The Da Vinci code

[lauraqld]

We have all witnessed in some way or another, the world wide hype over the controversial novel by Dan Brown titled the Da Vinci code.

Ever since its release in 2003, the book has sold over 40 million copies worldwide and has shocked the churches and rocked the very foundations of religion by claiming that Jesus was only mortal and not divine.

Whilst the novel was already popular and causing much speculation over religion and faith, churches feared the movie of the same title would reach even larger audiences.

Prior to its worldwide release on May 19, the Vatican issued calls to its Roman Catholic people to stay away from the film and the ideals it presented.

The plans to boycott the film were ignored by the cinema goers who contributed to its 2 million euro takings on its opening weekend.

These figures almost doubled the previous Italian top seller, a film about the holocaust titled, Life is beautiful, and that is only in the opening weekend.

Even though the film did not receive rave reviews after its premiere at the Cannes film festival, millions of fans showed up worldwide last Thursday night at its worldwide release.

The film made 29 million on its opening day.

Closer to home, Australian bishops are actually encouraging Australian Catholics to see the da vinci code but to interpret and appreciate it only as Hollywood fictional entertainment.

Conversely, the Anglican Church has used the hype of the film to actually promote its faith to moviegoers by taking out a 50 thousand dollar advertisement which will play before the movie in selected cinemas.

This was a smart move on their part. Any publicity is good publicity.

About the time of the films release, an unnamed priest was quoted as saying, Christianity has survived the writings of Galileo and the theories of Charles Darwin, and surely it can survive a novel from an English author.

Many people are probably only going to see it to see what the hype is about. That’s why I went. Sure it was an entertaining film, and I can see how it has potential to rock the boat on religion. But I only went for the hype.

So basically what I’m saying is… if the church doesn’t want people to see the da vinci code perhaps they shouldn’t be contributing to the hype…


As leading character Sophie says at the conclusion of the film, people will always believe what they want to.

Basically saying… if this story offends you, you never had to believe it.

What’s the point?

[sunny]

Re: The Da Vinci code


Are you sure the book wasn't written by a Muslim ghost writer ?
Do you know what day it is?
From your friendly profiler ::::
Your Deity would like to thank you for your belief and patronage.
In order to better serve your needs, It asks that you take a few
moments to answer the following questions.

1. How did you find out about your deity?
__ Newspaper
__ Letter Box drop
__ Bible
__ Torah
__ Koran (non chant version)
__ Television
__ Book of Mormon
__ Divine Inspiration
__ Dead Sea Scrolls
__ My Parents
__ Government Circular
__ Near Death Experience
__ Near Life Experience
__ National Public Radio
__ Tabloid
__ Burning Shrubbery
__ Other (specify): _____________


2. Which model deity did you acquire?
__ Yahweh
__ Jehovah
__ Jesus
__ Krishna
__ Father, Son and Holy Ghost [Trinity Pak]
__ Zeus and entourage [Olympus Pak]
__ Odin and entourage [Valhalla Pak]
__ Allah and Muhamad (Muslim Pak)
__ Celtic (Lunatic Pak)
__ Gaia/Mother Earth/Mother Nature
__ Satan
__ Pick from alternate list :
Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Babaluaye, Bacchus,
Baldur, Bast, Bellona, Brahma, Brigid, Ceres, Cupid, Cerridwen,
Demeter, Diana, Dione, Dionysus, Eris, Eos, Eleggua, Eshu, Ereshkigal,
Frigga, Frey, Freya, Gaea, Hades, Hebe, Hera, Helios, Hel, Hephaestus,
Hermes, Hestia, Horus, Ibeji, Ifa, Inanna, Indra, Ishana, Ishtar,
Isis, Janus, Juno, Jehovah, Jove, Jupiter, Krishna Kronos, Korravai,
Loki, Lugh, Manitou, Mars, Mercury, Minerva, Mercurius, Morrigan,
Nahuiquiahuitl, Nanahuatzin, Nephthys, Neptune, Obatala, Odin, Ogun,
Oshosi, Oshun, Osiris, Oya, Orunmila, Olokun, Olodumare, Pluto,
Persephone, Poseidon, Proserpina, Quetzalcoatl, Ra, Rhea, Saturn, Set,
Selene, Shango, Tammuz, Thor, Tir, Tiw, Uranus, Venus, Vesta, Vishnu,
Vesta, Vulcan, Wotan, Yahweh, Yemaya, Zeus, Oh, and Lint® the Laundry God...


