I've Finally Read It And...

I just finished reading the Da Vinci Code.

Just like my friends said, it was "unput-downable". The pace and imagination made a cover-to-cover read in one sitting possible (I finished it in just under five hours... um, yeah.. I know I'm mad). Whatever else may be said, Dan Brown is a fantastic writer. And the subject matter was fascinating.

But that brings me to another point.

Where is the line between fact and fiction? How do we know what is twisted, what is straightforward or what is simply a figment of the author's imagination? It's almost impossible to tell. More so since the content is... controversial at best.

As a reader, it was an incredibly thrilling ride. But as a Christian, it did feel more than a little uncomfortable. Even treating it as fiction didn't take away the distaste that the implications brought about. Regardless of whether it was fiction or not, something sacred was being... degraded, if you will.

Oh heck. The reality of it is, the book is written in such a way that, even when such thoughts pass through your head, you wonder... Is what I'm feeling based on truth or what I merely believe to be the truth? Because the bottom line is, it screws with your head. Horror and fascination are not as far apart as we like to think they are.

I've had friends who asked me to read the book then tell them what I think. It's a excellent piece of writing, no question there. But I'd take it as what it is - a novel centering around an enormously controversial conspiracy theory. Nothing more.

Don't question your faith based on a book. If you do, then... I guess it wasn't faith in the first place.

To those who've read it or have yet to, take what it says with a pinch of salt. After all it IS first and foremost a novel.

(I found this article quite interesting. IF you can't accept the book merely as a work of fiction, just take a look. It'll give you a different perspective. I'm in no position to say if it's any more accurate than the DVC, but check it out if just to quell your curiousity :
http://www.crisismagazine.com/september2003/feature1.htm . No harm doing so.)