"The Da Vinci Code": It's just a movie

[BobcatJH]

"The Da Vinci Code" is just a movie. There, I said it. Is that really so hard an idea to grasp? A movie that, in fact, I haven't yet seen. Nonetheless, "The Da Vinci Code" is just a movie, just like "Road House" and "Cannonball Run II" before it.

It's a successful film based on a best-selling book, just like "The Firm" or the "Harry Potter" series. It stars the guy from "Bachelor Party", the girl from "Amelie" and Magneto from "X-Men". A work of fiction intended to do one thing better than any other: Make money.

That so many people can't wrap their heads around so simple an idea is a testament to how stupid our society has become. That thousands, maybe millions, consider "The Da Vinci Code" a direct threat to their faith speaks to a paranoia beyond my comprehension. It's just a movie, folks. Get over yourselves.

Driving to an area bookstore Saturday, I was greeted with the sight of a man hammering signs into the ground on busy street corners. The signs, and I paraphrase, said something like, "I believe in Jesus Christ; Reject The Da Vinci Code". For now, I'm considering it a coincidence that I spotted another man leaving leaflets under patrons' windshield wipers at the bookstore that informed us that the Bible had disproved evolution. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he wasn't likely to find many converts to so stupid a notion in the parking lot of a bookstore.

Getting back to the movie, however, I've noticed anti-"Da Vinci Code" signs at local churches, too. And these aren't isolated incidents, either. You can't watch Fox News for five minutes without catching a host or commentator challenging the movie, much like the network made it a point to assault "Brokeback Mountain" at every turn. Or bash Mexicans.

Why do people behave so irrationally? Because they fear change. They fear that the face of the 21st Century in America won't be white. They fear that fewer people view two loving people who happen to share the same sex as a threat to democracy. And they fear that people may ask questions about the origins of their faith. Why think for ourselves when these people, these arbiters of wisdom, can do it for us?

As I wrote earlier when I referred to many of these same people as the Nuisance Generation, they can preach all they want about the ownership society and personal responsibility. But they don't practice what they preach. What's worse, they don't trust your sense of personal responsibility. They trust theirs better. And they want to impose it on you.

Think about it. They don't want you reading certain books. They don't want you watching certain movies. They don't want you listening to certain music. They don't want you to possess the knowledge needed to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. They don't want you to accept facts that have been conventional wisdom everywhere else for decades. They think a burning flag is an affront to America. They think a translated national anthem will tear the whole system down.

But these people, these turds in our collective punch bowl, fail to recognize the spectacular hypocrisy inherent in their outrage. The people who lecture everyone else about personal responsibility can't exercise it themselves. If they could only change the channel instead of filing a complaint, our lives would be so much easier. If they could only spend more time working for good than picketing a box office, the world would be a much better place. But they can't, because they realize that it's much easier to be against something than for anything.

You want to know what's a real threat to people's faith? Church sex abuse. And the longer some blame liberals for the blight instead of looking in the mirror, the more problems the church will have. Problems like the fact that some people consider it a good thing to physically assault those whose only crime is holding different viewpoints. Problems like the notion that Pat Robertson and others like him say things they'd spend a lifetime decrying if they came from a mullah. Problems far greater than "The Da Vinci Code".

It's just a movie.

[RubyDuby in GA]

1. Spot on, except

that you forgot that it also stars The Professional and Dr. Octavio from Spiderman II.

Everything else: Yeah! What BobcatJH said...

[BobcatJH]

2. Good point

I thought I'd stick with the rule of threes. Always makes good sense and sound writing. But Doc Oc would have been a good ad.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Why? Because of the age in which we live. Said perfectly by Charles

Freeman as quoted by Morris Berman, "It's 'the gradual subjection of reason to faith and authority.’ This is what we are seeing today, and it is a process that no society can undergo and still remain free. Yet it is a process of which administration officials, along with much of the American population, are aggressively proud.”

“If a nation is unable to perceive reality correctly, and persists in operating on the basis of faith-based delusions, its ability to hold its own in the world is pretty much foreclosed.”

"The opposite of the Enlightenment, of course, is tribalism, groupthink; and more and more, this is the direction in which the United States is going."

Meanwhile, the indoctrination of the people merrily continues. “In a ‘State of the First Amendment Survey’ conducted by the University of Connecticut in 2003, 34 percent of Americans polled said the First Amendment ‘goes too far’; 46 percent said there was too much freedom of the press; 28 percent felt that newspapers should not be able to publish articles without prior approval of the government; 31 percent wanted public protest of a war to be outlawed during that war; and 50 percent thought the government should have the right to infringe on the religious freedom of ‘certain religious groups’ in the name of the war on terror.”

[BoneDaddy]

8. couldn't agree more

I have written extensively about "tribalism and fundamentalism". I am against anything that states there is only one way or MY WAY. These people need to be challenged and utterly dismissed due to their fabricated beliefs that are going to be the destruction of our world if we do not challenge such irrational and fantastical thinking.

[AlinPA]

4. Thank you. Excellent post.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. It's blasphemy.

It's the 21st fucking century, and people are still getting upset over blasphemy.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Yep, I saw that on a sign in front of the theater Sunday afternoon where

'The Da Vinci Code' is playing. Just the single word: Blasphemy.

[JackintheGreen]

7. Even the Rev. Robert Schuller, the Younger said as much

I am not a religious man, but I always had a modicum of respect for the Schullers 'cuz they never seemed crazy.

I remember in high school doing a paper on all the televangelist scandals going on, and Rev. Robert the Elder seemed to be the only one untouched.

So, fear not, according a my sources who are very close to God:

The Da Vinci Code is "fiction"

As in: "I'ma fiction to boycott the Da Vinci Code for lying to me about the Gospel."

[EVDebs]

16. DVC is based upon a hoax of Priory of Sion.

The real Holy Grail is a Knights Templar (now Freemasonic) allegory for the Ark Of The Covenant, which is shown in Graham Hancock's excellent book The Sign And The Seal to be located somewhere in Ethiopia. Hence the Falasha black Jews of Ethiopia and validation to the legend of Menyelek, son of Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, secreting the Ark to the Upper Nile region.

Also, Haile Selassie always claimed direct decendance from Solomon.

[On the Road]

23. Graham Hancock's Theory is Very Interesting

Especially his observation that the historical books jump from the Ark as the center of the national religion to complete oblivion with no explanation or transition. The implication is that the Ark was moved for safekeeping when Jerusalem was under threat of attack. The question would be where it was taken to.

