DaVinci Code 1

The Source of the Question

This is a continuation of a Twitter discussion that is now too large for 140 characters.  The thread so far:

You:

“I saw the DaVinci Code yesterday. Didn't know story beforehand. Got very upset!”

Me:

“It's just a silly story, an outrageous fiction. Don't let it bug you. Too bad many take it for Gospel though. Don’t eat PB. :)”

You:

“Thnks! My son said his hi school library has it & a teacher recommended it to him....”

What is The Da Vinci Code?

For those who are new to our chat The Da Vinci Code is a curious piece of fiction written by Dan Brown.  It exists as both book and movie.  You can check it out for yourself (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Da_Vinci_Code) or read/watch it yourself.  The wiki plot summary is very accurate.

It is not written from a distinctly Christian worldview, but it discloses an interesting thought pattern and some old-wives-fables or urban legends that the gullible are apt to believe.

It is a fantastic (key operative word is fantasy) yarn set in non-Christian, pseudo-Christian lore, and drawing some absurd conclusions.  As a tale, it is harmless.  As a philosophical, theological system that is believed, it is dangerous, devious, evil, and insidious.  Don’t be deceived into taking it at face value.

The author, Dan Brown seems to like and specialize in this genre of literature.  Since many of his ideas are built around intricately woven conspiracy theories, they must be treated as potentially dangerous.

Beyond all our caveats, it’s simply a murder mystery with lots of twists.  It’s a whodunit.  Perhaps not the best whodunit ever penned, but a decent one.  It will keep you guessing, especially since the conclusions have little resemblance to fact.  It does have some literary entertainment value.  It has little or no philosophical, theological, ethical, or moral value.

What Can or Should We Do?

What should we as concerned Christian parents do when we encounter something like this?

This is the heart of Christian Apologetics.  My suggestion is, study it with your child, or whole family, and refute it page by page.  Your church youth group could even tackle this.  Our kids need to learn to think.  Become “wise as the Serpent, but innocent” too.  Don’t be afraid to engage our enemy Satan, so that “by your good works” teachers, even school systems can be won.  Your church pastor can help with this.  Often Christian radio will deal with topics like this: for example, Bible Answer Man, Focus on the Family, and Catholic Answers.  There are Christian experts who specialize in the analysis of such literature, and I’m sure you can find good counsel.  Contact any of the above three sources and they can aim you in the right direction.  Write me back if I didn’t give a sufficient and pastoral answer.

We should support our teachers wherever possible.  The teacher’s point is probably something like this:

·        It’s good literature, well written, and worth learning from.

·        It has excellent opening, attention-grabbing sentences.

·        It builds a plot to a perfect crescendo.

·        It uses unique figures of speech.

·        It’s written from a ubiquitous perspective.

·        It’s an outstanding example of....

·        It has a level of intrigue, not often found.

These are all good things to learn, and we should support the teacher in them.  We don’t necessarily expect the teacher to share our worldview, but we do want to win teachers to Christ.  The teacher may come from a different church background, use words differently, or face other obstacles to communicating and understanding.  We lead the Christian way by putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes.

The student who comes to class with well thought out plot analysis, refutation of logical errors, and a clear understanding of major themes and conclusions will probably have the amazed appreciation of the teacher.

As always, we should arm ourselves with the Bible and prayer.  The Holy Spirit wants to lead us.  Sometimes we resist following.  Reading through the Bible in our primary language will more than arm us for the battle that is won with “gentleness and respect.”  This is what we want our children to witness in our lives and follow.  The price is not so easy; we have to be the real deal.

What’s Wrong with Da Vinci Code?

The opening set involves the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei.  I’m not an expert in these things.  Make friends with Roman Catholics where you can see the blood of Christ in them and they can see the blood of Christ in you.  From this foundation of mutual Christian respect, we hope to find background information about these movements.  On line helps too.  However, it really does take a village, a Christian village.

The Mary Magdalene Connection

The theory that Mary Magdalene is/was wed to Jesus of Nazareth is patent foolishness.  The Da Vinci Code’s stated evidence is that Leonardo da Vinci’s, The Last Supper, shows it.

