[Vision2020] Da Vinci Code

[Andreas Schou]

I have very little to add to Melynda's excellent list of reccomended books, other than to emphasize Focault's Pendulum. It's slower than the Da Vinci Code, but more rewarding. I also want to discourage you from going too far into the background of the Da Vinci Code: it's all based on the natterings of a huckster named Pierre Plantard. In particular, avoid "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," which explains, in great detail, how Jesus Christ's children (who emigrated from Israel to France) became the Merovingian kings.

This is, needless to say, utter bollocks.

If, however, you're interested in pre-Orthodox Christianity, the best starting point is Elaine Pagels' _The Gnostic Gospels -- it goes into fantastic detail about the different texts that floated around the Classical world following the death of Christ. For a more academic treatment of the religious climate in the Classical world at the time, I would pick Kurt Rudolph's _Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism_. If you're /really, really/ interested and want to go back to primary Christian texts of varying credibility, the Gnostic Society Library (accessable online at http://www.gnosis.org/library.html) provides a number of primary Gnostic texts.

Hope that sates your interest.

-- ACS

 describes the Christianities that developed after the death of Christ.