The Da Vinci Code [Archive]

Red Menace

6th March 2006, 02:57

I just got finished reading the Da Vinci Code. Has anyone else read it. I thought it was pretty interesting they gave a history of alot things and how we associate them. Like where we got the image of the devil with his horns and pitch fork. The fact that Constantine had used the story of Jesus's divinity to gain more power. I'm not sure now what to believe. Constantine and others could have well edited and added and deleted things in the bible to his liking. Can we believe any of it? What do you guys think?

Janus

6th March 2006, 03:09

Yes, I've read it as well. A very interesting book I must say and the film version of it is also coming out.

Now, as to the matter that you mentioned, some of it is correct though Constantine didn't really have the power to change Christianity( he wasn't baptized until his deathbed). Constantine's power was gained through his military and political accomplishments. Much of Christianity was changed by the clergy in the 4th and 5th centuries through consensus and agreements like the councils of Nicaea.

Red Menace

6th March 2006, 04:24

Originally posted by [email protected] 5 2006, 09:37 PM
Yes, I've read it as well. A very interesting book I must say and the film version of it is also coming out.

Now, as to the matter that you mentioned, some of it is correct though Constantine didn't really have the power to change Christianity( he wasn't baptized until his deathbed). Constantine's power was gained through his military and political accomplishments. Much of Christianity was changed by the clergy in the 4th and 5th centuries through consensus and agreements like the councils of Nicaea.
Now I don't mean to sound argumenative, because I do not know what happened 700 years ago, but Wikipedia and many other sites say he was baptised on his deathbed. what site are you looking at that says otherwise?

Janus

6th March 2006, 04:42

Look at my post. I stated that he was baptized on his deathbed. I don't know of any sources that say so otherwise. Also, another thing, it's not the best idea to always rely on Wikipedia.

Red Menace

6th March 2006, 05:00

Originally posted by [email protected] 5 2006, 11:10 PM
Look at my post. I stated that he was baptized on his deathbed. I don't know of any sources that say so otherwise. Also, another thing, it's not the best idea to always rely on Wikipedia.
my bad, must have misread it. I ran a search and looked on several sites not just wikipedia.

Monty Cantsin

6th March 2006, 05:33

I like the way it integrates concepts into the narrative structure of the book, instead of seeming tacked on like most books which reference history and art. The actually writing isn’t very special at all, there was only two or three times in the whole book were I though, that’s a good line.

I’ve also read a lot of reviews questioning the historical accuracy of the theories put forward.

Anyways what did you guy/gals guess?

I knew that Sophie would have seen a sex act in the middle of that ritual.
I thought the big conspiracy within the church would have been either Jesus was a hermaphrodite or the marry stuff which was it.
I didn’t guess the twist at the end.

filthycommie

6th March 2006, 10:12

If you guys enjoyed The Da Vinci Code you should defiantly check out a book called The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail. While The Da Vinci Code is created to appeal to it's audiences as a fiction (hence the blockbuster Hollywood film, bord game, etc) The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail is made to represent a grouping of historical facts, thus creating a much more intellectual read and so much more is learnt. In most cases I have been able to locate I have found that it argues for both for and against. Although no where near as smooth as The Da Vinci Code The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail educates so much more. But the main thing that appeals to me is the fact that the three authors are all historians rather than fictional writers.
Any way check it out and send me some feedback.
And I'm kinda new to this so any online friends are much appreciated.

Roses in the Hospital

6th March 2006, 11:41

It's an enjoyable and intriguing story, but I wouldn't say it was particularly well written.
Dan Brown's strength is definatelly weaving in the historical/architectural/cultural history into the narrative rather than writing particularlly believable characters.
Although it catches you in the intrigue of the conspiracy, I'd be sceptical about believing everything he says. After all, it's a piece of fiction, not a piece of historical research.
If you enjoyed it I'd recommend Demons and Angels too. Although it is more or less exactly the same story, it does have a really good twist.

If you guys enjoyed The Da Vinci Code you should defiantly check out a book called The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail.

Two of the authors of that book are actually currently sueing Brown's publishers for plagerism...

