Vatican calling for Boycott of Da Vinci Code

[Nova]

Fiction is not true, but not the same as a lie.

Per Aristotle in his Poetics, poetry (i.e., fiction) is greater than history (i.e., nonfiction) because while history tells us what a particular man did in a particular time and place, poetry tells us what a general type of man will do under a general set of circumstances. In other words, fiction deals with universal truths, nonfiction with specific, factual details.

 

[sandraladeda]

In "FACT" sandraladeda Fiction is story telling.. This book is marketted as FICTION.. If it was Marketed as non-fiction then it would be lying.
On the second page of the book it does say the following....

"This book is a work of fiction, Names, Characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imgination or are used FICTITIOUSLY. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental."

This is indeed on a page preceeding the "fact" page. Therefore anything written in the pages of the novel are fiction.

I have a hard copy DVC on my desk in front of me as I type. In my copy there is no page with a disclaimer about names, dates, events, etc. being fictitious. i assume you must have a paperback version?

Perhaps if Dan Brown had not been so inconsistent in his position as to whether the DVC is based on fact or not, and would, once and for all, state that it is fiction , fiction, and nothing but fiction, there would be less confusion. However that has not been the case.

Good Morning America, November 3, 2003 - host Charles Gibson asked Brown, ". . . This is a novel. If you were writing it as a non-fiction book how would it have been different?" Brown’s answer blow’s the cover off the "fiction" disguise:

"I don’t think it would have. I began the research for ‘The Da Vinci Code’ as a skeptic. I entirely expected, as I researched the book, to disprove this theory. And after numerous trips to Europe, about two years of research, I really became a believer."
(Author Dan Brown, Good Morning America, November 3, 2003)

Again, on Primetime Live: (Jesus, Mary and Da Vinci, November 3, 2003), Brown confesses to Elizabeth Vargas:

"I began as a skeptic. As I started researching ‘Da Vinci Code,’ I really thought I would disprove a lot of this theory about Mary Magdalene and holy blood and all of that. I became a believer."
(Author Dan Brown, Primetime Live:, November 3, 2003)

On NBC’s Today Show (June 9, 2003), host Matt Lauer asks Brown:

"How much of this is based on reality in terms of things that actually occurred?"
Browns reply, "Absolutely all of it."
(Author Dan Brown, Today Show, June 9, 2003)


So please, clear this up for me; is this fiction or not?

Let me repeat: "How much of this is based on reality in terms of things that actually occurred?"
Browns reply, "Absolutely all of it."

 

[Amraann]

I have a hard copy DVC on my desk in front of me as I type. In my copy there is no page with a disclaimer about names, dates, events, etc. being fictitious. i assume you must have a paperback version?

Perhaps if Dan Brown had not been so inconsistent in his position as to whether the DVC is based on fact or not, and would, once and for all, state that it is fiction , fiction, and nothing but fiction. However that has not been the case.

Good Morning America, November 3, 2003 - host Charles Gibson asked Brown, ". . . This is a novel. If you were writing it as a non-fiction book how would it have been different?" Brown’s answer blow’s the cover off the "fiction" disguise:

"I don’t think it would have. I began the research for ‘The Da Vinci Code’ as a skeptic. I entirely expected, as I researched the book, to disprove this theory. And after numerous trips to Europe, about two years of research, I really became a believer."
(Author Dan Brown, Good Morning America, November 3, 2003)

Again, on Primetime Live: (Jesus, Mary and Da Vinci, November 3, 2003), Brown confesses to Elizabeth Vargas:

"I began as a skeptic. As I started researching ‘Da Vinci Code,’ I really thought I would disprove a lot of this theory about Mary Magdalene and holy blood and all of that. I became a believer."
(Author Dan Brown, Primetime Live:, November 3, 2003)

On NBC’s Today Show (June 9, 2003), host Matt Lauer asks Brown:

"How much of this is based on reality in terms of things that actually occurred?"
Browns reply, "Absolutely all of it."
(Author Dan Brown, Today Show, June 9, 2003)


So please, clear this up for me; is this fiction or not?

Let me repeat: "How much of this is based on reality in terms of things that actually occurred?"
Browns reply, "Absolutely all of it."

Are you saying that the hardbacked version has no copyright page??
I find that Highly inprobable.

The book was sold as FICTION ... In any book store or library you will fin it in the Fiction section..
Whats the big mystery? This is a book SOLD as fiction..
If the church has a real concern its that its members can't comprehend that which is taught to us in 2cd grade. That is ...Fiction is not real, Non-Fiction is. I would think that in protecting their flock it would serve a better purpose to educate them rather then fill their head with half truths.
Dan Brown's position is merely good marketting ...
As a matter of fact I think its brilliant! Regardless of what he says the book is fiction and it clearly says so in every edition hard or soft copy.

Let me give you a different example...
You know the drink Red bull? Well its commercial claims to Red Bull gives you wings..
Obviously that is fictitious and a marketting ploy. Red Bull is a real product.
The commercial claims it gives you wings without small print or warning that states it is a fictitious claim.
I suppose along that line of thought Red Bull makes you an angel?
IMO believing that is the same as believing a FICTITIOUS book is any thing other then what it claims to be and that is fiction.

