Books today are as popular as ever, maybe more so. It is not long after a book goes to the bestseller list, that Hollywood producers are calling to make it a movie. As the book shelves grow with more and more books, have we lost track of why we write them? In the ‘Truthiness’ issue, we see a raw picture.
Truthiness, the word and usage has been around for along time. Truthiness is ‘that which might not be literally true but just feels too good to resist’1 In this word comes a great big meaning. If it feels good just do it. An expression that has been around for many years. So too, is this expression Truthiness. Meaning in the context of an author, if what you write makes you feel good, no matter whether it is true or not, then go ahead and write it. If what you write is false, but it looks good and feels good, then go ahead and write, then publish it.
It is in this aforementioned thinking that is the raw truth about what the DaVinci code and other books by James Frey represent. There is no doubt the old sayings "don’t believe everything you hear" and "don’t believe everything you read". What is truth?
The Oxford university Press says it this way:truth >n. (pl. truths) the quality or state of being true. ->(also the truth) that which is true as opposed to false. ->a fact or belief that is accepted as true.
-PHRASES in truth really in fact. to tell the truth (or truth to tell or if truth be told) to be frank.
-ORIGIN OE tr+ewth, tr owth 'faithfulness, constancy' (see true, -th2).
Moreover, what has replaced Truth today? Is it money? Fame? Just what has replaced it? Today, Truth is seen as what is commonly acceptable within a society. What was forbidden by a society centuries before, can be accepted by modern society. Within this view, what was True to one generation might not be true to another. When people read the DaVinci code for example, many thought it was a book of solid truth. It was presented as truth. The Disclaimer in the book said it this way:
The Da Vinci Code disclaimer—which says "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." It’s a false certificate, a stamp of limited authenticity on a work of no authenticity at all. The Da Vinci Code is actually built around spurious texts and bald-faced inventions, but the conflict becomes publicity. Factual truth, or the appearance of it, is another tool to make the sale2
The disclaimer says all things within it is accurate. Using this statement of truth, the book became a bestseller. Within this Truth, we see it as a tool to make a sale. To convince people of any generation what they are reading is factual and honest. Now the author maybe honestly deluded by what he believes. He should say, I believe this. He should not present that which is false, or that which is not proven true, as factual. Thus we see, the truth this book held was actually false. Furthermore one writer put it this way:
One can also wonder whether DVCode would have sold so many copies had Brown and Random House not presented so much of the work as fact, and stuck steadfastly to the lie even after so many scholars had thoroughly demolished that idea. It is dishonest at best to trick people into an intellectual bait-and-switch of these sorts3
In addition another writer puts the deception this way upon reviewing the DaVinci code::
For those of us who remember the Doubleday Image books, which were a series of solidly Catholic works, it's sad to reflect on what has happened to this publisher. We have in The Da Vinci Code, God help us, a best-seller which is not only deeply anti-Catholic – indeed one could reasonably call it "hate speech" – but also profoundly corrupt, worse than pornography. Why? Because it is propaganda for what was rightly called in the Old Testament an abomination – ritual orgiastic sex with a "priestess" in front of a chanting crowd. The great Hebrew prophets thundered against this use of sex as a religious rite, and with good reason. Those who got addicted to it were virtually beyond reclaiming. They were not likely to repent when they deluded themselves into thinking that this sin exalted rather than defiled them. Sad that a book advocating such a monstrous perversion should come out of Doubleday. 4
No matter how many books an author can produce, Truth should be the mainstay. If he is writing a novel, mystery, or an article, telling the people who will read it the truth is important. Today we have all sorts of information. On the news and media we see journalists who seem to tell the truth. The news these reporters present a certain bias or slant. The good journalists, however, manage to bring that bias down to a unperceptible level. The bottom line for people today is this, is this the truth? Am I hearing what is true, can I believe it? Many people accept things as truth, when in fact they are not truth. Such is the case of books which are presented as hard case facts and in truth are lies. This is where ‘Truthiness" comes to play. This is a term we should remember and avoid doing.
There is a duty for all writers to tell the truth when writing. To be honest and open with those who share what you write. There is power in the written page. Today, let us pursue honesty and not ‘Truthiness", that is writing that which might not be literally true but just feels too good to resist’.
By Dana G Smith
Dana is a freelance writer. Be sure to visit His Watchman Prophecy Blog. ©2005--06 by Dana Smith who also is the Watchman, Editor and Publisher of the Watchman Prophecy Alert News. You can view other articles here Dana also is the President of The Watchman Institute for biblical research which focus's on current events as they pertain to biblical revelation and prophecy. The ministry also works with native pastors in India supporting the indigenous churches there. You may contact him by email.
1.Oprah strikes a blow for truthiness-COMMENTARY By Jon Bonné MSNBC Updated: 9:33 a.m. ET Jan. 27, 2006 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11044071/
2.The Awful Untruth-By Tom Scocca-The New York Observer-http://www.observer.com/20060123/20060123_Tom_Scocca_pageone_coverstory1-4.asp
3.Lying For Dollars -The Da Vinci Crock -Lewis Perdue -http://davincicrock.blogspot.com
4.Voices From The Underground Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (Doubleday, 2003), $24.95, 454 pp. Reviewed by Anne Barbeau Gardiner -http://www.culturewars.com/2004/DaVinci.html
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