Da
Vinci Code: Review
While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon was
summoned to a crime scene. The curator of Lauvre was murdered inside the
museum, his body and the floor was covered in baffling symbols which was
believed to be done by the old man himself to lead them to who killed him.
With a gifted French cryptologist, Sophia Neveu, to sort things out they
found a trail of hidden codes, riddles, and clue visible for all to see and
yet ingeniously disguised. And following their clues, they found themselves
in a midst an ancient conspiracy that guarded a historical secret, a secret
so big it could destroy the powerful Roman Catholic Church. And, unless
Langdon and Neveu can decipher this labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding a
faceless adversary—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.
I did say I am not going to read
this famed Dan Brown Mega Blockbuster and rather controversial book “The
Da Vince Code” as the media hype had already made me sick of it and that I
am skeptic enough about my mother church, The Roman Catholic Church (Good In
Paper, Bad in Bed). But then my cousin brought home a copy, barrowed from a
friend, and that he wouldn’t be able to read it yet as he was busy—with
college finals and all fast approaching—and handed me the book for me to
read it first. The temptation got the best of me—must be the devil
working—kidding!
Anyhow, I find it quite interesting and a really, really good book. I
read it in less than twenty-four hours—something I thought I couldn’t do
since my eyes couldn’t stand long reading anymore. But, I did… The book
instantly grips you from the prologue and that you wouldn’t want to put
the book down, reeling for what would happen next… until the last chapter
to the epilogue. Extremely fast phase yet the book was fascinatingly an easy
read—the author, I think, did took time out to explaining every concept
with a five year old in mind: simple yet so clear it automatically makes
your stock knowledge.
The book is also a smart one. Almost flawless in execution, this
suspense thriller would keep you guessing with its many clever twist and
turn. Not missing a beat, and yet you would come to a shock when it dawns on
you (the word dawn was everywhere in the novel for some reason).
I’m
really glad my cousin had brought home a copy. Forget the reports, the
review, and specially the debate on this highly controversial book—I’m
telling you, it’s pointless anyway. Just pick one up and read it.
Now, I said it’s almost
flawless… almost but not quite.
The idea in the book that fueled
the controversy was that of the Priory Sion’s—a European secret society
founded 1099, a real organization—claimed by the book backed with accurate
documentation—well guarded secret. And this secret is supposed to be the
where about and what really is the Holy Grail.
We were made to believe that the Holy Grail was supposed to be the
chalice in which Jesus Christ, in the last supper, shared his blood to the
thirteen disciples. The book attacked that belief and saying it was not just
a simple golden chalice with an argument that if that was only what the Holy
Grail was why was it that of greater importance. Why not also the cross
Jesus Christ have been crucified unto or the torn in which was crowned
unto Him? It couldn’t be just that. It is a lot more than that. The thing
is that, being that I’m of the Roman Catholic Church and that I know a
little, did Constantine went to look for the True Cross of Christ—our
local Santa Cruzan? Anyhow, the book believes that it was said that it was a
chalice out of mistake as chalice is just a mere symbol, a pagan symbol.
Pagan symbols, as explained in the book—sorry but my only reference
is the book itself as it should be and that I have no plans to doing further
research on the subject—is all over the Roman Catholic faith. From the
shape of great cathedrals to the cross itself, they were all of pagan
symbols. Paganism—the belief and worship of nature god and goddesses—was
smashed by the Roman Catholic Church outlawing them to of devil worship.
You asked how this could have happened and if the church wasn’t
aware of it—of this pagan symbols? They were well aware of it from the
very start. According to the book, and I would stressed that over and over
again all through out for even as I think it makes a lot of sense than what
I was made to believe growing up, I don’t intend to get hate letters from
the moralist, the righteous, or the faithful. According to the book there
were more than eighty gospels considered for the Bible’s New Testament. I
don’t think I need to argue that the Bible was written by man and not
something that fell out of heaven, come on. The Bible is written as a
historical record of tumultuous time. Now Jesus is a very influential man,
enigmatic and an inspirational leader. More so, he was prophesied Messiah
and a descendant of King Solomon and King David thus have a rightful claim
to the throne as the king of the Jews. Understandable his life was pretty
much recorded by thousand of his followers across the land thus more than
eighty gospels.
There were more than eighty gospels
but only few were chosen, who chose them? According to the book it was
Constantine, the emperor of Rome.
