Hi All,
I just completed reading "Cracking Da Vinci's Code - You have read the fiction,
now read the facts." The authors are James L Garlow and Peter Jones. ISBN
0-78144-165-X. All those who have read Da Vinci Code (or author Dan Brown's
(DB) interviews during the book promotion) and are fascinated by it, should
read this analysis.
For those who do not have access to "Cracking Da Vinci's Code", I will
summarize the pertinent points in the 10 chapters. I doubt I will do justice to
the book or the authors. Hence I would strongly encourage serious readers of
the Da Vinci Code or those interested / have questions on the history of the
early church to read "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" for themselves. The authors
Garlow and Jones (G&J) do not follow the Roman Catholic faith, but are pastors
and lecturers in their respective denominational churches and seminaries.
"Da Vinci Code" is classified as fiction by its publisher, while the author
(DB) in his interviews insists that other than the main characters, all of the
book is based on reality; in terms of things that actually occurred. Dan Brown
(DB) would like his book to serve as a "learning tool" of the 'actual' events
of history. The analysis by G&J in "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" looks how the
book combines historical facts with fiction and speculation.
To put it in a Goa context, this reminds me of another fictional book "Guardian
of the Dawn" where the author Richard Zimler makes very similar claims (above
paragraph) about his Goa-based novels as Dan Brown (DB) does about his book.
Here the fiction relates to the events in Goa during the early Portuguese
period, including the inquisition and St. Francis Xavier. Both authors refer
to 'authorities' to back their version of the truth.
G&J outlines and analyzes the many false historical statements made in the Da
Vinci Code. The analysis separates the truth from the fantasy; and looks into
the conspiracy and cover-up theories. G&J then ask the next question: What was
the motivation of DB? This makes G&J's book even more fascinating at evaluating
the hidden agenda of DB and his target audience.
I myself learnt a lot about the history of the early Church, the background of
the 'Lost Gospels', the Gnostic beliefs of the first century and now in the 20
th / 21st century, including the 'New Age' and related cults, and the
human urge for masculine and feminine deities. Subsequnet post will analyze
eaxh chapter of G&J's book.
Regards, GL
