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Religion

Dissecting 'Da Vinci'

As readers turn pages, churches hope to turn the tables, stripping away the popular novel's claims to find true faith.

By GAIL HOLLENBECK
Published May 20, 2006

INVERNESS - Unless you've been in a coma for the past three years, you have heard of Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 40-million copies worldwide.

Criticism of the book by church leaders of varying denominations, as well as secular historians and art experts, has ignited a flame of controversy that has been fanned by the release to theaters Friday of a movie version directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks.

The book uses murder, mystery and art to tell a suspenseful tale of intrigue, secret codes and a centuries-old cover-up.

So why all the hoopla over a work of fiction?

Ray Cortese, senior pastor at Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church, asked a few similar questions last weekend from his pulpit.

"Dan Brown weaves together a real page-turner," Cortese said. "So why talk about The Da Vinci Code in church? Historians have been critical of Brown's research, mathematicians take issue with it. So how did a book so brazenly wrong with its facts get taken so seriously?"

Cortese answered his own questions.

"Because in the preface of his book, Dan Brown says it's accurate, that it is all researched historical truth," he said. "Cloaked in the suspense novel is an attack on the foundations of Christianity, and that has sparked a debate."

Some of Brown's claims that church leaders find blasphemous are that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, that she was the intended leader of the church but was ousted by power-hungry men, and that the early church did not believe Jesus was God until the time of the emperor Constantine.

Cortese looks at the controversy as an opportunity for his members to share their beliefs.

"Wouldn't it be a great outcome if knowing the Bible would become a priority," he asked, "and if all this drives people to become Bible readers again?"

Some church leaders say debunking The Da Vinci Code is as simple as comparing fact with fiction.

For those who want to do that, Christian apologist Lee Strobel and other Christian leaders discuss the claims in the book on Strobel's Web site, www.leestrobel.com.

An example that Dr. Erwin Lutzer notes on the site is Brown's assertion that the vote by the Council of Nicea in 325 AD to adopt the Nicean Creed, affirming that Jesus has the same nature as God the Father, was very close. In fact, reports Lutzer, of the 318 members of the council, 316 signed the creed.

Jamie Richard, assistant pastor at Seven Rivers, has been teaching a class in response to The Da Vinci Code on Wednesdays for the past four weeks.

"You throw a dart at any page in that book and there's something in there that you could research and respond to," he said. "I didn't want to get into an approach where Dan Brown says this and the church says this. There is solid history behind the counterclaims we could make to the book, but what I wanted to do was to actually go on the offensive a little bit and undercut and expose the rationale and the framework behind some of the claims."

Richard believes there is an agenda behind The Da Vinci Code.

"It's fascinating as you read The Da Vinci Code and some other authors, how inventive they are about putting aside 2,000 years of history," Richard said. "So what I do is go through and try to counter some of the antihistorical claims, but then I say, how did they get to this point of being so far from the historical account of what the church has always believed? I suggest it's because they have an agenda to really promote and propagate Gnosticism. Gnosticism is not really a subgroup of Christianity; it's an alternative religion altogether. With the Gnostic Jesus, there's no cross, no virgin birth, no resurrection - there's no real Jesus."

To expose the agenda of The Da Vinci Code, Richard chose four topics he thought would fit his purpose.

The first week, the class tackled the issue of Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus in light of Brown's claim that the church had antifeminist leanings.

"Let's test the church," Richard said. "How antifeminine are they? Let's start with the gospels. Women are very much elevated compared to their society. Mary Magdalene is mentioned 14 times, and she's actually the first person to see Jesus after he's resurrected. What a great and glorious and important role. How antifeminist is that?"

In the second week, Richard examined the divinity of Christ according to Christ's own claim to be "equal with God" in the Bible gospels and the beliefs of early Christian writers.

Richard's third class addressed Brown's claim that Christianity is a "copycat" religion that copied pagan symbols, rituals and resurrection stories.

This week he taught about the Bible canon, explaining how it was decided which books would be included in the Bible.

When Kevin Ballard, senior pastor at the Vineyard, preached on The Da Vinci Code in April, his congregation and visitors from other churches who participate in the "Fifth Sunday" program were eager to learn more. So Ballard responded by preaching a series of sermons on the subject this month.

"My biggest problem with The Da Vinci Code is that he's actually taking the Gnostic Gospels and saying that Jesus was a teacher, Jesus was a good prophet, Jesus worked miracles, but he's not the only begotten son of the Father," Ballard said.

"To me, that is far more dangerous than saying he was married to Mary Magdalene and had children. It's heresy. And that's where I think it is a diabolical stroke to keep people from entering into a relationship with Jesus - because Jesus is God. He is the son of the living God, and he is the only way to have a relationship with God the Father."

Ballard said he is concerned with the perception of authenticity by The Da Vinci Code and other popular books.

Like Richard, Ballard ordered a DVD and curriculum by Lee Strobel that he used Wednesday evening to help Christians respond to the movie.

"I'm not Dr. Lutzer or Lee Strobel," Ballard said. "Those guys are very well-qualified to analyze history and uncover the deception. Mine is strictly from a pastoral point of view. My job is to equip believers with the truth so they are prepared to give an answer and dialogue with people. A lot of times the churches will boycott things and say they're evil. That's only part of it. We've got to know what's in there and know how to lead them out of deception and lead people into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ."

During his sermon Sunday, Cortese shared his enthusiasm for the opportunities created by The Da Vinci controversy.

"Does our faith have a leg to stand on? Is Christianity credible? This is an opportunity for us to answer important questions about the Bible," he said. "What a great day to be a Christian, when people are spiritually hungry."

The public is invited to services at Seven Rivers this weekend when Cortese plans to continue his "Faith, Fact or Fiction" series and tells his listeners how to "unlock the code."

[Last modified May 20, 2006, 08:18:10]