I’ve read the Da Vinci Code. I plan on seeing
the movie, which I hear is better than the book. I liked the book. It was a fun
read.
I have no interest in discussing Dan
Brown’s scholarship or lack thereof. Anyone who
paid attention in seminary has heard of these extra-biblical sources and
knows that Mr. Brown’s book is an adventure story and not a biblical or
historical treatise. The Da Vinci Code has roughly the same relationship to
biblical and church history that James Bond has to the world of secret agents.
And hey, what’s wrong with that? It’s a good read. Like a Clancy novel.
If you would like a more careful analysis
of the claims that Dan Brown makes in The Da Vinci Code, you should drop by
The Christian Century. Their last issue dealt with this
subject very thoroughly. Take
a look
here,
here,
here, and
here.
I’m interested in two larger issues that this
whole Da Vinci Code debacle has brought to my mind. The first is interesting,
but the second is more important.
First, when will religious groups finally
figure out that publicly denouncing a book or a movie is the surest way to
guarantee its success? Religious people never seem to understand that the world
is filled with people who do the exact opposite of whatever they suggest. Hell,
I'm one of those people myself. If I hear that church people hate a movie, I'm
in line for tickets on opening day. Has the Church forgotten Salman Rushdie? Would any of us
know that name if he hadn’t been condemned by the Muslims? Has the Church
forgotten Martin Scorcese’s movie, “The Last Temptation of Christ?” In that case, the
Church in America single-handedly turned a mediocre movie into a blockbuster hit.
Nice move Church. Perhaps you should have added
some basic chess lessons to your seminary curriculum.
But whatever. If the Church wants to make a lot
of money for Dan Brown and Ron Howard, what do I care? Both the book and the
movie will be off the radar in a few months. Nothing will have changed.
The second thing I’d like to mention is more important
for the Church to consider. Christianity is a major,
world-wide religion. It is 2000 years old and is the largest common expression of
spirituality in the history of humanity. Does the Christian Church really need
to worry about a book and a movie? These things are here today and gone
tomorrow, almost literally. The Christian Church has withstood the Roman Empire,
medieval Christianity, and the Age of Enlightenment. Somehow the Church even
manages to survive its most dangerous challenge - scandal, decadence, and
corruption within its ranks. Will Dan Brown now topple us?
I understand a carefully worded response to
scholarly inaccuracies, but I don't understand the anger, the outrage, and the
hoopla. Anything more than a gentle, factual correction is as silly as if George
Bush were to show up at Patooka Elementary School with the secret service
because a 4th grader said something mean about him. It's as silly as if Ron
Howard and Tom Hanks were to show up at my door, screaming at me for lifting a
Da Vinci Code graphic from their website. Why would they bother? What threat am
I to them?
The best and only appropriate response for the
Church is to be about the business of the Church. Don't we have, I don't know,
CHURCH things to be doing? Or even better, human things to be doing? If our love
of humanity was as radical as Jesus called it to be, then we would never have
to say a word.
In my mind, every time the Church responds to
something like this with angry words, it is a bold indictment of our lack of
active love, and therefore lack of relevance in this world.
rlp
Salman Rushdie
The Last Temptation of Christ
