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The Da Vinci Tsunami 
Catholics Fundamentalists in India target The Da Vinci Code

In The Da Vinci Code, Mr Dan Brown explores the premise that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and produced children, whose descendants are alive today. Leading figures in the Catholic Church have called for a boycott of the film, which they claim is blasphemous and an attack on their faith.

Roman Catholics in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) are taking part in worldwide protests against the release of the movie, The Da Vinci Code. The CSF has also called for the banning of a second film, Tickle My Funny Bone, which chronicles the life of a "sexy nun".

The plot of the fictional novel The Da Vinci Code concerns the discovery of historical evidence, concealed by the church, that Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and began a bloodline that continued through the centuries. 

It depicts Christianity as the biggest cover-up in history.

The Da Vinci Code has run into its fair share of controversies with the Vatican calling for a ban on the film. With barely two days left before the movie hits cinema halls across the globe, the Indian chapter has run into some turbulence. Speaking against the controversial film, Father Donald D' Souza of the Catholics Bishops Council said, 'In a country where people are still learning about Christianity, such films can be quite harmful. We don't want people to imbibe a wrong view of this religion in India.' (Refer to chapter on Conversion).

The pope is not a fan of the book and he's not going to be a cheerleader for the movie. When religious people in the Middle East condemn a work of art, a cartoon, or a piece of fiction, we label them irrational extremists. How different has some of the reaction to the fictional Da Vinci Code been?  

When Kanchi Sankaracharya was arrested in November 2004 on Deepavali Day, the UPA Government in New Delhi maintained an attitude of 'strategic', 'suave' and 'secular' silence. When anything relates to Hindu Religion or Hindus, the UPA Government either overtly or covertly makes it very clear that it is no part of the allotted duty or constitutional responsibility of the Government of India to interfere in such religious matters.

The French Government had not imposed any ban on the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2006. The ever-muddling Ministers of UPA Government should not brashly dismiss the response of Government of France in regard to 'The Da Vinci Code' controversy as an offshoot of paganism or heathenism! France is a known Catholic country (81.4% of the population) and is a secular state. Against this background, I would like to ask the Government of India as to what is the earthshaking 'SECULAR' motive that moves them into the field of combative action in regard to the question of a ban or otherwise on the release of the controversial film 'The Da Vinci Code' on May 19, 2006? The Roman Catholics of France can in no way be dismissed as superstitious pagans by the Christians of India. In its romantic passion for Christian vote bank politics, the UPA Government should not try to outwit or outsmart the 'secular' French Government in the matter of release or otherwise of the controversial film

(source: The Da Vinci tsunami - By V Sundaram - newstodaynet.com).

Pseudo (?) Secularism in India
Left has different codes for Dan Brown & Amir Khan

Even as Narendra Modi-baiters on Friday came together to put the blame for the opposition against the screening of Amir Khan's Fanaa on the Gujarat administration, the rent-a-quote mob in the 'secular' spectrum chose to ignore the decision of the Congress-led Punjab government to ban The Da Vinci Code.

The Communist parties of India and their progeny, Sahmat, projected the "social boycott" of Fanaa - both the BJP and the Congress in the state have come out against the Khan-starrer - as a demonstration of the "cultural fascism" prevailing in Mr Modi's Gujarat. "Gujarat now has the distinction of allowing a small group of people with a clear agenda of communal hate politics to deprive the people's access to culture," a statement issued by Sahmat said.

(source: Left has different codes for Dan Brown & Amir Khan - The Economic Times May 27, 2006). W

Da Vinci Code breaks Italy box office records

"The Da Vinci Code" has broken box office records in Roman Catholic Italy as tens of thousands of Italians ignored Vatican calls to boycott the film. 

The movie adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller earned 2 million euros ($2.6 million) on its opening night, nearly double the takings of Italy's previous top film, Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni's 1997 tragi-comic Holocaust drama "Life is Beautiful."

Members of the Catholic group Christian Militants picketed some cinemas in central Rome, close to the Vatican, chanting "Dan Brown remember you will also be judged by Christ."

Many Italians are fans, however, buying tens of thousands of the more than 40 million copies of the books sold worldwide.

Italy's tourist industry has also leapt on the Dan Brown boom. Special tours are running in Rome and to the church in Milan containing Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper," a painting central to "The Da Vinci Code" plot. Florence, where the Renaissance master lived, is holding a series of exhibitions throughout the European summer focused on cracking the code of Da Vinci's paintings and designs.

