Sharjah: By decoding the connection between religion and science, noted author Dan Brown gave his fans in Sharjah a glance into his world of writing, thinking and the construction of codes in his books.
The Sharjah International Book Fair’s much-awaited session on Thursday welcomed His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, along with hundreds of fans at the Expo Centre Sharjah. Brown, the mind behind the world of codes, dominated the hour-long session.
The American novelist’s six books have sold over 200 million copies, and have been translated into 50 languages. Two of these — Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code — have been converted into Hollywood blockbusters, with his mystery thriller, The Lost Symbol, the next instalment of the movie franchise.
The star attraction of this year’s book fair took his audience back in time to the stage in his life when he first started to question the concepts of religion and science.
Living in a household with a father who saw everything through the lens of mathematics and science and a mother who lived by religion, Brown said he started to question the inconsistencies and contradictions between the two worlds at the age of 13.
He referred to growing up with two cars in his garage, his father’s, which had a licence plate number spelling out the word ‘Metric,’ the international decimal system of measurement, and his mother’s car with the licence plate spelling out the word ‘kuri,’ relating to questions in the bible. Living under two sets of beliefs — the logical and the spiritual — he eventually realised that religion and science go hand in hand.
“Science and religion are partners- they are two different languages attempting to tell the same story,” he said.
Brown pointed out that while science can answer questions about the environment, like the cause of lightning and thunder, we as humans turn to God for questions science can not answer to fill the gaps in our human experiences. Questions such as why are we here? Where do we go after we die?
“Everyone here has had a moment where they have stared up at the stars filled heavens and thought that there is something more than our grasp,” said Brown to his readers.
He pointed out that science confirms everything around us is in a form of energy — a concept both the Bible and the Quran explain as they describe God as being all around us.
Brown referred to ideas from his book Angels and Demons, that highlight the belief that science proclaims our world is a meaningful spec that existed by chance, and the earth happens to be the right distance from the moon, and is placed at just the right spot all through evolution. “Science fails to see God’s hand in this,” he responded.
He also touched on the main question behind his book The Di Vinci Code, which asks what it would mean to Christianity if Jesus Christ was not literally the son of God but instead a mortal prophet. “Our duty as reflective people is to spark dialogue,” said Brown.
People are more similar than they realise, explained Brown pointing out the many barriers created by the differences in culture, language and beliefs in our world today.
He referred to moments such as holding a new-born child or falling in love as universal experiences that make people very similar to one another. “If we are all so similar why are religions so different? The answer is they are not,” said Brown.
“All world religions have at their core the same basic human truths… Creation is better than destruction, and love is better than hatred.”
Brown noted language and the debates on vocabulary and semantics as a cause for differences. With the world getting smaller, it is wrong for people to assume that those with different beliefs to their own are wrong or are the enemy.
“There is nothing in our DNA that predetermines our beliefs- we are born into a culture and we worship the gods of our parents- it’s truly that simple,” said Brown.
Referring to Shaikh Sultan’s statement from his speech at the fair’s opening ceremony — “We have to light candles against the growing darkness,” — the author called on people to educate themselves, ask the difficult questions, and spark dialogue.
The author also commented on the characters in his book, one of which being the fictional ‘symbologist’ Robert Langdon. He said his heroes are usually those who can get out of a situation using their mind instead of their guns.
The author concluded his session by signing a copy of his book for Shaikh Sultan, and promising to revisit the UAE.
“What has brought as together in this space today is books- against borders, cultures, and times. For those who read books, write books and publish books, thanks you.”
