What's your Religion?

I read it. It's the same character. It came out before the DaVinci code. I thought it was the better story of the two.

 

I have it, but havn't gotten a chance to read it.

 

Dan Brown trumpets the accuracy of his books and the time he spends researching them. He writes, "Because my novels are so research-intensive, they take a couple of years to write."

The first page of both The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons has a heading titled "FACT". The next page in Angels and Demons claims that "References to all works of art, tombs, tunnels, and architecture in Rome are entirely factual (as are their exact locations). They can still be seen today. The brotherhood of the Illuminati is also factual."

Brown gets some things right, but he's wrong just about as often. Read his novels for fun, but don't trust a single supposed "fact" that he offers without doing your own research!

The following list is of instances where Brown's supposed "facts" are simply wrong, and is offered as representative of the sort of mistakes his books have become famous for.

List of Factual Inaccuracies:

- On the map of "Modern Rome," there are at least five errors that stand out in Brown's latest book.

1) The Ponte Sant' Angelo is translated as "Bridge of Angels." This is an inaccurate translation. "Bridge" is right, but "'Sant' Angelo" means "holy angel" or "blessed angel", not "of Angels" as Brown has it.

2) It's not the Via Condotti, it's the Via dei Condotti. And it’s considerably further south than where Brown puts it.

3) It's not the Via Nationale, it's the Via Nazionale.

4) The Pantheon is south of Piazza della Rotunda, not north of the piazza as Brown places it.

5) Sant' Agnese in Agone is west of Piazza Navona, not east of there where Brown puts it.

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Nothing Dan Brown has written should ever seriously be considered in any discussion of faith or religion. Nevertheless because of his popularity with the dime novel crowd and his pretense to historical accuracy (which even some of his most strident supporters have been forced to admit is a claim without solid foundation), to leave his work unchallenged is to do a disservice to everyone.

 

Understood. My original point may have been too strongly worded. I'm searching for another term than "believe" because it can imply this big system as you say. How about: you'd assent to the veracity of quantum mechanics even though you can't prove it yourself or fully understand it?

Put that way, it's not so different than a religious person saying they believe in God (even though they can't prove it or fully understand it).

I hate to break it to you, but there are functional quantum computers, and teleportation is real (just very limited, and not what sci-fi suggests). Semiconductors (the heart of all electronics) rely upon electron tunneling, which is teleportation on a *very* small scale.

Oh, definitely! That's a whole 'noter discussion, and on quick glance before I replied, I see it has started, so I won't continue here.

 

And in return, please don't lump all Christians in with the hyper-literal creationists who want to remove evolution from schools, OK?

 

Oh, there's a bunch of books that do that. Not sure I'd agree with one by Dan Brown though.

$12 The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom

The Science of God, written by a Jewish physicist, has been most influential on me.

 

I don't think clarification is necessary and I don't think there is a need for you to be called out. I perfectly understand what you are getting at. Although I practice no specific religion, I do live by a moral standard that I believe is acceptable to the common person.

 

That's a good rule to live by. Not just as a cop, but a person in general. As a cop, you're in the public view more than most and anything you do can/will be scrutinized later if something goes down. Not to mention, to get people to cooperate you probably have to overcome the stereotype that all cops are a$$holes. I know most of the ones I've dealt with have been, and I remember (and appreciate!) the few that aren't.

 

I appreciate your approach, and will confess that as a former long time police officer here in Tempe I too found a similar approach saved me and those I dealt with a great deal of grief and heartaches.

Even though I've been away from the department long enough that those working there today would not remember me, still I use much the same informed and careful approach to life as I deal with it today that I brought to my police work - and it serves me well.

So keep focused and alert, sizing up each and every situation you face with wisdom and a critical eye. May God bless you in every way as you pursue your career path.

 

The book by Dan Brown is a novel. I just thought it was very interesting how he worked the two together. Just throwing it in there as something neat, not at all as any type of factual evidence of one side or the other.

 

Too bad not everyone feels that way:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4065895.stm

 

All hail his noodly appendage!

 

rAmen

 

On my way to becoming a Buddhist.

 

Raised Catholic, gave it up and became just Christian when I started wondering where in the Bible it says "ye shall go into a large building, listen to Latin, do some aerobics (sit stand kneel walk over here sit stand kneel walk again) and tell some guy with a white collar what you think you did wrong because he has the power to say don't sweat it after you say a whole bunch of prayers".

That and seeing the Catholic church my father goes to send him an envelope in the mail so he can send in his "tithe" after he had to miss a week from being sick.

 

only two i have found that are noteworthy...not that i look all that much.

wiccans and sun worshipers. makes the most sense to me...the sun is the giver of all life on this planet...the sun worshipers might have been right...lemme ask one...wait...someone killed them all.

wiccans worship the spirit of the earth...er... so i gathered from a book i read...not a bad option.

i claim, nor practice any known "religion".

We all know right from wrong...it's just the choices we make at any given point of our lives that defines us.

 

Looks like everyone has a good head on your shoulders regardless of religion. There are just good and bad people out there, it doesn't matter what their religion or political affiliation is. Those are 2 things that can never categorize you as a sentient being. I would hope we've all reached a self-actualization stage and can think for ourselves and not just follow a status quo like lemmings.

And trying to convert others or force your ideas on them is pointless and only detrimental to mankind in the end. Live and let live. Treat others as you would like to be treated. That's all I can hope and ask for. Oh and don't kill, rape, cheat or steal. And take care of the planet.