Teaching through fiction & The power of words

I got a comment on last week's post about what my thoughts were on The DaVinci Code, and the correlations that Dan Brown draws between Christianity and Paganism. I have not read that book yet, though I have read his first book, Angels & Demons. While these books are fictional, I do believe that valuable information can be transmitted in fictional form. Fables, allegories, metaphors, all these are ways that information can be passed down in a way that is easy to remember. I feel that some people would want to discredit Brown on the grounds that his information is in the form of a novel. But, does this make it any less pertinant? I don't believe so.

None of the religious literature that we derive inspiration from is "true" as in "literal." But does this mean that they have nothing to teach us? That they have no power to inspire us? No. Words have always had power, and always will. In the Judeo-Christian mythos, God called the universe into being with words. In Kabbalah, God used the letters of the Hebrew alphabet to map out his plan of creation on the Tree of Life. In the Pagan practice, words are used to focus energy towards a desired end.

In today's world, we are largely unaware of the power of words because we have been inundated with images and noise that distract us from the innate power of the word (written or spoken). I believe that this has happened, and allowed those in power to maintain enormous control over words and their use. By inundating us with images and background noise, our government has silenced our voice and made the first amendment rights almost completely unexercised.