__ None of the above, I was taken in by a false god


3. Did your Diety come to you undamaged, with all parts in good
working order and with no obvious breakage or missing attributes?
__ Yes __ No


If no, please describe the problems you initially encountered here.
Please indicate all that apply:
__ Not eternal
__ Not omniscient
__ Not omnipotent
__ Not infinite (incapable of being all things to all creations)
__ Permits sex outside of marriage
__ Prohibits sex outside of marriage
__ Makes mistakes
__ Never makes mistakes
__ Makes or permits bad things to happen to good people
__ Looks after life other than that on Earth
__ When beseeched, doesn't stay beseeched
__ Requires burnt offerings
__ Requires virgin sacrifices
__ Doesn't require virgin sacrifices


4. What factors were relevant in your decision to acquire a deity?
Please check all that apply.
__ Indoctrinated by parents
__ Needed a reason to live
__ Indoctrinated by society
__ Needed focus in whom to despise
__ Imaginary friend grew up
__ Heard that it was free
__ Wanted to know Jesus in the Biblical sense
__ Hate to think for myself
__ Wanted to meet girls/boys
__ Fear of death
__ Wanted to tee off parents
__ Needed a day away from work
__ Desperate need for certainty
__ Like Organ Music
__ Need to feel Morally Superior
__ Scatological material was falling out of the sky
__ My shrubbery caught fire and told me to do it.


5. Have you ever worshiped a deity before? If so,
Please check all that apply.
__ Cthulhu
__ Baal
__ The Almighty Dollar
__ Left Wing Liberalism
__ The Radical Right
__ Ra
__ Beelzebub
__ The Great Spirit
__ The Great Pumpkin
__ The Sun
__ The Moon
__ A burning shrubbery
__ Other: ________________


6. Are you currently using any other source of inspiration
in addition to a Diety? Please check all that apply.
__ Tarot
__ Lottery
__ Astrology
__ Television
__ Fortune cookies
__ Psychic Friends Network
__ Dianetics
__ Palmistry
__ Self-help books
__ Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll
__ Biorhythms
__ Alcohol
__ Tea Leaves
__ EST
__ Mantras
__ Crystals
__ Human Sacrifice
__ Pyramids
__ Wandering around a desert
__ Insurance policies
__ Burning Shrubbery
__ Other:_____________________
__ None


7. A Diety employs a limited degree of Divine Intervention
to preserve the balanced level of felt presence and blind faith.
Which would you prefer (circle one)?


a. More Divine Intervention
b. Less Divine Intervention
c. Current level of Divine Intervention is just right
d. Don't know...what's Divine Intervention?


8. A Diety also attempts to maintain a balanced level of disasters
and miracles. Please rate on a scale of 1 - 5
his handling of the following (1=3 unsatisfactory, 3=5 excellent):


a. Disasters:
flood 1 2 3 4 5
famine 1 2 3 4 5
earthquake 1 2 3 4 5
war 1 2 3 4 5
pestilence 1 2 3 4 5
plague 1 2 3 4 5
suicide bombing 1 2 3 4 5


b. Miracles:
rescues 1 2 3 4 5
spontaneous remissions 1 2 3 4 5
stars hovering over jerkwater towns 1 2 3 4 5
crying statues 1 2 3 4 5
water changing to wine 1 2 3 4 5
walking on water 1 2 3 4 5
Saddam Hussein still alive 1 2 3 4 5
72 virgins for each terrorist 1 2 3 4 5


9. Do you have any additional comments or suggestions
for improving the quality of your Diety services?
(Attach an additional sheet if necessary):

[Don H]

We have all witnessed in some way or another, the world wide hype over
the controversial novel by Dan Brown titled the Da Vinci code.


Ever since its release in 2003, the book has sold over 40 million
copies worldwide and has shocked the churches and rocked the very
foundations of religion by claiming that Jesus was only mortal and not
divine.


Whilst the novel was already popular and causing much speculation over
religion and faith, churches feared the movie of the same title would
reach even larger audiences.