The case for Ethiopia is especially interesting because of the primitive nature of the Jewish and Christian communities, and because they believe they have the actual Ark. It might be true.

[KnaveRupe]

40. I loved The Sign and the Seal....

...Right up to the point where he started talking about Moses building the Ark using advanced (dare I say, "alien") technology he got from the Egyptians.

Kind of blew the rest of the book out of the water for me, unfortunately.

Besides, if Ethiopia really had the Ark of the Covenant, Mossad would have "re-acquired" it by now.

[DarkTirade]

52. Might make for a good movie though. :)

[EVDebs]

139. Plays right into the Third Temple Faithful's stuff

Read PBS's article on the millenium and the holy land

Impact of Millennium on the Holy Land
January 7, 2000 Episode no. 319
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week319/cover.html

this plays right into Bush's base also btw. A Third Temple is where the antichrist is supposed to reemerge according to the Left Behind novel's evangelical eschatology. This clashes mightily with the old view, held mainly up to 1948, that another entity was more likely to be one of the antichrists of the 'end times'

www.aloha.net/~mikesch/antichrist.htm

[BrklynLiberal]

9. Excellent!!!!! Fear of thinking people ala Orwellian mindcontrol.

:thumbsup: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[ClintonTyree]

70. First lesson in the bible.........

do not eat from the tree of knowledge. :scared: Yep, that knowledge'll get 'ya every time! ;) We mustn't have people going around THINKING, that might lead to them asking QUESTIONS and who knows WHAT would happen then! Complete anarchy, chaos and a severe drop in the old collection plate money could ensue!

Are these people that insecure in their faith that "The Da Vinci Code" poses such a threat to them? :shrug: I didn't see non-believers having a cow when Mel Gibson released his bloody, violent, "Passion" freak show. It seems like it's been, 'believe, OR ELSE' lately and frankly, I'm more than a little sick of it.

[calimary]

103. These same nuts had apoplexy over "The Last Temptation of Christ"

too. And I didn't understand that, either.

That was one frickin' GORGEOUS movie if you ask this lifelong Catholic. And I'm not a bit offended - OR threatened by "The Da Vinci Code," either.

How can they possibly object to something that puts the Guy they purportedly worship back in the news so that everybody's talking about Him again? How bad is that, really? I wonder how many of them actually read the book, listened to the book-on-tape, or did go see the movie?

BTW - "The Last Temptation of Christ" was indeed - Just. Fucking. Gorgeous. WONDERFUL! Made me love and appreciate and feel grateful to Jesus all the more, frankly. Made me think about Him more, and wonder about Him more and marvel at Him more. So does "The Da Vinci Code."

[rman]

10. Obviously it's VERY important to some that no-one takes any of it

seriously.

We've got entire TV shows devoted to debunking it. We've got the Vatican speaking out. Why the worry if it's just a movie?

Needless to say that "just a movie" doesn't cut it, since there are more then a few movies based on true stories.


"Many a truth a spoken in jest, just not so much so that one can get sued for it."

[IronLionZion]

11. People fear what they don't understand

fear -> anger -> hate

I enjoyed the book and saw the movie although I thought the acting was too much.

But a fictional story about Jesus having a family and his descendent living amongst us today is not going to shake my faith nearly as much as priests abusing children. The crusades, killing the Knights Templar, and witch-burnings are all true.

Mary Magdalene is a Catholic saint with her own feast day. Those who are opposing this often don't even understand the church's position on this matter or their controversial and violent history. Many Catholics pray to Mary Magdalene all the time along with Jesus and the virgin Mary. Women participate in mass all the time.

Opus Dei may not have monks, assassin or otherwise, but they do have US Senators and media personalities and other very powerful people. I'd almost prefer an assassin monk.

[eallen]

12. 1. Make movie. 2. Get Vatican to denounce it. 3. Profit. Opie is a genius.

The Da Vinci Code is bad fiction. I cannot imagine that it would garner half the attention it has, were it not for the religious wackos whose very protests have given it far more audience than it otherwise deserves.

I say: good for Opie!

:hippie:

[DIKB]

13. Putting on my flame suit.

I think I know why they fear "The Da Vinci Code" so much.

Here you have a bunch of people who believe in a 2000 year old fairy tale, itself based off of legends and mythologies in nearby areas. Some people believe it because it comforts them, it's how they were raised, and it's part of their heritage. They've approached their faith, and it isn't too fragile, these people don't fear this movie.

Then you have the fundies. These people don't scrutinize, don't question, don't truly think for themselves, and believe because it makes them feel superior to others. The "Unenlightened" who don't read the bible for themselves but believe what the preacher says, get their news from Fox, and their history from the movies. These are the ones who are causing a stir.

Their faith is so fragile that they do the 3-year-old's response: Fingers in ears, shouting "Lala Lala! I can't hear you!" And all over a FICTIONAL movie.

Bottom line: Any Preacher or Religious Leader who makes a big deal about this is sending a CLEAR message. He believes his congregation/followers are a bunch of gullible morons.

[radio4progressives]

51. ding ding ding ding....

by golly, he's got it. ;)

[Robeson]

55. I've think you've nailed it....

...and nicely put!...:thumbsup:

[femrap]

123. I think the hatred of The DaVinci Code has more to do with

its giving women a divinity. And I thought that was the reason that the book was so successful...women finally getting to see the feminine as sacred. Religious fanatics all seem to hate and fear the power of women.

Christianity oppressed the feminine and killed a few million of them as well.

Opus Dei gives me the chills. When John Roberts was going thru his nomination process, I read that he is an Opus Dei as well as Clarence Thomas. I read that even evangelical Brownback, Senator of Kansas, converted to Opus Dei. All three attend the same church in DC.

[gratuitous]

14. However, the Life of Brian is incontrovertible fact

You're all different!

Except me.

[ClintonTyree]

72. Blessed are the cheese-makers..........

great movie, I think I'll watch it again tonight.......it's been a while. ;)

[Warren DeMontague]

92. Sex, sex, sex.. that's all you kids think about

"is it too big, is it too small.."

[LuckyLib]

152. "Every sperm is sacred!" Loved it!

;-)

[underpants]

15. Needham completely misinterpreted the Cannonball Run trilogy

and, as I am sure you know, pinched three classic works into two movies.

I could go on but I am sure this matter has been discussed fully here.

