The Da Vinci Code

The new movie The Da Vinci Code is a fine vessel for portraying all that is wrong with religious zealots.

Catholic groups from around the world have criticized the books take on the Catholic church, called for the movie to be banned, called for it to be censored and the conservative Catholic sect Opus Dei originally asked that it not be made at all. Granted, Opus Dei is the story's villain so that gives them a reason for their request. This CNN story gives a good run down of the opposition.

What all these people and groups refuse to acknowledge is that The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction. Dan Brown bent history and the facts to create a compelling story. (Good book with a terribly flat ending to me) He is not pawning the book or movie off as what really happened. The hard line Catholic reaction is as knee-jerk and illogical as the Muslim hysteria regarding cartoon images of Mohammed.

However, in today's world the minute you disagree with something the first reaction is to scream for it to go away. Hold protests, try and boycott the film into failure. All the while condeming the creators as being against you and your group.

I cannot understand how people who claim a high level of faith in their religion worry about the impact of a movie, book or TV show. Are they worried that someone will start questioning their faith because of what Dan Brown or Salmon Rushdie wrote. If a person were to do so then they were not much of a believer to start with.

If your religion is strong enough it will brush aside such feeble content. As they say in church, have faith.