One of the reasons that the Da Vinci Code has been so hugely successful, apart from a sense of mystery and intrigue, to my mind, is the innate wish of any human being to find GOD. The data that has been used as the premise for the book may be right or wrong but that's not the issue
For some the urge to find God and a deeper meaning to life is strong enough to lead an intensely spiritual life. For others the urge lies suppressed beneath the busy lives that we live. A book like the Da Vinci Code opens that little window in us through which we try and search for answers. We are reading and constantly challenging our own notions and what we have been taught on religion, God etc etc, irrespective of the religion. Christians will feel more strongly since it is their religion that is being discussed here. Why is then there such a strong and passionate debate on the book?
As a Hindu I find it easier to attempt to understand the reason. I am God and He is me - that's the essence of what our religion teaches, and is the principle premise of our religion. Blasphemous thought some would say! It is extremely difficult to understand this concept. If I am God than who is God? If I am the perfect ONE why would I then need GOD? Questions like these and a host of others will come to your mind. We cannot imagine a God who is like us. We cannot bring Him down to the human plane and still see Him as God. Our definition of God is different! God has his own abode, a place much higher than the human plane and someone whom we look up to. That’s the reason for the passionate debate! We debate for our notion of God! We disagree and write texts that show how Mr. Brown has been wrong in his data. Those who accept the book do not necessarily accept the data but can somehow inwardly relate to God on a human plane. For others the very notion of God on a human plane is abhorrent and they strive to put Him on a plane that is higher than us, a place that is rightfully His. This debate takes many tones – religion, facts, history etc, but each comes back to the very heart of the debate – Our definition of God!
