Can someone explain the Di vinci code madness to me,I havent read the book?
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The Da Vinci Code is a mystery/detective novel by American author Dan Brown, published in 2003 by Doubleday Fiction. It is a worldwide bestseller with more than 60.5 million copies in print (as of May 2006) and has been translated into 44 languages. Combining the detective, thriller and conspiracy theory genres, the book is part two of a trilogy that started with Brown's 2000 novel Angels and Demons, which introduced the character Robert Langdon. In November 2004, Random House published a "Special Illustrated Edition", with 160 illustrations interspersed with the text.\n\nThe plot of the novel involves a conspiracy by the Catholic Church to cover up the "true" story of Jesus. The Vatican knows it is living a lie but does so to keep itself in power. The novel has helped generate popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity. Fans have lauded the book as creative, action-packed and thought-provoking. Critics have attacked it as inaccurate, sacrilegious and decry the many negative implications about the Catholic Church and Opus Dei.\n\nDan Brown's novel was a smash hit in 2003, even rivaling the sales of the highly popular Harry Potter series. It spawned a number of offspring books and drew glowing reviews from the New York Times, the People Magazine and Washington Post . The novel has also inspired several tour groups like Da Vinci Code tours, and companies like Ravenchase Adventures to create Da Vinci code like races and adventures using codes, ciphers, actors and gadgets. It also re-ignited interest in the history of the Catholic Church. As well as re-invigorating interest in the church, The Da Vinci Code has also spawned numerous "knockoffs" (as they are referred to by Publishers Weekly) , or novels that have a striking resemblance to The Da Vinci Code, including Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar, and The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry.\n\nSony's Columbia Pictures has adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman, and Academy Award winner Ron Howard directing. The film is set for release on May 19, 2006, and will star Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, and Sir Ian McKellen as Leigh Teabing.\n\nPlot summary\nSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.\n\nThe book concerns the attempts of Robert Langdon, Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, to solve the murder of renowned curator Jacques Saunière (see Bérenger Saunière) of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The title of the novel refers, among other things, to the fact that Saunière's body is found in the Denon Wing of the Louvre naked and posed like Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a Pentagram drawn on his stomach in his own blood. The interpretation of hidden messages inside Leonardo's famous works, including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, figure prominently in the solution to the mystery.\n\nThe main conflict in the novel revolves around the solution to two mysteries:\n\n•What secret was Saunière protecting that led to his murder? \n\n•Who is the mastermind behind his murder? \n\nThe novel has several concurrent storylines that follow different characters. Eventually all the storylines are brought together and resolved with the denouement.\n\nThe unraveling of the mystery requires the solution to a series of brain-teasers, including anagrams and number puzzles. The solution itself is found to be intimately connected with the possible location of the Holy Grail and to a mysterious society called the Priory of Sion, as well as to the Knights Templar. The Catholic organization "Opus Dei" (a caricature of the real Opus Dei) also figures prominently in the plot.\n\nThe novel is the second book of a trilogy by Brown in which Robert Langdon is the main character. The previous book, A
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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
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Many of the hypotheses and conjectures proposed in the Da Vinci Code are not able to be proven.  However, it is a very interesting read and it has ignited a great deal of interest in history, travel and religion. Isn't that worth something?\n\nHere are some interesting comments regarding the religious aspects of the book:\n\nDa Vinci Code Movie on the Way!\nhttp://www.ubiquityinternational.com/drtom/2006/01/da-vinci-code-movie-is-on-its-way.htm\n\nDa Vinci Code Redux\nhttp://www.ubiquityinternational.com/drtom/2006/03/da-vinci-code-redux.htm
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its a BOOK..a FICTIONAL BOOK! Its not meant to be taken as TRUTH! I am Catholic, I know what I believe in, and I read the book. It doesn't go against the Bible, it just suggests possibilities that maybe someone in history altered the truth. Dan Brown is an incredible writer because of the fact that he can write FICTION and make people believe that it is the honest to God truth! Its a wonderful book & he NEVER says that it is the truth...he says the CHARACTERS in the book believe it is the truth! \n\n**steps off soapbox**
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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.