Prior to its worldwide release on May 19, the Vatican issued calls to
its Roman Catholic people to stay away from the film and the ideals it
presented.


The plans to boycott the film were ignored by the cinema goers who
contributed to its 2 million euro takings on its opening weekend.


These figures almost doubled the previous Italian top seller, a film
about the holocaust titled, Life is beautiful, and that is only in the
opening weekend.


Even though the film did not receive rave reviews after its premiere at
the Cannes film festival, millions of fans showed up worldwide last
Thursday night at its worldwide release.


The film made 29 million on its opening day.


Closer to home, Australian bishops are actually encouraging Australian
Catholics to see the da vinci code but to interpret and appreciate it
only as Hollywood fictional entertainment.


Conversely, the Anglican Church has used the hype of the film to
actually promote its faith to moviegoers by taking out a 50 thousand
dollar advertisement which will play before the movie in selected
cinemas.


This was a smart move on their part. Any publicity is good publicity.


About the time of the films release, an unnamed priest was quoted as
saying, Christianity has survived the writings of Galileo and the
theories of Charles Darwin, and surely it can survive a novel from an
English author.


Many people are probably only going to see it to see what the hype is
about. That's why I went. Sure it was an entertaining film, and I can
see how it has potential to rock the boat on religion. But I only went
for the hype.


So basically what I'm saying is... if the church doesn't want
people to see the da vinci code perhaps they shouldn't be
contributing to the hype...


As leading character Sophie says at the conclusion of the film, people
will always believe what they want to.


Basically saying... if this story offends you, you never had to believe
it.


What's the point?


# If the film and the book stimulate an interest in the History of Religion,
as an objective study, then it will have done some good.
As to whether established churches benefit or otherwise is of no concern -
except to themselves.
Certainly, the storyline does provoke thought, and indicate alternatives
to orthodoxy.
I saw the film, not having rehd the book, which I've since studied, along
with the earlier "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail".

[Artie]

I read the book and found it a pretty good yarn - although the ending
was a bit drawn out.

Reminded me of the days back at school when you had to write a 1000
word essay, got to 800 words and had to pan out what you had already
done to get the required amount.


But seriously - is the story credible enough to change one's view of
their faith.


Even Dan Brown has said it is a researched work of fiction - you can't
get closer to the truth than that.


Artie...

[frankgardner]

As usual, in the media treatment of this excellent little thriller, no wide-ranging treatment of the territory came to light.eg.
Jesus of Nazareth was a 'Rabbi' - and in ancient Israel, that meant you were married. In fact it was an offence to be male and single.
The very idea of celibacy, was an offence to God, Whose very injunction to man was to procreate and enjoy the days of his/her life.
The Christian Communion was originally a fertility rite to celebrate life. The bread as a male symbol, and the wine cup a most obvious reference to the eternal feminine..
Jesus is referred to in the Essene Scrolls.
The Essenes, of which Jesus was a member, took a communion of psylocibe mushroom to expand their consciousness, and attain spiritual insight. The book - The Mushroom and the Cross - by John Allegro(yes his real name) of Manchester University England, lead to the writer being ostracised by the academic community. Allegro had been professionally studying the Dead Sea scrolls for years, and with the hippy culture of the '60s and '70s taking many people into the realm of hallucinogens, the intrepid academic took a chance on telling the truth.. and he paid heavily for it.
Dan Brown took a wiser course. He produced an easy to read work of fiction rather than an academic expose, and, critically, he used a very vulnerable sect of the Catholic church as a scapegoat/badguy.
Clever that!
The Masons, those masters of esoteric ritual, are made to be the very voice of reason, instead of the subliminal crime syndicate used for gain by the men of low degree. If these words are a little confusing, perhaps examples will clarify:
Is George Bush a man of high or low Degree?
Is Fred Hollows(the doctor who gave sight to millions) a man of high or low Degree?
Men or Women of high Degree can't be 'announced' as this would lead to difficulty in their assignments.
The very purpose of the Masons is to keep alive secret knowledge and pass it on from one generation to the other, without necessarily understanding what is actually being passed on.eg. the
mathematical secret of the 'Grail Cup' is in the lip which the Christ has made holy- so that put upside down on paper - it leaves - O.
The consort of the cup is the loaf of bread - I
Using O and I or 0 and 1 we have the binary code essential to computers. It was only when the 'Christian' set of numbers included
0 - zero, that mathematics could go forward.
eg. When the Sumerian tablets at Ur and various other places in Iraq were found and deciphered, the researchers not only found an account of a very sophisticated society with medicine and law being practiced; they also found (1903) 'myths' about men flying all over the world, open heart surgery, brain surgery, and robots. Genetics
seemed to take quite a pride of place. The Masons took custody of knowledge they didn't understand, but could pass on. The Atomic Bomb is such a secret, gone rogue, and now threatening the very future of mankind.
Curiosity can kill the kitten, especially when the snake is around.
Language is the giveaway here. People simply can't help secret knowledge shaping their phrasing.
eg. ' When I leave this mortal coil ' - an English phrase referring unconsciously to the double helix, centuries before Crick and Watson claimed discovery of the 'mortal coil' as a double helix.
Hitler used esoteric knowledge, found in a book in a public library, to
hypnotise his followers and energise their motivation. The book was not meant for public display or tranmission.
Sanity and obscurity are not mutually exclusive..

