The Da Vinci Code

the_highlander · Little Guppy Joined: 09 Nov 2003 Posts: 30

Anyone read this book or watch the special that was on television last week?

I read it and it was quite the novel. The author certainly did put a lot of time in researching factual material concerning the underlining topic.

One thing that was interesting is the theory that the Bible was written (one of many reasons) to write out women. Before the Bible Earth and many of its 'gods' were feminine. Subsequent to the Bible, anything feminine was akin to sin and the devil while all things masculine were righteous and godly.

Hmmm...any thoughts?

shepreach · Cobra Joined: 08 Nov 2003 Posts: 487 Location: ga

Highlander,
I haven’t read the book and only saw the last part of the special. I can see Mary Magdalene being one of the apostles. I can also see Susannah and Johanna in that same category. Of course the women provided for Jesus and the others. Women still do that today. It doesn’t prevent them from being on a par with the men of the group. Mary and Martha of Bethany can also be included in that group, though I don’t think they traveled with Jesus.
If the Bible was written to write out women, the writers didn’t do a very good job. They keep popping up in unexpected places. And the women who are prominent in the Bible are as varied in nature as the men who are there. As far as feminine goes, the Aramaic word for breath or spirit, or wind, “ruach” is feminine in gender. This is the word used for the breath of God which gave Adam life. Imo, the men in a male dominated society made feminine things sinful because of their own impure thoughts about women.
Sheila

the_highlander · Little Guppy Joined: 09 Nov 2003 Posts: 30

Hmmm....

Well, let's see.

Only a select few woman of notability were meantioned in the Bible, which of course, does not extend to all women in the real world. Because of the Bible (i.e., religion, Allah, God, etc.) women have been seen as less than dirt and treated as such.

If this weren't true, then women in Africa and Middle Eastern countries wouldn't have to go through the heinous oppressive acts that they have. This being just one example among many.

When one thinks about the 'Witch Trials,' do you know just how many women have been hunted, captured and burned at the stake [i[because of[/i] religious fear!?!

What the author wrote about where the oppression of women and the feminine (on a grander scale) is concerned makes more sense than what the Bible, Allah, God, et al has given men the excuse to treat women so poorly.

I mean really, I can recount a huge investigative report done by Time magazine a few years back that quoted a woman saying her Christian Pastor told her it was God's will that she stay in her abusive marriage and the next time her husband went to hit her to merely duck. #Mad

That's the kind of attitude towards women by men that has permeated humanity that the author is indirectly talking about. Which is really sad you know, history being so replete with example after example of the pain and suffering women have had to endure for centuries 'in His name.'

metothezero · Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 9:30 pm Post subject:

oooh, I sense some underlined hatred towards men...just kidding.

While many henious things have been committed 'in His name' this does not mean that it is his wishes. I do not think that the author has truly read the Bible or is completely ignoring evidences given by the Bible that say the complete opposite of what God is like. He is not a chauvenist, who doesn't like women. I mean think of the four gospel accounts, who was the first to see Jesus alive? Was it not women? Think of Deborah the judge, and personally I think, one of the coolest. Consider the story of the person who saved the Israelite peoples from death, who was it, oh yes Esther, a woman. Consider the story of Ruth and her faith in God. I do not believe that you can count the Christian Bible on the same level as that of Islamic beliefs who do belittle women completely. I understand that women have been mistreated by mean, in the name of God, and under other names including stupidity and arrogance. But this does not mean that God promotes this type of behavior.

I have seen the Da'Vinci Code book, and have wondered what it was about, please tell me more, I might be interested in buying it, was it good???

the_highlander · Little Guppy Joined: 09 Nov 2003 Posts: 30

metothezero · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 8:15 pm Post subject:

My question is this. Does everyone who professes the name of Christianity necessarily have to be considered as a spokesperson for my Faith? IF this is the logic, that just because some pastor who professed christianity, is completely stupid and decides that a woman should continue in her abusive realtionship, if this pastor does something bad this does not make the christian faith bad. IF this is the correct logic, then aren't all men by that logic bad. Likewise all women bad. I can name dozens of men who did henious crimes in their lives, hitler, dahmer, gaycey, bin laden, hussein, these men were men, does that make all men bad. This isn't exactly the same with christians, becuase you are not born a christian, it is a choice. But still you are labeled as a christian, and your actions do reflect that of christians. But that does not mean we can consider a religion to be what it's abuser make it out to appear to be. Christianity does not teach the supression of women.

the_highlander · Little Guppy Joined: 09 Nov 2003 Posts: 30

Nobby · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 9:32 pm Post subject: The Da Vinci Code

Wanna see something sick read this:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/World/Primetime/davinci031103-1.html
Nobby

shepreach · Cobra Joined: 08 Nov 2003 Posts: 487 Location: ga

nobby,
this is the special highlander was referring to. isn't it funny how people make a big deal out of stuff. "the DaVinci Code" is a novel. novel = fiction. the tv special was just a forum for certain persons opinions and ideas. the problem is that some people will think it's the gospel truth.
sheila

the_highlander · Little Guppy Joined: 09 Nov 2003 Posts: 30

shepreach · Cobra Joined: 08 Nov 2003 Posts: 487 Location: ga

over a year, huh? and you say it was meticulous research. i'm impressed. it's still the opinions of a group of people. and you prove my point about people seeing it as the gospel truth.
sheila

the_highlander · Little Guppy Joined: 09 Nov 2003 Posts: 30

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 6661 Location: USA

Da Blonde Bombshell · Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2003 11:53 am Post subject:

I'll have to check out that book. The premise you state does have significant evidence to support it.

Prior to development of mass scale agriculture matriarchical culture was the norm. Matriarchical culture of course had a female concept of God. BTW there is a Tom Robbins novel also that addresses this; sorry I can't remember the name. He refers to the Biblical tale of Jezebel at various points in the narrative and indicates she was right and the priests who opposed her were wrong.

I don't agree but I can see the point made by an Erisian (Eris, the Goddess of Discord of the Greeks, is one of the Mother god figures, just like Jehovah and Zeus and Odin are versions of God the Father, Christ and Thor and Siddharta [Buddha] as Son Gods, etc.) who described our present state of affairs as one that resulted because "Jehovah and Eris had a messy divorce."

Da Blonde Bombshell · Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 10:13 am Post subject:

I got it and started reading it. Apparently Opus Dei, the Catholic lodge with extremist practices, are the bad guys. It's a suspense novel, maybe one grade up in sophistication over the Left Behind potboilers, but entertaining as such.

I'll be interested to see if it winds up being mostly anti-Catholic dreck. Once in an interview the ultra-fundamentalist and virulently anti-Catholic cartoonist Jack Chick commented on Billy Graham's alleged softness on homosexual issues (i.e., the Graham organization refers homosexuals who contact them to gay Christian groups, not antigay groups) by saying "there are a lot of Jesuits at Wheaton College" (Graham's alma mater).

Even so, he's on the money that Opus Dei is both weird and powerful.