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the plot:  a man gets caught up in a quest to find the "holy grail. Murder, deceit and high states adventure.\n\nThe underlying theme: The Bible is baloney and Christ was a married mortal man and not the Son of God. \n\nIn numerous places in the book scholarly looking persons with fancy degrees go into speeches about how the Bible is a bunch of bunk. To the average person they seem like powerful arguments but in reality NONE of the arguments (some could say blasphemies) about Christ hold up to the facts of History.\n\nWhats Real?\n\nThe names of places, artwork, historical figures, the names of documents like "Q" and the "gnostic gospels"\n\nWhat's false?\n\nEverything else, the conclusions and "facts" presented about the above people, documents, and artwork.\n\nThe book took great liberty with history (AKA LIED) in order to create a scenereo where the Christ of the Bible could be turned into a regular person. \n\nThe book says that a church council gave christ his deity a few hundred years after the fact; when the gospels were written well before that coucil was even a thought. The book also draws heavily on the errors and traditions within the Roman Catholic Church to attempt to discredit the bible. While the Roman Church did bring in pagan idols (re Icons, praying to saints) This does not alter the integrity of the Bible, but merely of the Church, since these things are in violation of the 10 commandments(ye shall have no other gods before me)\n\n\n(spoiler: (from book - i borrowed a copy)\nOne of the characters turns out to be a descendant of Christ, thus "proving" Dan Brown's point.\n\nAt the end, Langden (main character) bows and prays over the bones of Mary Magdaline\n\nEven most critics are giving the movie bad reviews\n\nBottom Line: \nAs a Christian, I cannot justify sending money to a person who tries deceitfully to destroy the Christ I worship.
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Have ANY of you actually READ the book? \nI never cease to be appalled at the absolute blindness of the Jesus freaks. Not to mention that not one of you has yet answered the main question posed here.\nYes, the main theory behind the premise of the book is that Jesus has actual blood descendants still alive today. And that there is a secret society whose duty it is to trace the blood line through history and present the knowledge at the right time. \nNow, everyone here loves to just immediately scream "It is fiction!" and "Dan Brown made it up!" Well, if they had ANY idea what they were talking about, then they would know that Dan Brown DID NOT make up the theories presented in the book. The plot of course is his own idea, and is fiction, but the historical background he uses, which is what everyone is upset about, is NOT his idea.\nPlease, folks. Educate yourselves, find out WHAT he wrote. How can you say that what he wrote isn't true, if you don't even know what he wrote?\nBecause most of you have put your brain in the hands of various spiritual leaders, and you have made the conscious decision not to think for yourselves.\nSince my personal belief is that Jesus may have existed, but not as the son of God, then I believe that his blood line could still exist. Does a secret society exist for just this reason? Difficult to believe, but a cool idea.\nAnd because this stuff just really gets me going, I have to say something else. If all of the "Christians" truly believed they are following the One True Religion, and they also believe that every word of the Bible is true (my other favorite subject due to all of the discrepancies in it) why  aren't you showing mercy and compassion for all of the misguided?\nInstead you choose to scream for a banning of the book and a worldwide boycott of the movie. These are the actions of scared people. These are the actions of third world leaders who see their power crumbling. Those who have absolute faith in the truth of their beliefs would only grin, slightly amused, at all the turmoil.
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da vinci code is a novel written by the famous author dan brown. he states in his book that jesus was married to mary magdalene and their bloodline is still existing in the world. he also states that the holy grail is not a cup but was the code name of mary magdalene. the most important theme of the book is the most famous artist(all-rounder infact!)leonardo da vinci has shown this in most of his paintings including "the last supper".though it is work of fiction, many christian communities are against this bcoz according 2 them it is blasphemous.but the book is really good.sorry for the looooong explanation though.bye!
