of books and theories

Since I have heard sermons preached about the topic, none of which I wholeheartedly endorse, I figured it was high time I threw my opinions into the mix. I recently finished reading Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and while I have much to say I will start with this: like Michael Crichton before him, Dan Brown wrote an excellent fictional novel that starts from a base of historical fact. Crichton is highly praised for his highly detailed descriptions of science and technology that while typically fictional and futuristic, are grounded with roots of engineering principles and embellished with possibility and probability. Brown has done the same, only he started from a base of historical documents, artwork, architecture, world religions, and ancient mystery from which is woven a highly entertaining and thought provoking story. Weed through all that, and you come away with the simple fact that this book like hundreds of others is just a really good work of fiction and nothing more.

The hype and controversy that has erupted over The Da Vinci Code is actually a bit funny if you think about, because it only serves to drive up intrigue and sales of the book. I've heard different view points from the book's opponents, my favorites being the 'detail nitpicking' and the 'detrimental to faith' angles. The first, detail nitpicking, is where preachers/ministers/pastors/priests denounce the book because of its inaccurate use of church history or reliance on non-canonical scripture (i.e. that which is not in the bible). The second argument claims that the book is dangerous because it could damage the faith of wavering Christians and potentially draw non-Christian seekers away from the church. Personally, I think both arguments are ridiculous and I'll share why.

Let's deal with the nitpicking, which is highly absurd. First, if you are doing this ask yourself a question - why are you criticizing the historical/religious details of a fictional novel? Many times writers might need to fudge the details to make a story work, it kind of goes with the whole fiction genre. The easiest way to debunk the book, which is generally the point of nitpicking, is to lay out the easy cards and remind people that it is a work of fiction. If you need to get beyond that simple statement then you have bigger problems to deal with - as in, either you are grinding that axe way too much, or you have serious spiritual needs in your community that have needed tending for some time.

And that leads us to the second argument, damaging people's faith. Anyone who has been reading my blog for any amount of time knows that this argument alone just rubs me the wrong way. Anything that makes you stop and think about why you believe what you believe, can not be an entirely bad thing. Blind faith is not a place to which you should aspire, you should be able to answer the tough questions you face whether they be external or internal in origin. I actually see The Da Vinci Code as a useful tool, for if you can read what this author poses and walk away with your faith intact and an answer to a hypothetical question, you have better prepared yourself to share your faith with the seeking secular world. Would it bother you if Jesus were married, and perhaps fathered a child? Why? Does is bother you to hear a story that places women on equal footing with men in the Christian faith? Why? I am not arguing that everything in the book has a valid answer and can be useful to your faith, but some of it is trivial. One could get into a circular argument of reasoning when it comes to sections of the book that discuss the efforts of Constantine and later church leaders to essentially rewrite scripture to demonize women and establish the divinity of Christ (as opposed to being a mortal prophet, and married father). The issue is circular because either side in the argument stands firm in the right-ness their belief, and neither has a smoking gun to prove the other wrong.

I rant on about this to say essentially that, I read the book and liked it. Sure, the book raised some interesting questions and posed some controversial ideas, but it is still just a fictional story. If Jesus had been married to Mary Magdalene, it wouldn't change my faith - He is still Christ, the Son of God. Also, I think some of the ideas about the "sacred feminine" and equality of the sexes in spiritual matters is justified and would probably enhance our faith. I am not saying I endorse anything in the book as something to base your beliefs on, nor am I saying that I agree with anything in the book that calls Christ's divinity or life into question, but it brought up some interesting things to think about. Last I checked, thinking is still not a crime, nor a sin.

There are no bad questions, only bad answers...