Friday, July 14, 2006
The Da Vinci Code and religion
Now that the Da Vinci Code movie has bombed, failing to live up the hype preceding it, it might be a good time to reflect on the whole phenomenon initiated by Dan Brown, the author of the runaway best-selling book.Obviously the Da Vinci Code has attracted much attention in the last few years since the book's initial release. Although fiction, the mere suggestion that history is not what we believe it to be is intriguing for those looking for conspiracy and another reason to discredit Christianity and the Roman Catholic church in particular. Brown's story provides the perfect rationalization for those who want to doubt and turn away from the Christian religion.
Christians, of course, have been somewhat unsettled by the whole thing. In some countries there were protests. Others have become engaged in the discussion, correctly pointing out and refuting many of the plot's historical inaccuracies and speculations.
I personally have not been particularly disturbed by all of this. If anything it reminds me of the growing movement within our society of skepticism toward the Christian religion. Many look at Christianity as archaic, corrupt and oppressive and barely relevant to the issues that our world currently faces. The Da Vinci Code reinforces these opinions.
Yet, interestingly enough, even the Da Vinci Code does not attack Jesus per se. Certainly it provides an alternative explanation of his life and ministry, but the real criticism is reserved for the institutional church that developed out of his initial movement. This correlates with most people's opinions. They have no problem with Jesus; just the misguided organization that represents him.
The criticisms of people are in themselves no reason to disregard all that is associated with Christianity. Some criticisms may not be fair, and others even use them as an excuse. But, it does point out an important point, that people are looking for much more than religion. And, yet what they mainly see and hear from us are the religious aspects and trappings, and rarely Jesus himself and his counter-cultural, anti-religious message.