[underpants]

17. (looks around to make sure the coast is clear)

I have to say that this is a vivid illustration of exactly how gullible the "church crowd" is and how tenuous the preachers' grip on them seems to be. It seems that they are just one short read away from jumping ship and worshipping Dan Brown....or Cannonball Run either one they both would serve the same purpose.

[nickinSTL]

18. 'the Bible had disproved evolution'

:wtf:

The bible can't disprove anything. Anyone who could believe that... :dunce:

That's like saying that the Norse Eddas disprove gravity. :eyes:

[truebrit71]

19. You don't still believe in gravity do you?

...what a foolish person you are.... ;-)

[Warren DeMontague]

126. Well, the Gideons may not have opposable thumbs.

I'm not sure.

[Strong Atheist]

20. K&R. nt.

[musiclawyer]

21. My 14 year older daughter made a fool of our local priest

She's getting confirmed soon so she and her other confirmees have been getting lectured for weeks abour how evil it is for Dan Brown to get rich off of lies. Well she read the book and had had enough one day so raises her hand and tells the priest, "it's fiction, and if you read the book, you'd see that Dan Brown actually presents a favor favorable view of the modern church given it's history." The priest got flummoxed and really upset and her, and then starts yelling at the class that they should have nothing to do with the book and movie. All the other kids are literally laughing out loud. She kept her cool and yet the grown man/priest can't take the heat. I was really proud of her. It's a shame that all the open minded clerics get drowned out by the noisy pea brained ones.

[file83]

22. LOL - that is AWESOME.

:rofl:

[Warren DeMontague]

85. How evil it is to get rich of lies?

Hmmm. On a totally unrelated note, how much money does the Vatican have these days?

[Snow]

24. Go watch Poseidon instead....it's a better movie.

Okay, it's still not that good a movie, but my sister worked on it & she invited me over to tour the sets, which was most interesting. And it has absolutely, positively, nothing to do with Noah.

[still_one]

25. Yes it is, but it does more than that

It references persecutions that the Church authorized, and debates the issues discussed at the Council of Nicaea, and whether the Arius view was correct or not

[GreenArrow]

48. that's it exactly

it points out exactly how arbitrary and political the official teachings of the Church are.

[On the Road]

26. To be Fair, I Believe Dan Brown Intended the Book to be Taken Seriously

In the preface, he has a page of "Facts" on which the book is based. His lectures imply that the theories have historical merit.

Nothing wrong with that, although his arguments are not very compelling. Gnostic gospels are not usually used in determining historical truth, nor do they show many signs of being historical. Brown selects one observation out of a plethora of books.

I think he is trying to generate controversy and influence people's beliefs. Why this is so horrible, I don't know -- no matter what your belief system, there are plenty of more heinous falsehoods out there that deserve condemnation.

[robbedvoter]

32. So, a confederacy of dunces then?

The mghty church is quite ascared of the little conspiracy theorist.

[Initech]

27. I've been saying that since the day the book came out.

It's fiction! FICTION! Yet, a group of people, who advocate teaching something called "intelligent design" over actual science, a group of people who only think that the earth is 6,000 years old, and a group of people who think that gays getting married so they get the same rights as the rest of us, is the worst thing to happen to our society, are trying to tell us that a FICTIONAL book is going to completely disprove Christian fundamentalism.

But you know who's laughing all the way to the bank? That's right, Dan Brown and Columbia Pictures. $77 million opening weekend. HA!!!

[shaniqua6392]

73. $250 million worldwide opening weekend!

I think it is hilarious. It is fiction! Why are they so afraid that people will lose their faith so easily after reading a fiction novel? Could it be because they are not truly firm in their own faith? They are so easily terrified by talk of terrorists, etc. that they can be manipulated by the government into voting for Satan. I am firm in my faith. I am not afraid of a novel. It can not change my views. I am not afraid of dying. They are afraid of everything. I am so happy the novel and the movie are doing well. Dan Brown is a fine author who deserves to make money off of his work. I hope it makes more money than any movie in history. The so called "Christians" will only have themselves to blame.

[winter999]

28. And thos Danish Cartoons

were just drawings. Is the Pope calling for beheadings or the overthow of nations? Damn wimpy religion :eyes:

[Javaman]

29. It's not just a movie...

It's another movie staring tom hanks with bad hair.

:rofl:

[robbedvoter]

30. Harry Potter is subversive too!

Although I didn't see a "debunking" of Potter on the Sci-fi channel. Anyone who caught THAT show - I didn't know whether to laugh or be schared shitless.

[nxylas]

77. Didn't see the show...

...but anyone who wants to see some serious Anti-Potter wingnuttery can go here:-

http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/hpmain.html

[robbedvoter]

102. Hey! They didn't review the last 2 books!

But that 4 hours video on "To Potter or not to Potter" looks like a real prize! I am off ordering it right now! ;-)

[artboy]

31. BINGO n/t

[tigereye]

33. I swear when I was a Catholic girl in the 70s

the church wasn't like this....

they are nuts.

[AAARRRGGGHHH]

34. In defense of the fundies ...

It isn't just a movie, it's a horribly boring movie.

[Zensea]

35. and the bible is just a book

doesn't mean that some people don't take it seriously

[tames2005]

36. the di vinci code

i was going to see the movie, but i thought other wise, i do believe in jesus christ, i always have but the movie just totally attacks christ's
character!!! and i cannot go and see a movie that will make me out to be a hypocrite, the guy lived his life totally innocent and it is that very
purity that is the foundation of our salvation, his purity! not ours! it saddens me to see people justify it by saying its just a movie
jesus christ wasn't just a man! if the people on this earth really wanted to get along then they would respect what the chronicles say of his life,
THAT HE WAS TOTALLY INNOCENT OF ANY WRONG DOING IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE! what man can lay claim to something of that magnitude!? no body can!!
and to sit and make a movie implying that christ had sex with a whore and fathered children with her is just to much. and to hear the people with
giant vocabularies and matching egos to go with justify it to me in the media is almost as disgusting and you call yourselves a civilized people,
yeah right!!! go fuck yourself

[truebrit71]

41. The movie does none of what you say...

You won't see it, but are willing to criticize it based on the opinions of others....Not sound logic IMHO...

Enjoy your brief stay....

[Bridget Burke]

46. A fan of innocence & purity tells someone to "go fuck yourself"

What an advocate of your faith!

