Movie Angels And Demons Full Of Lies

[Veridicus]

[quote name='BG45' post='1818861' date='Mar 28 2009, 06:05 PM']True, but that is if the Essenes actually existed. It seems that there's a [url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090316/wl_time/08599188542100"]lively debate going on about their existence right now.[/url][/quote]


That's an interesting article. I still think they existed, but I'll let the experts figure it out. The tricky thing is...imagine 2,000 years from now when they are digging up ruins and all they have is Church documents forbidding the use of contraception; will future historians assume that all one billion catholics in the world didn't use contraception because of these few documents they will have found? It has to be amazingly difficult to piece together the past from such little evidence.

[HisChildForever]

Veridicus, you asked me what the positive message or theme of [i]Angels and Demon[/i] is, and I told you, and you have yet to acknowledge it.

[b]Warning: Spoilers (I would rather not use the tags)[/b]

It has been a few years since I have read it. I do remember that no Church teaching was mocked, which is why I doubt an anti-Catholic theme. While the Pope was in favor of In Vitro it was clearly explained that the Church does not support this view. The Camerlengo did pervert the beauty of upholding Church teaching by assassinating the Pope and attempting to destroy the Vatican, but I believe this was Dan Brown edging in his opinion that religion and science CAN and SHOULD peacefully coexist, even if they can clash. If we look at the "flip side" we can argue that science is viewed negatively as well. The Illuminati (who never really existed in the book, as the Camerlengo used their image as a cover) were insane scientists who were spiteful against religion (and murderous as well). Science was turned from something that can be beautiful and inspiring into something dangerous and frightening (antimatter as a weapon). Both sides, religion and science, were exaggerated and as I previously mentioned, I believe the theme of this novel was that religion and science can coexist - and that the traditional "fight" of religion versus science is a waste of time and intellect, and that both parties can actually become dangerous if radical enough. I believe my theory is supported by the fact that Brown depicted the Church hierarchy in a negative light, not the Church Herself...just as he depicted a "branch" of scientists in a negative light and not science as a whole. Granted I could be completely wrong but that is the message I basically got out of it.

[Veridicus]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1819212' date='Mar 28 2009, 10:21 PM']Veridicus, you asked me what the positive message or theme of [i]Angels and Demon[/i] is, and I told you, and you have yet to acknowledge it.

[b]Warning: Spoilers (I would rather not use the tags)[/b]

It has been a few years since I have read it. I do remember that no Church teaching was mocked, which is why I doubt an anti-Catholic theme. While the Pope was in favor of In Vitro it was clearly explained that the Church does not support this view. The Camerlengo did pervert the beauty of upholding Church teaching by assassinating the Pope and attempting to destroy the Vatican, but I believe this was Dan Brown edging in his opinion that religion and science CAN and SHOULD peacefully coexist, even if they can clash. If we look at the "flip side" we can argue that science is viewed negatively as well. The Illuminati (who never really existed in the book, as the Camerlengo used their image as a cover) were insane scientists who were spiteful against religion (and murderous as well). Science was turned from something that can be beautiful and inspiring into something dangerous and frightening (antimatter as a weapon). Both sides, religion and science, were exaggerated and as I previously mentioned, I believe the theme of this novel was that religion and science can coexist - and that the traditional "fight" of religion versus science is a waste of time and intellect, and that both parties can actually become dangerous if radical enough. I believe my theory is supported by the fact that Brown depicted the Church hierarchy in a negative light, not the Church Herself...just as he depicted a "branch" of scientists in a negative light and not science as a whole. Granted I could be completely wrong but that is the message I basically got out of it.[/quote]


Sorry: If that is the true point of the novel, then that isnt' so bad. That's not what I got outa the Wikipedia entry; And in my honest opinion, there is only so far you can denigrate the hierarchy before you completely undermine what the Catholic "Church" is. It's apostolicity, it's episcopacy, it's hierarchy; without legitimate bishops and popes we have nothing, we would be nothing. I hope everyone else who reads his books comes to the same positive conclusions that you have.

Todd

Edited March 29, 2009 by Veridicus

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='Veridicus' post='1819314' date='Mar 29 2009, 12:12 AM']Sorry: If that is the true point of the novel, then that isnt' so bad. That's not what I got outa the Wikipedia entry; And in my honest opinion, there is only so far you can denigrate the hierarchy before you completely undermine what the Catholic "Church" is. It's apostolicity, it's episcopacy, it's hierarchy; without legitimate bishops and popes we have nothing, we would be nothing. [b]I hope everyone else who reads his books comes to the same positive conclusions that you have.[/b]

Todd[/quote]

Regardless of how you interpret the novel or how I interpret it, it should just be understood that the main theme is religion versus science. [i]Why[/i] Dan Brown chose Catholicism as the religion is another thing entirely, of course. But I think we just also have to recognize that science was not painted very pretty, either. Therefore if Dan Brown is making a mockery of Catholicism, he is being crafty about it.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1819353' date='Mar 29 2009, 12:06 AM']Regardless of how you interpret the novel or how I interpret it, it should just be understood that the main theme is religion versus science. [i]Why[/i] Dan Brown chose Catholicism as the religion is another thing entirely, of course. But I think we just also have to recognize that science was not painted very pretty, either. Therefore if Dan Brown is making a mockery of Catholicism, he is being crafty about it.[/quote]
Out of curiosity, do you feel the same way about the DaVinci Code?