Do Dan Brown books "speak" the truth?

[akiboy]

I recently read "Angels and Demons" and was shocked by its content.Even though the anti-church organization Illuminati is fictious it sheds new light on the mistakes that the Vatican has commited. I have read "The Da Vinci Code" 5 times to understand that book and it has left me completely dumbstruck.
I know that all religions have a violent history. Hinuism , Islam , Judaisim , CHristianity..you name it.

I know this topic/discussion is quite old but this is a direct question put forward to all Catholics/Christians here:-

Does the Priory of Sion actually exist? Do you believe in it?
Was the Church right in branding eminent people like Da Vinci , Newton , Galileo as heretics and disregarding their work?

The Church say's that planets have circluar orbitals but Newton proved that they have elliptical orbitals. Is the CHurch wrong?

And finally the most controversial question of all:-
After reading the Da Vinci Code and watching the film do you believ that Lord Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene. I mean the evidence suggested is strong..i saw the Last Supper painting 10 times and came to the conclusion that there was a lady sitting next to Lord Jesus. And also Lord Jesus is said to have called Mary Magdalene as his favourite.

Adn what is wrong in Lord Jesus having a family? Why did the Vatican ban "Da Vinci Code"? Was it because the book spoke the truth?

I repeat I have nothing against any religion. I wanted to clear my doubts and thus have posed these questions. Infact Catholic history has sort of become my hobby(I must admit due to the Dan Brown books).

Thank you

 

[Mr.Conley]

Let me answer some of your questions.

Does the Priory of Sion actually exist? Do you believe in it?

Yes, the Priory of Sion exists/existed, but not as described in Brown's book. For more information I direct you here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priory_of_Sion

Was the Church right in branding eminent people like Da Vinci , Newton , Galileo as heretics and disregarding their work?

I'm not sure where this information is from. Of the people on your list, only Galileo's work was branded as heretical. The Church actually commissioned several of Da Vinci's paintings, and Newton himself was a devout Catholic. The church has long accepted the work of all three of these men, though initially some of their work was considered controversial.

The Church say's that planets have circluar orbitals but Newton proved that they have elliptical orbitals. Is the CHurch wrong?

No, the Church actually accepts Newtonian physics. In fact, the Catholic Church is one of the only major Christian denomination to accept the theory of evolution (albeit while maintaining that God had a hand in the process). Again, initially the Church might have objected to Newton's work, but that was centuries ago.

And finally the most controversial question of all:-
After reading the Da Vinci Code and watching the film do you believ that Lord Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene. I mean the evidence suggested is strong..i saw the Last Supper painting 10 times and came to the conclusion that there was a lady sitting next to Lord Jesus. And also Lord Jesus is said to have called Mary Magdalene as his favourite.

First one point, our understanding and knowledge of the life of Jesus Christ is somewhat threadbare. There remains no contemporary writings that refer to Jesus. The first written acknowledgements we have of Christ come from the 1st of the gospels written in around AD 70, about 35 years after Jesus's death.

I, personally, have never seen any evidence suggesting that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. It's certainly not in the gospels, and what historical writings we have of Jesus, though admittedly long after his time, make no reference to such. Now you should know that I haven't done ALL the research in the world on this issue, but that's my understanding. I encourage you to continue researching yourself.

One important point you mention is the so-called women in Da Vinci's Last Supper. A lot of people now insist that the painting details a woman. However, you have to realize that Da Vinci was born over 1400 years after Jesus. Even if the figure in the painting IS a woman, that doesn't necessitate that the rest of Brown's ideas are true. I find it somewhat incredible that Da Vinci would somehow be privy to this information about Jesus, especially given the time frame. Regardless, even if Da Vinci's painting is of a woman, that in itself is no evidence of any of Brown's other claims.

Adn what is wrong in Lord Jesus having a family?

My understanding is that since Jesus was "without sin" he therefore can't be going philandering about. Plus, it completely turns the Gospels, which are the foundation of the Christian religion, on their head.

Then again the Mormons went completely bonkers with the Book of Mormon and they're doing fine, so even if Brown's allegations are true I doubt you'll have to worry about the decline of Christianity.

Why did the Vatican ban "Da Vinci Code"? Was it because the book spoke the truth?

My guess is it's because the Church considers the books to be lies and blasphemy.

 

[akiboy]

Thank you Mr Conley for your answers. But there is a point which I anted to clear. You said that the CHurch has accepted Newtonian physics. Also , during Newton's time there lived physicists like Copernicus and Kepler. You say the CHurch never went after these men. But what about Newton's alleged links to the Priory Of Sion? The Priory of Sion was created to protect the lineage of Lord Jesus..And Newton was a member. And the Vatican was after this lineage..In other words the Vatican wanted to finish off this lineage..So it would only be logical if they went after Newton who was a very prominent member of the Priory.
Thanks.

CHeers,
Akiboy

 

[no1tovote4]

Other than conspiracy site insistence what evidence is there that Newton was part of the Prieure de Sion?