i'm just curious about what you think. my 13 year old bought it, and then insisted i read it. i was up all night with it. very interesting. very thought provoking. undoubtedly controversial, but i love a good page turner, and it certainly was that! what did everyone else who's read it think?
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i haven't yet.... but am very intrigued by it.
can i go a bit OT just for a second?
lol - for any Harry Potter mamas, i noticed something while i was watching a special on the da vinci code - w/in the list of people that made up the group that the codes has supposedly been passed down thru i noticed 2 interesting names.
- Nicholas Flamel (the philiosopher of the philospoher/sorc. stone) & Hedwige (harry's owl) ~ Flamel was on the list as being a member & the name Hedwige was as a name of the families/possible offspring of Jesus & Mary.
anyhoo - i just found that interesting... did JK Rowling do some serious research to get some great names, or is she involved somehow & was leaving a hint lol - i know..now my lil mind is wandering way to far...
great topic though ~ i hope i get the book in my stocking
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Last edited by harvestgirl : 11-10-2003 at 01:25 PM.
Location: Meeting every Tuesday in a club in Soho~
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Quote:
Originally posted by pb_and_j What is it about??? Sounds intriguing...
to loosely sum it up - the possibilty that jesus & mary magdalene were *very* close.. & possibly had a child together.
the book points to several thoughts that da vinci left some codes/clues in his works that prove this point. one being that mary mag. is sitting to the right of jesus @ the last supper.
there is supposedly a list of members of a secret group that passed these codes along ...da vinci being on said list.
obviously tons more to it, but that is sorta the jist.
did you know they are making a film version? ron howard's company Imagine is releasing it.
I *loved* it. I found the parts about the Christian suppression of the sacred feminine to be the most interesting. I hope I don't offend anyone who is deeply religious -- obviously this is a work of fiction and the events it alludes to are buried in history and most likely unrecoverable, but it really makes you think -- why is sex so villainized in our society? Why have women historically had such unappreciated and unrecorded roles (i.e., the vast majority of history's greatest rulers, etc. have been men; women have only gained the right to vote relatively recently; until recently, most religions did not allow female leaders, etc.)
I also found the demonization of pagan symbols (the pentagram, Pan's horned head and cloven feet) interesting. That it was done deliberately as a conscious effort to eliminate paganism.
All in all, lots of things to think about and a great whodunit to boot.
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Originally posted by elliebelly i'm just curious about what you think. very interesting. very thought provoking. undoubtedly controversial, but i love a good page turner, and it certainly was that! what did everyone else who's read it think?
I think I would say it about like you did I read it over the summer, so I don't remember enough to actually have a discussion, but it was interesting.
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Heather
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Originally posted by harvestgirl to loosely sum it up - the possibilty that jesus & mary magdalene were *very* close.. & possibly had a child together.
On that topic, did anyone catch the Discovery channel show about Mary Magdalene, looking into her role with the apostles? Very interesting, they said that her gospel was found, but was never included in the Bible. She was supposedly one of the most dedicated apostles in spreading Christianity.
There is a very interesting book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. Published 1982. It touches on the same topics listed in this thread along with the Knights Templar.
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Susan
Don't judge me
You could be me in another life
In another set of circumstances
Don't judge me
One more night
I'll just have to take my chances
I know it's just not in my plan
For someone to care who I am
I haven't read it yet, but would like to at some point to see what the hype is about. I have heard some criticism from Catholic friends who read it that it seemed to have somewhat of an anti-Catholic undertone: insinuating that the Catholic Church did certain things when there is no evidence that those allegations are true. They thought the book was a good read overall, but they were concerned that people might read it and forget that it is just fiction. They thought it might also fuel some of the anti-Catholic biases out there. Anyways, that's all heresay though since I haven't read it. If I ever get the chance to, I'm sure I'll be able to throw in my own two cents.
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Maryalene
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I absolutely LOVED this book. I was engaged from the first chapter and couldn't put it down. It is SO interesting. If you haven't read it...its worth it.
I also read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown...very, very good as well, but definately ficton with less (though some) fact and a little more bloody.
I have just bough his Digital fortress and plan to go start reading it right now.
My work book club read it and everyone LOVED it (and most are Catholic, interestingly enough - though all women in mental health, so I think that might moderate some tradition).
I thought the non-fiction elements of the book were the strongest part. Here are some of my thoughts/questions:
a) why is it threatening to most Christian religions to think that Jesus married and had children? Along those lines, why is it necessary for his mother to have remained a virgin her entire life? As for me, it would not make the mainstream story of Christianity any less powerful and, perhaps would have been more powerful if the story of Jesus included him having siblings, a wife, and children. How would it have been less sacred? Is that saying that Jesus was too pure for women & sex? Or that his mother was? What does that say about married, women, and children? I would think that including a wife and child (in the original story of Christianity) would only lend strength to the concept of marriage and family.
b) Why is it that the idea of Mary M as the holy grail does not stress me out, but that no matter how hard I try to allow the idea of sex as sacrament, I just cannot get there. I, personally, really feel uncomfortable with the idea of sex as sacramental and shared in a group format. And, that makes me feel like a “my issue.”
c) I was so interested in it that I rushed out to buy the Gnostic gospels. I'm very interested in why certain books were selected for what we commonly view as the bible and others were rejected. But, after that I'll read Holy Blood Holy Grail.
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My mom said is was very transparent and knew the ending of the book by page 3 (or something). I haven't read it b/c of that, but then again, she doesn't like Gore Vidal, and who the hel l couldn't like him???
lol - i know..now my lil mind is wandering way to far...
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