Me think thou dost protest too much.

I find it odd that so many different programs have been made to investigate the claims made in the ‘Da Vinci Code’. I understand that the author, Dan Brown, has put forth some interesting theories that go against the established teachings of the Catholic Church. But for the church to come out against the novel seems like overkill. The book is a work of fiction that only claims a handful of facts. And now I am currently watching the fourth different documentary examining the ideas brought forth in the book.

Now I’ve read the book. I enjoyed the book. I’m looking forward to the movie. I’ve also read Brown’s earlier novel ‘Angels and Demons’. In the first book starting the character of Robert Langdon, the Illuminati and Vatican City are both put in negative light but the overall theme is that a scientist has discovered a way to create anti-matter and in doing so has proved the existence of God. I’m not going to get into detail on that, you can read the book if you want to know how that works. But I find it interesting that neither the Catholic Church nor any other group came out against the book.

Now, I’m not going to get into the details of either book because that’s not what has my attention tonight. What surprises me is that all of these documentaries come across as the same: the appear to show both sides of the argument but those against the existing Catholic beliefs all come across as either a little crazy or fanciful. Those following the Catholic line all seem to have unwavering proof that Brown is wrong. Mind you, almost all of their proof comes from either what isn’t written in the bible or documents that have not been found. Their proof is the lack of proof. One of the experts’ proof that Jesus and Mary were not married is the fact that there is no marriage certificate or mention of a wedding or reception in the bible.

In the end of all of these documentaries, it’s put forth that Brown’s claims… which really aren’t his claims but rather a theory in a work of fiction… are all erroneous. Tonight’s episode literally ended with a woman saying: “the book is entertaining but the theories are completely bogus.” These documentaries really come across as an anti-propaganda campaign against the novel and they are airing more and more as the release date for the movie approaches.

So why does the Catholic Church ignore the first book whose main villain is a highly placed priest in Vatican City and declares that one of their favorite artists Michelangelo was actually part of the Illuminati and hiding clues under the church’s nose. Yet book two comes out and claims Da Vinci hid the truth about the holy grail in his work and that it meant Jesus was married and had a kid… this gets the church up in arms. So you can make the church itself look bad but not their doctrine.

I wonder now just how much more anti-propaganda we’ll see between now and May 19th when the movie opens? And if you’re looking for a little more conspiracy: while typing up this entry I found out that Microsoft word considers it a grammatical error to have a non-capital ‘C’ for church in ‘Catholic Church’ but has no problem with a small ‘c’ for church with ‘Protestant church’, ‘Baptist church’, ‘Mormon church’, etc. Try it for yourself.