Da Vinci Coda
This letter is regarding your story "Debating 'Da Vinci'" [May 22]. I love reading articles about Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code because I always get a good laugh. As a 17-year-old, I can clearly distinguish fact from fiction, while adults twice my age are having a bit of trouble doing so. I understand the drama behind The Da Vinci Code and its message, and I understand that in no substantial way are most of Brown's theories true. What I am in the dark about, however, is why so many people are outraged and intent on suffocating the imagination. Brown's novel deserves credit as a fictitious account of interesting events that keeps the reader involved and wondering what will happen next.
KORI BIELANIEC
"Debating 'Da Vinci'" reminded me of British writer Salman Rushdie who, because of his fictional The Satanic Verses, was put on a death list by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. And now some Christians feel insulted and threatened by The Da Vinci Code. There's no doubt that religious institutions can serve their followers by better educating them. Nonetheless, they should not fear imaginary tales. Wouldn't true believers of any religion be able to distinguish between truth and fiction?
MURRAY SHABESTARI
I was impressed by the balanced cover article "Debating 'Da Vinci.'" The beliefs espoused by Dan Brown's characters are offensive to some Christians. But if Jesus is "the truth," as he claimed (John 14:6), we need not fear honest inquiry or even skeptical views. To engage seekers and cynics is welcome and may have positive, eternal ramifications never anticipated by Brown or his fans.
ROBERT DIBBS
It would be very unusual for Jesus to have been unmarried. Paul would have mentioned Jesus as a prime example of celibacy in 1 Corinthians 7:25-26. On the other hand, the references to Jesus's close relationship with Mary Magdalene are numerous and consistent and should not be ignored. Jewish followers of Jesus did not consider him divine. Luke 24 and Acts 2-4 show this clearly. Moreover, no Jew would have attributed divinity to another Jew. But the Jewish followers of Jesus were dispersed with the rest of the Jewish population after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and were superseded by the Hellenistic Greeks and Romans who joined the new movement. For them, having a son of God was commonplace; men from Achilles to Augustus were hailed as divine.
IGNACIO L. GOTZ, PH.D.
Would having a wife and children make Jesus less divine? I think it offers the greatest hope to people: that the divine can exist alongside or within the human. It's not about pulling Jesus down to a human level but about finding the miraculous within.
ALI RUEGAMER
Rainier, Wash.
Standing With Bush
"W's Risks and Rewards" [May 22] mischaracterizes my reasons for not attending events with President Bush in Florida recently. When the president landed in Orlando, I was there to greet him and had every intention of attending the Medicare event scheduled the following day. It was not until the Judiciary Committee informed me that my vote was needed to secure passage of the Voting Rights Act that I changed my travel plans. In addition, the House was considering such important legislation as the tax reconciliation bill to maintain our economic growth and the defense authorization bill to fund our brave troops. I suspect my constituents would want their representative present to vote on such critical legislation. While you correctly characterized my negative feelings on Congress, it is important to make clear that I am always willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with the president.
TOM FEENEY
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