Da Vinci Wars

In a recent issue of Vanity Fair, an article focused on another plagerism suit against Dan Brown. Long story short it went nowhere. Too bad. Who really cares? Except people like me who blog about it. But this is not what I'm blogging about necessarily. I'm commenting on the whole Dan Brown/Da Vinci Code controversy. First, why is it controversy? Did anyone get this pissed off over Charlotte Brontë's writings (I'm not comparing the two just work with me here)? It's a story. Yes, he's trying to pass some of it off as truth but truth has basis in fact and to date no solid fact has been found despite the best efforts of the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail. My position is that I agree that the patriarchal Christian church did in fact supress much of the female involvement in the Bible and that nothing of a single Jewish man in Biblical times intellectually speaks to me (people, he would have been FORCED to marry c'mon!) but what are we really afraid of? Ask any devout Catholic for example (well I actually have so this is more of a story rather than example but...whatever) and they would tell you that unless Jesus Himself turns up and says 'hey I was married and had a few kids just like you poor suckers' nothing that Dan Brown, Leigh Baigent or anyone else puts forth as 'proof' is going to sway them in the least. That's not how faith works. What's at stake here are the few uncommited folk who couldn't really be bothered which way they go in the whole debate. So the Vatican for example is fighting over a few people who really don't care. They're uncommitted either way. Sure if you win them over to the Mother church what a major coup for you but how devoted will they really be? I can bet a weeks salary that they won't be padding the collection plate a whole lot if at all. I know what I say is true because I am one of THOSE people. I defected to Gnostism a couple of years ago because of my disatisfaction with Catholicism. Truth told, it wasn't like I was their biggest supporter anyways. I coulda gone to Buddhism or Hinduism just as easily. Maybe I'm just being sassy for the sake of it but honestly, does a book published by Doubleday really pose a threat to a religion that has been deeply seated on it's St. Peter's throne since 389 AD (er somethin' like that)? My guess is no. The Vatican won't be losing much of anything over this. Just look at me! I think my horns kept poking the priest during eucharist anyways.