Tre

6th March 2006, 12:47

I've just finished Angels & Demons and really enjoyed it. I find Brown a little predictable, but still an informative and interesting read. I'm looking forward to seeing the Da Vinci code, I just hope it isn't delayed because of the case.

vox_populi

6th March 2006, 17:39

I really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code. I started reading it one night before I went to bed....I finished it 7 hours later...nothing beats coffee and a good book :P
Has anyone here played the computer game Gabriel Knight 3: Blood Of The Sacred, Blood Of The Damned?
It deals with some of the theories brought up in The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail and The Da Vinci Code.
Great game by the way...I strongly recommend it

I don't really look forward to the movie...I hate Tom Hanks...

Monty Cantsin

6th March 2006, 18:25

Originally posted by [email protected] 6 2006, 06:07 PM
I hate Tom Hanks...
Same.

Tre

6th March 2006, 23:26

another good read, along the lines of the da vinci code and the holy blood and the holy grail is the templar revelation, it has all the information of the holy blood but forms much better conclusions

Red Menace

7th March 2006, 03:04

Originally posted by Monty Cantsin+Mar 6 2006, 12:53 PM--> (Monty Cantsin @ Mar 6 2006, 12:53 PM)
[email protected] 6 2006, 06:07 PM
I hate Tom Hanks...
Same. [/b]
I love tom hanks. I just don't think he is right for the part. Ian Mckellan is Teabing which is pretty cool

expatriot

7th March 2006, 03:45

The authors of The Templar Revelation successfully sued Dan Brown for plagiarism last year. They make a cameo appearance in the film -- they're sitting behind Tom Hanks on a London bus. They were interviewed on a U.S. radio show: www.coasttocoastam.com

Looking forward to the film, but the hype is completely overboard:

I'm sick of the DaVinci Code
I've had enough!
Holy Grail, Mary Magdalen, Priory of Sion
And all the rest of that stuff.

I don't give an Opus Dei
If those Knights Templars took the Sangreal away
And hid it in a church in France
Probably in the Monsignor's underpants.

And the Last Supper
Were they eating bagels and lox?
They weren't drinking wine, I know
It was Madonna on the Rocks.

So go forth on your quest
You bloody fools go!
From Rosslyn Chapel to Rennes-le-Chateau.
To the Castle of Gisors and the Louvre in France.
I guarantee- It's stuck in some pervert's underpants!

redstar2000

7th March 2006, 06:27

As it happens, I never got around to reading the novel.

But I did run across this in the local public library...

Secrets of the code : the unauthorized guide to the mysteries behind The Da Vinci code by Burstein, Daniel.

It's rather...well, exhaustive -- from hoax piled upon hoax piled upon hoax to a scene in Paris where the novelist (unknowingly) requires his protagonists to leap some 100 yards onto the top of a moving truck. :lol: In other words, the urban geography is not any more realistic than the "history".

I've read that the novel has been something of a bonanza for the tourist industry. Supposedly there are hordes of people who've read this novel now dutifully trekking to and from the sites mentioned in the book. :o

Will there eventually be pilgrimages?

Wouldn't surprise me. :lol:

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/123.gif

Roses in the Hospital

7th March 2006, 11:09

As it happens, I never got around to reading the novel.

You should give it a go Redstar, I imagine it's the kind of thing you'd have a great time tearing to shreads... :P

Hopes_Guevara

7th March 2006, 13:03

I haven't read it and maybe I won't read it. But mentioning this book I remember an event happening in VN. The translation of it had been called a "traslantional disaster" and the Pulishing House that issued it to the public had to withdrawn from circulation thousand of books after its publication. Now it hasn't been pulished yet because it has been revised by other translator who I like very much. Anyway this event made more people pay attention to the quality of translations, what has been neglected more or less for a long time.

BillHicks

7th March 2006, 15:27

Junk. Absolute garbage. His narrative style is hackneyed at best and while I welcome most any attack on Catholicism, this borders on the fanatical. Somewhere Blatty is sitting down and reading this thinking "methinks he took the anti-Catholic thing too far".

vox_populi

7th March 2006, 15:31

Originally posted by Defy+Mar 7 2006, 03:32 AM--> (Defy @ Mar 7 2006, 03:32 AM)
Originally posted by Monty [email protected] 6 2006, 12:53 PM

[email protected] 6 2006, 06:07 PM
I hate Tom Hanks...
Same.
I love tom hanks. I just don't think he is right for the part. Ian Mckellan is Teabing which is pretty cool [/b]
Yeah! Ian Mckellen is cool. I don't know why I don't like Tom Hanks...i don't think that it's his acting that bothers me...it's probably just the roles that he have had...

