Friday, July 30, 2004

So I finished The DaVinci Code...in one sitting. It was an easy read but it kept me turning the pages. I am not sure how much of it is based on fact and how much on the crazy rantings of conspiracy theorists but it was interesting nonetheless. It's based on the 80's bestseller The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and basically deals with the persistent rumours of a secret society dedicated to protecting documents that would rock Christianity to it's core. (Bring it on I say!) The documents are said to prove that the divinity of Christ was invented 300 years after he died and that he was married with a child. The ramifications of these claims are of course, obvious. The book is well written and fairly convincing, although some of it is too far fetched. Not as far fetched as a prophesied virgin-birth, walking on water and a reincarnation, but whatever.

Since we are on the subject of religion and it's one that I love so much, I have learned some cool things lately. I am reading a book on geography and I am really enjoying it. I have learned some really interesting things, such as the history of the story of Atlantis (mythological of course but first introduced by Plato of all people! Thought to be the fanciful re-telling of the Island of Thera) and that Christopher Columbus never actually reached the shores of the United States of America and that he died thinking he had reached China. I mean, I never really believed he had discovered America or anything (after all, it's difficult to discover something if more than 40 million people are already living there!) but I have to admit that I did think he had actually reached America. Just goes to show you...anyways, I digress. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, good 'ol religion...

After reading about St.Augustine and early Roman history I learned that St. Augustine really struggled with the idea that there may be more than three continents. The Bible names only three continents (one for each of Noah's descendants) and the idea that a new continent had been discovered set up a huge contradiction between scripture and science (surely not the last!) that he could not comprehend. This made me happy. Obviously we, as a society, have globally accepted the existence of more than three continents. We have relied on evidence and proof and the rational has prevailed! This means that, given enough time, we can do that again. Creationism will eventually be abandoned and evolution (or a better, more unifying theory yet) will be adopted...universally. The human condition marches on...

Brian and I have been on vacation for the last two days and have accomplished nothing. We both have this weird stomach bug that makes us a little reluctant to leave our apartment. Let's just say that finding a public washroom in Daegu seems to be a difficult feat. We have slept a lot and read a lot and eaten very little. It sucks because it's not very often that we get days off work, but what can you do? We are hoping to do more tomorrow and maybe go to the museum or at least downtown.

1 comment:

Suzanne said...

Hope you guys feel better. I know you'll have an easier time once your bods get used to all the new bugs and food. Have you asked about the incidence of stomach cancer in Korea? When I was there, it seemed that people were concerned that the combo of gochujang and soju is particularly to blame when ingested long term.
Book suggestion: the new David Sedaris book - Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim