My Da Vinci Code Connection

[steveshack]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 12:47am

If you read The Da Vinci Code or are interested in the whole backstory, I have finally come out of the closet about my connection to Dan Brown and his wife, Blythe. I have known both of them for years and, in fact, am indirectly responsible for the two of them meeting. I put the whole story at the link below.
The real story of Dan & Blythe Brown

[Burlesquebabe]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 1:01am

I personally not only as a Christian but really as a human being thinks that book is, and no offense at all, trash I mean...AHH! That book just angers me so! Sorry but I really had to vent especially with Easter ahead.

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 1:05am

I thought I would add some balance to the thread and say how much I love the book. I thought it was brilliantly plotted and very insightful. Any book that makes me question whether the fiction is fact or not is excellent in my book. Maybe it's because of my reservations with the catholic church but I didn't find it religiously offensive at all. It's fiction people. FICTION.

[Burlesquebabe]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 1:08am

I know it's fiction but still I'm very sensitive to people even trying to fix God's word. I know not everyone feels like I do but I really think that's where the line should be drawn.

[steveshack]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 1:41am

The book is fiction, but what's NOT fiction is how the Church suppressed the power and dignity of the feminine. In its earliest history, the records show that women were equal to men in the church. Even Paul says "In God there is no male and no female." But the church leaders, the men, made a power play and the next thing you know, women were shut down and shut out. That's just a fact. And that's what Da Vinci Code is REALLY all about.

[DramaDork925]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 1:43am

I don't understand why the idea of Jesus being married and having a wife angers people so much.

[Burlesquebabe]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 1:45am

Because it's not true, atleast that's why I'm angry. Until they point out in the Bible anything saying Jesus was married why don't they shutup and just read one of the last verses in Revelations to see what will happen them if they don't stop this mess.

[DramaDork925]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 1:56am

So you think people deserve all the "fire and brimstone" stuff in Revelations just because they consider the idea Jesus might've been married?

[Burlesquebabe]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 1:59am

No, why don't you read it for yourself and make your own decision. I'm sorry for sounding very harsh but you have no idea how mad I get because of stuff like this.

[DramaDork925]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 2:00am

I have read it. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Burlesquebabe]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 2:02am

Well, then you do know the part I am referring to right?

[DG]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 2:05am

Jesus, save me from your followers.

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 2:05am

Not to be offensive and inappropriate but has anyone ever considered that the bible is not the sum of all the information about the time and life of Jesus Christ?

[DramaDork925]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 2:10am

Amen, DG.

And exactly, neomystyk, there are whole decades of Jesus's life we know nothing about.

[steveshack]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 4:54am

People don't get angry unless they're hearing a truth they don't want to hear. When religionists get all hot and bothered because their sacred cows are being tipped over, it's usually because their belief system is built on sand. Any little doubt or challenge to their orthodoxy theatens to topple whatever little structure they've built.

Faith doesn't need to be defended. It needs to be exercised.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 7:02am

AAAACCCCTTTUUUUAAALLLLYYYYY, there is proof in the Bible that Jesus *may* have had a relationship with Mary beyond just her being a follower. Does anyone watch the show on the Discovery Channel that answers alot of deep questions fought over through history by actually going back to the Greek and Hebrew text. Very interesting show whether or not you are a Christian. There is even a new text that has been discovered almost a century ago called "The Gospel of Mary" that actually shows that she is the one that started the church, not Peter (this was also in the show mentioned above). Again, Jesus was human . . . Mary was human . . . who knows if they were married or not?!?

"I don't know how to love him. What to do, why he moves me"

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 7:30am

BurlesqueBabe, judging by your ignorance of current theological debate (and the fact that Aida and rent are your avatars....) I am betting your quite young.

There are many, many, many Christians and theologians that do currently believe a relationship between Jesus and Mary was a distinct possibility and evidence continues to be uncovered to support this fact. The bible is an incomplete work, there are writings that have been lost, destroyed and not discovered yet and there is much about Christ's life that we do not yet know. If we do discover that Jesus was married, does that destroy the meaning of his word? Does that diminish his message?

I would highly recommend you take a university theology course as soon as possible. There is a lot more to christianity than what is written in the bible.

[steveshack]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 7:54am

One of the things the church did in the earliest years was it went around burning all the extant gospels and early Christian writings that it didn't like or approve of. Aside from this book burning, it also persecuted the gnostic Christians and/or murdered them. That's the legacy of the church you're following now. But in 1946, in Egypt at Nag Hammadi, a bunch of these ancients books were rediscovered. One of them was the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. In it, Mary claims that Jesus spoke with her secretly and told her things in private. This is what infuriated the church MEN who decided that Jesus would NEVER talk to a WOMAN and tell her things they hadn't told them.

