Thanks for posting the article.
Ron Howard's past directions
have won him great esteem in
the American public and IMO
Dick and Jane Doe are going
to hold off until they see
the flick for themselves.
One thing that has perturbed
me re all this bugaboo about
the Opus Dei org is the fact
that anyone who has READ the
NOVEL is fully aware that the
true villain of the piece is
the mastermind who sends his
slave (the albino) out to
perform those murders. Also,
a READER is going to be struck
with the symbolism of the
colors red, black and white...
as well as a few more that
appear in the novel. Brown
has been sorely panned for his
writing, and I won't go on record
as suggesting his phraseology is
top notch. But give the man
credit, he DOES spin a yarn that
leads the reader who likes to
follow the clues a merry chase.
When the chaff is blown away, ONE
member of a Holy Order's
mental perversions is no more
earth-shattering than the
perversions of a priest turned
predator. Brown simply used
the age-old myth of Jesus and Mary
Magdelene as the necessary driving
force for such vile actions by the
villain. His motive HAD to be more
than simple JEALOUSY of other priests,
the Pope, etc. REVENGE? Wouldn't
work. And it's not as though others
hadn't used this same myth in their
works. Who howled this loudy at
JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR? That one
blew my mind at the time. Today,
a novel dealing with a priest's
seduction of a child could appear
on the stalls and noone would make
such a fuss. Historically, Popes
have sired children, graft and
corruption have been found within
the Vatican Walls; the CHURCH
has survived all kinds of human
errors and scandals.
When the chips are down, I have
to iterate, it's sad to think one's
faith has even a slight tremor over
a piece of fiction.
My faith can handle the movie. Or the book. But I won't put money in the pocket of people who step over the line on these issues.
I can't condone supporting blasphemy, even if it is "just a novel."
These ideas aren't new. In my younger and non-Christian days I read the Passover Plot and the Jesus Scroll, and a variety of mostly gnostic things along with Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and even then I knew it was hokey.
But now, I won't support such stuff. Things being fiction or entertainment don't excuse certain actions, so I vote with my pocketbook! And I encourage those who consider themselves Christian to consider it from this POV.