(Not that I was going to see the movie anyway.)

[Divine Discontent]

60. I'm a Christian. He does NOT represent my faith with the hate rhetoricN/T

[Bridget Burke]

63. Of course not.

He doesn't represent anyone with a brain, either!

[Divine Discontent]

140. ty! and I never wanted Bush to be a failure, he just chose to be one N/T

[Bob3]

56. take a pill, hell take several

and enjoy you brief stay.

if Jesus was everything you say - why worry? He's big enough to handle himself.

And who said Mary was a whore?

And just to twist your mind just a bit - who saw the risen Jesus first? Per John it was Mary Magdalen. Not peter, not Luke, Not John. Mary.

Again enjoy your stay

[Pacifist Patriot]

95. First time it was suggested was by Pope Gregory I in a sermon in 591.

So 600 years after the fact? Um, right. It's neither biblically based (there is absolutely no evidence of this in the Scriptures) nor is it currently accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. I think the individual above is not who he protesteth to be.

Could he be satirizing Cheney's brand of Christianity? ;)

[radio4progressives]

57. Who are you calling a Whore?

I presume you are referring to Mary Magdaline? Didn't you get the Memo yet? The Catholic Church finally admitted that Magdaline was not a prostitute after all, that it was a lie the early Catholic Church (Pope) had made up.

And where in the film or book does it show or depict "Christ" - (I presume you are referring to the prophet Jesus) as a bad person?

and since when is a having a family considered as evil? Does the Church believe that now?

Wow!

[Robeson]

58. "go fuck yourself"? My, how Christian of you....

...is that what Jesus would say?

Enjoy, what I will assume, is going to be a very brief stay...:hi:

[Strathos]

61. Now THAT was a Christian thing to say!

WOW! Looks like you're learning from the best.

[ClintonTyree]

74. Wow, "sex with a whore"..........

you've really bought into the entire fictional story lock, stock and barrel, haven't you? Mary Magdalene was NOT a whore. That's a little bit of fiction designed to detract from her importance in the story. The Catholic Church has said as much. Oh well, believe what you want to believe but you might want to try seeking the truth, it's very enlightening! :)

[Warren DeMontague]

79. ROFL. Wow. First post.

Most try to ease their way into it. Nice to see someone just goin' whole hog.

Welcome to DU.

:hi:

Enjoy your... stay.

[Warren DeMontague]

83. Yes, but how do you feel about AMNETY for ill gals?

[Pacifist Patriot]

96. If The Davinci Code is a threat to someone's faith...

they've got a pretty darned insecure faith.

Me personally? I see nothing "wrong" about getting married and fathering a child. How sad for you if you find the thought offensive. I find it offensive that Jesus couldn't be exalted if he fulfilled the cultural and religious expectations of his times.

I honestly can't take your post seriously. I think you're satirizing fundamentalism and doing a darned fine job of it. Who are you really?

[The Wizard]

107. Would you feel different

if you learned there was proof that he was a good magician?
All I can say is thank Zeus it's only a movie. Your sign off indicates you could be the Vice President.
A true believer would drive a car into a theater lobby.

[Joanne98]

111. She wasn't a whore. That's a lie.

[calimary]

115. Frankly, this life-long Catholic is not a BIT threatened about the book

OR the movie.

Perhaps you don't understand or fully appreciate the nature of the life of Christ, or why God decided to send His only begotten Son to Earth to live as One of us, be as one of us, and BECOME MAN.

Perhaps you're not thinking about what it is to be a man. Or a woman. Or, simply, a human. Humans do things like laugh, cry, eat, poop, sleep, maybe also snore, get nosebleeds and indigestion, wet their beds and diapers when they're little (or whatever type of "diaper" arrangement was used back in Jesus's day), and more. What was the point of God taking such a profound step as to realize His divinity in COMPLETELY HUMAN TERMS? So He'd be born into this life and this plane and NOT share in the human experience? What, was He a Bubble Boy? Did He live life not touching things? Was He a mere spirit - translucent, maybe? Was He really NOT supposed to live and be as One of us? Christ did nothing of the kind. We have evidence upon evidence of Him doing all sorts of basic human things: eating, walking, sleeping, bleeding, dying, wandering off from His mom in public when He was a kid, agonizing, getting ticked off, drinking - wines and probably also juices and milk as a baby, getting His feet dirty, all sorts of things. When He was a kid, He was a kid. I bet it meant He also fell down and scuffed His knees, maybe repeatedly. Probably knocked stuff over and ran into things. Vomited all over His mom - and foster dad, too. He probably loved fart jokes - show me a boy who doesn't. He was supposed to be A KID. As an adult, why is it inconceivable that He would live as an adult man would? That was the point. For Him to go to that extent to show love. To live as One of us.

It does not defile Him or lower Him in my eyes, nor does it somehow compromise His divinity. It gives me more, more varied, more unexpected ways to think about Him. It just makes Him that much more wonderful.

[Robeson]

142. calimary, as one who is devoutly non-religious....

...may I say that was a wonderful post to the other one...:thumbsup:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

125. Totally innocent of wrong doing?

You mean the guy who was executed for sedition?

[IronLionZion]

128. Saint Mary Magdalene is most definitely a Christian saint

People fear what they don't understand, and it makes them angry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene

St. Mary Magdalene - Feast: July 22nd (Obligatory Memorial)
Born: Unknown -- Died: Unknown -- Canonized: Unknown
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other:

Mary Magdalene was one of the few apostles who stayed with Jesus while he suffered and died on the Cross. She was the first one to see the risen Jesus. Jesus told her to announce His resurrection to the other apostles. St. Mary Magdalene was cured of demons, however she is usually mistaken as the sinful women of Luke 7:36-50. She is the Patron Saint of the Order of Preachers and Penitents.

http://www.carr.org/~meripper/saints/saints-m.htm

I'm secure in my Christian faith. Are you? Fristian of the Cheney order? Is your patron saint ronald of reagan?

[RoyGBiv]

130. Was that you on the street corner?

Pwned!

[obreaslan]

37. Bottom Line: MY IDEA OF FICTION OFFENDS YOUR IDEA OF FICTION!!!!!!!

And until we resolve that bit of circular logic, we are in a hopeless situation.

BTW, not intended to start a flame war. :hi:

[FuzzyDicePHL]

49. That's the real issue: fiction.

I was reading thru the thread to see if anybody had already made the point I intended to make, and you have.

