When the Davinci Code was released as a movie, it made a lot of waves in the news. Many hearolded it as a great work of truth. Then some Christians, publications, and Pastors joined in the fray and began attacking the work. Personally, I didn't understand why there was any confusion or controversy over a fictitious book. I had not read the book or seen the movie, and had no desire to do so. Finally a friend visited and he shed much light on the subject for me. I decided to check out the author's web site for more information, and he appears to be just another fiction writer. Then I decided to look up the secret society that was mentioned several times on the web site. I found this article on the wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priory_of_Sion
I thought it did a great job explaining the secret society hoax. It also explains why there is so much confusion. The confusion comes from the fact that the author states several times during interviews that he believes his facts are true (at least he believes the society existed). Unfortunately for the author, the evidence overwhelmingly concludes that this was indeed nothing more than a hoax for personal gain. We can thank France for their thorough investigation into this matter. I will say one thing: the author is a very shrewd man. He presented his beliefs as a novel, which relieved him of any responsibility of providing references (because he doesn't have any). Also, everything this author brings out that I've heard so far is all old school. Many of these acusations are older than our own nation (US)! You must always remember, that no mater how believable it may sound, it is nothing more than a novel.
Novel- a fictional prose work with a relatively long and often complex plot, usually divided into chapters, in which the story traditionally develops through the thoughts and actions of its characters.
There are many other points of interest that could be adressed (his church history is completly inaccurate...read the "Trail of Blood"), but since the book relies very heavily on this one "fact", there is no reason to explore this matter any further...
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