Well kids, it time to let you know that I actually have been reading a few things besides Curious George (though none quite reach that level of "audience participation").
First up is The Da Vinci Codebreaker, which main author James Garlow describes as a sort of badly needed glossary (11). The subtitle describes the book as a "fact checker", giving historical background to events, places and persons associated with DVC. Imagine if the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church had Dan Brown on the editorial board, and you'll get a sense of what kind of stuff is in here. Co-authors are Timothy Paul Jones and April Williams, although there was also input from a broad range of scholars. The one that caught my eye was Franco Morando, who is chair of Romance Languages & Lit at Boston College. Seeing that, I had hope, and that hope did not disappoint.
This is a reference book rather than a "read". I started where everyone should start who wants to see what kind of take will be presented. First things first: check out what the book says about the Roman Catholic Church, and then what it says about the Bible. I find those are good barometers of the direction of theological pressure.
Roman Catholic Church, The. The church that recognizes the Bishop of Rome as the visible source of Christian unity and as the apostle Peter's successor. According to Roman Catholic interpreters, Jesus granted a unique measure of authority to Simon Peter (see Matt. 16:13-19)... The DVC is filled with claims about Catholicism that are completely false or, at the very least, questionable.
The sections relating to Scripture include discussions of the history and formation of the canon, early controversies and councils, early church writers, right up to contemporary issues surrounding the meaning of the Nag Hammadi and Dead Sea Scrolls. Included are several succinct charts which trace the lineage of a number of documents through the first four centuries of Christianity, as well as charting a variety of christological issues through to Nicea.
This is church history "lite", but church history nonetheless. I confess that I do tend to get excited when I see the names Bernard of Clairveaux ("d. 1153; medieval theologian..."), Origen of Alexandria ("d.c. 250...students of Origen's Alexandrian school played an important role in the fourth century battle against Arianism...") and Julian the Apostate all together.
Who would benefit from this book? Well, according to a recent article in the Edmonton Journal, about 22% of Albertans could benefit from something like this, since that is the number of my fellow Albertans who believe the DVC is factual. It's the sort of book that I might give to my brother in law, should he think that Dan Brown's historical references are accurate. It is informative without being confrontational. As Garlow says, "this book is not about bashing Dan Brown." It is rather a short and easy entrance into the world of Christian history, the sort of book you might pick up every now and then just out of curiosity to learn more about the figures and events that have shaped Christianity.
Up next:
The Secret Message of Jesus; Brian McLaren.
Discovering the Book of Common Prayer, Vol 1: Daily Prayer; Sue Careless.
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