[christine]

frankgardner said:

As usual, in the media treatment of this excellent little thriller, no wide-ranging treatment of the territory came to light.eg.
Jesus of Nazareth was a 'Rabbi' - and in ancient Israel, that meant you were married. In fact it was an offence to be male and single.
The very idea of celibacy, was an offence to God, Whose very injunction to man was to procreate and enjoy the days of his/her life.
The Christian Communion was originally a fertility rite to celebrate life. The bread as a male symbol, and the wine cup a most obvious reference to the eternal feminine..
Jesus is referred to in the Essene Scrolls.
The Essenes, of which Jesus was a member, took a communion of psylocibe mushroom to expand their consciousness, and attain spiritual insight. The book - The Mushroom and the Cross - by John Allegro(yes his real name) of Manchester University England, lead to the writer being ostracised by the academic community. Allegro had been professionally studying the Dead Sea scrolls for years, and with the hippy culture of the '60s and '70s taking many people into the realm of hallucinogens, the intrepid academic took a chance on telling the truth.. and he paid heavily for it.
Dan Brown took a wiser course. He produced an easy to read work of fiction rather than an academic expose, and, critically, he used a very vulnerable sect of the Catholic church as a scapegoat/badguy.
Clever that!
The Masons, those masters of esoteric ritual, are made to be the very voice of reason, instead of the subliminal crime syndicate used for gain by the men of low degree. If these words are a little confusing, perhaps examples will clarify:
Is George Bush a man of high or low Degree?
Is Fred Hollows(the doctor who gave sight to millions) a man of high or low Degree?
Men or Women of high Degree can't be 'announced' as this would lead to difficulty in their assignments.
The very purpose of the Masons is to keep alive secret knowledge and pass it on from one generation to the other, without necessarily understanding what is actually being passed on.eg. the
mathematical secret of the 'Grail Cup' is in the lip which the Christ has made holy- so that put upside down on paper - it leaves - O.
The consort of the cup is the loaf of bread - I
Using O and I or 0 and 1 we have the binary code essential to computers. It was only when the 'Christian' set of numbers included
0 - zero, that mathematics could go forward.
eg. When the Sumerian tablets at Ur and various other places in Iraq were found and deciphered, the researchers not only found an account of a very sophisticated society with medicine and law being practiced; they also found (1903) 'myths' about men flying all over the world, open heart surgery, brain surgery, and robots. Genetics
seemed to take quite a pride of place. The Masons took custody of knowledge they didn't understand, but could pass on. The Atomic Bomb is such a secret, gone rogue, and now threatening the very future of mankind.
Curiosity can kill the kitten, especially when the snake is around.
Language is the giveaway here. People simply can't help secret knowledge shaping their phrasing.
eg. ' When I leave this mortal coil ' - an English phrase referring unconsciously to the double helix, centuries before Crick and Watson claimed discovery of the 'mortal coil' as a double helix.
Hitler used esoteric knowledge, found in a book in a public library, to
hypnotise his followers and energise their motivation. The book was not meant for public display or tranmission.
Sanity and obscurity are not mutually exclusive..

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