(source: Da Vinci Code breaks Italy box office records - Yahoo News).

Put a Disclaimer on the Bible, Not the DaVinci Code

The film revolves around the unraveling of "the greatest cover-up in history'--that the Catholic Church suppressed its knowledge that Jesus Christ was a mortal man married to Mary Magdalene (slandered as a prostitute by the Church) and fathered children with her. Jesus wanted Mary, not Peter, to carry on his work and that the descendents of Mary and Jesus live among us to this very day, protected by a secret society known as the Priory of Scion.

Now comes along a bestselling book and popular movie implying that the whole foundations of Christianity are a fraud--and Church leaders went wild. Pope Benedict even toyed with organizing a boycott of the film. This isn't surprising. He was previously the head of the Vatican office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith--formerly known as the Inquisition, responsible for the torture and death of heretics in the Middle Ages.

(source: Put a Disclaimer on the Bible, Not the DaVinci Code - By Joe Allen - counterpunch.org).

Opus Dei (Latin for ‘God’s work’) - The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic cult that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as “corporal mortification.” . It was founded in 1928 by the Spanish adventurer Jose-Maria Escriva de Belaguer. The threat of Islam was not yet on the horizon, but Escriva saw the growth of secularism and what the Church called ‘modernism’ (scientific thinking) as threats to its dominance and even survival. Opus Dei has just completed construction of a $47 million National Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City. 

(source: The Da Vinci Code - By Dan Brown). Refer to Their Kingdom Come: Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei (1997) by Robert Hutchison. London: Corgi Books. Also refer to Opus Dei Awareness Network and Pope creates controversial saint - BBC News.com. Refer to The real Opus Dei - By N.S. Rajaram. Refer to Slayer album pulled in India - Slayer Skeleton Christ Illusion Lyrics.

Da Vinci is Da Truth?

Christians can’t seem to date modern Bethlehem further than 330 CE (Common Era) which is again four centuries after Jesus of Nazareth was allegedly born.

Not only that but an oxymoron called the Catholic Secular Forum carried on a near successful pogrom to get it out of cinema houses calling it ‘blasphemous’. Another venerable secular forum called the Raza Academy based in the other modern place called Mohamedali Road contributed its two-bit Islamic muscle.

Flavious Josephus, the prolific historian of the Jews makes no mention of Jesus and Clement of Alexandria, a Church leader of the second century.

Refer to The Dead Sea Scrolls - An Eastern View of a Western Crisis - N. S. Rajaram - burningcross.net.

***

What was interesting was when some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were being analysed and translated, one of the Biblical scholars, John M Allegro (1923 -1988) author of The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross discovered that he was being asked to heavily edit not only his research but remove all mention of the secret letter of Clement of Alexandria, a Church leader of the second century. The Buddhist contribution to modern Christianity has been well camouflaged for obvious reasons and the Roman Church has officially banned all talk of the Essenes. No less than the modern history-re-writer, Time magazine itself, came out with a cover story rubbishing The Da Vinci Code, obviously with cues to save the last bastion of Western Civilization.

Meanwhile, it’s interesting to see how the powerful Catholic Church quietly flexes its muscles in having state after state in Hindu India banning the film as if on cue. Is another experiment being tried out quietly? As YSR ‘Samuel’ Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, is, busy supplanting the Jesus legend onto Balaji on State Transport buses there? Maybe he has an answer.

The Da Vinci Code sure hides a truth but it’s not in the book or the movie; it’s in the way the movie is being used as a template to invent new truths all over the rapidly disintegrating “Christian world”.

(source: Da Vinci is Da Truth? - By Ashok Row Kavi - hindustantimes.com).

Nagaland bans Da Vinci Code

There are mixed responses from Christian majority hill states in the Northeast to the controversial, headline-hogging Ron Howard film, The Da Vinci Code. While Mizoram, where the Church has strong influence over both the society and polity, is game to wait and watch, Nagaland is not willing to take any chances while Meghalaya is at loss about what to do with the film. The minority Christian population in Arunachal Pradesh, however, sounds unhappy over the movie's depiction of Christ being a married man with an existing bloodline. The Nagaland cabinet was of the view that while the Ron Howard's film is, 'blasphemous and offensive' for portraying Jesus Christ and Christian in a 'objectionable' manner, Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code is an assault on Christianity.  

