Selling his brand of salvation: the novel The Da Vinci Code not only attacks the basic tenets of Christianity but promotes a religious outlook based on free sex.(DA VINCI CODE)

Before Dan Brown penned his fictional work, The Da Vinci Code, most of the world was happily ignorant of his existence. Having written other books few people had read or even heard of, he hit upon the idea that has made him a phenomenally wealthy man. The book is now the subject of a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks.

When the book emerged, it was, of course, a sensation. Reviewers loved it. The cognoscenti were amazed. Feminists got the vapors. With the movie, the "buzz" was even more. However, critics trashed the film. Early reports from Cannes had the audience of critics laughing at inappropriate moments and booing at the end, and the Boston Globe's ...