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Title: Why Jews Should Worry About ‘The Da Vinci Code’
Source:
Jewish Week
URL Source: http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=5016
Published: May 5, 2006
Author: David Klinghoffer
Post Date: 2006-05-05 10:10:08 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 131
Comments: 13
With the release of the Sony Pictures version of Dan Brown’s mega-selling “The Da Vinci Code” in two weeks, worries continue to mount among traditional Christians about both the book’s and the movie’s impact. Should non-Christians be concerned? Yes, we should. Jews in particular need to be aware of the gift Brown has given, in all innocence, to anti-Semites. As everyone knows by now, Brown uses a gripping suspense story set in the present to inform us that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that he has descendants living in Europe today. Furthermore, the members of this surviving Jesus family have been protected for centuries by an altruistic secret organization, the Priory of Sion, which is locked in combat with a sinister, violent Catholic group, Opus Dei. The latter seeks to keep the secret of Jesus’ paternity from getting out. Behind Opus Dei stands the Catholic Church. For millennia, the church has perpetrated what the film calls “the biggest cover- up in human history.” Opus Dei, the real-life Catholic lay order, asked Sony to place a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie admitting that the story is fictional — a request the studio has so far refused. Brown himself states at the outset of the novel that his tale is grounded in “fact”: “The Priory of Sion — a European secret society founded in 1099 — is a real organization,” and so on. Scholars have done a solid job of pointing out the fictions that interweave Brown’s “facts.” Notably, the “Priory of Sion” is real only in the sense that it really is the modern invention of Pierre Plantard, a Frenchman with royalist and anti-Semitic views. It dates to the year 1956, not 1099. Plantard’s hoax merely took the name of a medieval monastic order that had ceased to exist by the 14th century and which had nothing to do with legends about Jesus fathering children. But why should a Jew care? Consider that the alleged conspiracy underlying the “biggest cover-up in human history” bears a remarkable resemblance to another phony conspiracy: the famous hoax called “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Apparently authored by Russian monarchist and anti-Semite Mathieu Golovinski in 1898, “Protocols” tells of a secret society of Jewish elders that work to keep gentiles ignorant of a plot to rule the world through “Darwinism, Marxism and Nietzscheism.” In both conspiracy theories, an ancient world religion turns out to be a massive fraud perpetrated to gain or maintain power. In Brown’s version, the “Priory of Sion” (“Sion” simply means “Zion” in French) members are the good guys. They’ve been waiting for the right moment to reveal the secret about Jesus having children and to introduce the world to the worship of the “Goddess,” a.k.a. Mary Magdalene. Meanwhile the Catholic Church plots to suppress forever the truth about the “sacred feminine.” Opus Dei is willing to go to any lengths, including murder, to keep the male church hierarchy in power. Plantard (1920-2000), the French monarchist and anti-Semite who gave us the Priory of Sion, spent much of his life inventing minuscule esoteric organizations intended to “purify” France of the evil influences of modernity — and of Judaism. In 1940 he wrote of the “terrible Masonic and Jewish conspiracy” that threatened France. The Priory of Sion was one group he started. The point of this occult order was to advance Plantard’s claim to be the surviving heir to the ancient Merovingian line of French kings, whose “holy blood” was guarded by the Priory. The idea that the Merovingians were the descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene was added on later. Besides highlighting the word “Zion” or “Sion,” the two conspiracy theories share an understanding of how to deal with ideas you disagree with. Rather than taking traditional Christian beliefs at face value and arguing against them (as I do in my current book, by the way), Brown portrays the religion itself as resting upon a conscious deception. That excuses him from having to make arguments at all. Anti-Semites do the same thing. Rather than coming out honestly against Darwinism or Marxism or modernity in general, they concoct a story about Judaism as a lie and a conspiracy. “Protocols” remains a global phenomenon of staggering popularity, especially in the Arab world. I emphasize that Brown never intended to foment bigotry. Yet to the cause of conspiracy theorizing, he has done a wonderful favor, training his readers in the habits of paranoia and gullibility. For people committed to finding the truth through investigation and argumentation, that’s depressing. As for Jews, we haven’t fared well when the culture we live in turns to entertaining fantasies and delusions at the expense of an unfashionable religion. The success of Brown’s book, now transformed into a movie blockbuster, is bad news indeed. n David Klinghoffer http://(www.davidklinghoffer.com) is a senior fellow at the Discover Institute in Seattle and the author most recently of “Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History” (Doubleday).
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Judas was best man.
Gee, a real Christian hating basher complains about anti-semitism by attemping to make some non-sensical comparison between the Protocols and the DaVinci Code.
In 1947, the UN created a perpetual war and named it Israel.
of course! anyone who dares write of the "terrible Masonic and Jewish conspiracy" is an anti-semite!
Funny you should post this. I'm reading the Da Vinci code now after resisting it for years (I got it used for a $1). It's an excellent thriller and zips right along, but the historical and theological info in the book is a resounding pile-o-crap. More rehashed feminist nonsense about Mary Magdalene, and misinterpretations of Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings. The Last Supper for instance - the apostle next to Jesus is not a woman, it's a deliberately effeminate John. That's how the apostle John was depicted back then, as a very young and (to us) fairly effeminate looking guy, considering the hair styles of the time, etc. The theology is also a pile-o-crap. All this nonsense about Mary Magdalene being the eternal feminine sung about by troubadours and hidden by the cheer is just that. The feminine aspect of Catholicism has always been embodied by Mary, mother of Christ. There's no mystery or anything hidden about it - it's been open for centuries. The feminists and anti-Christians made this stuff up to give a woman a greater role in the early church and to secularize Christ. Now I don't care that Dan Brown wrote a novel about this, and he wrote a ripping good one in part, however, it does frequently read as propaganda and proseletyzing. I think he believes this stuff, and the problem is that a naive, uninformed, uneducated and largely illiterate public will too as they are unwilling or unable to do research and the traditions of the Church have been lost in 40 years of wandering in the desert of "relevance". People don't know what the truth is any more nor do they seem to be capable of seeking it.
