Drawing the Line

Muslims all over the world were up in arms when their prophet Mohammad was depicted in unflattering terms last year by a Danish newspaper. In Christendom, the publication of the Da Vinci Code has stoked the same rage and anger over the fictitious description of Christ having an intimate relationship with Mary Magdelene and begetting a child. Well at least in some quarters.

Do we draw the line then? At what point should we allow a fictional depiction of Jesus Christ without stepping foot into heretical territory?

Catholics who know their faith do not need to worry. Dan Brown”s foray into questionable pseudo-theological, Church-led conspiracy to hide the real truth about Jesus’ blood line has been shred into pieces by theologians who matter, both Catholic and Protestant, except those few who insist that the Gnostic gospels, from where Dan Brown’s got his seminal ideas for the book, are as valid as the existing New Testament Four.

I saw the movie and was never attracted to the book. Since everybody was reading it, I did the opposite thing: I avoided it. I still have the same reaction to the Harry Potter series: I do not jump into the band wagon just because everybody is reading the books. I hate the herd mentality and might as well venture out on my own. I digress again.

The movie was exceedingly long, and quite, quite boring. It felt longer than 2,000 years, or the entire history of the Church. I believe Tom Hanks is preparing for his retirement, otherwise, why be part of this lamentable, obviously commercial movie?

I pity the Opus Dei, which were unfairly depicted in the Da Vinci Code. I do not for a moment, believe that they have murderous members, like the monk Silas’ character, among their ranks. In the first place, everybody knows Opus Dei isn’t a monastic order, for crying out loud.

As for the codes and the clues, oh well, c’mmon, you really think Leonardo would go to great lengths to hide his messages through an elaborate system of symbols integrated into his artwork as a full-fledged member of the Priory of Sion? Brown’s reading too much in between the lines and making too much fuss about symbols.

And besides, this Priory of Sion which supposedly has its origins in the Knights Templars during the Crusades is a figment of one Frenchman’s imagination, a Monsieur Planchard who wrote an elaborate membership list that counts Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci as members, and hid this in the National Library in Paris, and titled it the Secret Dossiers!. As one theologian said, if he really wanted it to remain secret, Planchard wouldn’t call it Secrets and wouldn’t hide it in a National Library, of all places.

For this reason, the Da Vinci Code deserves a yawn, except clearly for those who have an axe to grind against the Church, who are convinced the Vatican is really manipulating everything to ensure its survival, like my friend Barry Manilaw.

Those who were calling for its boycott may be overreacting. But I do understand their fears. For one, Brown is talking about the origins of our faith and a scenario of Jesus different than what the church says. After all, it is clearly an attempt, in fiction terms, to undermine the teachings of the church. Brown addresses fundamental questions such as whether Jesus was divine or human, or how the New Testament was established.

The Da Vinci Code is without doubt fiction, (unless you really believe that Mary Magdalene is buried under the Louvre, then you're a freakin' eejit) but you very well know what he’s driving at, and the institution he is accusing of manipulating and hiding basic Christian facts. Unfortunately, no matter how exciting and how much suspense the book and the movie generate, much like the over-hyped National Geographic feature the Gospel of Judas, I remain unconvinced of its main hypothesis.

Dan Brown, whose ideas are being attacked relentlessly from all sides, says rather sheepishly that "You don't have to believe a single word of the story to enjoy it, to engage in the debate, to remain open-minded to perspectives that make us think, perspectives that challenge us to ponder and articulate why we believe what we believe. Who knows? Many of us may emerge from that debate with stronger faith then when we started."

Yeah, right, but in the meantime, his book has sold over 40 million copies and he will die a rich man out of the royalties from the blockbuster movie. Even if he only gets a dollar, which is highly unlikely, for every copy sold, he’s still loaded with Da Vinci money. He might as well have found the Knights Templar's riches himself. That is the catch.