NEWS: Work Of Fiction Is, Er, Fictitious

CULTURE: Work Of Fiction Is, Er, Fictitious

The Da Vinci Code is described as "an intelligent and lucid thriller". I haven't seen anyone describe it as an accurate account of history so it's confusing to see some people take it so seriously.

Wait, did someone say cake?

The source article has some quotes from Catholics who hate the book.

The article then goes on to interview Monsignor Keith Barltrop (the director of the CEO), and he contradicts the article's earlier claim that he's campaigning against the book.

I really hope that's just a front and that they've dispatched monk assassins.

People take the story as fiction, sure, but they are quick to accept as fact much of the underlying historical information that Brown gives.

The same thing is happening to juries in the United States. Because of the popularity of these forensics shows, people assume that you can send a couple samples back to the lab and forty five minutes later have the perp behind bars.

That would be so cool.

There were a lot of freemasons in my family. i did some research. i think the DaVinci Code is an awful book, which takes some terrible liberties... but the general thrust is pretty spot-on

Really? I thought I was going to hate it because everyone thinks it's so great, but I really enjoyed it. Of course, I don't get to do much pleasure reading, so I might've just been starved for something junky.

Regardless, it also spurred an interest in me to research the whole "Priory" thing, but I never got around to it. Those claims are somewhat accurate you say?

Harry Potter is the truth. Silly Catholics.

THey know that it's a novel, right? A work of fiction and all that.

Yes. Though the book does claim that all it's "underlying facts" are true. That, combined with the popularity of the damned thing... I can understand why they'd be peeved.

the da vinci code is on and off with regards to the historical fact. some things are incredibly accurate, and others, like was said above, take terrible liberties with fact.

The whole jesus-had-kids-with-mary-magdalene, i think there's enough evidence - there's at least as much as there is for anything that IS in the Bible... all the stuff about the Knights Templar is pretty accurate (again, i had family members who were KT) as far as the history of the crusades go... but, to be honset, it's all pretty much theory.

The stuff about the french secret society in the 20thC, that claim lineage with da vinci, etc? it's true... sort of. There is such a group, but the only documentation linking them to da vinci is sketchy at best.

They mention a book in the Da Vinci Code - 'The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail' It's a good place to start. Although the guys that wrote it were prats.

I finsished that book just confused, mixing fact and fiction is never a good idea. It's very difficult to start trying to work out which is fact and which is fiction.

monty python and the holy grail.

that happened right???

wait wait wait

this book is fake?!?

So 700 years ago people that were probably your ancestors were in the KT, and that makes you an authority on them today?

While they're going after works of fiction that contradict the bible, they might consider protesting ...oh, i don't know...the bible?

Pshh. Yeah, and I bet they're gonna say that the events of the movie Dogma didn't happen either.

maybe the fucking vatican should put a little more energy into punishing child rapist priests than attempting to defame an author. scumbags.

It's the Church. If they weren't pissed about something that didn't matter, they wouldn't be doing their job.

I second everything allergic said.

yeah, I bet the catholic church will get right on that.

It's a bit like Dogma, look at all the shit that got.

I think if everyone took religion less seriously the world would be a much better place.

All praise the pirate

Thirded! I really could have said all that in one post couldn't i?

They choose now? Wow, they're right on the cutting edge aren't they? Damn, even two parodies have made it to press.

Don't shift the analogy.

[Edited on Jul 23, 2005 10:53AM]

Not at all! And i doubt the KT from 700 years ago were any of my ancestors. i've done very very little research. But still more than anyone else i've met and spoken to about it. i used to live on a farm that coincidentally had a Templar church in the next village, so i got to do some digging around there too.

The first person to talk to me about it was my friend who told me about all the inaccuracies in the book that she learned from her professor at her Christian college. It took me months to learn it was a rousing adventure novel in addition to being blasphemous.