DaVinci

Ok, I am caught up in this whole “Da Vinci Code” craze. I read the book (couldn’t put it down) and now I can’t get enough of all of this. On Monday I went to the first meeting of a weeklong DaVinci Code debate at an evangelical free church near my home. I was raised Roman Catholic and by no means am I any kind of expert on any religion, including my own. I don’t know if it was the era or the CCD (Religious Education) program that I attended every Thursday night for years, but I do remember spending a lot of time coloring “Jesus Loves Me” pictures and doing various religious themed crafts and puzzles and not actually learning anything. It is probably my ignorance that has left me so curious about the controversy regarding the DaVinci Code.

I took my seat in this unfamiliar church and immediately was greeted by just about everyone, including the pastor. Two women behind me were talking about how they felt guilty while reading this blasphemous book. “Total bunk” and “the devil’s work” were phrases used in their conversation.

Basically, the book claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and together they had a daughter, Sarah and descendants of this bloodline are still alive today. The secret of this bloodline is actually the “Holy Grail” and not the chalice from The Last Supper as everyone assumes. Apparently, The Church didn’t like this information so they buried everything written about it and labeled Mary Magdalene a whore. This secret has been kept by a group called the “Priory of Sion”, which at one time, Leonardo DaVinci was its Grand Master. Leonardo hints at this secret throughout his famous artworks, most notably, his painting of “The Last Supper”. We are told by the characters in the book that seated to Jesus’ right in The Last Supper is not John, but Mary Magdalene. It was actually Mary Magdalene and not Peter that Jesus wanted to carry on His ministry which is supposed to explain the menacing “slit your throat” kind of gesture that Peter is making in the painting.

My first impression of the book was that it was probably not “total bunk” because people wouldn’t believe it if it was complete fiction, but I’m keeping an open mind.