Angels, demons, and a few red flags

Yesterday I started reading Angels and Demons, the prequel to The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The first 100 pages flew by before I knew what hit me; this is an intellectually thrilling and emotionally nail-biting novel. Yet I must remember that as a novel, it is fiction, and subject to bias. Now, I haven't actually read Da Vinci Code yet (it's next in line), so I can't criticize it based on what I've only heard about it from Christian culture, although my friends who have read it tell me that if they didn't have such a strong foundation in their faith the story would almost be believable. Right now I lean towards believing them because I've had an identical reaction to Angels & Demons thus far.

I've had a few significant red flags go up: contrary to what the characters in the book believe (so far), as I Christian I do NOT believe that science is a threat to religion; rather I believe (like the physicist murdered in the first chapter) that science only complements religion. Thus, I don't scoff at the theory (yes, theory) of evolution because I'm worried of what it might do to the Biblical account of creation; I scoff because evolution is so full of holes it would be at the bottom of the Atlantic if it weren't for the blindness of mainstream scientists and their followers that hold the theory up and refuse to let it be challenged. Secondly, I disagree with the assumption in the novel that God, in the Biblical creation account, "created everything in opposites. Symmetry. Perfect balance," such as light/dark and heaven/hell (pg 73). That is simply not true! Dark is not an equal and opposing power to light; it is the absence of light. The same is true for good and evil. Evil is not equal to good; it is the absence of good. The universe is not composed of yin and yang type power. There is one supreme power in the universe--"unmatched, undefeated, and ever eternal"--and that power is God (see the caption below my blog title).

So, my reaction to the novel thus far has been enjoyment, tempered with a few red flags and a refusal to accept some basic assumptions. It is very well-written and intriguing, and I can very well see how less-discerning readers can get drawn into the story and the assumptions/allegations concerning truth and religion. Final take coming soon......