No-one should be surprised that fundies are upset -- they can't tell when they should accept fiction as truth and when they shouldn't so they're all confuzed. :P

[BootinUp]

93. Why would you bother to call any religion "fiction"?

Its already clear by definition that when one talks of religion there are believers and non-believers. Seems to me the intent in calling one religion or all religions fiction is to cause some offense. No?

[FuzzyDicePHL]

135. Yes: no.

[Jesterstear]

38. To paraphrase George Carlin

The religious reich always gets upset if you use God's name but they don't get a cut of the money.

Personally, I think the movie looks bad, but that's because I think Ron Howard is a horrible director. Most of the bashing of the film that I've heard has not come from fundies, but from regular people that say Howard managed to take a good book and completely ruin it by playing safe with the screenplay.

[Kokonoe]

71. Jay Leno joked something like,

they don't like competition for the money on the weekends.

[lwcon]

39. The Albino Code

If I may, here's a quick plug for a movie a friend of mine made, based on *his* issue with "The DaVinci Code."

Dennis Hurley is a talented actor ("Running with Scissors") and writer who was born with albinism -- in politically incorrect terms, you'd call him "an albino."

Since one of the highlights of albinism is very poor eyesight, it struck him as funny that Dan Brown would choose an albino to be a master assassin. It was also not-so-funny to him, because people with albinism are routinely portrayed in books and movies as outcasts, freaks, and monsters, which can result in real-world mockery and prejudice.

Rather than protest (Dennis admits he tried out for the role of Silas), he made his point with a comedy short called "The Albino Code," which can be viewed online at http://www.albinocode.com

He's gotten a *lot* of good press for it, and they showed a trailer for it continuously at the Cannes Film Festival.

Dennis is a funny guy, and you might enjoy his quite silly parody.

___

Hey, the liberal light is always on at the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy. Please stop by and say "hi!"

[jokerman93]

45. I took it as

I took "The Albino Monk' as a literary device like "The Fat Man" in the Maltese Falcon, or "The One-Armed Man" in Twin Peaks. I don't remember anybody complaining about negative or unrealistic depictions of people with disabilities in those cases. We need to lighten up and not let canned political agendas constrain every damn part of the public discourse!

I admit though, these days that's almost a full time job in itself.

J

[lwcon]

66. In general, I agree with you about keeping a thick skin, as it were

But it is rather striking how routinely people with albinism are put in the role of freaks, losers, and monsters.

There is virtually no "normative" vision for them in pop culture. Fat people in a movie might be "jolly" or "prosperous," but an albino is almost guaranteed to play a weirdo or bad guy. I think Dennis was impressively chill about the whole thing -- it's not a protest, just tweaking some rather silly typecasting.

___

Hey, the liberal light is always on at the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy. Please stop by and say "hi!"

[jokerman93]

117. Your friend Dennis sounds cool

I wasn't criticizing the man at all. Demonizing people who are "different" is just one more way we habitually deny and truncate our own humanity.

Personally, I've always found Albinism quite beautiful.

J

[lwcon]

129. He is cool, indeed

A super-nice guy and very funny. Great to see him getting so much publicity. He's been on CNN, Entertainment Tonight, etc. discussing "The Albino Code." I'll be able to say I knew him when.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program: Bush -- aaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhh!!!

___

Hey, the liberal light is always on at the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy. Please stop by and say "hi!"

[ClintonTyree]

75. Not be be snarky, but what DO you call a person with albinism?

:shrug: If not "albino" then what, "person with albinism"? I know it's another label in a world too full of labels but I'd really be interested in knowing. Thanks.

[lwcon]

131. I don't think there is an accepted equivalent

Albinism.org doesn't seem to suggest any alternative to "person with albinism": http://albinism.org/publications/what_is_albinism.html

I assume part of the reason why the term is criticized is that serves as an identity label ("an albino") as opposed to being simply an attribute of a regular person.

___

Hey, the liberal light is always on at the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy. Please stop by and say "hi!"

[Joanne98]

112. I am a ghost.

[lwcon]

133. ?

[idgiehkt]

42. it's one of those paradoxes, to me

women are inferior in the church and don't matter for much...
then comes this book that says Mary Magdalene was a much more important figure, not, in fact, a prostitute, and give her a place of prominence in Jesus' life even higher than the virgin Mary his mother...and all hell breaks loose


you really have to look at the allegory here to understand why this is so important culturally...I mean do people really believe that political government is the only government there is..something you don't encounter, really, til you grow up and leave home?

No, religion is the goverment of the family from the birth of a child until the grave or until the subject of it debriefs themselves. Religion is about controlling the hierarchy and sexual behavior of members of a family within the home, where political government supposedly can't reach. It's all inevitably about control. To people who grew up in liberal homes this sounds like a fairy-tale, but people who grew up orthodox or fundamentalist can tell you that it is very real, this system of government. And worse, it's sold to you as immortal and omniscient, unlike political government. I'm not at all surprised that these protests are happening, because this book threatens a cultural touchstone: male superiority, which is the foundation stone of most systems of government the world over. Most people can't even separate this concept out from their own conception of 'the way it is'. But this book takes a sledgehammer to that, and portrays many of the myths that set that hierarchy into motion as lies. It's kind of amusing to me, but I am kind of disappointed that liberals fail time and time again to have any kind of sophisticated understanding of what modern day religion is and does. I mean, how many corpses were swept away under the lies that this book unravels...

[GreenArrow]

50. refreshing...

someone who actually has some insight.

[ClintonTyree]

78. Well said, it's a patriarchal system of government..........

and The Da Vinci Code threatens the very fiber of that system. Of course it's a book of fiction but there are some kernels of truth within: the exclusion of the feminine in religion being the largest of those.

[trogdor]

43. Probably at least as good as The Passion of St. Tibulus.

Down with this sort of thing! /Father_Ted

[Bridget Burke]

47. Well, The Passion of St Tibulus became a Big Hit!

On Craggy Isle, that is.

[nxylas]

82. Nice to see some people watch Father Ted

When I posted a spoof version of that scene with DaVinci Code posters Photoshopped in on another thread, nobody seemed to get the joke.

[The Wizard]

114. Father Jack

"That would be ecumenical."
Bought the entire series from BBC America and find it to be as honest about the Church as Stephen Colbert was in roasting The Decider.

[Bridget Burke]

147. Here's a more serious Father Ted...

From a site featuring anti-War In Iraq protest signs.



