Cardinal urges [hypocritical] legal action against Da Vinci Code

Rooters.com ^ | Sun May 7, 2006 10:13am ET | Philip Pullella

[Constantine XIII]

So...how did you come to the conclusion that what has been excepted for the better part of two millenia is wrong?

Did I miss some awesome book, or what?

[Constantine XIII]

How would you like it if someone wrote a book about your mom, or pretty much anyone you care about, and filled it full of stuff they pretty much made up? One that casts the person in question in, let us say, a negative light.

Then the author says it's just a work of fiction, no need to be upset if it isn't true!

Would you say anything about it?

BTW, what's yer point with the white boxing champs?

[Constantine XIII]

:)

[irishjuggler]

Okay, which scientist was killed?

[irishjuggler]

Look, we have people on this very thread (e.g., maine-iac7) who consider Brown's version of history factual. Unfortunately, there are millions more people out there like maine-iac7. Whether it's out of ignorance, paranoia or wishful thinking, these folks believe in the "truth" behind Brown's book.

[jess35]

Why would suggesting Jesus was married be negative? That's kind of bizarre.

[Lunatic Fringe]

If you mean "accepted," then your premise is incorrect.

Christianity was largely a Meditteranean religion for the first 1000 years of its existence. In other words, it was unheard of or rejected by 90% of the world's population until around 1100 AD when the Catholic church began violently imposing its religion around the ancient world.

Through their campaign of terrorism and lies, they spread christianity for the next 1000 years and they've been able to deceive about 33% of the world.

I never came to a conclusion that christianity is wrong, I just never believed and never will. I prefer not to follow a Jewish cult religion that has a history of murder and deception.

[Miss Marple]

Dan Brown has given interviews claiming that his publishers made him label it as fiction (wink, wink). He has clearly intimated that the basic premises within the novel are true.

I don't believe in censorship or legal action, but I certainly think the church has a duty to respond to an attack.

[Constantine XIII]

If it happened after the Crucifixion - which didn't kill him - then it would imply that he was never resurrected and never rose to Heaven.

That's a biggie. :)

[Lunatic Fringe]

How would you like it if someone wrote a book about your mom, or pretty much anyone you care about, and filled it full of stuff they pretty much made up?

Then I would sue. Hey, if you can find any living relatives of Jesus, I'm sure they can file a lawsuit for slander... by then, the whole idea that Jesus had children is ridiculous right? So I guess you're SOL.

[Tiberius109]

If a person's faith can't withstand a trite little tome/movie like the Da Vinci Code I would submit they have no faith.

I've been saying that all along..It's a damn FICTION book ..Take it for what it is ..geeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzz

[Lunatic Fringe]

Dan Brown has given interviews claiming that his publishers made him label it as fiction

SOURCE???

[Constantine XIII]

Yeah, we've already established the fact that I'm not having a good spelling day. :)

Your interpretation of history, though, is a little...unusual.

Even accepting what you said, nowhere did Christ say that "thou shalt oppress the unbeliever." We aren't the Space Marines, after all. Just because some tyrants did so and used Christ as an excuse doesn't invalidate what He said. Is it Buddha's fault that medieval Japanese monks burned down each other's monasteries over trivial doctrinal disputes? The historical injustices of the past are clearly against what the son of God taught us. Feel free to condemn the perpetrators, but don't put it on His doorstep

Moreover, you say that Christians are "deceiving the world." How is that? If you have some exclusive pipeline to the truth, please, fill us in. It wouldn't be the first time FR has broken important news. :D

[monkeyshine]

The Illuminati, the Knights Templar, the Opus Dei are all pieces of thread that weave a big, old conspiracy story. Dan Brown just rearranged the narrative and put a storyline over it. I guess he deserves credit for writing a compelling story, but the basis of the book is not at all original.

[Constantine XIII]

I asked how you would like it, not how quick you'd get lawyered up.

However, the fact that you WOULD get lawyerd up says something about how you would feel.

We feel likewise, and seeing as how we live in a free country, for the moment, we certainly have the right to express ourselves, no?

[Lunatic Fringe]

So, let's get this right...

1. The Church established what Jesus said through the canon.
2. The Church was wrong in oppressing people.
3. The Church being wrong about how it spread it's religion doesn't change what Jesus said.

Do you not see the flawed logic there? There were dozens of "gospels" but only those that toed the Church line were accepted (determined by the Church, mind you). Also, the original text needed to be translated through hundreds of years, but somehow through all this selective editing, the Word of God remained intact?

It takes a lot of faith in humans to accept something like that, and I'm afraid history doesn't lend a whole lot of credibility to the European elite.

[Dionysius]

I agree with your assessment, but the motivation of the Da Vinci apologists go beyond mere ignorance, paranoia or wishful thinking. They are driven by a deep-rooted, pathological anti-Catholicism. Brown fuels their hateful emotions, not their intellects.

[Constantine XIII]

Here's the thing: being a Christian implies a strong faith in God. If God can create the world, and can see that the books of the Law was safely transmitted through all of the good and bad times of Hebrew history, then can He not also safeguard the words of His own Son?

It should also be understood that the "church", being the body of all believers in Christ, was not the monolithic legal entity that the Catholic Church later became. It would have been difficult to play conspiracy theory-style "cut and paste" and not have any record of someone being offended trickle out - and Byzantine Christians were especially good at at being offended in a loud way. :)

Moreover, many scholars believe that most of the New Testament can be traced back to the 1st or 2nd centuries, well before there was any well-defined church organizational structure in the modern sense. I'm not an expert though (Physics/Nuclear Engineering nerd), but the Wikipedia article on the New Testament has citations of people who are, for what that's worth.

In light of these things, I don't think it's unreasonable to have trust in the Bible as a reliable transmission of Christ's life and ministry.

[Constantine XIII]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament

Forgot the link!

[trashcanbred]

Who makes Steve Gutenberg a star?

There is definitely something sinister about that...