Constantine,
again according to the book, is a pagan emperor. Then, Rome’s official
religion was sun worship—the cult of Sol Invictus or the Invincible
Sun—and Constantine its head priest. Unfortunate for him during his time a
growing religious turmoil was gripping Rome. Three centuries after the
crucifixion of Christ, His followers have multiplied exponentially and
started warring with the pagans. The conflict grew to such proportion that
it threatened to divide Rome into two. Constantine knew something was to be
done and 325 A.D. decided to unify Rome into one religion: Christianity.
Now, why would a Pagan Emperor choose Christianity instead of his own
religion? Well, according to the book, he just backed the winning horse. So,
does this mean that Constantine turned his back on his own religion and how
did this help the situation when of course you would imagine that the Pagan
would have none of this? Constantine actually didn’t just accepted
Christianity through and through. What he really did was create a hybrid
religion by infusing pagan symbols, dates and rituals into Christianity.
Example: the Egyptian sun disk became the halo of the saints.
The
book claims nothing is original to the Catholic faith. The Son of God and
The Light of the World were of the pre-Christian God Mithras who also
happened to be born December 25, and died, was buried and in the third day
resurrected. Osiris, Adonis, and Dionysus were also born at the 25th
of December. The newly born Krishna was presented with gold, frankincense,
and myrrh. Even Sunday, Christian’s weekly holy day was also stolen.
Christianity first honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday. Constantine
adjusted it to coincide with the Sun veneration day—Sunday.
Are you finding all that hard to
swallow already…? Well, hold on, there’s more, so much more. That is
only the prelude. Remember, we are after what really is the Holy Grail
because it can’t just be a cup. Something that important, so important it
needed to be hidden and have been hidden for centuries, can’t be just a
mere cup, not even if it’s made entirely of gold and was bejeweled. Why
would it be hidden?
At this point, I could jump forward and reveal to you what the book
think the real Holy Grail is… but then, I think, as the book thinks, we
needed to understand something first before revealing the shocking
truth—actually the supposition—what the real Holy Grail is.
Constantine needed to strengthen
the new Christian tradition and held the famous ecumenical gathering known
as the council of Nicaea. At this gathering many aspect of Christianity were
debated and voted upon: the date of Easter, the role of the bishops, the
administration of the sacraments, and of course the most important, the
divinity of Jesus.
Yap, the divinity of Jesus, Him being a God, wasn’t a given, it was
voted upon. Until that moment in history, Jesus’ followers only viewed Him
as prophet, a rather very great and powerful man—but still a man, a mere
mortal—and not the Son of God. Jesus as the Son of God was only
established in that gathering and was determined in a vote, a very close
vote at that. Shocking? Perhaps we Christians should hit the history books
and start reading… Anyhow, no one is disputing the fact that Jesus Christ
ever walked the earth. No one is questioning His nature as a good man or His
teachings being good and all this are facts. I think there is no cause on
taking offense. This is even if I say, as claimed by the book, that the move
to make Jesus as a God is a move to gain power.
Oh
come on! We Filipino should be well aware that Christianity was used to gain
power. We were under Spain because of Christianity!
The
move was very crucial, Constantine making Jesus a deity whose power is
unchallengeable, thus couldn’t be question. It also, because of that, that
the followers of Christ could only redeem themselves only through one
established sacred channel—them, the Roman Catholic Church.
It
was all power play and don’t dare challenge that.
Being that Constantine elevated
Jesus from being a man into a god four centuries after His death, many
documents had been written already chronicling His life as a mortal man.
Constantine commissioned and financed to rewrite the Bible, omitting all the
gospels that reflect Jesus’ human trait and embellished those gospels that
made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, round up, and
destroyed—burned.
According to the book, some of this gospels that Constantine tried to
eradicate managed to survive and were found in 1950’s: the Dead Sea
Scrolls, and 1945: Coptic Scrolls. Both Documents not only speak of the true
Grail story but also speaks of Jesus’ ministry in a very human term.
All that explained why the true
Grail is hidden and couldn’t be exposed and why, according to the book,
The Roman Catholic Church would do anything to get their hands on it and
destroy it or prevent it to be exposed… See, it couldn’t be just a cup
Jesus had used.
So, what does the book supposed the HOLY GRAIL is?
A-ah! Read the Book!
Kidding!