Communist China: 'The Da Vinci Code' makes world debut in Beijing

About four-and-a-half hours before it was screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival in France, the big-budget Hollywood thriller impressed the Chinese audience with performances from Oscar-winning Tom Hanks and France's Audrey Tautou. Despite protests from Christians in several countries, Li Chow, general manager of the Columbia Triastar Film Distributors International China, said no part of the movie has been cut for its release in China.

(source: Nagaland bans Da Vinci Code and  The Da Vinci Code' makes world debut in Beijing  and refer to Luigi Cascioli - "The Fable of Christ" and The God Who Wasn't There

Da Vinci's Last Supper.

The apostle to the right of Christ was a woman (Mary Magdalene), which seems to have hurt the sentiments of the Christians. The protests are an act of muscle-flexing by the Christian church that is determined to plant the cross in India. 

***

Code of contention  

"If Jesus existed and was so famous, we should have heard a lot more about him in historical sources outside the New Testament and the Church Fathers. The fact that so little was written about Jesus indicates that he was the creation of the church."

I have read the book and it is an excellent thriller about a symbologist, Prof Robert Langdon, who is called to the Louvre museum in Paris one night where the curator has been murdered, leaving behind a trail of symbols and clues. With his own survival at stake, Langdon aided by police cryptologist Sophie Neveu unveils a series of stunning secrets hidden to the world. Among the charges levelled is that the apostle to the right of Christ was a woman (Mary Magdalene), which seems to have hurt the sentiments of the Christians.

But this is not the first time the Catholic Church has come out in defence of its religious beliefs. About a decade ago Nikos Kazantzakis’ (1885 - 1957) The Last Temptation of Christ (The book was banned by Vatican in 1954.) faced the same ordeal. Kazantzakis’ book is about Christ’s dream on the cross and how he wished to marry Mary Magdalene. In both these issues it is a case of fiction and one is allowed to surmise what could have been. But the Church (as are other faiths) is very possessive of its beliefs and does not want to be questioned.

Nikos Kazantzakis, Marie Corelli and Galelio Galilee. 

So this is just another case of the Church trying to exert its pressure on the powers that be to keep their "flock blinkered." The Da Vinci Code is no ordinary fiction. It represents the latest in a long history of dissent in the Catholic church regarding the true nature of the mission. Recently one Catholic leader put it, "We are not in the democracy business.'  

***

So this is just another case of the Church trying to exert its pressure on the powers that be to keep their "flock blinkered."

(source: Code of contention - By Ervell. E. Menezes - tribuneindia.com). Refer to the Index - Index Librorum Prohibitorum "List of Prohibited Books" is a list of publications which the Catholic Church censored for being a danger to itself and the faith of its members. Thousands of titles were placed on the Church's guide to bad books, among them books by writers as diverse as Martin Luther, Jean- Paul Sartre and Immanuel Kant). Refer to QuickTime trailer and Part One of the film The God Awful Truth.

Who Needs the DaVinci Code, When We've Got Celsus!

Celsus was a pagan philosopher of the second century A.D., produced the oldest extant literary attack against Christianity. His True Discourse (c. A.D. 178) was a bitter assault upon Christ. Celsus argued that Jesus was born in low circumstances, being the illegitimate son of a soldier named Panthera (see above). As he grew , He announced Himself to be God, deceiving many. Celsus charged that Christ’s own people killed Him, and that His resurrection was a deception.

There are few critiques of the religions of both Moses and Jesus better, than that offered by Celsus (2nd Century Greek philosopher and opponent of Christianity) almost two millennia ago. No religions are responsible for more bloodshed and suffering than those springing from the religion of the Mid East. Mankind has been on the receiving end of about two millennia of "monotheistic" tyranny, mass murder, and brainwashing, all in the name of "God". 

(source: On the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians - By Celsus, R Joseph Hoffman).

Lucian of Samosata (c. A.D. 115-200) was called “the Voltaire of Grecian literature.” He wrote against Christianity more with patronizing contempt. Porphyry of Tyre was born about A.D. 233, studied philosophy in Greece , and lived in Sicily where he wrote fifteen books against the Christian faith. In one of his books, “Life of Pythagoras,” he contended that magicians of the pagan world exhibited greater powers than Christ.

Da Vinci: Cross with the Code?

It must have come as a surprise to Information & Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Das-munshi that India’s supposedly small Roman Catholic community can field two hundred organisations to protest the screening of the Hollywood blockbuster, Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown’s bestselling novel by the same name. Certainly it would have mattered to him that not only are these the UPA chairperson’s co-religionists, but belong to the same majority Christian sect, headquartered in Vatican City.

