The popularity of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code book is enormous; unfortunately, its errors and deceptiveness are also enormous. Some defend it as a work of fiction, but the book insists that the fiction is based around historical facts. Almost nothing in the book is factual, however, and the presentation of falsehoods as facts misleads readers. People think that, in the guise of fiction, they are being let in on secrets long covered up.
It's unfortunate that Leonardo Da Vinci has been dragged into this through misrepresentation of his name in the title and misrepresentation of one of his greatest paintings. Leonardo was not the person portrayed by Dan Brown, but he was a great humanist who made important contributions not just to art, but also to the principles of empirical observation and science should not go overlooked. Atheists should reject the anti-intellectual misuse of Leonardo by the likes of Dan Brown and replace it with the humanistic reality of Leonardo's life.
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