I finished The Lost Symbol.  I was greatly relieved to find out there was a twist. 

The book raises a lot of interesting questions about the nature of God and man.  Most of points were not new ideas to me.  I was brought up as Christian, so when I think about spirituality I use Christian vocabulary, but I have also been through AA and studied other religions.  I believe there is a Power Greater than Ourselves, without which we are unable to make positive change in ourselves, and I see no conflict between being a scientist and my belief in that Higher Power.  In fact, the more I study science the more I am convinced in an all powerful creative force which gives things a push in the right direction every now and again. I believe that science is leading us on a path toward "touching the face of God".  He would not have given us all this intellect and all these talents if He did not want to meet us someday as equals.

I was also thinking about the divisions which exist between those world religions.  The Washington Monument features strongly in the book.  It made me think about the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament.  God struck the builders down for trying to reach heaven, and punished them by making them speak in different tongues.  The world's religions are all talking about the same things; peace, love and enlightenment. It is the "Babel" that keeps us from really communicating.  Think of what could be accomplished if we understood each other and every person was able to use their intellect to their highest capacity.

John 1:1 says,  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  The novel centers around the quest for that Word.  What if the Word is Man?