To all who have read the book. Review on The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

I will refrain from reviewing the book, as it has been quite well covered on MS.

I will however give you some insight into the 2 secret societies this book goes into

OPUS DIE-

Opus Dei is an organization founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer. The stated aim of Opus Dei is to ''spread throughout society a profound awareness of the universal call to holiness and apostolate through one's professional work carried out with freedom and personal responsibility.'' (Encyclopedia of Associations)

Opus Dei is made up of lay members and priests; Opus Dei laity continue to work in the secular world, but remain under the strict spiritual direction of Opus Dei. All Opus Dei members follow ''the plan of life,'' made up of spiritual practices such as daily Mass, rosary, spiritual reading, and mental prayer, as well as Opus Dei prayers and customs.

Despite its seemingly noble intentions, Opus Dei has stirred up controversy in countries all over the world. Families of Opus Dei members are almost never involved in the vocation process, (in fact Opus Dei itself often discourages its new members from even telling their families about their decision!) Also questionable are Opus Dei's recruiting tactics, which are comparable to the tactics used by cultic groups.

Perhaps most controversial is the effort to canonize Opus Dei's founder, Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, who died in 1975 and was beatified amidst substantial controversy in 1992, and was canonized on October 6, 2002 in Rome, Italy

Also controversial in the early 1980's was the granting of Opus Dei to be a ''personal prelature'' within the Church. A personal prelature is an entity within the Catholic Church that is headed by a ''prelate'' (currently Javier Echevarria) and defined by persons rather than by geographical area (such as dioceses). Therefore, local bishops have little control over Opus Dei's membership, activities or practices.

The following practices of Opus Dei are not common knowledge and need to be examined and questioned. T

Corporal mortification : a spiked chain worn around the upper thigh for two hours each day, except for Church feast days, Sundays, and certain times of the year. This is perhaps the most shocking of the corporal mortifications, and generally Opus Dei members are extremely hesitant to admit that they use them. It is a painful mortification which leaves small prick holes in the flesh

DISCIPLINE: a cord-like whip which resembles macrame, used on the prosterior or back once a week. Opus Dei members must ask permission to use it more often, which many do. The story is often told in Opus Dei that the Founder was so zealous in using the discipline, he splattered the bathroom walls with streaks of blood.

Aggressive recruitment / undue pressure to join

Lack of informed consent and control of environment

Alienation from families

are other factors that make it questionable....

PRIORY OF SION

the Priory of Sion constitutes the epitomy of Secret Society Kingdom. Many different stories are told of the Priory. Some religious-based, some philosophical based. The main story revolves around a BLOODLINE. A lineage of Kings in the Line of David and

Soloman that claim their continued existence today in light of the historic

persecutions of their bloodline and family. There are different ''takes'' on what is

really going on with this family today. The main and most obvious story line

was a national best-seller book called ''Holy Blood, Holy Grail'' by Michael Baigent,

Henry Lincoln and Richard Leigh, followed by the ''Messianic Legacy''. Alot can

be learned about this organization by reading these books. But, to farther the

research there are several books that MUST BE READ!! By far the MOST

Important would be ''Pandora's Box'' by Alex Christopher. Next in Importance is

''GenIsis'' and ''GeneSet'' by David Wood and Ian Campbell. After that,

''Bloodline of the Holy Grail'' by Lawrence Gardner.