Fact and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code

By Steven L. Kellmeyer

Seek the Truth. Discover the answers to over six dozen issues raised in Dan Brown's best-selling novel. Issues include: Rome and Christianity * The real Council vote on Jesus and divinity. * Why... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971812861
• ISBN13: 9780971812864
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Bridegroom Press
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.2" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Definitely worth the money

This book is great if you want to know more about the theological underpinnings for some of Dan Brown's assertions. Like other DVC books, this one goes through all the facts and figures, but unlike other DVC books, this one addresses what Catholics actually believe concerning assertions like "sex is dirty" or "pain is good". It turns out that the Catholic understanding of sex, pain, sin, faith and reason is really quite a bit different than Dan Brown indicates. For instance, most people assume Catholics are like all other Christians in condemning reason and relying on faith. It turns out this idea is one of the major places where Catholic Faith differs from other Christian faiths.Catholics view faith and reason as two sides of the same coin, two necessary aspects of intellect that work together in harmony. The idea that they can be in opposition is actually derived from the kind of fundamentalist Christianity Dan Brown was raised with - it is specifically condemned by Catholic teaching. Given the explanations provided in this book, it's easy to see that Brown's novels project his own flawed Christianity onto Catholics. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in finding out more about Dan Brown's theological worldview.

Nicely done job

I liked this work because it is gives Dan Brown every possible benefit of the doubt. It is written in an even-handed way, and it summarizes the disparate topics very nicely. Unlike so many other DVC writers, who seem unaware of what constitutes "common knowledge" and therefore endlessly footnote things that all of us learned (or should have learned) in school, Kellmeyer doesn't insult anyone's intelligence by artificially multiplying his sources. Instead, he references only the sources that actually provide the information necessary to substantiate otherwise little-known facts.For instance, his use of Anna Bramwell's research into the relationship between ecology and nature worship in 19th and 20th century Germany is used skillfully to help demonstrate the anti-Semitic background of Dan Brown's theology. Likewise, his references to Leonardo's own writings on art make quick work of Brown's decidedly odd interpretation of the Last Supper. For the dating of New Testament writings - a contentious subject - he points the reader to the best scholars in the field. This book is unpretentious. It doesn't insult the reader, it doesn't insult Dan Brown, it merely takes what we all remember from our own education and combines the interpretation of these facts in new ways to provide the reader with a fascinating context - a new worldview on Dan Brown's world. Kellmeyer is very good at taking common knowledge, adding one or two additional facts that everyone knows but no one considers, and coming up with a fresh perspective. He thinks outside the box. His work would be pretty disconcerting for anyone who likes to live in the box.

Response to Bias

I'm not sure how any reviewer can say this book is poorly organized. It is, in fact, exactingly organized -- responding to over 70 different inventions Brown inserted into his "The Da Vinci Code". Taking each point in turn as it is expressed in Brown's novel, "Fact and Fiction" is a helpful guide around the pitfalls of the anti-Christian propaganda in Brown's book.I also don't know how anyone can have a problem with it's length, publisher, or physical quality. It's a standard paperback publication, with what I'd consider normal book stock and binding. The only explanation I can offer for the poor reviews I've read above are politcal or ideological differences with the author.Brown's book is around 450 pages of supermarket romance in the context of a conspiratorial glance at the Catholic Church. "Fact and Fiction" offers the footnotes you would see if the Catholic Church had a chance to respond to the audacity of Mr. Brown. It is certainly a referential guide rather than an ideological treatsie -- it seeks to correct distortions rather than create any of its own.

Wow!

This book covers dozens and dozens of different topics in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" - I've rarely seen any book so thorough and concise as this. Definitely worth buying if you are at all interested in finding out more about where Dan Brown's information is good and where it falls short. A remarkable work!

A must read for inquiring minds.......

Throughout The DaVinci Code, I continually asked myself - is what I have been taught to believe utter nonsense? Is Dan Brown right? Steve Kellmeyer has answered these inquiries and more in his excellant work. This book should be read by every person who has read The DaVinci Code - both Catholics and non-Catholics. Mr. Brown did an excellent job writing his book of fiction - similarly, Mr. Kellmeyer did a superior job distinguishing what was fact and what was simply made up to make The DaVinci more intriguing.