Posted on 05/17/2006 2:01:05 AM PDT by MadIvan
The best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code has seriously damaged people's faith in the Christian Church, a survey has found.
Two thirds of Britons who have read Dan Brown's thriller believe that Jesus fathered a child with Mary Magdalene, a claim rejected as baseless by historians and Bible scholars.
Those who have read it are also four times as likely to think that the conservative Roman Catholic organisation Opus Dei, whose members include the Cabinet minister Ruth Kelly, is a murderous sect.
Seventeen per cent of readers are convinced that the lay group, whose founder was canonised by the late Pope John Paul II, has ordered or carried out a murder, compared with four per cent of those who have not read the book.
The poll has shocked Church leaders who have mounted a massive campaign to debunk The Da Vinci Code in advance of the release of the Hollywood film version this week. The findings suggest that the book has significantly shifted attitudes towards traditional Christianity and will fuel fears that people increasingly prefer to believe in conspiracy theories that taint the Church rather than historical evidence.
The poll found that more than one in five British adults has read the book, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, and that a large proportion believe its central claims.
Sixty per cent of the adults polled said after reading the book that they believed there was truth in the suggestion that Jesus had children and that his bloodline survives, compared with 30 per cent of those who have not read it.
Just under a third, 27 per cent, think that the Catholic Church is covering up the truth about Jesus, and the figure rises to 36 per cent among those who have read Brown's novel.
Austin Ivereigh, the director for public affairs for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, accused Brown of dishonest marketing and said the film should carry a "health warning".
He complained that Brown and Sony Pictures, the film's distributors "have encouraged people to take it seriously while hiding behind the claim that it is fiction.
"Our poll shows that they should take responsibility for their dishonesty."
The poll was conducted by Opinion Research Business among a representative sample of 1,005 adults between May 12 and 14.
Proof that people are stupid. They base their spiritual beliefs on a fictional novel. Whatever tickles their ear I guess.
Yes,Satan must be pleased.Seems like a lot of people are desperate to believe anything BUT the truth.
"It's a novel!".
Do you ever tell that to those who recommend "State of Fear" as a refutation of Climate Change?
Hey, communism, if it worked, would be great for the vast majority of people.
The whole concept is that people are happy at work and at home living in bliss and harmony with their neighbors.
That sounds great to most. Thing is, in practice it doesn't work and just leads to a brutal dictatorship and mass poverty
Apparently there's a lack of intelligemce among Da Vinci Code readers -- and not just in Britain.
It's fiction - want truth, call Art Bell!!
intelligemce = intelligence
There's also a lack of coffee here as well.
exactly!
There are a lot of weak-minded people in the world.
Those who have read it are also four times as likely to think that the conservative Roman Catholic organisation Opus Dei, whose members include the Cabinet minister Ruth Kelly, is a murderous sect.
As feared and predicted. Brown, with willing accomplices in the media, has promoted this book as historical fiction.
I heard CNN reporting on this yesterday, and the host noted that TDVC has "opened a dialogue" regarding Jesus' celibacy. Ah yes, give me that old time Hegelian dialectic.
I don't know about the UK, but in the US, 1 in 5 people have read the book. That's a lot of people. I've heard a couple of people at work reverently mention Brownisms like Jesus being married and Constantine inventing Jesus' divinity.
Mission accomplished.
CNN was reporting albino outrage yesterday. The host also mentioned the importance of TDVC in "opening a dialogue" regarding Jesus' celibacy.
I have a friend, 72 year old woman, ex RC, who believes Brown's novel is true. I asked her how she could believe God revealed all this to Brown for his novel, but she couldn't believe He guided the early Christians who chose the canon of the Bible? Still waiting for an answer.
She believes the Gospels of Thomas and Judas as well.
...and weak-minded people change their minds with every new book they read.
Fortunately, the substance of the bible is solid and continues consistently through the ages.
Perhaps you can buy her a copy of C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters"?
Satan's goal is being achieved through Brown's work as planned.
Holy crap! Satan is turning people into complete morons! Now we can't blame Hollywood anymore!
...or government schools!
How would you like that done to your family because you read the Bible? It happens in Muslim countries.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.