I believe this one was first used when Bush "visited" Ireland.

http://adamnieman.co.uk/posters/

[Old Gardener]

44. And "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was just a book.

However, when Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her novel, it confronted literate Americans with a vivid and heartwrenching story of the evils and atrocities of slavery. Stowe's novel does not have the authenticity and gravitas of a book like Toni Morrison's "Beloved" but it successfully touched the minds and hearts of Americans. It made mid-19th century readers ask: Why do we allow slavery in the United States? We can't keep doing this.

Mrs. Stowe visited the White House in 1862 and met with Abraham Lincoln. His greeting to her may be apocryphal, but he's reported to have said, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this big war."

I never misunderestimate the power of a work of art to touch minds and hearts and serve as a catalyst for change. Neither do governments nor authoritarian religions. That's why the former USSR repressed and imprisoned Alexander Solzhenitsyn for so many years. It feared the power of his stories.

The pity is that "The Da Vinci Code" was not written from the heart, but for the marketplace, just as the movie was made for the marketplace. American artists so often censor themselves by writing for the marketplace. There is a real story in "The Da Vinci Code" - a story about the abuses of power, but it's obscured by silliness and sensationalism.

Just it, Bobcat: "You want to know what's a real threat to people's faith? Church sex abuse." The Church knows this. So the Church wants its members to be out protesting the movie, instead of thinking about what's happening in their own parishes.

Does the tactic sound famliar?

[RoyGBiv]

132. Well said ...

Welcome to DU!!!

:hi:

[silvertip]

53. Just a movie

   You are correct and the agency in charge of promoting said
movie is laughing his head off as he deposits his money in the
bank.More likely than not he started the whole arguement
himself just to get the news coverage. The sky is falling
AGAIN.

[Bob3]

54. It is just a movie.

I don't quite get this a book/movie suggests that their faith is wrong and they go bananas? You'd think such devout folk would simply scoff and walk away, after all it's just a movie.

What's happening here, I think, is that this book/movie touches the secret doubt of those who thump the bible and worship stone tables of rules and yell Jesus at the drop of a hat, the fear that "maybe it isn't true". They can't handle it, the barest whisper of doubt cracks a hole their outer shell and they wail like damned things hollow inside except for fear.



Faith and doubt are two sides of the same coin - there is no happy happy joy joy state of mind where doubt never darkens your day, it's inhuman to expect that . (which could be why so many fundies seem so robotic). Having faith in anything - even that American will toss off this * led nightmare - means you're going to have to deal with dark nights of the soul from time to time.

But fundies deal in feel good snake oil not faith.

[A Simple Game]

104. Indeed.

"I don't quite get this a book/movie suggests that their faith is wrong and they go bananas? You'd think such devout folk would simply scoff and walk away, after all it's just a movie."

Yes, if a fictional story causes you to question your faith, then you should indeed, question your faith.

[Imperialism Inc.]

59. A fiction movie based on a fiction book

that explores alternatives to another fiction book.

[svpadgham]

119. My thoughts

Exactly. :thumbsup:

[2Design]

62. funny I heard that jesus married mary mag..... 30 years ago

a friend said the protestant bible had that which was different than the roman catholic bible -
now it seems to be such a shock to everyone - I wonder how or what that friend had seen

[Lib Grrrrl]

64. Yup.

Some people do not observe. Life simply happens to them. They get by on little more than dumb persistence, reacting with anger and resentment at anything that might lift them out of that false serenity. - Alma Mavis Taraza, Bene Gesserit Mosther Superior (words authored by Frank Herbet, author of the Dune novels.)

Amazing, how observant Frank Herbert was, considering he wrote these words over 20 years ago...and they seem to so well describe modern-day conservatives.

[Mythsaje]

69. Herbert was an equal opportunity critic...

And he knew exactly the way these rogues operated.

[Lib Grrrrl]

89. Indeed

Another one of his quotes I remember well was this one...

Scratch a liberal, and find a closet aristocrat. Scratch a conservative, and find a person who prefers the past over any future.

[Mythsaje]

90. Yep.

I think the Dune series should be required reading. Then again, maybe I'm just saying that because I've read the whole thing multiple times--enough to "get" what he was trying to say.

Our tendency to play "follow the leader" is dangerous and may be our downfall.

"Real boats rock."

[Lib Grrrrl]

101. I Agree!!

There's lots of good philosophical things in the Dune series...unfortunately, our society is so damned dumbed-down nowadays, I fear they wouldn't "get it" no matter how many times they read it.

And, by the way, you can't slip a Taraza quote past me like that!!

Show me a completely smooth operation, and I'll show you someone who's covering mistakes. Real boats rock, Dar. - Taraza

I'll be damned if you aren't all acting like a bunch of bureaucrats! Covering your asses! Real boats rock - Darwi Odrade

[Mythsaje]

106. The last two books in the series

are my favorites. I love the insight into the Bene Gesserit mind they provide. And his notions about repressed sexuality and the military mind? Remarkable. If I remember right, he was a journalist, but he had one heck of a lot of insight into social and psychological matters.

It's too bad his son isn't more like him. The prequels are decent, but not in anywhere near the same league as the original series.

I'd have to say I'm not sure there's been a more important piece of sci-fi written in the last fifty years than the Dune series. But I know for a fact you can't pick up everything you need from it in one reading. I STILL learn things when I read it again.

My favorite scene of all? Probably the one in which Jessica teaches the young Corrino and turns him into a Bene Gesserit right before the eyes of his watchers. They didn't catch on until it was too late.

And the Atreides Manifesto? Brilliant.

[Lib Grrrrl]

136. True

I have read them like eight or nine times, and I STILL pick up on things I didn't pick up on before. I'm in the middle of reading the series again, and am working on Book 5, The Heretics of Dune.

Haven't read the prequels...have heard about them, and everyone says that they are not as good as the originals. One of these days, i'll have to read them for myself and see.

You did know that the sixth and final book, Chapterhouse Dune was actually published after Frank Herbert's death, right?

I'm not sure I have any favorite scene, but I like the 4th, 5th, and 6th books the best...particularly number 4 and 5, because they are so chock-full of good philosophical stuff.

[Mythsaje]

138. I don't know why

but I've always liked that scene. It's the first real glimpse into the Bene Gesserit. And, no, the sequels aren't anywhere near as good.