I have no problem with anyone believing what they want and making their own informed descions.
I do take some issue that some people will blindly believe and follow without being informed.
IMO in this matter its a simple thing a Fiction book is fiction. Read and enjoy the imagination of another at work.
In this instance I find it alarming that any church would be concerned that its members would not understand that. As mentioned above *if* that is truly a legit concern then the church has a much bigger problem then Dan Brown's fiction novel.

 

[Dark Knight]

Are you saying that the hardbacked version has no copyright page??
I find that Highly inprobable.

The book was sold as FICTION ... In any book store or library you will fin it in the Fiction section..
Whats the big mystery? This is a book SOLD as fiction..
If the church has a real concern its that its members can't comprehend that which is taught to us in 2cd grade. That is ...Fiction is not real, Non-Fiction is. I would think that in protecting their flock it would serve a better purpose to educate them rather then fill their head with half truths.
Dan Brown's position is merely good marketting ...
As a matter of fact I think its brilliant! Regardless of what he says the book is fiction and it clearly says so in every edition hard or soft copy.

Let me give you a different example...
You know the drink Red bull? Well its commercial claims to Red Bull gives you wings..
Obviously that is fictitious and a marketting ploy. Red Bull is a real product.
The commercial claims it gives you wings without small print or warning that states it is a fictitious claim.
I suppose along that line of thought Red Bull makes you an angel?
IMO believing that is the same as believing a FICTITIOUS book is any thing other then what it claims to be and that is fiction.

I have no problem with anyone believing what they want and making their own informed descions.
I do take some issue that some people will blindly believe and follow without being informed.
IMO in this matter its a simple thing a Fiction book is fiction. Read and enjoy the imagination of another at work.
In this instance I find it alarming that any church would be concerned that its members would not understand that. As mentioned above *if* that is truly a legit concern then the church has a much bigger problem then Dan Brown's fiction novel.

For a long time he pushed it as real, as Sandra showed in those transcripts. It's only been since the movie was about to come out that people involved started to distance themselves from the controversy to avoid any financial damage. I was certainly under the impression the book was proposing a legitimate theory by this guy. So all this hiding behind the "fiction" label isn't really cutting it with me, although I am glad Ron Howard and Tom Hanks called it that.

Maybe I will write a fictional book about Mohammed or the Jews and see if calling it fiction makes people feel better.

 

[Floh]

For a long time he pushed it as real, as Sandra showed in those transcripts. It's only been since the movie was about to come out that people involved started to distance themselves from the controversy to avoid any financial damage. I was certainly under the impression the book was proposing a legitimate theory by this guy. So all this hiding behind the "fiction" label isn't really cutting it with me, although I am glad Ron Howard and Tom Hanks called it that.

Maybe I will write a fictional book about Mohammed or the Jews and see if calling it fiction makes people feel better.

Why not, if it would make you feel better?

 

[Details]

Shouldn't be a problem - people write fictional books about real institutions, including the Jews and Muslims and Mohammed and George Washington, and whoever else you care to name, all the time. Somehow we all survive it.

 

[Dark Knight]

Shouldn't be a problem - people write fictional books about real institutions, including the Jews and Muslims and Mohammed and George Washington, and whoever else you care to name, all the time. Somehow we all survive it.

Oops, I forgot to add it would be sensational and controversial and stuff. And maybe blasphemous if I can come up with something really good.

The bottom line is we have a right to boycott the movie and book, and the Vatican has a right to ask us to. It isn't anyone else's business, really.

 

[Amraann]

For a long time he pushed it as real, as Sandra showed in those transcripts. It's only been since the movie was about to come out that people involved started to distance themselves from the controversy to avoid any financial damage. I was certainly under the impression the book was proposing a legitimate theory by this guy. So all this hiding behind the "fiction" label isn't really cutting it with me, although I am glad Ron Howard and Tom Hanks called it that.

Maybe I will write a fictional book about Mohammed or the Jews and see if calling it fiction makes people feel better.

THE BOOK IS SOLD AS FICTION!!! Long before the movie was made.
That should speak volumes.

Again this doesn't address the concern that I would have if members of my congregation did not understand what Fiction is. Could not the church simply explain that concept?
Or is it mostly because the things they say are so typically not at face value that they presume and create an environment of parishners that also presume that everyopne else works like that as well?
Really I would be more inclined to believe the church if they could back their claims. And not for a several hundred year history of lying.

 

[Dark Knight]

THE BOOK IS SOLD AS FICTION!!! Long before the movie was made.
That should speak volumes.

Again this doesn't address the concern that I would have if members of my congregation did not understand what Fiction is. Could not the church simply explain that concept?
Or is it mostly because the things they say are so typically not at face value that they presume and create an environment of parishners that also presume that everyopne else works like that as well?
Really I would be more inclined to believe the church if they could back their claims. And not for a several hundred year history of lying.

