but it wasnt a direct continuation of The Giver.
1142561
Why don't you Pray and meditate on that question and see if the Lord will reveal the truth to you.  The Book was written and categorized as Fiction.  The first line in the book says, "This is a book of Fiction"\n\nI am overjoyed for the fact that this book/movie has sparked such a great interest in my savior.  Can you imagine how many have picked up a Bible to read more about the Christ, that would have never touched it otherwise? Until this Movie came out, only about 10% of the population knew who Mary Magdalene was? I saw a blip on CNN News the other day that People are taking Bibles right and left out of hotel rooms since the release of the Movie.  I truly think that the Authors intention when writing this book was to promote Christianity.
993545
I haven't read it, but if it is a work of fiction and advertised as such, then it's not false advertising! We do have freedom of speech and freedom of the press in this country-if you don't like it, don't read it. I bet someone reads it now because of your question just out of curiosity-so you just advertised for a book you find repulsive. Oops.
1101685
Looks like an interesting series of books by Cate Tiernan.  Had to go to Borders to find it.\n\nFrom reading the excerpts it appears to be sort of a 'diary' of a young teen just coming into her own.  She has a lot of decisions to make and a big revelation to cope with.  I'm hoping the series does not get too 'dark', but hey, life has it's darkness sometimes. If you learn something to help you cope with this world, go for it. "an harm none"  So mote it be. \n\nI am surprised no one has even attempted to answer your question, I'm hoping there are readers out there and not everyone lives on the net!
772911
I want to read the book. The only thing I don't get is why would he write a hypothetical book about murder? This book is obviously his subtle confession!!! Why not call the book "I did it, this is how"\n\nDouble Jeopardy laws prevent him from getting put into jail. He just needs to flat out say: "I did it!" \n\nAnd seeing as this book is making a lot of money (seeing as he killed her) he should pay the families affected. If he didn't people would hate him, or at least I would.
1037710
I read the book and to me it's a fiction book. I read it as i would read any other suspense fiction book. It has great plot and keeps you guessing till the end. I know many people are out there saying that they will not go see the movie or that the movie should be banned. But look at it this way, I admire the director of the movie for having enough courage to make a movie of book that will dissappoint many christians. I say that everybody should once go and watch the movie or read the book. \n\nTo all my christians: I am a christian and I read the book and I am planning to go watch the movie. Even after reading the book, I still have faith in my god and I don't question Lord Jesus. I read it as though it was nothing more than a fictional treasure hunt novel. Only the treasure in the book was Holy Grail. And if you really are a true christian then you wouldn't be so upset with the movie or book because everybody has opinions and right to share them. It is up to you to believe. Will you let a novel or a movie make you question your faith. How do you know it was not god's will to have a movie like this made and see how many people actually believed in him even after watching such a movie. I don't understand why people don't want to know what a person has to say about their faith. After all, all that matters is whether do you believe in God or not?!? Don't let a movie make you question your faith although go and see what they have to say about it.
543124
It's controversial by it's very nature.  However, the book is a piece of fiction, the second in a 3 book fiction series.  It's based upon some real theories perhaps, and it does make people think, but nonetheless it is still fiction.\n\nFor more details, check wikipedia; there's a bit of info about the book.
696866
The whole thing confused me.
590694
I think it's crazy, considering the book is FICTION!!!!!\nI think the people of Opus Dei are more against it than the Vatican because they think everyone will use the monk as an image to stereotype members of Opus Dei.\nI honestly think there are too many people involved to be able to "hush up" Jesus being married and having a baby, but when reading the book it all makes sense...\nI guess that's the controversy...fiction that is so good, people take it as fact.  But if reading one book makes you change your faith in whatever you have believed all your life, then you were never really a believer in the first place, right?
936453
This is the first I have heard of this book..... from the article sounds like it would be a great book for kids.   Why people would be bothered by this book is truly puzzling, I mean honestly it's a book for kids so they can understand at their level about illegal immigration.  This just made the shopping list for gifts.\nGood post DAR.
25144
I read the book myself about 5 years ago at school. Its all metaphors and political commentary. The link below will provide all the information you could need.\n\nAs to the above answer "do a google", you will find the 95% of the questions on here coud be solved quicker are more effectivly with a google search by the user.
967424
How do people come up with that?  Yes it really is amazing.  It boggles my mind to try to think of how someone figured all that out.  I dont think it proves anything about the book though.
744166
I just asked a question about the Montauk Project myself.I read the books.They seem to be very technically correct about a lot of the  things they talk about.So who-ever wrote them wasn't an idiot or a nut making up a story. I believe that the things spoken of in the stories are more than likely possible.Whether or not they actually happened as it is written,or if we really do possess this secret technoIogy, I don't know.In a way though,I kind of hope it isn't completely true,because the story of these projects are filled with abuse and inhuman treatment of human beings in the name of scientific developement and whatever else.
