Faith

I'm currently reading 2 novels -- one in English, the other in Spanish. [Labyrinth, La Biblia de barro] This wasn't anything intentional on my part, but both explore alternate histories of what happened in Christianity's past: Labyrinth deals with the Cathars in Southern France and La Biblia de barro explores the idea of a 'Bible' written on clay tablets (i.e., a written history prior to the scrolls that compose the Old Testament.)

I find both of these novels to be very intriguing. They flesh out what Christianity is to me. My experience with The Da Vinci Code was similiar. It didn't destroy my world view, or bring the basic tenets of Christianity crashing to the ground. It simply added another dimension to what Jesus was like and who he was.

Neither of the books I'm reading now are anywhere near as controversial as Da Vinci, but they do make me wonder about why some people get completely bent out of shape about books like these. I know I'm a day late and a dollar short to this particular discussion, but I honestly don't see the 'threat' behind the idea that Jesus was married and had children. It doesn't change his message, nor his mission here on Earth. If anything it makes him more real, somebody I can relate to better. The same holds true for the tenets of the 2 novels I'm currently reading -- they add nuance, expand my knowledge and make me think. So, it makes me wonder why some people's faith can be so shaken by novels like these. As I learn more and expand my horizons it becomes easier for me to believe that people in the Bible actually lived and they weren't just fables or legends. And I truly feel sorry for those people that see books like these as heretical and threatening.