Gee, Whatta Surprise
29 April 2006 by Sean
Vatican Tries to Break “Da Vinci Code”
The Vatican has stepped up its denouncement of the hotly anticipated movie, upgrading its disapproval of the book’s supposedly anti-Christian theories from pulpit-spewing rants to full-blown boycott.
Why do these religious types always call for a boycott of that which they disagree with? Shouldn’t people be encouraged to see things for themselves and make their own decisions?
Oh, yeah. That’s not what religion is all about, is it? Your decisions are made for you. My bad.
As it is, Monsignor Angelo Amato, the number two official in the Vatican’s powerful doctrinal office, has urged Catholics everywhere to boycott the upcoming Tom Hanks film on the basis that it patently “offended” the Christian faith.
Amato called Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel “stridently anti-Christian…full of calumnies, offences and historical and theological errors regarding Jesus, the Gospels and the Church.
“I hope that you all will boycott the film,” he said, according to the ANSA news agency.
You know someone was raised Catholic when they go around using words like “calumny.” What’s the matter, is the word “vituperation” not obscure or Latin enough for ya??
30 April 2006, on 5:07 am
Sean said: “Shouldn’t people be encouraged to see things for themselves and make their own decisions?”
Oh come on, you know that argument is only appropriate when it comes to trying to force creationism into the classroom.
30 April 2006, on 10:34 am
I can’t wait until this movie opens and shits on their collective pointy hats by producing a masssive box office.
30 April 2006, on 1:25 pm
Has anyone here read “Holy Blood, Holy Grail” …the book that supposedly influenced the DaVinci Code and sparked controversy back in the 80s? I was just told today by a friend that this book is far better than Brown’s book. I think I am going to read it just to compare.
Why do these religious types always call for a boycott of that which they disagree with? Shouldn’t people be encouraged to see things for themselves and make their own decisions?
If people are encouraged to go see for themselves that will make the xian evangelizing and brainwashing that much more challenging for them. Their sheep might start leaving the flock and then who would pay the salaries of the clergy and support their comfortable lifestyles the leaders of the churches are accustomed to? They would be forced to live more like Jeebus and they wouldn’t really want to do that, or maybe they would actually have to WORK for a living like the rest of us.
1 May 2006, on 9:16 am
With twin two year olds at home, getting to the movies has become more of a hassle for us lately, but I may make the effort for this film. I don’t know if Dan Brown’s theories have any legs or not and, frankly, I don’t even care. But I love the fact that this films make all the religious wackos nuts and I applaud it for that alone - especially since this is merely A WORK OF FICTION! The calls for a boycott hardly surprise me. During the production of this film, Ron Howard experienced many requests to “tone down” a lot of the plot elements or even screen a disclaimer. These demands reveal that somewhere deep inside the retarded brains of these twisted folk, they realize that their belief system is all bushwa. Can you imagine the American Bar Association demanding a disclaimer in the opening scene of a film based on a John Grisham novel? Simply amazing!
1 May 2006, on 9:49 am
I don’t know if Dan Brown’s theories have any legs or not and, frankly, I don’t even care. But I love the fact that this films make all the religious wackos nuts and I applaud it for that alone - especially since this is merely A WORK OF FICTION!
Exactly…and most fiction writers use “what if” as a base for their stories. The xians are such book banners. It just goes to prove how flimsy religion is if it is threatened by everything that questions it.
Can you imagine the American Bar Association demanding a disclaimer in the opening scene of a film based on a John Grisham novel? Simply amazing!
Or doctors because of the way doctors are portrayed as evil by Dean Koontz. It’s ridiculous.
1 May 2006, on 12:57 pm
AAIM said: “‘Shouldn’t people be encouraged to see things for themselves and make their own decisions?’
Oh come on, you know that argument is only appropriate when it comes to trying to force creationism into the classroom.”
Good point, but it is also used when asking people to “choose” between heterosexuality and homosexuality.
1 May 2006, on 2:51 pm
Star: Has anyone here read “Holy Blood, Holy Grail” …the book that supposedly influenced the DaVinci Code and sparked controversy back in the 80s? I was just told today by a friend that this book is far better than Brown’s book.
I haven’t read it, but I’ve skimmed it and read debunkings of it, as well. It’s non-fiction as opposed to Brown’s fiction, but he did use its ideas liberally, to the point of giving it credit every chance he could (including naming a main character with an anagram of HBHG’s authors’ names) - and they *still* sued him for it (and lost; it was a rather pathetically obvious attempt to cash in on Code’s success and get *their* title back in the news). It’s fun reading, but not reputable by any means on the scholarly level; their main “source” of inside information was a guy who later confessed to making up everything he told them.
Of course, that was just an extremely simplistic description of the whole brou-haha on my part…
1 May 2006, on 3:03 pm
It’s fun reading, but not reputable by any means on the scholarly level; their main “source” of inside information was a guy who later confessed to making up everything he told them.
Eve, Thanks for the info. What’s all the hype about the DaVinci Code then if the details have been admittedly made up! How very typical for the sheep to follow their shepherds blindly without looking into things for themselves. All it would take is for them to ask a few simple questions like I just did. The filmmakers are taking advantage of their ignorance.
1 May 2006, on 3:17 pm
Star, I guess it’s new to *this* crop of readers and filmgoers; the “rumor” about Jesus and Mary Magdalene being married and having kids has been around a pretty long time. No one’s been able to prove it, of course, and what Holy Blood and Code rehash is another old story about a secret organization called the Priory of Sion rumored to be hoarding that proof. The guy who gave HBHG’s authors the “inside scoop” on the Priory is the one who later admitted to hoaxing them; I can’t recall his name at the moment, and I know I read about the debunking in more detail, so if I can find a link to it I’ll post it.
Like I said, fun reading and a cool fictional premise - emphasis on the “fictional.” I think the poster who said that most xians, being of the moderate “live-and-let-live” variety, will just enjoy the book and movie without being upset or threatened by them. It’s the church leaders who must hold on to their power at all costs who will indulge in the public histrionics.
On the other hand, I would love-love-love for someone to unearth compelling, original evidence pointing to Jesus being married…
8 May 2006, on 12:50 pm
“the “rumor” about Jesus and Mary Magdalene being married and having kids has been around a pretty long time. No one’s been able to prove it”
True. Furthermore, that theory has been discredited very thoroughly and almost no religious scholar these days takes it seriously anymore.
I don’t see why the church should be so concerned with the movie. Like others have said…FICTION.