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The Da Vinci Code is a novel written by American author Dan Brown and published in 2003 by Doubleday Fiction (ISBN 0385504209). It is a worldwide bestseller with 36 million copies in print (as of August 2005) and has been translated into 44 languages. Combining the detective, thriller and conspiracy theory genres, the book is part two of a trilogy that started with Brown's 2000 novel Angels and Demons, which introduced the character Robert Langdon. In November 2004, Random House published a "Special Illustrated Edition", with 160 illustrations interspersed with the text.\n\nThe plot of the novel involves a conspiracy by the Catholic Church to cover up the true story of Jesus. This implies that the Vatican consciously knows it is living a lie, but does so to keep itself in power. The novel has helped generate popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity. Fans have lauded the book as creative, action-packed and thought-provoking. Critics have attacked it as inaccurate and poorly written, and decry the many negative implications about the Catholic Church.\n\nThe book opens with the claim by Dan Brown that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate"; but this claim is disputed by academic scholars in the fields the book discusses (see Criticisms of The Da Vinci Code and the further reading list below). As widely noted in the media, there has been substantial confusion among readers about whether the book is factual. Numerous works have been published which explain in detail why any claim to accuracy is difficult to sustain.
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It is a movie based on the book The Davinci Code by author Dan Brown. It is a tale of murder and mystery surrounding the search for the Holy Grail, commonly thought of as the cup Jesus used in The Last Supper. If you don't want to know the plot, stop reading now.\n\nDan Brown introduces theories of Jesus having a bloodline AFTER him (not just before him through his mother)through Mary Magdeline. Dan Brown also hints at Mary Magdaline being one of his original 12 disciples-- the one Jesus refers to as "the Beloved Disciple" or the disciple that Jesus loved.\n\nDavinci and other artists of the time were thought to be in secret societies and used their art/paintings to hide clues to lead to the location of the "real" Holy Grail. There are depictions of religious ceremonies that have sex involved. It is an entertaining book--nothing more, and I am sure the movie will draw much controversy. My suggestion is that for the truth about Christ, read THIS bestseller:\n\n"The Bible"
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I believe you are pertaining to the the FACT page of the book.\n\nDan Brown is actually misleading us to believe what is in the book by writing that fact page.  He mentioned in that page that the Priory of Sion (which is the main focus of his novel) is a real organization founded in 1099.  He also mentioned about the Les Dossiers Secrets which was found in Bibliotheque Nationale in 1975.\n\nBut what is the real story of the Priory of Sion?  The Priory of Sion was a club founded in 1956 by four young Frenchmen. Two of its members were André Bonhomme (who was president of the club when it was founded) and Pierre Plantard (who previously had been sentenced to six months in prison for fraud and embezzlement).\n\nThe group's name is based on a local mountain in France (Col du Mont Sion), not Mount Zion in Jerusalem. It has no connection with the Crusaders, the Templars, or previous movements incorporating "Sion" into their names.\n\nThe organization broke up after a short time, but in later years Pierre Plantard revived it, claimed he was the "grand master" or leader of the organization, and began making outrageous claims regarding its antiquity, prior membership, and true purposes. It was he who claimed that the organization stemmed from the Crusades, he (in conjunction with later associates) who composed and salted Les Dossiers Secretes in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and he who created the story that the organization was guarding a secret royal bloodline that could one day return to political power.\n\nThe real history of this organization was written in some French books and even in a BBC special.  The BBC special itself concluded: \n"There's no evidence for a Priory of Sion until the 1950s; to find it, you go to the little town of St. Julien. Under French law every new club or association must register itself with the authorities, and that's why there's a dossier here showing that a Priory of Sion filed the proper forms in 1956. According to a founding member, this eccentric association took its name not from Jerusalem but from a nearby mountain (Col du Mont Sion, alt. 786 m). The dossier also notes that the Priory's self-styled grand master, Pierre Plantard, who is central to this story, has done time in jail."\n\nFor an extensive chronology of the events surrounding Pierre Plantard, the Priory of Sion, and its eventual demise, visit this website of researcher Paul Smith www.priory-of-sion.com.\n\nThe fact page also has certain claims of the Opus Dei which is entirely preposterous.  I will be referring you to some references that will prove that the claims of the book regarding Opus Dei is flat wrong.  http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=7017\n\nHope I have enlightened you at least this part of the book.    The Da Vinci Code can't provide evidences on their claims.
