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Print Subject: The Da Vinci Code I found[The Da Vinci Code] very well written. I'm a 21 year-old Apostolic college student. I'm a philosophy major so the controversies surrounding the book were minor to me compared to what I face every day. Do you suggest this book is for the strong in faith only, for no one, or for everyone? I think your opinion on this would be greatly appreciated on 90&9 since many people have read or intend to read this well-written novel. In response to this reader’s request and in light of the novel’s continued reign in the book world, I devote this column to an exploration of Dan Brown’s notorious The Da Vinci Code. Though released 21 months ago, it still soundly dominates bestseller lists with over 17 million copies in print. It has inspired countless other books, radio commentaries, and television broadcasts, and it has fueled discussion in reading circles around the world. Given its wide-reaching effects, what better way to start off the New Year than to analyze what could be the most popular novel of its kind, and to try to understand what that says about the place of Christianity and fiction. I’ve just finished reading the novel, an entertaining murder mystery with a religious context or religious novel with a murder mystery as its context? And so we begin our investigation. Was Brown’s motive to create a great novel or make a religious statement or both?
Murder Mystery or Religious Mystery? Long have historians been engrossed with the Roman Catholic Church’s bloody and infamous past. Yet it is the way Brown weaves in mysticism and folklore legends to suggest thousands of years of conspiracy over central tenets of Christianity that have rattled the cages of academics, theologians, and Christians everywhere. Dozens of books have been released in response, ranging from catalogs of the gross factual inaccuracies of the novel to impassioned theoretical explorations into further speculated areas of church history, inspired by Brown’s conjectures. To generalize the specifics, one fundamental question emerges from the novel: is a multi-century-old religion capable of ignoring, hiding, or—worse—misconstruing historical fact and record to serve its own political objectives, thereby deceiving the masses and propagating adulterated church doctrines? The aforementioned books in response to the novel can make their own arguments, but the obvious truth is: yes. History bears record of so many instances where religious leaders changed biblical mandates for political gain that it should come as no surprise to anyone that this possibility exists. The book should then prompt us to look at whether our beliefs and convictions are products of an organization or leader’s mandates or truths learned from divine revelation. Never should Christians be more urgently reminded of the necessity of the Bible as the indisputable basis of our faith. Unfortunately in this novel, Brown drags up dubious pieces of information and sketchy cases to suggest historical inaccuracies, alterations, and omissions of the Bible. Typical of years of attack by academia in an attempt to dispel what cannot be completely fathomed by the human mind, the novel subtly strikes at Christian cornerstones and tries to cast a shadow of doubt on the authenticity of Christian teachings.
The Source of All Truth? The Catholic Church doesn’t come off well here. And as much as Brown throws around a blanket term of “Christian,” his examples of wrongdoing tied to church leaders all point at the Vatican. One has to wonder why Brown would take such an obvious stab at the Catholic church, openly claiming that the church hid documents and re-wrote history according to its own political motives. While he may be right, what is his motive? Catholics have made scholarly refutes, but in the face of recent scandals, some see Brown taking advantage of anti-Catholic sentiment and fueling further repulsion toward the Catholic faith. With such mounting revolt against one of the oldest denominations in Christendom, it seems we’ve reached a place in society where people have no trust in organized religion. On a literary basis, it’s just another novel. But as Christians, we should definitely take note when this much controversy is stirred up by a basic murder mystery. In my attempt to read between the lines, I can’t help but hear a resounding cry from churchgoers all over the world that they are exhausted with handed-down fables and ritualistic traditions not based on the Holy Bible, but men’s whims. Despite humanists’ best efforts to convince us that there are no absolute truths and that all religions are equally imaginary, this book’s controversy seems to show that Christians do know there is something real out there and are desperate for a return to irrefutable truths based on divine doctrine. Welcome the evangelicals and their absolute, non-negotiable adherence to the 1611 version of the Bible. If ever there was a time for evangelicals to advance, our culture all around confirms the need and sounds the clarion call. I just find it especially exciting as a literature enthusiast to see that confirmation arrive in the form of written fiction—a murder mystery novel, no less.
Positive Things about
The Da Vinci Code Also quite interesting is the wealth of information on symbols in this book. If you’ve studied much linguistics, you probably remember how intriguing signs and symbols can be. Brown has found a contemporary method of tying that into popular fiction through cryptography and bringing it to the masses.
Criticisms of The Da
Vinci Code As a Christian, it can be offensive to see basic truths about Jesus reinterpreted. Beyond just faulty scholarship, Brown toys with a very dangerous position in his recasting of Mary Magdalene’s relationship with Jesus and his suggestions that the Bible was compiled in such a way as to hide certain facts. Christians reading this novel may feel their blood pressure rise as they struggle through these claims on their way to what should really be just an entertaining read.
Final Thoughts on The
Da Vinci Code What really strikes me about The Da Vinci Code is not so much the unusual propositions and controversial claims. As our reader initially points out, if you delve into much theology or religious studies at a typical university, these concepts are simple in comparison. What does fascinate me here is the fact that a novel—an unassuming work of fiction—can create such far-reaching waves. Maybe that’s a good thing? It is sometimes said that those things which do not change our faith at least challenge us enough to better understand and solidify it. Perhaps what Christians needed was a good jolt to re-investigate who Jesus Christ was and is and if we really believe the Bible to be infallible. While most scholars have discredited Dan Brown’s propositions on the basis of his flimsy evidence, I think it says a lot about the power of the written word when a text can stir so many people to thought and reflection. Despite my disagreements with the concepts in the novel as a Christian, as a literary enthusiast it excites me to see the power of the book so grandly at work today.
Classics Remembered
For Fun
Lagniappe
ninetyandnine.com © 2005 Lee Ann Alexander ----------- Lee Ann Alexander is ninetyandnine.com’s book columnist. If you have suggestions on topics to explore, email her at Books@ninetyandnine.com. |
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