I wasn't aware that Chapterhouse was published after his death. It seems like I read it before I ever learned of his death--but that might have been during my news blackout period when the only actual "news" I received was through the occasional NPR news brief.

I think I like Heretics best of all, but I still very much enjoyed the young Miles Teg and the role reversal with Duncan Idaho.

[keith the dem]

65. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Don't you get it. The TV preachers frighten the old widows at home, about stupid movies, about gays, Used to be about communists. The old ladies send in the money she and her husband spent their whole life saving. Sorry grandkids, gotta save 'merica from the evil movie!!

[dmallind]

67. So where are all the apologists

...for the different set of superstitious loonies who got upset over caricatures lately? People who said the cartoons were horrible and blasphemous and it was perfectly reasonable to go riot in the streets and make absurd threats because of them?

Why is it OK for Muslims to get up in arms over cartoons and not Xians over a movie?

At least I'm consistent - I think they're all hypersensitive gullible sheep who are pitching a hissy fit because somebody showed how ridiculous their particular brand of moonbeams and fairy dust is by using a non-standard image thereof.

You didn't see atheists ranting and issuing death threats to Trey Parker when South Park did the "shit out of their mouths" episode.

[ClintonTyree]

84. Here here.........

well said. I'm as consistent as you are when it comes to fundamentalists of any ilk. They're all freaking nuts! :silly:

[Lib Grrrrl]

91. That Is Because

There is no SCIENTIFIC PROOF to back up any particular faith. "People of faith" would like you to believe that faith and knowledge are the same thing, and they are not. They would also like you to believe that their "faith" is the only correct faith, and everyone else has it wrong. But, of course, they are unable to PROVE it, scientifically or otherwise...so, when anyone questions it...they get uncomfortable, because they cannot answer the unanswerable questions. Therefore, they react with anger and resentment against anyone who would lift them out of their false serenity.

The mind of the believer stagnates. Knowledge is a most perfect barrier against learning. Their mind fails to grow. Does one who believes they already know the answer go out seeking the answer? Of course not! This is why their mind stagnates. The SEEKER, on the other hand, begins knowing nothing, and seeks answers based on their own observations. Believers do not observe that which inconveniently seems to disprove their "faith."

[SIMPLYB1980]

68. Supprized about all the Bashing?

So whats with all the basing of the Da Vinci Code. This book although it is fiction raises many questions that have been asked for 2000 years. Read some scriptures beside thouse in your KING JAMES BIBLE and you will find that Marry Magnolin was no whore, and the vatican has also said that she wasn't a whore. Also it is still possible to belive the basis of the Da Vinci Code and still belive in God. Just like it is possible to still belive in God and Evolution at the same time. If god is so powerfull could he not use evolution to create us. Also the fact that Jesus was just a man should make him more respected. Whats more hororable a God that knows there is a afterlife so his sacrifice is really nothing, or a man who doesn't know what comes after he dies giving up his life for the cause of peace and love.

Hippy Jesus kicks ass.

[rg302200]

76. I don't need a movie to tell me that my religion is a hoax

I already new that right after I got baptized as a Catholic. My family and I quit going to church 7 years ago and we don't plan on going back...ever!

[Divine Discontent]

109. sorry you grew up in w/religion you didn't like. I found Jesus on my own.

[ElboRuum]

80. Fear pervades all evangelical thought...

You got that right.

Fear of death.
Fear of hell.
Fear of dying, then going to hell.
Fear of new ideas.
Fear of threats to old ideas.
Fear of the truth.
Fear of contradiction.
Fear of truth that creates contradiction with their beliefs.
Fear of anything strange or different.
Fear of being wrong.
Fear of others being right.
Fear of not knowing everything there is to know about everything.
Fear of being descended from something lesser or more primitive.
Fear of recognizing oneself as primitive by admitting above.
Fear of self-reliance.
Fear of the fact that there may be no ethereal daddy figure protecting them from the consequences of ignorance.
Fear of not being special.

Whew. That's a lot of stuff to fear. Christ, if I was this afraid all the time, I'd be running around screaming like an idiot, too.

[ClintonTyree]

86. And the bush administration takes full advantage of that fear.

Fear........24/7. It's the only thing that bushco. has going for it. That's why the fundies would follow bush over a cliff, fear.

[Pacifist Patriot]

99. Escape From Freedom

Freedom is a very scary thing. :scared:

[The Wizard]

118. Which kind,

freedom from or freedom to?
You don't get one without giving up some of the other. It's the balance of the Universe, Newton's laws of motion, the yin and yang. It's Jeff Gannon ass boning Dick Cheney, uh, never mind.

[Warren DeMontague]

81. I'm waiting for the film version of the "Illuminatus" Trilogy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440539811/sr=8-1/qid=1148420949/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-9036123-8758506?%5Fencoding=UTF8


Particularly replete with hallucinatory, psychedelic computer animation.

Now, that would be worth 10 bucks!

[The Wizard]

87. Me thinks

the Tali bush-Davidians need some products made by Fleet.:evilgrin:

[savemefromdumbya]

88. You are ordered by the Government to watch Narnia

YOU will not watch the Da Vinci Code you will only watch what we tell you to watch!

[Roland99]

94. But it is more than "just a movie". It's based on evidence known for years

Perhaps this editorial thread might help shed some light:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x212542

[rman]

97. "Titanic" is just a movie

[rman]

98. "Apollo 11" is just a movie

[Pacifist Patriot]

100. and better than Titanic

[rman]

105. The point being that the whole "it's just a movie" argument doesn't hold

In and of itself the argument has no bearing on the factuality of the movie.

[musiclawyer]

108. Don't buy it

So Dan Brown takes several "facts," such as the existence and rejection of the Gnostic gospels by church hierarchy, and runs with it. Good for him. So what if the book makes some people question church orthodoxy. The church could have have embraced the dialogue opened up, not cringe like a coward. This was a great opportunity for the church to shine in the spotlight. Or it could have done nothing Instead it blew it, again. It's still just a movie.

[rman]

146. Some people seem to think a movie is by definition fantasy.

Reality is that there are plenty of movies based on true stories.

If one wants to show a movie is not factual then the contents of the movie, the claims made by the movie should be discussed - just saying that it's a movie doesn't cut it.

Saying it's just a movie is like saying evolution in "just a theory". It's a non-argument.

