Well yeah maybe old Dan Brown's statements are just a tad bogus and self-serving. But I would not blame him if he wrote the book just to make a boatload of money. I believe in the profit motive. It drives human progress.
And people can have multiple motives. So maybe he wanted the book to serve as a catalyst and a springboard for these lively and dorky discussions and ALSO make a boatload of money.
Where did you get the idea that I was against writing a book for profit? I never stated or implied that I am against authors writing books with a mind to make money.
But when I purchase a book, I usually don't have to contend with the author trying to convince me that he actually wrote it to try to make me a better human being. Most authors don't try to invent altruistic motives for writing and publishing books. Your entertainment and their profit is usually the accepted (and unspoken) reason.
If Danny is sincere in his statement, he can go ahead and continue to bless mankind by donating his profits to some religious think tank somewhere.