I began reading The Da Vinci Code the other day. Since we’ll be discussing it in the Tipping Point Sunday School class over the next few weeks, I needed to read it first hand. It certainly is one of those books that is hard to put down. I’d probably have it finished by now if I did nothing else. (Most readers would probably have finished it in the time I’ve spent so far. I’m a very slow reader.)
Would I recommend it? I’m torn here. So I need to qualify my answer.
I don’t want to add to the hype. Dan Brown, Doubleday and Sony have got to be loving all the attention we’re giving it in the Christian community — the old “crying all the way to the bank” smirk. And the movie won’t be out for another week! I really don’t want to contribute to their wealth.
Unfortunately, this book has presented misinformation that is being believed and is undermining the faith of many since few of us have studied the history of the early church well enough to refute it out of hand. Hopefully this will force us to a better understanding of the grounding of our faith in history.
We need to know what is being fed to our culture. We need to be able to give an answer – a thoughtful, reasoned answer to the questions posed to us about our faith, and the history of our faith. We need to know and be able to defend the fact that the Christian faith can stand up to the scrutiny of history, reason and science. We need to be able to discern what is fact from fiction in a story, no matter how well written or how well presented it is.
So should you read it? Should you see the movie? That depends.
It depends on how you interact with books and movies. How well are you able to separate yourself, at least when the book is closed or the credits roll from the emotions and captivation of the story? That is, when it’s all over do you come away having accepted the stories premises as part of your new reality, or are you able to set it aside as just a story – a fictional story? Because, regardless of the implications made on the “Fact” page, it is a fictional story with fictional history.
It has been really easy for me to visualize Robert Langon as Tom Hanks as I read the book. I like Tom Hanks. I like Ron Howard. Who doesn’t? What perfect choices of actor and producer to soften our resistence to the claims of the story! Hollywood is so good at getting us to root for a character or cause in a movie even though it is polar opposite to our own beliefs and convictions.
My suggestion then, if you feel you need to get involved with The Da Vinci Code is that you do so with your eyes wide open and your mind prepared for further investigation of its underlying claims. Treat page 1 (“Facts”) as part of the novel itself. (I wonder if the numbering of the “facts” page as page 1 is Dan Brown’s way of including it as part of the novel itself.)
If you decide to read it I suggest that you borrow a copy from a friend or the library. Or buy it used. If you feel you need or want to see the movie, try a matinee. I don’t know if that affects royalties or not, but it’ll be less out of your pocket.
By all means don’t read or see it to gain any historical knowledge. “…As history, one academician put it like this: ‘It’s the only book I know that after you’ve read it, you’re dumber than you were when you started.'” (Rev. John Ortberg, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church).
In the days ahead I’ll be posting links and some of the information I’ve been gleaning over the last several weeks as I’ve dug into this.
Gary