"I woke up in the CRAZY HOUSE."
Amen. As was foretold.
(The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only true good news)
Amazing that anyone would get so excited about history based fiction. If we're to be impressed by the movie, "Exodus," why not "The Davinci Code?" Well....?
I just read it myself and agree with your review. I found some of it intriguing, but for the most part it comes across as bunk.
Excellent post, mehitable. I would only add that along with the general desire to secularize Christ, there is a specific desire to sexualize Christ and the Christian religion through Mary Magdalene. The BVM won't do for them because of the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth---in fact, Catholic doctrine is that she was perpetually virgin. Thus she can't be convincingly sexualized, even though as you pointed out she does very profoundly "feminize" the Catholic religion. For secularists Mary Magdalene is in some respects the ideal candidate for the "eternal feminine" principle in the Church because even though there is not even a crypto-tradition in the Church that she and Jesus had any kind of physically intimate relationship either maritally or extramaritally, there is an ancient tradition in the Catholic Church that she was a prostitute before she became a disciple of Jesus. To suggest in the context of that tradition that Jesus married a former prostitute is to deeply corrupt the image of Jesus, which I think is part of the object of Brown and his promoters.
"Women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake. But I do deny them my essence." ---General Jack D. Ripper
A curious view indeed, especially in light of the fact that the film industry AND the publishing industry are both run by Jews. LOL. This Jewish guy needs to be blaming his own people, not everyone else.
Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene
I've already said too much.
#2. To: Brian S (#0)
Rather than taking traditional Christian beliefs at face value and arguing against them (as I do in my current book, by the way),
#3. To: Brian S (#0)
Plantard (1920-2000), the French monarchist and anti-Semite who gave us the Priory of Sion, spent much of his life inventing minuscule esoteric organizations intended to “purify” France of the evil influences of modernity — and of Judaism. In 1940 he wrote of the “terrible Masonic and Jewish conspiracy” that threatened France.
#4. To: Brian S (#0)
#5. To: mehitable (#4)
People don't know what the truth is any more nor do they seem to be capable of seeking it.
#6. To: Brian S, Christine, Diana, Zipporah, robin, Zoroaster, BTP Holdings, Arator, Bayonne, A K A Stone, Steppenwolf, Bub, mugwort, bluegrass, Bill D Berger, FormerLurker, Uncle Bill, Dakmar, Flintlock, Neil McIver, tom007, aristeides, Burkeman1, Diana, (#0)
#7. To: mehitable (#4)
#8. To: mehitable (#4)
The feminists and anti-Christians made this stuff up to give a woman a greater role in the early church and to secularize Christ.
#9. To: Brian S, ALL (#0)
As for Jews, we haven’t fared well when the culture we live in turns to entertaining fantasies and delusions at the expense of an unfashionable religion. The success of Brown’s book, now transformed into a movie blockbuster, is bad news indeed. n
#10. To: mehitable (#4)
BINGO! One need only look back to The Fall to see why such a feminization of the church is folly, for who was it that tempted Adam? Answer: Eve.
The feminists and anti-Christians made this stuff up to give a woman a greater role in the early church and to secularize Christ.
#11. To: Peetie Wheatstraw (#8)
Well if you look at the horse hockey they're pushing these days, Mary Magdalene was some kind of queen and Judas was just misunderstood. Remember that song they played at the British surrender "The World Turned Upside Down"? What they're doing is trying to create mythos in the public mind that justifies and promotes whatever kind of degenerate "lifestyle" they wish to live. Besides, I don't see how Jesus could have been married to Magdalene. I thought he was gay. /sarc
"I woke up in the CRAZY HOUSE."
#12. To: mehitable (#11)
Besides, I don't see how Jesus could have been married to Magdalene. I thought he was gay. /sarc You really should read a book published by Ignatius Press (yes, the name does give away the agenda, doesn't it? ;)), "Degenerate Moderns: Modernity as Rationalized Sexual Misbehavior," by E. Michael Jones. Excellent book. And as for Jesus being "gay," there actually was a play maybe seven or eight years ago that was going to be produced in London which made Jesus and the Apostles into a glorified (glory-holed?) bathhouse brigade---it was shut down, after protests...by Muslims.
Well if you look at the horse hockey they're pushing these days, Mary Magdalene was some kind of queen and Judas was just misunderstood. Remember that song they played at the British surrender "The World Turned Upside Down"? What they're doing is trying to create mythos in the public mind that justifies and promotes whatever kind of degenerate "lifestyle" they wish to live.
"Women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake. But I do deny them my essence." ---General Jack D. Ripper
#13. To: Brian S, All (#0)
FYI. Whatever your views on D. James Kennedy, he is releasing his video presentation, "The DaVinci Delusion", debunking the book, this coming Sunday on his regularly broadcast program. Check your TV listings for times. As everyone knows by now, Brown uses a gripping suspense story set in the present to inform us that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that he has descendants living in Europe today. Jesus is God. Isaiah 9:6. [ http://www.blueletterbi ble.org/tsk_b/Isa/9/6.html . They forgot "Wonderful": http://www.blueletter bible.org/tsk_b/Jdg/13/18.html , although certain Danites, particularly those living in Europe (Psalm 2:2), would not like you to know that.] His descendants: Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:10; Galatians 3:16-29. Kings will shut their mouths at Him. http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/Isa/Isa052.html#15
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