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Seek the Truth -- The Da Vinci Code (I)

The most anticipated movie of the year, The Da Vinci Code, will hit the theaters this Friday. And as you probably know, the book upon which the movie is based claims that Christianity as we know it is a big lie, that we have the wrong Bible and that Jesus was a mere man married to Mary Magdalene with whom he had a child whose descendents live to this day. Supposedly all this has been covered up by the church (i.e. the Roman Catholic Church), while at the same time a covert society known as the Priory of Sion has guarded the proof of the secret until the time is right to reveal it to the world. Once revealed, this secret would supposedly “devastate the very foundations of mankind” (as actor Ian McKellen states in the movie trailer).

At least the movie acknowledges that Christianity is the “foundation of mankind”. But do these claims have any credibility? Is the truth really different from our traditional understanding of Christianity? Did Constantine, in 325 A.D., invent the idea of Jesus being the divine Son of God? Are there more than 80 Gnostic Gospels that predate the four we have in our Bible and which give a very different version of early Christianity? Did the Bible evolve through countless translations and revisions? Was the doctrine of the Son of God being raised from the dead borrowed from pagan religions? Was Jesus married?

The movie trailer ends with the counsel to “Seek the Truth”, suggesting that the theories in the story are true. Dan Brown’s book opens with a statement that the descriptions of historical documents in his book are factual. He has stated on national television that while the characters in the book are fictional, the theories purported by them are historically proven. And many have believed him. Even many Christians have been shaken in their faith by The Da Vinci Code.

There are hundreds of websites and many books that adequately deal with the claims of the Code, so I will not do so here (see my Power Point presentations on this website). For now, let me simply suggest that Christians have nothing to fear from either the book or the movie. On the contrary, Dan Brown and Hollywood may have done us a great favor. First, by bringing such questions to the forefront of cultural dialogue, The Da Vinci Code has provided a platform for us to defend our faith. Just as persecution of the apostles often led to opportunities for them to testify about Jesus (Mt 10.18; Act 4-5; 9.15), so this may bring many opportunities for us to discuss these matters with folks who normally would be completely disinterested. For that reason, I would suggest at least reading the book so that you can be informed. But we must also be prepared to give an answer to such claims (1 Pet 3.15). And that’s the second benefit that hopefully will result from all this. That is, I hope that it will encourage many Christians to equip themselves in the historical basis of our faith. In fact, it already has. So as the movie trailer says, let us seek the truth. And let us become able and worthy defenders of it.