909464
well, I read the story, and I sorta remember the ending.  What was baffling?\nDidn't the road virus finally catch up to Paul(?) not sure about the name.
495919
hmmmm. \n\nMaybe because a lot of ppl think there maybe more to it than just fiction.\n\nTherefore it does not matter what the cover says.\n\nThe book altered the perceptions of a lot of ppl.\n\nSo did the movie Matrix. \n\nAs did countless other books, movies, etc..\n\nProblem here was that it was the catholic church and christian beliefs that was influenced in a negative way. Since there are a lot of devoted Christians out there and the fact that the Catholic Church exerts a lot of influence was why there was such a big offensive reaction to the book.
563850
Well I´ve read the book and enjoyed it throughly! But sad to say there is a lot of thingd in the book that is false, \nbut it does makes you wonder. \n\nWhat I can´t understand is that a few years ago there were some old scripures found, but wouldn´d be accepted by the church. These scriptures underwent all the neccassary test to prove its validity(and it was found to be written the time Jesus was alive and 100 after he died).But it was a little bit contridicting to what is in the bible.\n\nAnyway what the da vinci code does is start to put doubt in the minds of people, and why did  the church reacted so strange to this book which is a novel! \n\nAnd okay the thought that Jesus actually has a living heir is strange, but Dan Brown was not the first to write about this there are many other listed books. And ´if´ that were true then the church would clear not want that knowledge to be known because it would loss a lot of credibility.\nSome modern writers,including Dan Brown, have come forward with claims that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus. These writers cite Gnostic writings to support their argument. Sources like the ´Gospel of Philip´ do depict Mary Magdalene as being closer to Jesus than any other disciple. \nHowever, there is no known ancient document that claims she was his wife and Gnosticism was generally non-supportive of sexuality. The closeness described in these writings depicts Mary Magdalene, representing the Gnostics, as understanding Jesus and his teaching while the other disciples, representing the Church, did not.\nMary Magdalene appears with more frequency than other women in the canonical Gospels and is shown as being a close follower of Jesus. Mary's presence at the Crucifixion and Jesus's tomb, while hardly conclusive, is at least consonant with the role of grieving wife and widow, although if that were the case Jesus might have been expected to make provision for her care as well as for his mother Mary. Given the lack of contemporary documentation, this scenario cannot be proven, and although some consider the idea desirable to believe, most scholars do not take it seriously.\n\nAn argument for support of the married status of Jesus is that bachelorhood was very rare for Jewish males of Jesus' time, being generally regarded as a transgression of the first mitzvah (divine commandment) — "Be fruitful and multiply". According to this reasoning, it would have been unthinkable for an adult, unmarried Jew to travel about teaching as a rabbi.\nA counter-argument to this is that the Judaism of Jesus' time was very diverse and the role of the rabbi was not yet well defined. It was really not until after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in A.D. 70 that Rabbinic Judaism became dominant and the role of the rabbi made uniform in Jewish communities.\nPaul of Tarsus was an example of an unmarried itinerant teacher among Christians. Jesus himself approved of voluntary celibacy for religious reasons and explicitly rejected a duty to marry: "There are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it." (Matthew 19,12)\n\nThe idea that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus was popularized by books like the pseudo-historical Holy Blood, Holy Grail (1982) and The Da Vinci Code (2003), a novel heavily influenced by the former book. These assertions have found no acceptance from scholarly circles.\n\nAnd secret societcy are meant to be kept secret so I don´t expect the historians to find a lot of concrete information about the Priory of Sion. \n\nAnd maybe Leonardo did discover something and instead of just saying or exposing it out right he decided to be clever and hide it within his works of art. After all he was known as a genuis.\n\nSo I(am born and raised catholic, but was taught to have an open mind about things.) personally an very intrigued by this idea of Dan Browns, but I am neither for it nor against it. I
638866
There are many aspects of the book that might prove interesting to debate. One of the most controversial items that the book brings forth is the question of whether Jesus was married and had children. It has NEVER been church doctrine, that such was the case. However, some members and a few leaders back in the early days of the church have speculated on the subject of marriage. In the end, since we do not know, it remains, just that, speculation. \n\nOne of the biggest problems that I, personally, have with the book is that, in the end, Brown's theory seems to be more about Jesus being human rather than divine. I completely disagree with this viewpoint. Members of our church are generally well read. I can't see this book affecting the faith of anyone who has taken the gospel seriously. \n\nDespite Brown's claim that everything is "accurate," people seem to be forgetting that it is just a clever and somewhat interesting piece of entertainment. There may be bits of truth in it, just as in other fictional novels, yet it is still just a work of fiction. \n\nMany religious groups seem to be overly concerned about this book's message or impact. I am of the opinion that while the book may cause some few to doubt, there will be others who may actually start reading the scriptures to find out just what they say. Opposition is not a bad thing. Many people may find their faith strengthened as a result of all of this religious fervor. Is that such a bad thing?\n\nThis is just one "mormon's" opinion on the matter.