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The Da Vinci Code
May 1, 2006
Dear Friends,
You may have already been engaged in discussion about Dan
Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code. It is going to be
released as a blockbuster film this month and so the story
is even more likely to be in the public eye.
The book is about a Harvard Professor of Symbology
following clues to crack a secret code. Set in the Louvre
Museum in Paris and then in London, it is a fast moving
scene of murder and conspiracy. You may enjoy that kind of
novel, especially as every chapter ends with a
cliff-hanger!
It is also of special interest to us as Christians because
the subject matter of the secret code is about Jesus. Dan
Brown is suggesting that the Church kept secret some facts
about Jesus, - particularly that He was married to Mary
Magdalene and had a daughter and on top of that, that it
was the Church who invented the idea that Jesus was God
over three hundred years after He lived on earth!
Now that may make interesting reading but it is only a
story invented by Dan Brown to make a good read and sell
books. There is absolutely no evidence that Jesus was
married and had a child but that is of less significance
than the fact that during the lifetime of Jesus people
began to recognise Him as both Divine and human. That
incredible truth is at the heart of what we celebrate at
His birth at Christmas and His Death and Resurrection at
Easter. The fact that He was both one hundred percent God
and one hundred percent Man meant that He alone provides
the means of restoring us as fallen people to God our
Father.
The difficulty comes if people believe as factual some of
these things written in The Da Vinci Code just because some
of the settings they are in are real. It would be rather
like saying that the love story in the film Titanic between
Jack and Rose was factual just because it was in the
historical setting of the sinking of the Titanic where the
film makers had taken the trouble to make such things as
the crockery on board ship as authentic as possible. The
setting was real but the love story is fiction and the same
is true of The Da Vinci Code.
As Christians we could become very upset that so many false
things are being said about Jesus. On the other hand we
could see that this is a wonderful opportunity to engage in
debate with other people concerning the truth about Jesus.
Therefore I urge you to take some interest in this book or
the film version so that you are able to talk with friends,
family or work colleagues. It is an interesting fact that
films about the bible or Christianity have the ability to
draw vast audiences and so we will do well to be prepared.
In order to help us with that we have decided to use the
Café Evening on May 7th prior to the launch of the film to
talk about some of the ideas in the book. You do not need
any knowledge of the book to come as we will explain the
issues during the evening. Please pray now that the
opportunities this book will give will be used for good.
With warmest Christian Greetings
Kath Pawlett.
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