Saturday, May 13, 2006

De-coding Da Vinci by Amy Welborn

"The facts behind the fiction of The Da Vinci Code." I was looking for a well rounded discussion about what is and what isn't true in Dan Brown's book, and this was the only book still available on the library shelves, but this didn't do it for me. Though the author has a depth of knowledge in this field, she loses her credibility with me through her non-objectivity, like her repetition of the Bible as the most accurate description of Christ's life. I have not researched this field, but I am quite certain some of her facts were not accurate, e.g. there were quite a few cultures around the time of Christ who created similar myths around their spiritual leaders.

The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction - not accurate historical fiction that I often like, but an alternative historical fiction. What if... Jesus was married and had a bloodline preserved to this day? I don't care if it is true, I like the speculation. And to deny that Christianity is patriarchal - mostly from the church leaders throughout the centuries is ludicrous. It is not enough to have the Christ's mother mentioned occasionally. I understood her power while visiting the Cloisters (in NY) while pregnant and looking at all the Madonna paintings and sculptures. I was very drawn to them and understood how important she was to women, as very little else speaks to women directly. I don't remember her emphasized in the Lutheran church in which I was raised. The "sacred feminine" is important and mostly denied by Christianity, even persecuted. Looks like I will have to look further for discussions of The Da Vinci Code. (May 2006)

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