·        Careful inspection of the painting itself shows that this is more than quite a stretch; it is simply a bit of subjective nonsense.  This is an excellent place to look into factual details about da Vinci’s famous painting: for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Supper_(Leonardo_da_Vinci)

·        A late fifteenth century painting has little or nothing to say or prove about a first century historical event.

·        The Bible is a carefully protected first century historic document which says nothing whatsoever about any such possibility.  It is not merely remote, it is non-existent.  It is especially important that there is no Biblical evidence Mary of Magdalene attended the Last Supper; nor is such evidence found in early iconography.

·        This forces the proof onto the idea that da Vinci has secret inside information, but no such information or source is forthcoming.

·        While we may not be experts in Patristic Church history, we are unaware that anything written by the Church Fathers or other credible historic sources supports such an idea.  The burden of proof lies with proponents of The Da Vinci Code to produce real evidence.

·        As it stands, this is nothing more than very subjective and unsubstantiated urban legend.

The Knights Templar Conspiracy

The supposed connection to the Knights Templar is also suspect.  The Templars find their origins in the twelfth (or eleventh) century in close association with Christian pilgrimages and the Crusades.  Pilgrims (see Egeria’s Travels in various translations for the journal of a real pilgrim) visiting the Holy Land had two essential needs: protection from bandits, and places to find food and shelter.  Militant Orders provide “police” escort and protection.  Hospitallers provided hospitality.

Our various national Red Cross organizations have a loose history from the Hospitallers who were permitted to wear the insignia of the Red Cross on their clothing.

I do not know if Militants were granted the right to wear the Red Cross or not.  I do know that the Militants fell into disfavor with and were ultimately discredited by the Roman Catholic Church.

I also know that the principal function of the Fourth Crusade was to sack Constantinople.  Western Crusaders rode their horses down the main aisles of Hagia Sophia (Greek: Holy Wisdom) church.

We reject the Templar connection for much the same reasons that we reject the da Vinci theory.  Twelfth century events have little to say about first century history, there is no evidence, and the whole construct is subjective.

Other Conspiracy Theories

Are the Knights Templar connected through the Illuminati to the Masonic Lodge.  This sort of wild conspiracy theory is sometimes embraced by mislead but sincere, well-meaning Christians.  So what?  Even if such wild conspiracy theories are ever substantiated, what does this prove about the first century?  Absolutely nothing.

We will reserve the argument that the Masonic Lodge does not present a distinctly Christian worldview for another day.  But this has little or nothing to do with establishing any historical connection to the books plot.

Since such conspiracy theories run rampant in American society, wise Christians will learn how to examine them factually, and deal with them prudently.

The one conspiracy that we must take seriously is that we have a real enemy in Satan.  Satan is no figment.  The overthrow of this conspiracy rests on the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Savior.  That is where we must always return our emphasis and focus: namely, on the death and resurrection of Christ.  We Christians need to hear the Gospel preached repeatedly because it is so stabilizing and so comforting.  The world is going to go to Hell no matter what we say or do.  Our job is to pull whatever we can salvage, out of the fire.

Is Da Vinci Code an Attack on the Roman Catholic Church?

If The Da Vinci Code is an attack on the Roman Catholic Church, it is not a very effective one.  We Christians just have bigger fish to fry, for example:

·        Learning to love one another.

·        Learning to speak the same things.

·        Finding out how to become one in the Spirit.

·        We’ve been a shambles since, 1054.  Time to fix it.

Don’t Eat PB

Those familiar with the book will recognize that my joke relates to the murder of the chauffeur who is fed peanuts and dies of anaphylactic shock.  The point is simply this: we can have a lot of fun discovering facts and separating them from fiction.  This can become a real family adventure and a way of pointing to Christian truth.  Those who are well-off might even visit these places and see the evidence first hand.  That my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, could be a real hoot.  We have just scratched the surface, but we hope we got you started.

Yours in Christ,

Herb Swanson aka Augie