The Da Vinci Code

The debate over "The Da Vinci Code"book has reached the United Kingdom. The Associated Press reported:

The novel's premise that Jesus Christ fathered a child with Mary Magdalene has drawn strong protests from the Catholic Church, and the movie version has fanned whispers of discontent in the cathedral city of Lincoln in central England, where Tom Hanks and the crew were filming Tuesday.

"To a believer, any believer, what is happening is blasphemous," said Sister Mary Michael, who held a solo prayer vigil outside the medieval cathedral.

The head of Lincoln's Anglican cathedral, the Very Rev. Alec Knight, conceded that the novel was "far-fetched and heretical," but he defended the decision to allow filming. The cathedral accepted a reported $180,000 to double as Westminster Abbey in the Ron Howard-directed film.

"It has clearly touched the public imagination, and the church needs to open up a debate about it rather than throw one's hands up and walk away from it," Knight said.

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I don't know what to say about the $180,000 the cathedral received from the movie producers. But, I do agree with his statement that the church should be open for debate.

I read the book. I didn't take it seriously. Here's why:

1. I got angry reading the writer's claims.


2. When I reached the part about Jesus' public display of affection with Mary Magdalene, I started to laugh. I told my husband:
   

   
   If this is true, I want to go back 2000 years in time and live in THAT Middle East. The 20th century Middle East where I grew up was very different.
   

   
   That's when I stopped taking the book seriously. I actually thought the book was hilarious.


3. When I reached the last 100 pages, I got really bored with the book. By that time, I already figured who was behind the killings and the book started to feel like a slow thriller movie.

If you haven't read the book yet or already heard the conspiracy theories regarding Mary Magdalene, then you probably want to wait for the movie. Tom Hanks may turn the book to a very entertaining movie.


UPDATE Mar. 24, 2006
The Catholic church started a Web site called "Jesus Decoded." as an answer to the Dan Brown's fiction book.