Little wonder then, that while the Christian world will view the film with no cuts or disclaimers, India’s I&B Minister feels the Catholic Churches’ Association of India (CCAI), rather than the Censor Board, should have the final say in the matter. After all, this is a secular country, and secularism, as I have argued elsewhere, is the twin god of Christianity, the face it turns towards the world when it wants to conceal the designs of the cross.

In fairness, however, the Vatican and the Indian evangelical industry are right to be wary of the film. The Da Vinci Code is no ordinary fiction. It represents the latest in a long history of dissent in the Catholic church regarding the true nature of the mission of the Christian church that suddenly emerged in Rome in the early centuries AD. 

Was Christianity ever intended to be anything more than a political movement, or did it have religio-political goals, and why did Jesus and his Apostles break with Jewish community and opt for aggressive evangelism among non-Jews? These are not questions that will go away until the Vatican opens its archives and furnishes some credible answers.

This central mission of an unknown group striving for control of the whole world and its economic resources and thought processes, is what the Da Vinci Code exposes in the form of a novel. It is bound to make the thinking public ponder about the supposedly spiritual content of this faith, which is unable to win adherents without resort to special tactics, and does not even have a credible theology around its key figures.

Indeed, the core issue is how and when the early Christian Church conceived its plan for world dominion, and the driving force behind this ambition. Anyone who is concerned with fundamentalist Islam’s jehadi face and its plans for world conquest, must be interested in the early Christian Church, as this is where a blueprint for such dominion was first conceived and implemented. It would be a mistake to believe that the quest has been consigned to the dustbin of history—all rich Western nations have a huge budget for evangelical activities oversees, and conversion is a major foreign policy agenda. Indeed, the Christian nations do not spare even fellow monotheistic traditions like Islam, and Christian missionaries are very active in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Malaysia, not to mention other parts of the globe.

This central mission of an unknown group striving for control of the whole world and its economic resources and thought processes, is what the Da Vinci Code exposes in the form of a novel. It is bound to make the thinking public ponder about the supposedly spiritual content of this faith, which is unable to win adherents without resort to special tactics, and does not even have a credible theology around its key figures. Forget that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child or children, or even the stories that he was not the first born child of his own mother, Mary. These are side issues for Indians.

Ultimately, we are asked to believe what the Vatican says, and it says very little beyond the fact that belief in Jesus is imperative for human salvation. Yet Christians are prone to deride Muslims for similar adherence to the Prophethood of Mohammad.

This makes the criticism of the film by some Indian Muslim organisations highly suspect, and the UPA government would do well to take adequate precautions that vested elements do not create trouble on the pretext of protests against the film. 

The protests are an act of muscle-flexing by the Christian church that is determined to plant the cross in India. And typically, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, a Roman by birth and a Catholic by faith, has refused to reveal her mind over the agitations, though anyone who has observed the disproportionate rise of Christians to top jobs in the Congress party and its state governments will know how avidly she promotes her community’s interests.

(source: Da Vinci: Cross with the Code? - By Sandhya Jain - organiser.org). 

Vatican appoints official Da Vinci Code debunker -  With sales of over 18m copies in 44 languages, topping bestseller charts all over the world and earning its author more than £140m, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is a global phenomenon. And now it has become the first book ever to have an archbishop dedicated to debunking its contents. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Archbishop of Genoa and a possible successor to the Pope, has been appointed by the Vatican to rebut what the Catholic church calls the "shameful and unfounded errors" contained within The Da Vinci Code.

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Da Vinci Code release sparks calls for fatal hunger strikes in India

The Da Vinci Code, which stars Tom Hanks, has been facing opposition from the All India Christian Council. Mumbai-based Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) has threatened to go on "fast unto death" from May 12 if the Government fails to stop the release of "anti-Christian movies" like The Da Vinci Code and Tickle My Funny Bone.

A Catholic group called on Christians to starve themselves to death in protest at the release of "The Da Vinci Code" movie at cinemas in India as others burned copies of the novel.  

All India Christian Council.Mumbai-based Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) has threatened to go on "fast unto death" from May 12 if the Government fails to stop the release of "anti-Christian movies" like The Da Vinci Code and Tickle My Funny Bone.  

The Face of Pseudo secularism in India -  Artist M F Husain can draw vulgar and indecent pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses, but one should not complain. One must take it in the "right spirit", but in the case of Da Vinci Code, the authorities slapped an 'A' certificate. When it came to the Prophet's cartoons, P.M. personally condemned them. India was one of the first to ban Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses. Why should artistic freedom only be enjoyed by those who hurt and insult Hindus?"

