Research Analysis of Dan Browns View of Christianity - Paper Example

Every inquiry regarding religion bears utmost significance particularly if they spark two questions that equally challenge our understanding of the subject. The first issue pertains the source of principles upon which religion is founded, and second its origin with regards to human nature. Worryingly, both questions lack a definitive or scientifically proven answer. According to Louise and Laliberte (23), no rational enquirer - after great reflection on the subject - can offer clear-cut solutions to the roots of religion and principles of theism which relish ubiquitous deployment. Therefore, it can well be thought that the belief in an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent being has diffused over all human races, of all ages and in places alike, without any basis. On the positive side, however, the principles of religion have delivered societal interconnection through driving and upholding social norms (Hitchens). In this research paper, I discuss Dan Brown's controversial view of Christianity, which has sparked both negative and positive remarks from atheists and theists. Dan Brown's asserts that Christianity might contain sound moral principles; however, the Bible is indoctrinated as evidenced in its discrepancies and historical constructs.

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Christianity is the worlds largest religion with a total of 2.2 billion believers or approximately 32% of the worlds population (Grotius 37). On the one hand, geographical regions filled with Christians enjoy a better living standard and profound social order. All this hail from the principles governing the Christian church that date back to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. In effect, the results of the church in upholding peace and brotherhood, strengthening societal ties, and controlling the masses cannot be overlooked. For instance, as Dan Brown argues, without the knowledge bequeathed from religion the world would be a dark dome.' The benefits of the church are directly realizable today; however, the controlling power and fear that religion incarcerates have limited advancement of the human race in almost all realms.

The author of "The Da Vinci Code" critiques the basis of the Bible and the church at large. According to him, the church is a social institution that favors the high and mighty and crumbles the efforts of the poor and middle class. This regime that dates thousands of years ago is merely associated with the socialization process which every human being irrepressibly undergoes.

At birth, a child is purely dependent on its parents and later on the society to grow and adapt to the environment. This association renders the child susceptible to pick up all traits from the parent and society, religion included. In the words of Louise and Laliberte (41), the child visits the church first before even going to school. As stated by Brown, the initial engagement limits the childs prosperity by making him or her conform to baseless religious doctrines. In essence, Christianity is a historical construct championed by its followers from generation to generation.

The originality of Christianity is groundless. Mithras, the Pre-Christian God, was born on the 25th of December which coincides with birthdays for Adonis, Osiris, and Dionysus. Krishna who was newly born on this very day was presented with Myrrh, gold, and frankincense; Jesus is not featured herein. Thus, Christianity's consecrated day was stolen from pagans. Myths about Mithras and a savior god' were constructed to befit Jesus story line after the 1st century a period when Christianity came to Rome. Brown (232) indicates, by way of fusing paganism dates, symbols, and rituals - into the emergent Christian movement, a hybrid religion was created which was suitable for both Jews and Pagans. This formation was a win-win scenario as indicated by Metzger and Coogan in their research about conflicting religion in Early Roman Empire.

Unlike contemporary worship of powerful deities, early Christians worshiped real people on earth. This maxim was later changed to instill more fear into people. In particular, the New Testament was documented detailing a tragic twist for anyone who was not a believer. As Grotius' studies indicate, this move was only taken to ensure Christianity gains ground without any opposition. In effect, anyone who raised a finger against Christianity was deemed an enemy and punishable after the rupture. Contextually, all this information is presented with a devastating tone full of pity for anyone who dares go against the Christian doctrines (Louise and Laliberte).

The Bible is a product of man, and its disunity can be paralleled to human error. It was created as a chronological account of tumultuous times (Brown; Hitchens; Metzger and Coogan). Ever since its inception, the Bible has undergone hundreds of translations. This translation inherently introduced a margin of error bit by bit culminating to false statements. Historically, the Bible lacks a definitive version (Brown 232). Approximately eighty-one gospels were forwarded to be included in the New Testament out of which relatively few were included. The Roman Catholic, the largest Christian body, uses a Bible that differs from other religions. This fact indicating discrepancies in a book that encompasses all Christian virtues raises alarms.

Although at the core of Christianity teachings are the consecration of life, this pedagogy had little relevance. However, these tenets were barely upheld in early Christian churches. In particular, the church tortured and killed those who went against its doctrines. Those who were believed to be witches, for instance, suffered the wrath of the church.

The Bible was carefully edited to include only those books that explicated Christ as omniscient and omnipotent. In line, all gospels that detailed Christ's human traits were omitted (Brown 234). This was equally done to achieve one sole purpose: make the masses fear Christ as a super human. Some of the scrolls that archaeologists have discovered describe Christ's human nature. For instance, Coptic Scrolls discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945 and the Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1950 concealed in a cave in the Judean Desert.

Facts show modern religion possess a political agenda instilled by editors. The editors as documented by Grotius aimed at promoting the divinity of Jesus and equally use this power to solidify their power. Notably, power is a function of fear. In other words, fear makes people the instruments of power since a fearful man will often obey orders. In contemporary and orthodox regimes alike, each generation has/was socialized at an early age to fear religion. This is effected through the strong words contained in the Bible. Everyone is taught to be afraid of the church, Jesus, and the Bible to an equal extent as they are taught to be scared of terrorism or ailments such as Cancer. This frenzy of fear is an integral part of driving conformity without questioning. Karl Marx studied the effect of religion and ends up characterizing it as "the opium of the people" based on the fear and recklessness it imposes.

The societal decorum prevalent during the time of Jesus forbade a Jewish man from celibacy. A Jewish father was obligated to find a suitable wife for his son. To that end, if Jesus was not married then at least one gospel would have offered an explanation to that effect (Brown 245; Grotius). In particular, the gospels would have devoted enough space to explain this strange state of bachelorship. On the contrary, the account of the relationship between Jesus and Magdalene was deleted. With these facts, it is baseless to support celibacy today. Similar conflicts have escalated into the worrying scenario in the religious realm. In particular, church leaders have differed segregating the church into million denominations. This aspect is fuelled by disagreements culminating into political divides on matters such as celibacy or the number of books in the Bible (Louise and Laliberte). It is inconceivable how a man not allowed to marry has the mandate to join people in holy matrimony, leave alone later advise them.

In conclusion, Christianity might contain sound moral principles; however, the indoctrination of the Bible is real as evidenced in its discrepancies and historical constructs. The church has tied down the poor in a bid to give them hope; however, all it offers is a channel to sympathize with individuals. In return, people are made to pay back with hefty tithes to support this institution. According to Brown, Christianity is not founded on any solid rock, and rather it is a mix of paganism and other religions. Its connection to the human nature is also flawed. In some way, the Bible was reconstructed to drive fear making the world irrationally obey.

Works Cited

Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. 1st ed., New York, Anchor Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 2003.

Grotius, Hugo. Truth of The Christian Religion, With Jean Le Clerc's Additions. 1st ed., Indianapolis, Liberty Fund Inc., 2014.

Hitchens, Christopher. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. 2nd ed., London, Atlantic Books Ltd, 2012.

Louise, Rita and Wayne Laliberte. Man Made. 1st ed., Dallas, TX, Soulhealer Press, 2012.

Metzger, Bruce M and Michael David Coogan. The Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues of The Bible. 1st ed., Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001.