Later on, there was a Pope who decided that Mary Magdelene was a prostitute. She wasn't, of course, but that didn't stop those who cannot stand women with brains and ambition from using their power to destroy the early history of women's high standing among the original post-disciple Christians. Instead of elevating them and honoring them, the church dressed them up like penguins and made them subservient to the men.

It's all history, like it or not.
Defending Dan and Blythe Brown

[DBillyP]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 9:25am

Burlesque, also consider that the Book of Mark, the earliest of the four recognized Gospels, was likely written 60-70 years after the death of Jesus. In that light, it becomes, perhaps, not a factual historical record, but a memoir written to enlighten a particular group of Christians at a particular time and for a particular purpose.

I am currently reading a fascinating book called THE LAST WEEK: A DAY-BY-DAY ACCOUNT OF JESUS'S LAST WEEK IN JERUSALEM by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. With one chapter to go (Sunday, of course), it has forced me to think seriously about my, already liberal, Christian faith.

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 9:31am

I also, do not understand why other Christians are so offended by this book. It does have a lot of truths in it. The Christian faith is far from perfect, just look at the history. Not only excluding women but taking money from people in exchange promising them they would go to heaven. Thta was pretty bad too. Not to mention all the other crap people pull today in the name of the Christian faith.

And there is so much that isn't in the Bible...so I am sick fo people walking around talking about how every single little thing is 100% true.

[steveshack]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 10:29am

John Dominic Crossan is an AWESOME scholar and writer. I have read almost all of his books. It's astonishing how he's able to peel back the layers of history and mythology to get at the core truth of what really happened back then.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 10:32am

Yes, this book has challenged me in ways that I was not expecting.

burlesque, you mentioned in another thread that you finally know Easter's true meaning. I challenge you to read this book, or others like it. When you are done, you may find that Easter means something new and totally different than when you started. It is an exciting feeling.

[DG]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 11:24am

Feathers are ruffled.

[steveshack]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 11:27am

The issue that every thinking person who has ever grown up in a conservative Christian enviroment has to face is what to do when you start to doubt all the mythology and magic tricks that has been a part of traditional Christian thinking. As Crossan has pointed out elsewhere, we tend to think of all the miracle stories in the bible as being unique to the bible, but, in fact, those kinds of stories were common to the literature of the era. Everyone saw walking dead people all the time. There was a demon on every corner. Magicians abounded. Prophets came and went like flies.

What stood out about Jesus was his teachings, which were circulated among his followers, and which taught completely revolutionary ideas about society. Dine with women?? Incredible! Slaves and freemen equal?? Preposterous! Turn the other cheek rather than foment rebellion?? Absurd!!

But people need magic to believe in something. It was not enough for them to understand the power of an IDEA. Here in the modern era, with viral memes circulating and changing things daily, we "get" the power of an idea. We don't automatically assume that someone with a great idea got it directly from some supernatural source.

Ideas like this were expressed in supernatural terms back then because it was part of the literature, part of how people thought and spoke. They did not approach these things with the literalism that we think of when we see them with the Western Scientific mind. When we literalize the metaphoric, we essentially rob it of its power to function and empower us as individuals because we give all the power over to something else. But, in fact, the power of God -- the kingdom of God -- is within.

This takes nothing away from Jesus. What it does is force us to realize that our power is here and now inside ourselves, and that power of God is something we have available at every single moment. It's never not available. We don't have to bow and scrape to some manmade religion or anthropomorphized deity (a god created in the image of man) in order to fully realize our potential. Jesus was saying in the sermon on the mount that if you act "as if" the kingdom of God is here, then it is because you created it by acting like one of its citizens.

We empower ourselves when we uphold Jesus' words rather than worship him like some ant looking up at a human foot begging for mercy. Man always wants to worship, to see something "other" out there more powerful to become a slave to. That's why our civilization gets into so much trouble. We give over our power rather than stand firm and grasp our potential as individuals.

Jesus provoked a revolution and his followers continually tried to turn it into the same old religion but with new clothing. Follow me. No, follow me. No, follow that guy with the hat. No, follow the preacher. No, follow the pope. It's all bull****. The irony is that Jesus hated the establishment. He knew it was corrupt because it's always manmade. The rules aren't made to enslave us, but to give us guidance -- and to be broken when they don't work anymore.

And I'm delivering a sermon here, aren't I? HA! Don't follow me. Follow your heart. Sounds to me like you're already doing it. It's scary, but then having all the answers is boring. I prefer the not knowing. In the mystery lies the power.

Updated On: 4/16/06 at 11:27 AM

[Elphaba]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 11:29am

loved the book, keep me in suspense