***

The Catholic Secular ( ? ) Forum said it hoped thousand of people would attend a protest Wednesday in Mumbai to burn effigies of Dan Brown, the author of the best-selling novel.

"It's to show the extent that our feelings have been hurt," said the group's general secretary Joseph Dias, speaking of the "fast unto death" call if the government fails to take action. He denied the hunger strike was irresponsible. "It's a more Christian way of doing things rather than pulling down things and tearing them up," he said.

The film, scheduled for global release on May 19, will be dubbed into four languages and will be distributed across India, a spokesman for Sony Pictures said. About 100 people gathered for a protest on Tuesday in Mumbai and burnt pages of the book but were prevented by police from burning an effigy of Brown, an AFP photographer said. The controversial film stars Tom Hanks and is based on Brown's best-selling novel. It explores the idea that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had children whose descendants are alive today.

Christian churches have condemned "The Da Vinci Code" as an attack on their faith and an aide of Pope Benedict XVI has called it a "perversely anti-Christian novel."

About two ( ? ) percent of India's 1.1 billion people are Christians.  (Webmaster's Note: India is now 6% Christian: according to World Christian Database). The Catholic group also called for a second film, "Tickle My Funny Bone," to be banned saying it told the story of a "sexy nun," according to reports.

Top Cardinal blasts ‘da vinci code’ as cheap lies - A Catholic cardinal is criticizing The Da Vinci Code as being filled with "cheap lies." 

(source: Da Vinci Code release sparks calls for fatal hunger strikes in India - yahoo news.com).

Islam and Christianity are responsible for the ruination of many ancient cultures of the world. If Islam can be called a religion of peace, Christianity is a religion of love, Maoists can be champions of democracy, Mother Mary can be virgin, then Catholics can as well be secular !

(source: Comments posted on sulekha.com).  

Christian Fundamentalists ransack IMAX theatre in India
Deafening Silence from the English Language Media (ELM) ? 
Bankruptcy of India's pseudo-secularism ?

Protestors belonging to Christian organisations staged a noisy demonstration in front of Prasad's IMAX theatre in Hyderabad and broke the booking counter's glass panes, forcing the management to stop screening the controversial film The Da Vinci Code on Friday afternoon. A group of 50 volunteers of All India Christian United Front gathered in front of the theatre, holding placards and raising slogans.

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to file an appeal before a division bench of the State High Court against a single judge's orders quashing its order banning the exhibition of the film in English, Telugu or any other language in the state. Justice G Raghuram declared the government's action in imposing a ban on June 1 on the screening of the film "as extravagant, arbitrary and wholly irrational." Sony Entertainment, Lakshmi Ganapathi Films and Muni Krishna Reddy challenged the ban. The judge held that there was no breach of peace as required under section 8 of the AP Cinema Regulation Act. The judge had also directed the government to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 each to the film's producer and distributor.

(source: Christian fundamentalists ransake IMAX theatre in India - rediff.com). 

Bias in the Media

Note: English Language Media went berserk when Hindus protested the shooting of Deepa Mehta's Water and there was a deafening silence over Hussain's nude paintings of Hindu Goddesses. Refer to Hindu widow film enrages fundamentalists - By Elizabeth Bumiller - International Herald Tribune.

History repeats itself

Protests over the movie version of Da Vinci Code have once again highlighted the tussle between religious fanaticism and freedom of expression. It is an old issue in India. In fact, a recently released book Enduring Legacy, about eminent Parsis of the Twentieth Century, describes a debate on the same subject which took place in the Parsi press 150 years ago which is remarkably similar to the recent controversy over the publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. In 1851, a Parsi monthly magazine called Chitragyan Darpan, which regularly carried biographical sketches of great men with the best of intentions, included the Prophet along with an imaginary sketch in one of its issues.  

Overnight there were widespread riots in Bombay. Parsi houses and fire temples were burnt. The police and government put pressure on Parsi leaders to make the editor apologise. Dadabhai Naoroji, who had just brought out the new Parsi newspaper Ras Goftar, protested against the ''weak-kneed Parsi leadership and government''. His new paper's first crusade was that freedom of expression not be curbed by religious tyranny.

(source: History repeats itself (excerpts) - Coomi Kapoor - The Indian Express May 21, 2006).

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Updated - October 28, 2008