The Da Vinci debate
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By BOB REEVES/Lincoln Journal Star
When Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” came out last year, it got a big boost from Roman Catholics and evangelical Christians, who packed theaters to see the film about the last days of Jesus’ life. The opposite is the case for “The Da Vinci Code,” the Ron Howard film based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel of the same name, which opens Friday.
Even though the reaction to the two films is 180 degrees apart, the Christian response to “The Da Vinci Code” may help make it an even bigger blockbuster than Gibson’s film.
Archbishop Angelo Amato, a Vatican official, has called for an organized boycott of the film because Brown’s book and, therefore, the movie are viewed by church leaders as a direct attack on Christianity and the Catholic Church.
Many Protestant pastors also are urging their parishioners not to attend the film, arguing that by staying away they can show Hollywood that anti-Christian themes are not acceptable.
But many evangelical leaders are taking a different approach, encouraging Christians to see the movie but giving them ammunition to refute the misleading information about the Bible, church history and Jesus that were presented in Brown’s book and presumably will be in the film as well.
Lincoln’s Messiah Lutheran Church, a congregation of the conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, has taken the latter approach. Last year and again this spring the church offered a class, “Da Vinci Code: Truth Revealed,” to arm believers with information to counter assertions in the book.
The course, created by Messiah pastor the Rev. John Kunze and former pastor the Rev. Luke Biggs, seeks to refute many of the most startling points raised by the book, such as questioning the divinity of Jesus, the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had a child, and the contention that the Bible was put together by the Roman Emperor Constantine to solidify his political power.
“We tell people that it’s OK to go to the movie, but they need to know there are several things that are distortions of biblical and historical truth,” said Gary Dunker, a Christian author who is teaching the class this spring. “The movie can be an evangelical tool. It raises questions that can spark a discussion with people about faith and give Christians an opportunity to share the true Gospel.”
Local Catholics are being urged to stay away from the film, however. In answer to a reader’s question last month, a column in the Southern Nebraska Register, the official newspaper of the Lincoln Diocese, told Catholics they would be committing a mortal sin if they saw the film.
Father Mark Cyza, a priest at Cathedral of the Risen Christ, recently taught a class about “The Da Vinci Code” to inform Catholics about the book’s errors.
Catholics should avoid both the book and the film because they present ideas the church considers blasphemous, Cyza said.
“The book says the church is the biggest fraud in human history and that sacred Scripture is a big lie,” Cyza said. “He (Brown) is not only insulting our intelligence, he’s insulting our faith. Why should we pay $8 for a movie ticket or $20 for the book for him to insult us?”
Messiah’s Dunker argues that it’s good for Christians to read the book and see the movie so they can be prepared to answer questions from others, especially non-Christians.
“There is so much misinformation out there, it gives us a perfect opportunity to evangelize,” he said.
The Messiah course is available on DVD and is being sold to other churches for use in classes or for individual study. The DVD includes comments from Paul Maier, a noted biblical scholar and early church historian, who counters many of the claims in “The Da Vinci Code.”
Maier agrees that Christians ought to read the book in order to know the enemy they’re fighting. “It’s important for Christians to know what’s in ‘The Da Vinci Code’ as well as the arguments they should bring to bear” in refuting it, he says in the DVD. “We can point out that, simply on the basis of facts, here is a novel that has taken terrible liberties with the truth.”
Maier contends that the controversy surrounding “The Da Vinci Code” has boosted its popularity, just as the controversy about “The Passion of the Christ” made people curious to see that movie. “Controversy is the mother’s milk of success,” he said.
Rita Lester, who teaches comparative religion at Nebraska Wesleyan University, agrees that “The Da Vinci Code” has many factual errors, but she said it was valuable because it has provoked an interest in early Christianity and the history of the church. “Part of its appeal is that it taps into a general popular sentiment that is deeply suspicious of the organized church and the Catholic Church in particular,” she said.
The book builds on people’s love of conspiracy theories and also the concern about anti-feminism in both Catholic and Protestant churches, she said. “Many people are disappointed about what they believe is the sexism of the Christian Church.”
“The Da Vinci Code” is “a fun read — I couldn’t put it down,” said the Rev. Steve Griffith, associate pastor of Saint Paul United Methodist Church. “I don’t think the novel is a good resource for learning about early Christianity, but if it provokes some interest, that’s great. Then people will go to other resources to learn more.”
The Rev. Jim Keck, senior minister-elect at First-Plymouth Congregational Church, also called the book “an enjoyable read,” but added that he was uncomfortable with the way it portrayed certain aspects of Catholicism. “I want us all to have an appreciation of our Catholic brothers and sisters, and it could have negative effects,” he said. “It’s good if it promotes a healthy dialogue.”
On the issue of whether Jesus was married, Keck noted that the Bible itself says little one way or the other about Jesus’ domestic life. “For me as a pastor, it’s not a big issue,” he said. “It doesn’t make Jesus any less the son of God for me if he was married or had a child. I’m a little at a loss about why that would be so controversial.”
A recent poll by Leadership, a popular magazine for pastors, showed that 53 percent of churches surveyed were planning sermons, classes or seminars in response to the film.
The Rev. Craig Walls, pastor of SouthPointe Christian Church, announced that he would preach a three-week sermon series on “The Da Vinci Code” to coincide with the movie’s opening. Topics will include how the biblical canon was formed, the divinity of Jesus and the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus’ ministry.
At the cathedral, Cyza is concerned that some Christians who are not firm in their faith or their knowledge of church history could be led astray by the book and movie. “People say, ‘It’s just a work of fiction,’ but if we think about it, words mean things. The vehicle God has used to transmit his revelation (in Scripture) is words. We have to realize that words affect people and can have a positive or negative effect.”
Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of the Lincoln Catholic Diocese has spoken about being at an event in St. Louis when a woman came up to him and said, “I know the truth now — I read ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and I’m not going to believe any more of your lies.”
That’s an example of how the book can “sow the seeds of doubt” in those who read it, Cyza said. “You don’t have to experience evil in order to refute it. You have to ask, ‘Is it pleasing to God if I go and watch a blasphemous movie or read a blasphemous book?’”
And so the debate continues.
Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar.com.
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