A Christian Response to The Da Vinci Code

Nashotah House Theological Seminary, 2006

 

Lecture 11 (11 April 2006):  Prof. Rev. Dr. Douglas McGlynn

 

Parish Ministry and The Da Vinci Code

 

 

1.   Introduction:  The Da Vinci Code constitutes a serious, frontal assault on the basic tenets of the Christian Faith.

a.       The book has long been number one on the best-seller list and has already seriously threatened the faith of many. The movie version to open on May 19th will be far, far more dangerous.

b.      The influence of books is waning.  The worldviews of most of our people under the age of, say, 40, are formed far more by visual images than by the written word.

                                     i.            Recent research suggests that, while more books are being sold now than ever before, most are being bought by the same 25–30 % of the population.

                                    ii.            Parish churches must acknowledge the fact that the movie poses a real threat, and deal with it.

 

2.   In what ways should parish churches respond to the Code’s threat to the faith of church people and those now moving toward faith?  Three assumptions that must be forcefully rejected:

  1. We must not assume that most people will readily see that its account of Christian origins and Christian history are false.
    1. Our churches are full of people who are well educated in their own professions or academic subjects and yet know all but nothing about the origins of Christianity.  The claim on page one that all the statements made in the book have been carefully researched and are true is the biggest fiction of all, but it has already been received by millions as true.
  2. We must also not assume that all in our churches will know that, should these claims be true they totally dismantle the Christian faith.
    1. There are many in our churches whose understanding of Christianity is so vague that they will not even be offended by the Code.
  3. We must not assume that everyone who is deeply troubled by the Code will openly tell us so.  Many will not; the effect of the claims of the Code will be hidden within to eat away at their faith.

 

3.   There will be some who are especially vulnerable to the effects of the book and/or the movie:

a.       Those seriously looking at the Faith but are as yet undecided.

                                 i.            Intellectual struggle that precedes many a conversion in our day.

                               ii.            For many in the throes of that struggle the Code’s claims will be devastating.

b.      Those who have just about “Had it” with church.

                                 i.            In most congregations, there are  a few people who are by now  actually looking for justification for chucking the whole thing and leaving the Church.

c.       All Christian Teenagers and College students!

                                 i.            Those of them who believe are constantly faced with the worldviews and lifestyles of the majority of their peers.  The claims of the Code will strike powerfully at the roots of their faith in that continuing struggle.

d.      Their parents!

                                 i.            High School and College students will bring home their new-found “knowledge” of the real origins of the Christian Faith, and parents will find their inability to respond weakening their own faith systems.

e.       Those who find it hard to witness to their faith to others.

f.        Those engaged in or contemplating immoral behavior! 

 

4.   In consequence, the Church simply must respond to The Da Vinci Code. But how?  Suggestions include:

a.       Make public mention on several consecutive Sundays of the challenge, publicly labeling the Code for what it is:  a demonstrably inaccurate and frontal attack on the Christian Faith.

b.      Provide books and other written resources that address the Code’s inaccuracies.

c.       Offer classes for adults and teens that address the book and the movie.  This need not be a primarily negative task; it can be done in such a way as to present true Christian teaching to those who have really never heard it.

d.      Make a group trip to see the movie and follow it with an immediate and well-prepared expose of the movie’s inaccuracies.

e.       This needs to be taken into the pulpit.  Why?  Because our only access to more than half of our people is Sunday morning worship.

 

5.   There are great challenges in preaching about this matter:

a.       We must be accurate, and we must do that without being condescending.  Many of our people are, if the truth be known, completely innocent of any knowledge about Christian origins and Christian history.  We have to inform them without making them feel ignorant.

b.      We must inform without creating doubts that folks would not have had were we not preaching.

c.     The greatest challenge of all:  to handle The Da Vinci Code and still be preaching the Gospel.  It is not enough to refute Dan Brown; we must also hold up Jesus Christ.