[Joanne98]

110. I saw it. It was good. Critics be damned.

[musiclawyer]

113. I liked it too.....

although I can see how it would be panned by critics who are judging what an audience who has NOT read the book would expect to see. In this case being somewhat faithful too the book make have did more harm than good from simple moviegoing perspective

[expatriot]

116. I believe the "Da Vinci Code" IS a threat to Christianity...

in that it shows how a sizeable segment of the population can so easily accept a work of fiction to be... well, gospel.

[lilypad_567]

120. i read the bible from time to time

will, if you guy have ever read the bible, the bible never said anything about how it is aginst evolution because, in the first chapter, it said that the first animal came out of the sea, and science prove that the first animal came out of the sea, as qouted in the bible "let the water bring forth abundamtly the moving creature that halth life, after their kind, and every winged animal after his kind" and the bible not god said that the earth was built in days, notice the s in days, so that means that god could of built the earth in million of years, and count those million of years as days, also the bible said that the earth was without form, so for all you know the earth can be as science describle it, also the bible never describle what the animals that first live on the earth look like, so therefore evolution could of happen because the bible said without describling what these animals look like, and for all those that said that they believe that humen being was made by god, in their present form, but god have never describle what adam and eve looklike, for all we know, god could of have made adam and eve look like a apes.

[lilypad_567]

121. the bible?

i am curious through, the bible if it is to be itepret litarly, than let do so, some extreme catholic/protestant said that the aryan race is superior to all the other race, will that is how the kkk and neo nazi justifly their racist, some extreme catholic/protestant also said that women don't have soul because god made eve from adam rib so therefore, a women don't have soul becuse she was made from adam, that why there is so many sexist people out there, also, i pretty sure that god have never spoke out against evoulution, because the bible have never said anything about god speaking aginst evolution,

[Desolation]

122. If you really have faith, it won't matter.

I don't get it. If a Christian really has faith in God, then why would some movie threaten them? They should know it's not true.

It wasn't a good movie, anyway.

[lilypad_567]

124. the bible continue

i got this from the book of james "if any man among you appear religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but decieve his ownheart, this man relgion is vain, pure religion and undefiled before god and the father is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world" james, line 26 and 27. "for hosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is gulity of all" james line 10, chapter 2. speak not evil of one and another, he that speak evil of his brother and judge his brother, speak evil of the law, but if thou judges the law, thou are not a doer of the law but a judge, there is one lawgiver, who is able to save and distroy, who art thou that judge one and another?" james chapter 4, line 11 and 12.

[lilypad_567]

127. agisnt abortion?

If the New Testament is a reliable witness, Jesus disturbed the moralists of his day by standing with people belittled or disempowered. Women were among those particularly vulnerable. He protected a woman accused of adultery, inquiring if her accusers were perfect enough to pass judgment. (They had picked on the woman as an easy mark. Where was her male partner?) Another time, with humorous hyperbole, Jesus suggested that his hearers get the logs out of their own eyes so they could better see the specks in others’. He reminds us it’s easier to moralize about others than to be moral ourselves.

i got this from www.plannedparenthood.com,

[Blue_Tires]

134. great insights---k+r

the whole anti-code movement is in full force in my hometown as well....i just saw it for what it was: an entertaining summer movie....ironically, there have been a lot of other (fictional) films out there revolving round some incredibly sinister plot or conspiracy by the vatican, so why all the hubbub now?

[nxylas]

150. I have a theory

Why all the hubbub now? Well, the movie plays on many of the familiar tropes of anti-Catholicism that have historically formed a large part of anti-Mexican prejudice in the US. Now that America is once again gripped by anti-Mexican hysteria, a movie bashing the Catholic Church becomes a runaway success at the box office. Coincidence?

[fortyfeetunder]

137. Frankly amazing

with all the turmoil going on in our country, ravaged homes from floods and soon hurricanes, some folks are getting their panties twisted in a knot over a fictional book!

[Elwyn]

141. Before the Da Vinci Code

Several years back, WAYYY before the Da Vinci Code, there were the movies "The Last Tempation of Christ" and "Monty Python's Meaning of Life" (remember the "Every Sperm is Sacred" sketch). Many conservative Christians called them "blasphemous" and objected, and both movies were banned in the Catholic Review. Both were also works of fiction, and if I recall, did quite well at the box office. When the Harry Potter movies came out, there were protests from some ultra-right corners. And J.K Rowling is laughing all the way to the bank. The Da Vinci Code is no different than the other movies I mentioned in that it is clearly a work of fiction; anything that encourages discussion of various spiritual viewpoints is good, but in a spirit (pun intended) of respect and diversity.

[Freedom_Aflaim]

143. I agree, its just a movie. Its fiction

Its fiction.

Gheesh. Im a religious person and a Christian. But I can still watch a movie like Davinci Code and enjoy it for the tale it tales.

I also enjoyed Star Wars but I don't feel the need to go on a campaign telling people that Darth Vadar and the Emperor arent real!

It reminds me of the nutters who burned buildings over -fictional- cartoons of mohammed.

Its just fiction folks. If your religion cannot withstand a little criticism, even fictional criticism, then you need to re-evaluate your faith.

[JWS]

144. I will never drink out of a punch bowl again.

[orleans]

145. (it's only a movie, it's only a movie, it's only a movie....)n/t

[Dragonbreathp9d]

148. What I tell people is

1) it fiction
2) it might have happened
3) that doesnt attack or assault or degrade Christianity that Jesus LOVED someone
4) get over it

[Totally Committed]

149. Actually it's not just a movie anymore! --

Just back from the supermarket, and can report that one of those "women's" magazines at the checkout had THE DI VINCI CODE DIET featured on the cover! I'm not kidding.

This country may already have gone 'round the bend too far, people.

TC

[LuckyLib]

151. Alot of very hopped up folks exercised about the DaVinci Code

certainly serves to keep them from thinking about the war, gas prices, their health care premiums, and the cost of college. Whose interests are served here? The filmmaker, studio, theaters, for obvious reasons, and the right-wing cabal loves it that it helps keep folks' attention "engaged" elsewhere than where it should be.

[lilypad_567]

153. my jewish teacher read the da vinci code

my jewish teacher read the da vinci codes allthe time because she will talk about it in class, and i knowthat she is a conversative because she support george bush, and the war, but i guess the reason why she is not offended because she is a jew. anyways, we should all focus on what is going on in the governemnt not a movie that is fiction?, i use a ? because it could be fiction or nonfiction....beside don't you know that every sperm is sacred because it will produce a fetus in a women body?