The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Da Vinci Code
Book Review: A 'Page Turner' as long as you remember that it is fiction
Summary: 2 Stars
First of all, this book is an exciting read, there is no denying it. However, it is only exciting if a) you can keep in mind that it is a fiction, nearly all alleged historical facts are complete fabrications or b) you have no knowledge of the subject areas in which Dan Brown is writing.Dan Brown is a professor in creative writing, and he gets high marks for this, he is creative, and he did a lot of writing. Good Job Dan!
I am not an art historian, and therefor can't comment on this aspect of the book, I am, however, studying for my degree in Theology. Every single 'fact' in this book about the early church is either inaccurate, or just plain wrong, I can only go through a few.
First of all, the council of Nicea's vote on the divinity of Jesus. The Nicene creed does affirm the divinity of Jesus, however it is based the apostles creed, an older document, possibly going back to the apostles, hence the name. Councils in the Church were held when there were significant problems with heresy, and this council was no differant. Regardless of whether many people denied Jesus divinity, the belief in his divinity is the original going back to the apostles.
The church threw out many 'apocryphal' gospels, this is true, however, the reason these the four gospels in the New Testament were chosen is because they are simply the oldest.
The church did not choose the old testament cannon, Brown never makes a distinction, and even speaks of the 'Torah' as a seperatee book, where in fact it is the first five books of the Bible. The old testament cannon, although largely already chosen through popular use, was chosen by the rabbi's in Jamnia after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, the 'christians' in the later councils had nothing to do with it.
The idea that the Dead Sea scrolls contain mention of Jesus' marraige to Mary Magdelaine is quite frankly idiotic. The scrolls found at Qum'ran contain no mention of Jesus at all, this was a community of Essene Jews who were characterized by a strict adherance to ritual purity through bathing three times a day. They also believed in the use of a solar calendar for temple sacrifices instead of the traditional lunar calendar. These people had no association with Jesus what so ever.
Finally, a minor point. The woman with the alabastar jar spoken of in Mark's gospel is not Mary Magdalaine, in the story she is annonymous, but most likely she is the Mary of Bethany found in other gospels. In another gospel Mary Magdelaine did a similar thing, but it was a seperate event.
I will try to end on a positive note, this book is a very interesting read, but do not take anything it says as fact in 'real life'. If you are interested in the early church read The Lost Letters of Pergamum, by Bruce Longenecker. Most importantly, find out about all of these things for yourself. Read about art history, read about the early church, read about 'secret societies' and the holy grail (which plays a prominant role in 'The Waste Land' by T.S. Eliot), read the Bible. You will have something that Dan Brown obviously never thought of.
Book Review: A Big Mac for the mind
Summary: 2 Stars
This book is a roaring good read, which is reason enough to spend a couple of evenings with it. But the author's facts are skewed and some of his assertations are just plain silly. (If that's who he says it is in the center of the painting with Jesus, then why was James, brother of Jesus omitted from the gathering of apostles?) You've heard of junk science? This is junk history. Enjoyable, but not very nourishing for the mind.Book Review: A Blasphemous Mystery
Summary: 1 Stars
I love mysteries and thought that this would be a good one since it starts in the Louvre. Was I wrong. As a Christian I take exception with the author making Jesus a mere mortal and saying that his divinity was made up by the Catholic church. Also what was all that junk about Mary Magdalene being a goddess and the wife of Jesus. There is only one God and the goddess bit is just new age stuff. Is the author a new age junkie? I wish someone would explain why Christianity is the only religion debunked and belittled in books. I gave it one star because it could have been a good mystery. But this will be the last book I will ever read by Dan Brown. I am glad I didn't waste the money on it. Thank God for libraries.Book Review: A Book To Talk About . . .
Summary: 2 Stars
Your friends are probably talking about the DaVinci Code, and you probably will have to read it in self defense. Notice that they only talk about it's thesis. No one remembers the characters or the writing, it is unmemorable. No one grows or learns except possibly the minor character of the Bishop. It's not really a novel. You've already learned from the other reviews that the thesis was lifted from an earlier book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, so what else can I tell you? Two things, both about the thesis.First, from a mythological perspective, the thesis is laughable and cannot be. The Christian story is a member of the family of Middle Eastern religious stories involving a dying and ressurecting deity who is a son (Jesus, Baal, Adonis, Dumuzi, Tammuz) or a daughter (Persephone). Not one of these deities had any offspring. It was their function to sacrifice their personal fertility to provide for the fertility or salvation of the rest of the planet. Had Jesus had offspring, his story would not have been believed by anyone in the Middle East, but in fact Christianity spread rapidly there. So we must conclude that the bloodline thesis is mythologically unsound. Feel free to impress your friends with this post-obvious fact that they will not have thought of.
From the perspective of legend, the Grail is first mentioned in Chrieten de Troys' Perceval in the 1170's. Chrieten makes it clear he is writing a work of fiction, even though it is based on an earlier story (which does not survive). You may read this for yourself or watch the movie Perceval, and it will be clear that a serving vessel that contained food (not beverage) is described, and that it is carried by a woman and many women are involved in principal roles in the story, so there is no reason to suspect the Grail is an indirect reference to a woman. There is no hint of the bloodline thesis in Perceval. While it is clear the Lance and Grail are probably intended to represent Christian relics, most of this explanation is added by later authors who continued Chrieten's story.
What is the opinion of scholars on the origin of the Grail legend? It has been much studied and there are many opinions. One voiced by Jessie Weston in her book From Ritual To Romance actually does involve the Mediterranean Mystery Religions, and their regenerative aspects, but there is no trace of the bloodline thesis. The established view, and so firmly established it would be very difficult to dislodge, comes from Roger Loomis in his The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol, in which he convincingly traces its origins to a pagan dish of plenty which is never exhausted, and functions as a fountain of youth and wellness for anyone eating from it.
Two stars are due, as the book is at least a page turner. But don't expect to learn any secrets, because Brown doesn't have any, so he never lets any character actually see the rumored proof. But if you are handy with a search engine, you can discover that the principals of the Priory of Sion have admitted they founded it as a hoax in 1956.
Book Review: A Book for the Masses
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is perfect for anyone that wants to get into reading. It is a sure page-turner that grabs you from the start. No patience is needed for reading it. There is constantly something exciting going on, which Brown accomplishes with his short chapters that end right after a small "bomb" is dropped on the reader.Most people will be pleased reading this book. There are many fascinating things and lessons to be learned from The Da Vinci Code. One is that there are many sides to a single story, and to never take history's word for what has really happened.
I felt a bit of emptiness as I began to finish this book, I think mainly because I didn't know what to take as fact or fiction from what I had just read. However, there are many, many positives to this book, and if you can weed out everything else, you will walk away a happy, enlightened customer.