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Here is a link where you can read it online. http://www.fictionbook.ru/author/braun_dyen/robert_langdon_2_the_da_vinci_code/brown_robert_langdon_2_the_da_vinci_code.html\n\nI can also send you a .PDF copy of the book if you want.  Just message me!
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I have read the book and I just saw the movie last night. I am a christian; however, I have read scripture and other religously based works, both fiction and non-fiction regarding almost every known religion in the world. I am a christian by choice, not because it is the only religion I have ever been exposed to or know anything about. \n\nThat said, I loved the book and thought the movie was way underwritten. Definately worth seeing, but the screenplay was terrible and character development was absent. How, people knew what they knew and when they knew it was absurd. And the stupidity (you don't have to let everyone know about your change in flight plans immediately after you decide to change them. You don't buy train tickets on a credit card when your running from the cops....) started to get annoying. The movie sped up when it should of slowed down and left things in that could have been omitted. On the other hand it also had a kindergardenish way of over explaining when it should have moved on (like the mansion scene). This may be okay for those who haven't read the book or aren't aware of who Mary Magdalene was.\n \nI didn't think it was boring, but I'm into this kind of material a lot. As for the fictional/nonfictional status. definately fictional, and I don't say this because it conflict with the Holy Bible whose origins and completeness have its own host of questions. To me, it just doesn't make sense for God to leave a bloodline through Jesus.  It makes sense for Jesus to have a wife or a 'companion' as much as it makes sense for any Jewish carpenter to have a wife. Was this fact entirely omited during the assembly of the Holy Bible???? Possibly.  Just one of many questions. I think the Da Vinci Code is a 'what if' type of work that does not try to affend anyone, but have fun with this question.\n\nI'll tell you what....What if...through DNA testing they found out that Mohammed suffered from severe BiPolar disorder? Imagine the Hoopla that movie would stir.\n\nExplore life...spread peace.
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A Response to "The DaVinci Code": What's the Problem?  \n\nSince its release in 2003, forty million hardback copies of The Da Vinci Code have sold. Six million paperback copies also are now in circulation, and this weekend, a major Hollywood movie will be released. In both the book and the movie, the central character is one who does not actually appear in either, and that is Jesus Christ. Because of that, many of our friends and neighbors are going to be talking about who Jesus is and why He came. Many of our neighbors are going to be seeing, perhaps for the first time, an explanation about who Jesus is and why He matters, and our great concern is that the entire story presented in this movie is a lie. \n\nThe interest in this book and movie should remind us that there is going on right now a spiritual battle, not only between light and darkness, and between the truth and the lie, but also between life and death. Our great concern therefore should not be merely that people might be confused, but that people would be blinded and held captive by a story that appeals to them, and yet a story that is an anti-Gospel, a false gospel, the very thing that the Apostle Paul warned against when he said, "If I or even an angel were to come to you preaching any other gospel, let him be anathema." \n\nYou see, sometimes the church does not remember this, but it is the church's responsibility to anathematize. That is something we don't talk about very much, but it is the church's responsibility clearly to declare as false anything which stands against the true gospel of Jesus Christ. We live in a harmonious age when everyone wants to nod at everything, smile appreciatively at everything, and not pass judgment on anything. In the midst of such an age, however, the church is called to say "no" and to identify the false as false. Otherwise we cannot truly honor the truth. \n\nAuthored by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code is a conspiracy story. It is a mystery suspense thriller, and Americans love mystery suspense thrillers. What makes this story different, however, is that the conspiracy theory that lies at the very heart of the book's plotline has to do with the Gospel. What drives the action of the story is the argument that the church's traditional teachings about Jesus are all a fraud. Instead of revealing who Jesus really was and what he really did, the book argues, the church buried the truth in an intentional conspiracy, claimed that Jesus was divine, and said that He had come to save sinners from their sin.