The instance that prompted me to write this was when Robert Langdon was explaining the Illuminati Symbolism on a US $1 bill. For background, the Illuminati is an historical secret society which Angels & Demons claims is the anti-Church "inner circle" of the Freemasons.
Robert Landon explains that the reverse of the Great Seal of the US printed in the back of the bill (the pyramid side) is actually an Illuminati symbol. He continues to explain the meaning of the latin.
Vittoria seemed startled. She glanced down at the bill again. "The writing under the pyramid says Novus... Ordo..."
"Novus Ordo Seclorum," Langdon said. It means New Secular Order."
"Secular as in nonreligious?"
"Nonreligious. The phrase not only clearly states the Illuminati objective, but also blatantly contradicts the phrase beside it. In God We Trust."
Langdon then explains (truthfully) that the symbol was put there by FDR, a known freemason.
Sounds convincing, right? Unfortunately, the Latin phrase means "New Order for the Ages" and FDR just copied the Great Seal of the United States that has existed since 1782, 14 years before Freemasons started using the symbol. See Official 1782 Explanation of the Great Seal for more information.
Now, of course Dan Brown writes these books as lightweight fiction to appeal to the masses so such truth-twisting is tolerable. What bugs me, though, is the combination of the unavoidably-sympathetic, brilliant Harvard professor who tells us these lies and Brown's never-ending digs at the Christian Church found both in The Da Vinci Code and in Angels & Demons. It seems to me that he is exploiting his engaging writing style for more nefarious purposes than producing a best-selling book.
But maybe I'm just a conspiracy theorist.
4 comments:
I absolutely agree with your analysis...this is why the books are so dangerous. Yes, they're "just fiction". But because of the way certain information is presented, it's very easy for ourselves to be tricked into believing certain things really happened like he said. Most perilous.
The brilliant Harvard professor thing is pretty funny. I personally find Dostoyevsky's construction of characters more realistic (Alyosha is the Christian guy, Kolya is a teenage boy who is trying to impress him). It is a semi-long excerpt, but I think it's worth your time and funnies. :) Kolya reminds me of people like Dan Brown.
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"Oh, I've nothing against God. Of course, God is only a hypothesis, but... I admit that He is needed.. for the order of the universe and all that... And that if there were no God He would have to be invented," added Kolya beginning to blush. He suddenly felt that Alyosha might think he was trying to show off his knowledge and prove that he was "grown up." "I haven't the slightest desire to display my knowledge to him," Kolya thought indignantly. And all of a sudden he felt annoyed... "It's possible for one who doesn't believe in God to love mankind, don't you think so? Voltaire didn't believe in God and loved mankind?"
"Voltaire believed in God, though not very much, I think, and I don't think he loved mankind very much either," said Alyosha quietly, gently, and quite naturally, as though he were talking to someone of his own age, or even older. Kolya was struck by Alyosha's apparent indifference about his opinion of Voltaire...
"Have you read Voltaire?" Alyosha asked.
"No, not really... But I've read Candide in the Russian translation... in an old translation..."
"And did you understand it?"
"Oh yes, everything... That is, why do you think I wouldn't understand it? There's a lot of nastiness in it, of course.... Of course, I can understand that it's a philosophical novel and written to advocate an idea..." Kolya was getting confused. "I am a Socialist, Karamazov. I am an incurable Socialist," he announced suddenly apropos of nothing.
"A socialist?" laughed Alyosha. "When have you had time to become one? Why, I thought you were only thirteen?"
Kolya winced.
"In the first place I am not thirteen, but fourteen, fourteen in two weeks." He flushed angrily. "And in the second place I don't understand what my age has to do with it. The question is what are my convictions not what is my age, isn't it?"
"When you are older, you will understand for yourself the influence of age on convictions. I also believe that you were not expressing your own ideas," Alyosha answered serenely and modestly.
Dream,
Nice quote, but you're definitely a Dostoyevsky fangirl. :)
David
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