It seems to me that censorship takes so many different forms that it is hard to keep up with them all. All it takes is a unique point of view and some group will find fault with it.

* Wizards and witches?…No, my child shouldn’t read about that!
* The church hierarchy is human?…No way!
* An alternate theory to the life of Christ?…It isn’t possible.

Why don’t Catholics just go with the flow and realize that these books being written are FICTION?

Something that was supposed to be taught in school is the difference between fiction and non-fiction. I believe Catholics (and several other denominations) should have a quick brush up on the definitions of these two terms:

Fiction: Literature concerning imaginary characters and events. (See that…imaginary.)

Non-Fiction: A factual literary work.

The most recent uproar is surrounding “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown. It began when the book was first released and is now making a comeback due to the big screen release of the movie.

Some of the thoughts put forth in the book are:
* Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and wanting her to be head of the church.
* There are secret organizations inside of the Catholic Church.
* Several secret meanings hidden in artwork, children’s movies, etc.

However, last time I looked, “The Da Vinci Code” is shelved in the FICTION section of the library. (I am a librarian, I should know.) That means that this book is not true…so why are religious persons taking it as “gospel”?

I personally don’t believe the Bible should be shelved in with the non-fiction. I can see it possibly being shelved as “historic fiction”, as some items have been proven to have happened. The bulk of it cannot and will never be proven as fact, so I don’t know how it can be considered a factual literary work.

So, to all the “Harry Potter” fans, “Da Vinci Code” fans, and all the fans of book that these groups are trying to take off our shelves…KEEP READING! If these groups were so comfortable with their ideas, they wouldn’t be so all-fired up about taking away others.  By Rebecca Lanham