THE BOGUS SCHOLARSHIP

The Da Vinci Code has become a monster best-seller with over 40 million book sales worldwide. Now the Hollywood movie based on this blockbuster is due for release worldwide mid-May. The controversial plot divides people between the many who enjoy the fast-paced hunt to decipher a code to reveal the wherabouts of the Holy Grail, and those who criticise author Dan Brown for sloppy research and for putting forward inaccuracies as buried truths

Many Christians are outraged by the plot which claims Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children, and that the Christian religion and the Roman Catholic church in particular, has deliberately suppressed the true original message of Jesus, substituting a set of beliefs which oppress women and independent spiritual searching. Mark Greene, writing in Christianity (July 2004) described the book as ‘a confident presentation of bogus scholarship with enough truth mixed in to create a convincing alternative account’. Dan Brown insists the novel is not anti-Christian but meant to be an entertaining story to promote discussion and debate. In fact Brown claims to be a Christian and says Christian theologians have been key influences in his life. That said, his novel promotes and seeks to restore ‘the sacred feminine’ to religion in general and Christianity in particular. Brown on his website argues that women in most cultures have ‘been stripped of their spiritual power. The novel touches on questions of how and why this shift occurred… and on what lessons we might learn from it regarding the future.’

While many regard the success of the book and launch of the movie as a big threat to Christianity – many believers also consider this is a major opportunity to talk to friends, family and acquaintances about the heart of the gospel.