Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code - Book Report/Review Example

Discuss Dan Brown's contention about the conspiracy by religious ities Dan Brown's book - The Da Vinci is as wildly popular as controversial with posing uncomfortable and taboo questions about the validity of Christianity. Although the book is classified as fiction, it this does not stop the audience from asking: Is this true The plot of the novel includes a conspiracy initiated by the Roman Catholic Church, in the attempt to hide and cover up in numerous ways the "true" story behind the identity of Jesus Christ. There are reference of the importance of Mary Magdalene in Christianity, the role of the "Holy Grail" and the masterpieces of Leonardo Da Vinci. The appearance of the book stirred countless articles in response to the content that Church's conspiracy was made for the sake of preserving its power. The story revolves around the post-Constantinian church and its efforts to guard what the Gospel's proclamations. The conspiracy narrative goes that the Church subverted the truth in its perennial attempts to exercise coercive power. We can see this dominant religious concept in Dan Brown's character Sir Leigh Teabing who declares: "It was all about power. Christ as Messiah was critical to the functioning of Church and state (Brown 316)." The book generated outrageous reactions among Christian theologians. The inaccurate portrayal of the Bible and its Christian values and teachings made Dan Brown's book a heresy. The book stimulated unprecedented interests because it openly addresses questions about what Christians really believe in. It raises doubts about the story of Jesus, the religious authority and possible conspiracy by the Church. If we take a more general perspective on history, we will see that throughout the millennia historic records were plentiful on belligerent religious events. For example the Crusades which were organized as mission to spread the Christian values actually were violent subjugation of the foreign cultures. We all have heard about the Spanish Inquisition and its inhumane methods - burning suspected witches at stake provoked the Christian faith all the more. This scattered historical evidence indicates that the story might contain a kernel of truth. Among the more significant concerns is that tourist and people intrigued by the conspiracy story visit the places described in the book in France and Great Britain and try to see for themselves where the truth stands. They question themselves if the story is persuasive enough and accumulate social opinion which triggers the conspiracy enigma of the Christian religion. Besides the conspiracy, the book handles other questions of power - the power of woman and the power of the divine. The obvious subjugation of women clearly speaks of the omnipotent power of Christian religion. The Church fights to preserve its divine power and its omnipresent gift to liberate human souls from the evil. In Dan Brown's book Mary Magdalene had a royal bloodline, was married to Jesus and might have his children. Brown (2004) suggests that Roman Catholic Church conspired the true story behind Jesus, because it did not include the so called Gnostic Gospels. Welborn (2004) delineates that Gnosticism was a dualistic and exoteric mode of thinking and that was the reason why it was rejected by Christianity. Gnosticism claimed two gods, which was inconsistent with the Gospels handed by the apostles. Welborn (2004) points out that the canonical Gospels date from the middle of the first century A.D whereas the Gnostic ones can not be present earlier than the middle of the second century. In Brown's novel Leabing suggests that "Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence" (Brown 315)until the Council of Nicaea was summoned. "Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal (Brown 315)". It is claimed in the book that Emperor Constantine desired unification between the followers of Alexandrian bishop and those of the presbyter. A powerful unifying imperial religion would possible strengthen his positions too. This is what explains the conspiracy according to Brown's "The Da Vinci code". In fact what Brown's book is critical about is not only the very conspiracy, but also the ideological brain-washing and the personality cult of Jesus Christ entangled in the Christian values. The proper understanding of the conspiracy and its nature and origins means unveiling the curtains of manipulative preaching and see how abusive forms of power were exercised by the religious leaders. In his last book "The lost symbol" Brown renews the myth behind Freemasons. Long before the book they were accused of being secret society, engaging in deviant practices and occult rituals. Freemasonry is rich in symbols which are ubiquitous - such as the pentagram or the five-pointed star. In "The Lost Symbol", Brown prominently features a "Masonic" mapping detecting pentagrams and other religious symbols, which connect different landmarks. Masonry embodies the universal brotherhood and is shared around the world regardless of political, national, or religious differences. Thus, the concept of the Freemasons as a secret society is exploited in the best possible way by Brown's talent and insight. In the film version of the book - "Angles and Demons" Dan Brown promotes a secret society knows as the Illuminati. They are fighting with Vatican for centuries in their attempt to promote science over faith. On a historical perspective the Illuminati were found by Adam Weishaupt in 1776. Another secret society was a Spanish group known as Alumbrado. The literal meaning of the word is "The Enlightened". They existed in the 16th century and believed that human soul at a certain point can enter into a direct contact with the Holy Spirit. Secret societies are persecuted by the Church and suggest that the creation of a secret society implies the mystique idea of an invitation for conspiracy. The deep suspicion of power and the powerful that "The Da Vinci code" probes into is challenging and yet complex. The book is a best-seller, because it carries our innermost, but not utterable suspicion of traditional authority and orthodoxy. From the distance of time, nothing can be proven especially if it happened twenty-one centuries ago. The conspiracy theories in the novel are mysteriously linked to the abuse of power in the hands of the church and occasionally borders with the satanic deeds. Even if the book is a fiction it seriously raises suspicion on the Churches ability to suppress the reality in the name of its survival and authority. Reference: Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code, London: Corgi Books, 2004 Welborn, Amy. The DaVinci Code: The facts behind the fiction. Our Sunday Visitor. 2004 Read More