Some Thoughts On The DaVinci Code

By Kevin E.

Let me preface this by saying that I read the Davinci Code a while back and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was a very entertaining read and deserved to sell as many copies as it did. My problem with the book and its message came later. It seems that people began to believe the storylines and conspiracy theories in this fictional book.

I began to wonder what it was about this book that was able to convince so many simple minded as well as bright individuals that there was some truth to it. After all we all know now that the Priory of Sion is a fictional group created by a hoaxter in the 1950's. This has been proven by a number of documentaries which brought out the facts about the so called group.

I have theorized that intellectual laziness along with some half truths can convince a portion of people of just about anything. There are some interesting facts in the book mixed in with complete fiction. For example if you look at Davinci's paining it does indeed look like the person standing next to Jesus is a woman. We read something like that and the seed is planted that something might indeed be afoot. At that point the readers mind is susceptible

Another problem I have with the context of this book is the way they describe the Catholic Church as a sinister organization with Opus Day as their evil enforcer wing. Again my problem is that people seem to believe this stuff as truth. It seems that people are willing to believe anything these days. It is one thing to take on a religion philosophically, it is quite another to make up indefensible conspiracy theories about them. Just think about the connotation. The book refers to Opus Day as a secretive organization with strange customs and rules. It seems to me that any religious organization could be described in that manner.

Now you might be wondering what this has to do with a Jewish website. My fellow Jews might be thinking that this is a Christian matter and none of our business. I disagree with that sentiment. In the late 1800's a fictional book was published by an anti-Semite called the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In it he describes a massive conspiracy by the Jewish people to take over the world. The writer describes the religion of Judaism as a secondary cover for this sinister organization headed by Jewish elders. Not surprisingly the people of the time widely believed the book to be true. The trend with the DaVinci code reminds me a bit of that. People are all too willing to believe anything they read no matter what the basis in truth.