He pushed it as his own beliefs after doing "research" as Sandra just showed you in the GMA interview. And your last sentence was not necessary and is prejudiced and inflammatory.

 

[sandraladeda]

Ah, yes, Amraann, the copyright page. Yes, there it is. And of course, it is equally as prominent as the FACT page. Also, we ALL read the copyright page whenever we crack a book, right?

I would guess that Doubleday put that there, not Dan Brown. That's standard procedure for a publisher to cover themselves from any sniff of a lawsuit.

I'm not sure what you are getting so worked up over. if you are not Catholic, maybe you don't see me point of view. Or, maybe you are a Catholic, who just happens to not agree with me. whether it is fiction or not, i think i have demonstrated that even the author has some confusion over whether he considers it fiction.

I have heard "I'ts fiction" 10 thousand times. This is not an original thought with respect to the DVC. This does not mean the content cannot be offensive to me or my church or my values or those of others.

As an example, I am aware that the TV show "The Sopranos" is fiction. However, i am not interested or entertained by mob violence and I find the language and the themes offensive to me. I am sure it is terrific entertainment to some, just not to me.

I hope no one gets worked up because I choose to not watch the Sopranos....

 

[Amraann]

He pushed it as his own beliefs after doing "research" as Sandra just showed you in the GMA interview. And your last sentence was not necessary and is prejudiced and inflammatory.

MY last sentence was about the church not you personally and it just so happens to be the truth. They have lied and they have covered up I am sorry but its a fact.

Sandrala I am not worked up. I don't know what needs to be more prominent the copyright page, the fact that its bought in the Fiction section.. or the point of his work which is the story itself.
What you personally do is your choice to make.

My point is that the church seemingly thinks its parishoners cannot comprehend fiction. They are attemtping to sensorship the book based on he notion that people won't understand its fiction. I question how someone could think otherwise. If they really think that then the churches words are better spent towards encouraging litteracy, NO?
Sandra I think if someone was concerned about a book being true or not they would take note of what section they bought the book from or check the copyright page. There is no disputing it beyond that point.
Because Dan Brown feels his theories are plausable doesn't make the book anything other then what it is.

 

[windovervocalcords]

Its funny, but all I ever have to hear to get worked up is to be told I am worked up when I'm not lol

And for the record no one even told ME I was worked up. All I had to do was read the sentence.

Bizarre, how the mind works!

 

[IrishMist]

Its funny, but all I ever have to hear to get worked up is to be told I am worked up when I'm not lol

And for the record no one even told ME I was worked up. All I had to do was read the sentence.

Bizarre, how the mind works!

Now, WOVC, don't get worked up!

this is me ducking and running

 

[windovervocalcords]

This is me all worked up...

 

[Amraann]

This is me all worked up...

LOLOL your too funny

 

[lynie]

Its funny, but all I ever have to hear to get worked up is to be told I am worked up when I'm not lol

And for the record no one even told ME I was worked up. All I had to do was read the sentence.

Bizarre, how the mind works!

Oh how I can relate! One of the things my mom has always done is say.."what's wrong, I can tell something is wrong" when nothing at all was wrong until she started repeating it and made me mad and THEN something was wrong!! :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh:

lynie

 

[windovervocalcords]

Oh how I can relate! One of the things my mom has always done is say.."what's wrong, I can tell something is wrong" when nothing at all was wrong until she started repeating it and made me mad and THEN something was wrong!! :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh:

lynie

or you're thinking..and you're frowning, but you don't know you're frowning, and someone says, "what's wrong?" or "are you ok?

Jees, you think, do I have to have my public puss on every second?

 

[lynie]

and BTW...One of the ways I am always sure to tell that it is a fiction book is if the main characters are not REAL!!! So the author believes in what he wrote according to his research....the story is not true, the main character dude does not really exist as well as the other characters.

If you read a biography, or non-fictional account of say WWII the events and people could have been proved to acually exist.

Just because Dan Brown honestly believes in his theories does not make the book or the movie true, thereby becoming nonfiction.

DK and Sandra...follow your churches teaching and ignore the fact that the book exists!! That is okay!! For me, I really enjoyed reading it and learning some new things. I come from a looooonnnngggg line of Masonic families, and found it a fun and interesting read!

Lynie

 

[close_enough]

Paula Cole
ROAD TO DEAD

Welcome to the church of me
Where they stand in a line in need
Of water from my eyes
And a song for comfort
You say Jesus Christ
Well, I feel like him
I feel one, two, three
Nails through me and
Four through the heart

chorus:

You walk the road to resurrection
And I walk the road to dead
And I never knew my devotion
But I walk the road to dead

all the talk about church......lol, Paula Cole just fit right in

 

[close_enough]

Oh how I can relate! One of the things my mom has always done is say.."what's wrong, I can tell something is wrong" when nothing at all was wrong until she started repeating it and made me mad and THEN something was wrong!! :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh:

lynie

lol...my mama never does that; not really.....daddy would come closer to doing it though...
i wear my sons' out sometimes, but i know when to leave things alone...lol, for the most part?.....

ain't nothin worse than hearing "what's wrong?", when nothing is....