(no subject)

[novapsyche]

Someone brought up The Da Vinci Code yesterday, and another person said, "That's a bad book! I'm not reading that!"

I turned to that person and asked, "You don't happen to be Catholic, do you?"

"Yes, I am," she said, perhaps taken aback.

I don't mean to be a religious bigot here, but I don't understand why Catholics take such offense to that book, but I don't hear much grumbling from Protestant circles.

Just an observation.

Comments

[fadedpaladin.livejournal.com]

funny, I thought it was an awful book and stopped reading it, though not for any faith-based reasons-- I just found the writing to be tortured and weak. Of course, it was brilliant, compared to his earlier Demons&Angels, which was written with all the grace of a middleschooler. However, the thing that really irks me about that guy's books (why can't I remember the name right now??) is that all of his weird conspiratorial links, the odd takes on things, he tries to pass off as new and radical ideas. As far as I know, nothing in there is new thought or research.
*shrugs*

[badsede.livejournal.com]

Catholics take offense because it is the same kind of tripe we have been subjected to in this country since it was founded. Most Protestants don't have a problem with it because it is a different refrain to the same song that many Protestants sing, that the Catholic Church made most of its beliefs up and has been hiding "the Truth" about Jesus and salvation for centuries.

I actually enjoyed the book. As a little suspense thriller I found it very entertaining. Sure, it's not the best-written book out there, but it was good for a little escapism. But, I have become desensitized to the maligning of Catholicism that runs a very deep undercurrent through American and northern European culture. I am also familiar with nearly all of the "proof" that the book alludes to or mentions to support the view of history that the plot is built on, and therefore I know how ludicrous most of it is. I often found myself saying, "Hey, I read that, and it does not say that" or, "Ancient source huh? try 11th c." Hell, his description of daVinci's L'Ultima Cena isn't even accurate.

Ultimately, it is a decent piece of fiction. But that is what it is: fiction. There's a reason that The Hyram Key, Holy Blood, Holy Grail and even The Jesus Mysteries are called "pulp theology" and their authors chuckled about by the people who can actually read the source material in its original languages. The fact that this book is causing a crisis of faith among many people who assume that the plot line's history is fact reflects what a poor state popular theological and historical education is in.

catholic are the biggest patricarchs

[bloodlikerain.livejournal.com]

in my opion. their big thing is the Trinity, which they interpret as the father son and holy spirit. as far as i'm concerned the holy spirit is mary. this falls into place with a lot of other trinity, father son child, the goddess trinity, and of course the number three, the empress. I think catholics are just about as close to Paganism as christianity can get..

anyhow, the feminine side of wisdom that the catholics CAN acknowladge is the mother, not a maiden, in this case a young sexual woman *caugh * mary madgelene. or the crone....say old testament Sophia.