We'll make sure to send you an invitation.
Posted on 05/19/2006 12:45:53 PM PDT by lizol
The Da Vinci Code premiers to criticism in Poland
The Da Vinci Code the film by Ron Howard after the controversial book by Dan Brown, premiers today in Poland. Both the book and the film have been strongly criticized by the Catholic Church in Poland with archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz calling to boycott the film for its blasphemous presentation of Christianity.
Report by Agnieszka Bielawska
19.05.06
The da Vinci Code premiered in Cannes , but contrary to expectations has been negatively reviewed by critics. What will be the reaction of the public remains to be seen, the film was long awaited after the spectacular success of the novel.
The Da Vinci Code has attracted unusual attention thanks to the religious controversy surrounding Dan Brown’s bestseller. In Poland , which is a predominantly catholic country, the book and the film evoke mixed emotions.
The book suggests that Jesus married Maria Magdalena, had a child by her , who began the French dynasty of Merrowings and that the Church resorted to murder . This prompted objections from Christian groups and the Vatican. The Polish catholic church has presented its strong criticism accusing the Da Vinci Code of manipulation and falsifying historical facts. According to father Krzysztof Niedlatowski who conducts research on the iconography of the Last Supper the Code is just a very cleverly constructed fiction which achieved success thanks to basing on the sensational history of the Catholic Church which to many even believers remains in fact unknown
” Starting from Jesus and his relations with women, it already sounds interesting. And why not that there is someone, somewhere who really knows about it- this could be some sensational truth revealed.”
Father Niedaltowski says that treating the da Vinci Code as a chronicle of the Church can be a dangerous thing especially for those whose knowledge of Christianity and the catholic Church is scarce . At the same time however he said , it may be an inspiration to search for knowledge and truth. A similar opinion is shared by the head of the Polish episcopate archbishop Jozef Michalik , who criticizes the book says the Episcopate spokesman father Joszef Kloch
”For many people it is the first contact with Christianity which is presented in a distorted way .The author is unjust and falsifies the historic and theological truth. from the ethical point of view it is unacceptable and immoral .But at the same time archbishop Michalik underlined that the book may inspire to search for truth, to dig for sources and deepen knowledge , thus deepening faith.”
The Polish Catholic church says the book, and the film base on many apocryphal writings which have been gathered over the centuries speculating on Jesus and his teachings. The Archbishop of Krakow Stanislaw Dziwisz , has called to boycott the film, but as analyst Adam Szostkiewicz says there is no need for such harsh steps. People who believe cannot not be turned from their faith by fiction.
“Boycott is exactly what the people of The Da Vinci Code want: free advertisement, so the more voices like this the more people will come to the cinema.“
Amazing to see a movie about a drunken sot!
But this is the sort of things that Libs and conspiracy nuts lap up...
So when are the beheadings of non-Christians going to start?
If someone wrote a fictional book that made all kinds of wild accusations about your best friend, would you stick up for him/her?
The story is fiction, but Dan Brown has been extremely outspoken in claiming that this story is based on factual history - and that's a big problem.
We'll make sure to send you an invitation.
Front Row and Center please.
You must have missed the part at the front of the book that Brown calls "Facts:"
Fake, but accurate.
Did the reviewer not know it was a fictional movie? Or was he ignorant of history and duped by the promos and Dan Brown? At any rate, it isn't simply simpletons who think it isn't fiction.
But still, the central aim of the book, and therefore the film if it's in any way faithful to the book, is to debunk Christ's divinity, which, naturally, Christian churches must contest strenuously. As C.S. Lewis put it in Mere Christianity, a man who said the kind of things Jesus Christ said, and who was not divine, would "either be a lunatic -- on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell."
I didn't miss the cover where it says "Novel"
A novel claiming large portions of its content are true - which are not. You do see the difference in a novel that does claim up front "Fact:"... and one which does not, I'm sure.
nothing is nothing
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