And to be honest I don't care if the theories put forth are true or not. But I think that conspiracy theories is really fun to read about. And The Da Vinci Code is one of the best conspiracy novells that i have read.

redstar2000

2nd May 2006, 12:36

Always "behind the curve", I finally got to this one.

Yeah, it's a pretty good "page-turner"...not up to the level of Stephen King but far superior to Tom Clancy.

Two things nagged at me while I was reading it...especially towards the end.

The author keeps referring to the "Dead Sea Scrolls" as a "gospel"...not true and could not possibly be true; they were written at least a century before the lifetime of "Jesus" and are mostly fragments of the Hebrew "Bible".

The basic premise of the book's "action" is that a "liberal" pope has been elected and he's going to give the boot to Opus Dei...the author should have been fully aware of the fact that the last pope had packed the College of Cardinals with "traditionalists" and there was "no hope" of a "liberal pope" for many decades into the future.

But if you like "conspiracy" novels, you'll probably like this one. :)

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/123.gif

encephalon

2nd May 2006, 19:13

Now, as to the matter that you mentioned, some of it is correct though Constantine didn't really have the power to change Christianity( he wasn't baptized until his deathbed). Constantine's power was gained through his military and political accomplishments. Much of Christianity was changed by the clergy in the 4th and 5th centuries through consensus and agreements like the councils of Nicaea.

This is true and false, really. I would say that for a while, western christianity developed its creed through councils, and early on eastern christianity did as well.

But with the split of the roman empire and the eventual fall of the empire in the west, so split christianity.. the disintegration of that empire in the west led to a decreasing role of the state in christian affairs (at least, until charlemagne). But people seem to forget that the Roman empire in the East still flourished for a long time, and eastern christianity developed with the head of state (in constantinople) being the representative of god (and constantine is considered the first of many), not the pope. That's why they call it Orthodox--because they argue that it was the "original" christianity before the pope split off and claimed the head of earthen affairs as his own.

Fistful of Steel

2nd May 2006, 19:22

I've got the book lying next to my bed but I can't bring myself to read it. I guess if the movie turns out entertaining I'll read the book. (I always find conspiracy theories to be pretty amusing and good fuel for fiction anyway)

Janus

2nd May 2006, 19:36

As it happens, I never got around to reading the novel.
Don't worry redstar, there's always the movie now. :lol:

The author keeps stating that this story is real which is why all this attention is being drawn to it.

The Grey Blur

2nd May 2006, 20:40

Originally posted by [email protected] 6 2006, 10:33 AM
If you guys enjoyed The Da Vinci Code you should defiantly check out a book called The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail. While The Da Vinci Code is created to appeal to it's audiences as a fiction (hence the blockbuster Hollywood film, bord game, etc) The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail is made to represent a grouping of historical facts, thus creating a much more intellectual read and so much more is learnt. In most cases I have been able to locate I have found that it argues for both for and against. Although no where near as smooth as The Da Vinci Code The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail educates so much more. But the main thing that appeals to me is the fact that the three authors are all historians rather than fictional writers.
Any way check it out and send me some feedback.
And I'm kinda new to this so any online friends are much appreciated.
Plug, can admins delete trash like this?

Janus

2nd May 2006, 22:06

That post is a bit strange but this forum is for literature debates.

The Grey Blur

2nd May 2006, 23:23

It's an ad

Sanjee

3rd May 2006, 09:27

The Da Vinci Code, haha. I'm kind of surprised of my self, that I once believed Dan Brown. The story is just fine, it's excelent. But the question is, is it true?
After reading the Da Vinci Code, I started to read a book called: De Da Vinci Code gekraakt. It's the Dutch title of the book, and it means something like: The Da Vinci Code unlocked. The authors are Etchegoin and Lenoir. And no, this is not an Ad but it's a call for people that want to know the truth behind the Da Vinci Code. Seriously guys, the Da Vinci Code is a great story, but the theory is crap.