'The Da Vinci Code'

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- May 19 is the long-anticipated motionpicture premiere of "The Da Vinci Code," based on the popular best-selling novel by Dan Brown. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seminary professors and a retired Lutheran communicator who have read the book and written about it say it's an interesting fictional story, but readers and movie-goers should not assume all of the theology or religious themes are based on fact or are correctly interpreted.
The novel's plot involves a conspiracy by the Roman Catholic Church to cover up the "true" story of Jesus. There are references to the role of Mary Magdalene in Christianity, the so-called "Holy Grail" and the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. While the book has been lauded by many as an action-packed thriller, it has generated considerable concern among Christian theologians for its inaccurate portrayal of the Bible, Christian theology and the church's teachings.
"My biggest concern is that people will forget that this isfiction," said the Rev. Sarah Henrich, professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Luther Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
"It's good fiction in that the author is skilled in creating a believable story. But it is fiction, nonetheless," she said.
"I hope that people remember it's fiction and enjoy it as a novel (or movie)," said the Rev. Matthew L. Skinner, professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary. "It's a fictional story. It also presents a great opportunity for education."
Henrich, Skinner and their colleagues at Luther, Dr. Lois Malcolm, professor of systematic theology, and the Rev. Mark A.Throntveit, professor of Old Testament, are authors of "Decoding the Da Vinci Code," a commentary available as an audio CD.
In an online article, "The Da Vinci Code: A Cultural andReligious Phenomenon," (http://www.plts.edu/articles/stortz/davincicode.htm) Dr. Martha Ellen Stortz, professor of historical theology and ethics, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, an ELCA seminary in Berkeley, Calif., said while she appreciates "a good mystery ... I also winced at a few fictional liberties I feared people would take as fact."
Among the more significant concerns in the novel cited by the professors were the claims that Mary Magdalene had a royal pedigree; that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and they may have been parents; how women are portrayed; issues of sexuality; what actually happened at the Council of Nicaea; and the suggestion of a Roman Catholic Church conspiracy to cover-up the real story of Jesus Christ.
"I found the book frustrating to read," Skinner said."Almost all of the historical claims the book made were just wrong. He (Brown) could have done better research and not sacrificed the story.
"Was Jesus Married?
One of the more intriguing pieces in the novel is the suggestion that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and they may have had children. Skinner said any suggestion that Mary Magdalene is the "Holy Grail," as the novel cites, has long been discredited. The idea that Jesus was married is, however, possible, Skinner said.
"The bottom line is that there is no hard, positive evidence either way to argue that Jesus Christ was married or not married," he said.
Henrich said in early church documents there is no evidenceto suggest that Jesus was married. "However, one could argue that was repression by the church," she said, "but I can't imagine the church agreeing that strongly on anything." At the time Jesus was on earth, it was not unheard of that a preacher, prophet or holy man might have some family ties, she added.
"If he had been married, if he had children, I don't know what to make of that," Henrich said. "What would that mean to us? How would that impact the power of Christ?"
Acknowledging that Brown's suggestion that Jesus was married may be "offensive" to many people, Stortz said she wonders "if this outrage does not mask another religious yearning. We long for a Jesus who shares our humanity. We confess this in our creeds, we read it in our Scriptures, but somehow the Jesus worshipped in our churches is the Christ of faith, removed from the Jesus of history." The picture of Jesus in Brown's novels --including "Angels and Demons," the forerunner to "The Da VinciCode" -- "is startlingly human," she said. Powerful images may spur questions, learning opportunities.
While no one in the United States will have seen the movie version of "The Da Vinci Code" until May 19, Henrich said she is more worried about the movie's power than that of the book, because it combines a story that seems believable with powerful images and music.
The professors believe the book, and now the movie, will result in a variety of reasonable questions and promote healthy discussion among Christians. "People will learn when their interest has been piqued, "Henrich said.
The book has stimulated an interest in Christianity for some people, Skinner said. The book also raises questions about what Christians really believe, the story of Jesus, religious authority and questions of conspiracy, which are "popular in our culture, " he said. Skinner also expects people will ask about the so-called Gnostic gospels which do not appear in the modern Christian Bible.
Henrich said she expects there to be many conversations and questions such as "Is this true?" She also expects that Christians, who will see the film and have visited the places in France and Great Britain portrayed in the book and movie, will ask themselves if the story is persuasive and whether the accumulation of such detail points to a conspiracy.
In her essay, Stortz discusses questions raised in both of Brown's books on the humanity of Jesus, the portrayal of women and power.
"I think both novels tap a deep suspicion of power and the powerful, a tendency to read everything in terms of power and penchant for conspiracy theories," she said. "In both novels, the abuse of power in hands of religious and anti-religious leaders borders on the satanic."
The most important lesson about the book and also the movie is that it suggests who we are in this country, Henrich said. "We love mysteries. We are a suspicious lot, and we imagine that the world is hiding things from us. "See the movie, says retired Lutheran communicator
Robert E.A. Lee, a retired Lutheran communicator who reviewed many films for print publications and a radio feature,"Cinema Sound," said he recalls a "storm of protest" in the Lutheran Church and other denominations when he gave a "semi-favorable" review to the controversial film, "The Last Temptation of Christ," released in -1988.
"My point is that it was worth seeing even though it had fictional excesses," Lee said, noting that Temptation's writers were "testing whether Christians really accepted the dual nature of Jesus, that he was truly human as well as, at the same time, divine."
"(The) Da Vinci Code has a similar problem -- oropportunity. While I have yet to see the movie, I can appreciate that it is bound to offend Christian viewers who cannot tolerate fictionalizing any part of the Jesus story, particularly if it intrudes into the human realm of sex, marriage, procreation. I say to them: 'Good!' Express your viewpoints. Discuss the issues with others. Let the movie industry know how you feel," Lee said.
"But I also would recommend that people of faith read the book and see the movie. What fear is in that? If we realize that faith is not history nor science that (is) based on fact, but on a mysterious gift of spiritual blessing, it may even strengthen one's belief," he added.---
A variety of resources on "The Da Vinci Code" is available at http://www.ELCA.org/communication/film.html on the ELCA Website.