Not one to usually jump on bandwagons of any sort, I was curious enough to pick up a copy of The Da Vinci Code, mostly to find out what was so controversial about it.
I'm not the conspiracy theory type, but I've been half-awake enough to have heard of the whole Mary Magdelene thing. Please don't pretend that this is an original idea. It is not shocking. The possibility of a woman being centrally featured in The Last Supper is a pretty popular theory, or so I thought.
So why are people picketing the movie?
The novel was fun. Because it was a novel. Not a textbook. Not a historical document. Fiction. I thought it was pretty great fiction. It sounded probable, which is what makes ficton good. Personally, I'm not a fan of fiction that seems like details are pulled from thin air. I want it to feel grounded in truth. That doesn't mean that it is truth. It just feels like it could be.
The last thing Christians should be doing is protesting. We should be excited that people are interested in the life and historical significance of Christ. And instead of wasting our time directly attacking the book and debunking the theories presented, we should probably just introduce them to the real Jesus.
Instead of buying out theatres showing The Passion or boycotting The Da Vinci Code, maybe we should take some responsibility for how the world sees Christ.
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9 comments:
Are you suggesting that I "love my neighbour as myself"?
Shocking, I know.
protesting a movie is nuts - that's my theological word for it - it's simply stupid - it didn't work or do anything around "the temptation of jesus" or any other jesus film, that someone or somegroup decided we should protest.
now i think we can use the film as a jumping off point for talking about the real jesus and about the real bible not the ahistorical mumbo-jumbo that brown serves up.
any grade 7 kid can check brown's facts on the internet and find holes big enough to drive a mack truck through.
the issue with the novel & therefore the film, is the statement on page 1 where brown says that " all" depictions of art, etc (i don't have a copy of the book in front of me) "are accurate." - bunk. there are more inaccuracies of art, of history, of geography, than you can imagine. The guy simply didn't do his homweork.
i think a book/film like this is more useful than Narnia as a discussion starter. that puts me on the outs with a lot of people, but so be it.
just as there is so much hype / over-hype around this film; there is so much hype / over-hype among some christian groups of the big film as the great witnessing tool - i.e Narnia, The Passion, end of the Spear... whatever comes next
bunk - lets live the mystery - christ in us the hole of glory (Col 1:27)
thus endeth the rant
I appreciated the rant, anonymous. Thank you.
And yes, I agree, I think films like this are better at starting decent conversations with people than films that people have written off as "Christian," just as "Saved" was a better way to talk about being a Christian teenager than "7th Heaven" was. "Saved" got people talking. They reacted to it.
Just to clarify: I do think it's important that we understand the truth vs. fiction in a lot of the Da Vinci stuff. I just don't think we should use it to attack the film. Engage is all. And listen carefully to the real questions behind the questions.
You said that we should simply introduce people to the real Christ... I agree... but isn't it sorta necessary to explain to people that the Da Vinci Code Jesus isn't the real Jesus? Otherwise people will think that the story and message of Jesus, like many other ancient historical and religious heros, has been embellished for effect, and as a result, they will continue to treat the Gospel as a clever work of fiction.
Hey Brahm,
I completely agree, we should differentiate between Jesus and Da Vinci-Jesus. But I think we need to be really careful with how we do so.
We need to be careful to not get sucked into just proving some author wrong. We come off as defensive. Instead of proving who and what Jesus isn't, why not introduce people to who he is? Sometimes we get so caught up in historical details and scientific proofs that we forget the most important part: People need Jesus. Jesus died for people. He loves them. He wants a relationship with them. Whether or not he was born on December 25th.
Thank you for your clarification. I read Da Vinci Code... such a great book. I'm looking forward to the movie.
hey nadine -
good post. i like. i have the book on my to-read list, and might see the movie too...
have you checked out davinci.thelife.com? it's a site devoted to discussing the issues and what's true/not true.
oh, and i've been placed on UBC campus! so only a few more months of ontario life...
p.s. Jesus wasn't born on December 25th???
jokes.
i respect your approach to life and love and faith in Jesus :) and i wish i could see you instead of just blog-stalking. and i'm not sure why i didn't delay hitting the publish button for 30 seconds while i came up with these thoughts.
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