On The Counterfactual Anti-Catholic Lies of Author Dan Brown (by ContraSuggest)

A few weeks ago, while at a Christmas party with some close friends, the subject of Dan Brown’s movies and novels came up in one of our conversations.  One friend said that she thought Brown was clever for having convinced readers and viewers that the things depicted in his movies were factual.  Another remarked that Angels and Demons wasn’t nearly as offensive to Catholics as The Davinci Code.  While strictly true, these opinions conceal the harmful effects of Brown’s foul anti-Catholic slander and malicious libel.  For no other phenomenon in our cultural milieu of filth has done more to sustain a false, hateful view of the Church than Brown’s books and movies; justifying the last respectable bigotry in Amerika: anti-Catholicism.

What exactly do Brown’s books and movies say about the Catholic Church that has me so upset?  Well here’s a sampling of some of the lies he proffers followed by brief responses to each:

Lie:

The Catholic Church has led a centuries-long and ruthless campaign against science and reason

Truth:

Church doctrine in no way contradicts science, but has always been supportive of it.  In fact, the physical sciences grew out of the unique Catholic doctrinal framework

Lie:

The Church murdered the great astronomical pioneer Copernicus

Truth:

Copernicus, a life-long, devout Catholic priest, was, at the end of his life, bed-ridden for several days and died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 70; no historical source reflects that the Church had anything to do with his death

Lie:

Galileo was a member of the anti-Church secret society known as the Illuminati.  The Church nearly put Galileo to death for believing that man was not the center of the universe

Truth:

Galileo couldn’t have been a member of the Illuminati because he died in 1642, more than a century before the Illuminati was formed in Bavaria in 1776.  Galileo’s life was never in danger, even when he was found guilty by a Church court after advocating, what was then, the not provable heliocentric theory of the solar system, and brazenly insulted Church officials including the pope by caricaturizing them as simpletons in his book Dialog On The Two Great World Systems.  As punishment, he was placed under house arrest in his villa, was attended to by his daughter (who was a nun) went on to study and write unimpeded, completing his greatest astronomical work, and died a peaceful death at a ripe old age

Lie:

Many devout Catholic thinkers and artists were in reality closet atheists that hated the Church

Truth:

There is no historical source that backs up Brown’s claim about the great Catholic thinkers he disparages.  Myriad early pioneers in numerous scientific fields of inquiry were devout Catholic laypeople and priests

Lie:

Opus Dei is a murderous Church cult controlled by the pope

Truth:

Opus Dei is a legitimate, peaceful Catholic organization; made up mainly of laypeople.  The founder of Opus Dei is a canonized saint of the Catholic Church

Lie:

Jesus was not divine; he married and fathered children

Truth:

There is overwhelming historical evidence that points to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion; there is no credible evidence, from secular nor religious sources, that indicates he was not crucified and survived to father children

Lie:

Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ lover, and she, not Peter, was the true head of the early Church

Truth:

The only source that indicates Mary Magdalene may have been an intimate of Jesus, and had a lead role in the early Church is a 2^nd century, forged Gnostic gospel.  

Lie:

The early Church concocted a body of lies which became the canonical gospels.  The four gospels were declared canonical by Constantine at the Council of Nicaea

Truth:

The four official gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, were unofficially considered canonical from a time earlier than the forged, Gnostic gospels were even written, and at least 150 years prior to Constantine and the council of Nicaea.  The Church eventually had to declare that the four gospels were canonical, in response to the heresies threatening to swallow the Church.  Constantine called for the council because there were secular instabilities as a result of heretical doctrinal challenges.  Constantine had no bearing on the council’s edicts

If every single Catholic on this planet is not outraged by these disgusting lies, then we all might as well turn in our rosary beads and convert to Scientology.  Although I didn’t take the time to point out in which book or movie the phony charges originate, rest assured that there are enough falsehoods to go around.  So if Angels and Demons is slightly less disgustingly heretical than The Davinci Code, I suppose we can all be slightly less outraged; but we should be outraged nonetheless.   

Let’s not forget that Brown has repeatedly declared himself to be a meticulous researcher; while the plots of his books are fictional he maintains that the historical and religious references are factual.  Must be nice to have your cake and eat it too.   

One final point, regarding the notion that Brown’s books and movies have not had a discernable influence on people due to the fact they’re merely “harmless works of fiction.”  I would remind readers that many works of fiction have had massive impact on the world; some for better, some for worse. Notable examples are Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom's Cabin and Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.  These works of fiction had a huge impact on people’s perceptions and on the events of history.  It’s particularly disturbing with Mr. Brown that works of fiction, containing pseudo-historical content, which claim to be well-researched, savage the Catholic Church with mean spirited lies and invented history.  Being a writer of fiction does not justify the waging of cultural warfare and the spreading of filthy lies about the one true Church.