It's been a little over three years now since Dan Brown unleashed the phenomena that has give new incentative to iconic fortitude and sheer hyperbole gone awry. The Da Vinci Code and all of its subjective entities has been all the rage and rhetoric that have permeated the minds and souls of laymen and church hierarchy alike, and why not? Any book that sells 40 million is destined to be a force to be reckoned with, a behemoth if you will that has become a fabric of our societal mindset and have churches the world over going on the offensive. I can't speak for others, but for me The Da Vinci Code is personal. There's nothing for me not to believe that this book attacks the foundation of my faith. How much does it take for me to debunk this historical mystery full of inaccuracies, innuendo and lies? Not much, and I do so vociferously! It took me a while to finally read the book. Yes, I reviewed it too. I wanted to know what was so outstanding about a book that took 4o million people to embrace...causing it to not only languish on best-selling lists, but to obliterate records for longevity. I needed to bring peace and sanity to my curiosity and justify along with the others in giving Dan Brown thumbs up rather than a different formation using my fingers. Well, after reading the book I found a myriad of wrongful assertations, analogies, and references. Some were plausible, but most were downright disturbing and blasphemous.

Things considered Holy and reverent shouldn't have to be given a different set of definitive mores to elicit grassroots patronage. We as individuals purporting to have our elections and callings true r to the teachings that denominational tenets espouse, will surely find cause to give this book more than passing fancy. If for no other reason than to give it reasonable doubt to solidify your own convictions, it forces one to search for clarity, research diligently and come away adamantly focused and surer of facts. I did, and can now give this account without shame, recourse or contradiction. Suffice it to say, this book and what the author has written therein is a challenge. It forces you whether you are a Christian or believe in any other denomination to defend your faith and ecclesiastical beliefs. For those who haven't read it, this book has heroes examining and searching artworks, artifacts and architecture for clues to shocking religious secrets and mores. Among them: Jesus escaped crucifixion; had other agendas other than his sacrificial mission; he married Mary Magdalene and sired a whole royal European bloodline; and that the 'church' has known about these truths for centuries!

Is the best defense a good seminar, a better sense of dialogue to discuss the presence of hypothesis, or is it objective enough to believe that the Bible is credible to dismiss the drama in place of authenticity already established? Secular academics will have a field day with this, as there will be plenty to debate the legitimacy of good mystery vs. flawed history. One debate surely to elicit more than just passing interest would be that of the supposed Da Vinci Code ‘revelation’ that Mary Magdalene is the feminine-looking icon sitting next to Jesus in Leonardo Da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper. Always a debatable issue throughout history, it is given ample amplification in the book. Is it St. John or one of the other Apostles? Grating on my sensibilities are the greater number of suppositions and ‘what ifs’ that lend itself for fodder to stir imagination and give real or imagined thought to anybody willing to give it legitimacy.

My question to ward off the many questions that invariably will arise, especially with the movie soon to be released, will be for the masses to do a better job of educating youths and adults, stress the importance of everyone learning on their own sensibilities that would prompt research methodology, and initiate meaningful dialogue via seminars, etc. It's about religious historical content being open and available for scrutiny in understanding the how and why of the crucifixion, and finding the reasons within yourself the need to spiritually debunk anything that is not center to what you've been taught about early Christianity. It will, and should force you to at least have a better train of thought to understand this whole phenomenon on your own, the Da Vinci Code notwithstanding. There’s no need to jump on a bandwagon full of doubt where you can continue to get to know the truth better in remembrance of Him.