Priory Sion is a secret society in
Europe and is a real organization. In 1975 Paris’ Bibliotheque
Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets,
identifying numerous members of the Priory Sion. The list includes Sir Isaac
Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo and Leonardo Da Vinci. The book also
believed that Priory Sion holds the key to what and where the Holy Grail is.
They are the keepers of the secret.
Maestro Leonard Da Vinci, who happens to be gay (I just have to
mention that), once served as the secret society’s grand master from 1510
to 1519. He also is responsible for the two most famous works of art: The
Mona Lisa and The Last Super. The Last Super, the most famous fresco and
should be a depiction of not only the Saviors last dinner and where He told
one of his disciples was to betray him, it was the definitive arrival of the
Holy Grail if it was indeed just the cup/chalice in which His “blood”
was and shared among the disciples—“This is the cup of my blood…”
It was shared therefore there must be only one cup in the table…?
In the painting of Leonardo Da Vinci there were 13 wine glasses. They were
glasses: 13 tiny, stemless glasses. Did Leonardo forget to paint the grail?
Well, the book argued.
And there is more in this painting according to the book…
In symbology, ancient symbolgy, the
symbol for female is in the shape of the letter “V” and is called the
chalice. The chalice resembles a cup or vessel and more importantly the
woman’s womb. Now, the legend says that the Holy Grail is a cup but this
is actually an allegory to protect the true nature of the Holy Grail. It is
a metaphor for a woman. Again, as claimed by the book, the Holy Grail is not
a cup but the cup is a symbol that represents women therefore the Holy Grail
is a woman. Who is this woman?
I was quick to jump, the Holy Virgin Mary, the mother of God. I was
wrong.
The book claims Da Vinci painted her, the Holy Grail. She was
in his “The Last Super”, shouting for every one to see! She was in the
seat of honor, the seat at the right of Jesus. What woman, you asked, they
were all men? The book claims, upon closer inspection one would see that
indeed the man at the immediate right of Jesus was a woman with a flowing
red hair, delicate folded hand, and a hint of bosom. Da Vinci could no way
make this mistake, as he was highly skilled in painting the differences of
the sexes. Does she have a name?
Yes, Mary Magdalene, portrayed in the Bible as a lowly prostitute.
The idea of Mary Magdalene being
married to Jesus and not just a lowly prostitute is not a new idea for me. I
had heard that idea before, over and over again. I thought the idea made
sense and that I have no problem with Jesus having been married. That was
until I thought if He was married, does He have a child? I didn’t contest
the idea of Mary Magdalene being the wife but then neither did I readily
accepted it. I just thought that Jesus being a powerful, influential,
charismatic, and that he was rather handsome… would any woman be able to
resist? But then, as I said, if he was married could have he fathered a
child, which carries His Holy Blood? I didn’t want to think about it…
There were others who devout their entire life thinking about it…
Mentioned above the book claims
some of this gospels that Constantine tried to eradicate managed to survive
and were found in 1950’s: the Dead Sea Scrolls, and 1945: Coptic Scrolls.
This scrolls were translated to English and there the startling evidence
that suggest that indeed Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife. And according to
these scrolls, it was Mary Magdalene who Jesus gave directions with which to
establish the Christian church and not Peter.
Also supposed in the book that during the crucifixion of Jesus, Mary
Magdalene had to escape, as she was feared also to be arrested and that she
was pregnant. She went to Gaul, present day France. She was, pregnant…
Now, that is not the gist of the
book. Although very interesting, the book is so much more than that. The
book is a suspense thriller with exciting twist and turn, excellently
written not to leave its reader in daze. This book is rather an easy read.
Now as I said above, the book is almost perfect—almost but not
quite. I have one question. If the Da Vinci was mocking us, excuse the term,
painting the Holy Grail in his famous “The Last Super” and that
this painting was basis for this Grail Hunter to suppose, conclude
that it is a woman… wasn’t Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the rest… all
hailed from Israel? Weren’t they suppose to be Middle-Eastern? Hmmm…
When I talked about the book to my
uncle, who so wanted to read it but hadn’t yet—lack of time was his
excuse—he found it rather damaging to his dwindling relationship with God.
This reaction was the concern of the many faithful… It didn’t had that
effect on me… although I don’t think there was much to affect either…
My relationship to God is quite simple… He was the space that I
could whisper my hopes, frustrations, and my guilt… and the space I could
hope to that things are going to be okay… That is all I need to know…
for as long as the space exist… everything is going to be okay in the
end…
February
5, 2005/Saturday