The Da Vinci Code, Part 1: Fact, Fiction or "Fact-ion"
The Da Vinci Code, Part 1
Fact, Fiction or “Fact-ion”
By Dr. Jim Garlow
Feb. 2006
Author of Cracking Da Vinci’s Code and The Da Vinci CodeBreaker
Priscilla greeted me with a sense of urgency that morning. I knew something was wrong. “My brother-in-law has just read a book attacking the Bible and Jesus, and he believes the book.” “What book?” I asked. “The Da Vinci Code,” she exclaimed, continuing, “And furthermore it claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had a child.” I had never heard of the book, though it was just starting to be felt by the novel reading public. “If it’s a novel, don’t worry about it. No one will ever believe it!” I was wrong.
This novel exploded around the world – selling well over 40 million copies in 43 languages, resulting in a major motion picture. More than merely a best seller, The Da Vinci Code became the No. 1 bestselling adult fiction novel of all time.
In the next few weeks following my conversation with Priscilla, I encountered more people who had friends and family that believed the historical and theological concepts in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. They reported to me that these people were willing to abandon their Christian faith in favor of the core themes of a novel.
Unexpectantly a call came from a publisher, asking me to author a book responding to The Da Vinci Code. At first I declined, but then agreed – if Peter Jones (professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido) would co-author the book with me. He agreed.
Within a couple weeks, Peter, Jeff (editor) and I met in a hotel room for two days – outlining the key issues to be addressed. A few weeks later, Cracking Da Vinci’s Code (Cook Communications, 2004) was on the shelves.
What happened next was something neither Peter nor I had anticipated. Suddenly Peter and I were off to New York City for interviews at CNN and Fox. A front page article on the New York Times opened doors to every major national news outlet in the nation – more than a dozen national TV appearances, on NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox, etc, - along with countless radio interviews, and interviews with national magazines and several foreign newspapers. Meanwhile our book became #17 on the New York Times Bestseller List – Paperback –Nonfiction.
While this response indicated the desire to know more about Dan Brown’s claims in The Da Vinci Code, the book signings were more revealing. As I was signing the book, the recipient would lean over and say, “I am getting this book for my…” And then they would say, for my son or daughter, or mother, or nephew or niece, or “someone.” The next phrase was one that I heard hundreds of times: “he (or she) believes The Da Vinci Code.” That explanation became so predictable, as they explained that their relative or friend believed Dan Brown’s claims – whether historical or theological. These book signings only confirmed that which had caused us to write the book in the first place.
Radio interviews confirmed the same thing. When talk show hosts opened the lines for questions, once again callers predictably referred to those who believed Dan Brown’s book. One radio talk show host began chiding me, “why on earth did you write a book against a novel?” After he asked it a third time, almost mockingly, I asked him, “have you read Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code?” Hesitantly, he admitted he had not. That accounted for the fact that he could not understand why I (and others) were writing against a novel.
Dan Brown’s writing style mixes fact (very little of this) with fiction (much) in such a way that the uninitiated cannot distinguish the two. I call this style of writing “fact-ion.” After I was interviewed by Linda Vester on Fox’s DaySide Show, the guest with an opposing view scoffed at the idea that people could not sort out fact from fiction. Linda Vester, wanting to see which one of us was right, turned to her studio audience and asked, “how many of you have read The Da Vinci Code? Many hands were raised. She looked at the woman near her and asked, “could you tell the difference between fact and fiction when you read it?” “Absolutely not,” the woman forcefully responded. My point exactly.
As you read The Da Vinci Code and as you watch the upcoming movie, remember, it is fiction. There is virtually no factual basis – at all. Don’t confuse fact with fiction.
Fact, Fiction or “Fact-ion”
By Dr. Jim Garlow
Feb. 2006
Author of Cracking Da Vinci’s Code and The Da Vinci CodeBreaker
Priscilla greeted me with a sense of urgency that morning. I knew something was wrong. “My brother-in-law has just read a book attacking the Bible and Jesus, and he believes the book.” “What book?” I asked. “The Da Vinci Code,” she exclaimed, continuing, “And furthermore it claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had a child.” I had never heard of the book, though it was just starting to be felt by the novel reading public. “If it’s a novel, don’t worry about it. No one will ever believe it!” I was wrong.
This novel exploded around the world – selling well over 40 million copies in 43 languages, resulting in a major motion picture. More than merely a best seller, The Da Vinci Code became the No. 1 bestselling adult fiction novel of all time.
In the next few weeks following my conversation with Priscilla, I encountered more people who had friends and family that believed the historical and theological concepts in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. They reported to me that these people were willing to abandon their Christian faith in favor of the core themes of a novel.
Unexpectantly a call came from a publisher, asking me to author a book responding to The Da Vinci Code. At first I declined, but then agreed – if Peter Jones (professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido) would co-author the book with me. He agreed.
Within a couple weeks, Peter, Jeff (editor) and I met in a hotel room for two days – outlining the key issues to be addressed. A few weeks later, Cracking Da Vinci’s Code (Cook Communications, 2004) was on the shelves.
What happened next was something neither Peter nor I had anticipated. Suddenly Peter and I were off to New York City for interviews at CNN and Fox. A front page article on the New York Times opened doors to every major national news outlet in the nation – more than a dozen national TV appearances, on NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox, etc, - along with countless radio interviews, and interviews with national magazines and several foreign newspapers. Meanwhile our book became #17 on the New York Times Bestseller List – Paperback –Nonfiction.
While this response indicated the desire to know more about Dan Brown’s claims in The Da Vinci Code, the book signings were more revealing. As I was signing the book, the recipient would lean over and say, “I am getting this book for my…” And then they would say, for my son or daughter, or mother, or nephew or niece, or “someone.” The next phrase was one that I heard hundreds of times: “he (or she) believes The Da Vinci Code.” That explanation became so predictable, as they explained that their relative or friend believed Dan Brown’s claims – whether historical or theological. These book signings only confirmed that which had caused us to write the book in the first place.
Radio interviews confirmed the same thing. When talk show hosts opened the lines for questions, once again callers predictably referred to those who believed Dan Brown’s book. One radio talk show host began chiding me, “why on earth did you write a book against a novel?” After he asked it a third time, almost mockingly, I asked him, “have you read Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code?” Hesitantly, he admitted he had not. That accounted for the fact that he could not understand why I (and others) were writing against a novel.
Dan Brown’s writing style mixes fact (very little of this) with fiction (much) in such a way that the uninitiated cannot distinguish the two. I call this style of writing “fact-ion.” After I was interviewed by Linda Vester on Fox’s DaySide Show, the guest with an opposing view scoffed at the idea that people could not sort out fact from fiction. Linda Vester, wanting to see which one of us was right, turned to her studio audience and asked, “how many of you have read The Da Vinci Code? Many hands were raised. She looked at the woman near her and asked, “could you tell the difference between fact and fiction when you read it?” “Absolutely not,” the woman forcefully responded. My point exactly.
As you read The Da Vinci Code and as you watch the upcoming movie, remember, it is fiction. There is virtually no factual basis – at all. Don’t confuse fact with fiction.
posted by jimgarlow at
7:36 AM