\n\nBeginning in chapter 55, Brown gets to the very heart of the story when the central character begins to reveal to another character the truth about the conspiracy. Consider what the character Leigh Teabing says: "The Bible is a product of man, my dear, not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds, man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times and it has evolved through countless translations, editions and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book." \n\nNow if that is true, then we are reading a kind of committee report when we open the Scripture. But it is not true. This is one of those insidious statements that makes sense to sinners, because in effect, that one paragraph has just declared that we do not have to take the Bible as the Word of God. It is just a human document, says the book. \n\nHe goes on: "Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence, perhaps the most enigmatic and inspirational leader the world has ever seen. As the prophesied Messiah, Jesus toppled kings, inspired millions, and founded new philosophies. As a descendant of the lines of King Solomon and King David, Jesus possessed a rightful claim to the throne of the King of the Jews. Understandably, his life was recorded by thousands of followers across the land. More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and
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it is a GREAT movie/book i read the book and it is so addicting!! read this interview:\n\nHOW MUCH OF THIS NOVEL IS TRUE?\nThe Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction. While the book's characters and their actions are obviously not real, the artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals depicted in this novel all exist (for example, Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings, the Gnostic Gospels, Hieros Gamos, etc.). These real elements are interpreted and debated by fictional characters. While it is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit, each individual reader must explore these characters' viewpoints and come to his or her own interpretations. My hope in writing this novel was that the story would serve as a catalyst and a springboard for people to discuss the important topics of faith, religion, and history. \n\nBUT DOESN'T THE NOVEL'S "FACT" PAGE CLAIM THAT EVERY SINGLE WORD IN THIS NOVEL IS HISTORICAL FACT?\nIf you read the "FACT" page, you will see it clearly states that the documents, rituals, organization, artwork, and architecture in the novel all exist. The "FACT" page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader. \n\nIS THIS BOOK ANTI-CHRISTIAN?\nNo. This book is not anti-anything. It's a novel. I wrote this story in an effort to explore certain aspects of Christian history that interest me. The vast majority of devout Christians understand this fact and consider The Da Vinci Code an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate. Even so, a small but vocal group of individuals has proclaimed the story dangerous, heretical, and anti-Christian. While I regret having offended those individuals, I should mention that priests, nuns, and clergy contact me all the time to thank me for writing the novel. Many church officials are celebrating The Da Vinci Code because it has sparked renewed interest in important topics of faith and Christian history. It is important to remember that a reader does not have to agree with every word in the novel to use the book as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration of our faith. \n\nWHAT DO YOU THINK OF CLERICAL SCHOLARS ATTEMPTING TO "DISPROVE" THE DA VINCI CODE? \nThe dialogue is wonderful. These authors and I obviously disagree, but the debate that is being generated is a positive powerful force. The more vigorously we debate these topics, the better our understanding of our own spirituality. Controversy and dialogue are healthy for religion as a whole. Religion has only one true enemy--apathy--and passionate debate is a superb antidote. \n\nPARTS OF THE DA VINCI CODE DESCRIBE THE ACTIVITIES OF THE RELIGIOUS GROUP OPUS DEI. HOW DOES OPUS DEI FEEL ABOUT YOUR NOVEL? \nI worked very hard to create a fair and balanced depiction of Opus Dei. Even so, there may be those who are offended by the portrayal. While Opus Dei is a very positive force in the lives of many people, for others, affiliation with Opus Dei has been a profoundly negative experience. Their portrayal in the novel is based on numerous books written about Opus Dei as well as on my own personal interviews with current and former members. \n\nSOME OF THE HISTORY IN THIS NOVEL CONTRADICTS WHAT I LEARNED IN SCHOOL. WHAT SHOULD I BELIEVE?\nSince the beginning of recorded time, history has been written by the "winners" (those societies and belief systems that conquered and survived). Despite an obvious bias in this accounting method, we still measure the "historical accuracy" of a given concept by examining how well it concurs with our existing historical record. Many historians now believe (as do I) that in gauging the historical accuracy of a given concept, we should first ask ourselves a far deeper question: How historically accurate is history itself?\n\nARE YOU
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I didn't like the movie and it really isn't possible. Josh McDowell has written a really short book about it. Google his name and Da Vinci Code and you can find it.
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I have read the Da Vinci Code.  I don't believe the story it has of Mary Magdalene.  Because for one, Mary Magdalene was never tagged as a prostitute in the Bible.  \n\nThis is the story I believe about Mary Magdalene: http://www.jesusdecoded.com/catholicchurch8.php