I liked The Da Vinci Code - I couldn't put it down the weekend I read it. It was my weekend off from church and I finished it in two days. I thought it was entertaining, the premise a bit too much, but it was fun. I do wish they could have picked Bill Pullman to play Langdon in the movie rather than Tom Hanks.
The Da Vinci Code certainly struck a chord - a dissonant one. I find it very interesting that people think it's historical fact, not historical speculation. There are times when I want to shout, "People! It's a work of fiction!"
The idea that Jesus was married is an old legend dating back centuries - in first century Palestine rabbis were customarily married. That Jesus did not marry would be bucking tradition, but then, Jesus was the perfect incarnation of God on earth for a reason and some rules didn't apply to him. And if he did marry, we'll never know.
Mary Magdalene may have been a rich widow who subsidized the Jesus movement and was a friend and follower of Jesus. The idea that she was a harlot came from a sermon of St. Gregory's and it stuck like glue. She's always been a favorite saint of mine, with George and Joan.
AND, Mary Magdalene is called "The First Among Apostles", because the resurrected Jesus appeared to her first. That would denote a special relationship, as the Gnostic gospels point out, such as the Gospel of Phillip. I am a traditionalist, however, and think they were not married, but, as with all the Apostles, friends and beloved by Christ, chosen by Him to do God's work on earth and continue the Jesus Movement.
The good thing about The Da Vinci Code - people are going to church, picking up scripture and reading for themselves about this man named Jesus.
Yes - one of the best things about fiction is that it can take people on their own journey to discovery...
And two final questions directed towards Tudor England...what do you think about Henry the Eighth and the reasons he set the wheels in the motion for the birth of the Anglican Church? Do you think the Anglican Church recognises the importance of Anne Boleyn in its history?
I don't think much of Henry VIII, to tell you the truth. The Reformist movement was well underway by the time Henry sought to break with Rome over the issue of his divorce from Katherine of Aragon. Theologians such as Luther and Huss were stirring up challenges to Rome, and the movement to reform the church wasn't just a 16th century event, it was as early as the 14th century in England, with John Wyclif. His followers were called Lollards and were suppressed by Henry VI and Henry V in the 15th century. The Reformation was going to happen.
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