In Reply to: Re: Illuminating Angels & Demons posted by Oldtimer on May 18, 2006 at 16:31:27:
I watched it last night. What I found most interesting were the interviews with the scholars, especially the one who wrote Illuminating Angels & Demons. That book is an academic treatment of the subject matter that Brown fictionalizes in his book Angels and Demons. Those scholars point out places where Brown diverges from historical facts, which he does, of course, to make his fictional account more mysterious or exciting. I assume that's exactly what he does in The Da Vinci Code. Personally, I think Brown is just out to sell books, not to offer any serious academic investigation. Whenever it suits his plots, he simply makes things up. It's called fiction, and I still don't get what all the fuss is about from certain Christians fearing their faith is being attacked.
As far as the Illuminati is concerned, the program makes clear that there were numerous groups since the middle ages that took the name Illuminati. As one scholar said, illuminati means enlightened ones and so it makes perfect sense that various groups would attach that generic name to themselves. There is even an historical epoch named The Enlightment. There was no evidence in the program of a Jewish conspiracy led by the Illumanti as believed by TF, but I'm sure lack of evidence won't convince TF to disabuse themselves of that ridiculous conspiracy theory.
During the dark ages when the official church persecuted scientists (they weren't called that then) and anyone else who sought "enlightenment" beyond the church's backward teachings, those people were forced to do their work underground in secret, thus leading to the rise of all kinds of secret societies. All of the scholars, however, seem to dismiss any notion that there was a continuous line from ancient Egypt through to the Illuminati, the Knights Templar, Free Masons and even the Vatican's Swiss Guard, as many conpiracy theorists claim. The program ended by focusing on Free Masonry and the fact that about a third of all US presidents were Free Masons. Where have we heard that before? Just remember, this is on the A & E channel, with an emphasis on Entertainment, but it does reveal some interesting factual information.