DaVinci Code

I organized a small team-building event this afternoon to go see DaVinci Code (DVC). It was a decent movie. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I hadn't read the book. It was interesting to see how certain parts of the book were translated onto the big screen but I'm also not sure that the movie would have totally made sense without the prior reading. Even though critics are complaining the movie is too long, I'm not sure how they could have made it any shorter and had it still hang together. Definitely no need to see this movie in the theater. DVD would be fine - and then you'd get all the special features too.

It really amazing to see all the interest and controversy around this book and movie. The movie theater (for a 12:30pm showing) was totally packed. I ended sitting off on the right in the third row from the screen! People are talking about the movie on the radio. Apparently certain Catholic groups want to boycott the movie - which only gives the movie that much more free publicity. I guess this book (just like the Gospel of Judas) has caused a lot of people to question the church and their own faith. If a single novel can have that much impact, it begs the question of how strong those people's faith was in the first place. There is an interesting article on explorefaith.org that says that "if DVC has done nothing else, it has exposed an undercurrent of suspicion and cynicism directed toward the church by a segment of the American public, and we need to acknowledge the validity of their antagonism toward an imperfect and sometimes abusive church." Another very good article points out that "to me, Dan Brown has done a huge service to the Christian faith in bringing these questions to popular culture. Suddenly people are seriously engaged in theological questions…questions about the divinity of Jesus, the inspiration of Scripture, and the development of orthodoxy. Nobody outside of seminary is usually interested in that stuff."

That same article also makes another important point. What if the theories advanced in DVC are true? What if Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene to had children? So what? Does that invalidate who Jesus was or that he was divine? When posed that question, "some said they would feel more connected to Jesus if he had a family like they did. Some felt that maybe the church would have had fewer problems acknowledging women’s roles and sexuality if that had been taught. Still others found it didn’t make any difference to what they believed. Since the Church has always taught that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, nobody felt that Jesus’ divinity would be jeopardized by his being a husband and father. Asking the 'So what?' question helped some to be less afraid and more willing to really engage their own faith." The article goes on to make the point that "the most important thing the Da Vinci Code controversy can teach us is that real faith can survive our questions. We might accept the new thought or not, but real seeking after truth is what Christian discipleship has always been about. If certain questions can’t be asked or if certain answers are not allowed from the beginning, we can’t honestly seek the truth. And if we can’t seek the truth, how will we ever find Him?"

A different article on the site raises the question of whether you need to be certain of what you believe. As Allen Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, puts it, “The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.” This a refreshing perspective (at least for me) because it seems that many people need absolute certainty around their beliefs to have faith. This article discusses why it's often so hard for us to challenge our belief systems.

If all this doesn't give you the necessary DVC fix, here is a list of articles on "deciphering DVC" along with an assortment of others regarding the nature of belief.