Through the "Fire" of Life

Discussing Da Vinci Code

Disclaimer: I am not writing these comments because of being upset...on the contrary, Dan Brown should be thanked. His book and the subsequent movie have provoked much discussion around the church and its history. I just want to have some fun with this...you can always skip it if you are not interested in the topic.

Firstly, his novel is classified as "Historical Fiction". That being the case, you would expect a novel with a historically accurate background with fictional characters made up to his liking. Robert Langdon, Sir Leigh Teabing, and Sopie Neveau can be any type of characters he so desires. However, here is a quote from Brown himself regarding the historical accuracy of his work..."Obviously Robert Langdon is fictional, but all of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies - all of that is historical fact."

Well, on page one of his book, it is stated as fact that the Priory of Sion, a European secret society, was founded in 1099. The Priory of Sion was founded in France in 1956. Quite a difference in dates.

Also it states that in 1975, Paris's Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion including Sir Isaac Newton, Borticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo Da Vinci. These documents do exist, but were forged and planted by Pierre Plantard, who later admitted the documents were phony. A hoax.

More historical inaccuracies:

• The Da Vinci code claims that the pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris has 666 panes of glass. Go to their website - it has 673 diamond shaped panes of glass.
• It also claims that the Greeks based their Olympic games on an eight year cycle as a tribute to the planet Venus, which represented a goddess. The games were in fact held in honor of the Greek god Zeus on a four year cycle.
• According to the Da Vinci Code, the Merovingian royal family founded Paris. Actually, Paris was established by a tribe of Celtic Gauls called the Parisii in the third century BC. The Merovingians did make Paris the capital of the Frankish kingdom in AD 508.

Question: If Brown cannot be relied upon to accurately recount the most basic of historical facts, then how can he be trusted to correctly explain more complex issues?

More later - Good night all...luv yaas!

posted by Fireguy @ 9:04 PM