What is the Proper Christian Response to The DaVinci Code Movie by Stacy L. Harp">What is the Proper Christian Response to The DaVinci Code Movie by Stacy L. Harp
In a few weeks Dan Brown’s best selling fictional novel, The DaVinci Code, is going to hit the silver screen. This event has a lot of buzz surrounding it not only from the mainstream media, but also from various Christian leaders. Some Christian leaders are touting this movie as a great evangelistic opportunity for the Church to be able to “give an answer as to what they believe about Jesus and why”, and these leaders have prepared numerous materials to help uneducated Christians become informed about the myths in Brown’s novel.
Other Christians, are having a holy cow about the upcoming release of Ron Howard’s sure to be masterpiece, and are urging people to “Stop the Da Vinci Code”. Who is right?
Here it seems that in the Christian culture we are absolutely divided on the issue of whether or not to tell fellow Christians to see this movie, that is fiction, yet many who are unskilled in their thinking, will think is truth.
On the side of engaging the culture for Christ and helping believers to be equipped in being able to answer questions from viewers of the movie, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida has produced a wonderful new DVD called The DaVinci Delusion which will air nationwide in May.
Dr. Kennedy has brought forth some of the nation’s leading biblical and cultural experts in this DVD to help expose the truth about what Dan Brown’s novel really teaches. An hour in length, The DaVinci Delusion, skillfully addresses the following six issues: Errors, Art, The Four Gospels, The Canon of the New Testament, The Deity of Christ and Mary Magdalene. The wonderfully produced DVD also highlights some of the nation’s brightest biblical thinkers including Paul Maier, Kerby Anderson, Gary Habermas, Erwin Lutzer, Darrell Bock, Lee Strobel, Sandra Miesel, Amy Welborn and Janet Parshall. A definite whose who of Christian personalities and scholars.
Dr. D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe have also written a small pocketbook called The DaVinci Myth Versus The Gospel Truth that can easily be read within the span of an hour. Other popular titles exposing the DaVinci Code’s lies include Cracking DaVinci’s Code: You’ve Read the Fiction, Now Read the Facts by James Garlow and Dr. Peter Jones, Breaking The DaVinci Code: Answers To The Questions Everyone’s Asking by Darrell Bock and a great fact checker book called The DaVinci Codebreaker by James Garlow.
On the other side of the issue, hoping people will stay away from the movie theater and not see the upcoming movie is Ted Baehr of Movieguide. Baehr is so opposed to people seeing this movie that he has written a 43 page white paper defending the gospel of Jesus Christ. (PDF).
Baehr opens his white paper by asking the question, “In less than two months, war on Christianity will be declared. On which side of the battleline will you stand?” The implication is that if you see the movie then you are against Christianity, but if you don’t see the movie then you are on the right side and not warring against Christianity.
Baehr gives four top examples as to why he believes he is not overracting to the movie. The following:
THE DA VINCI CODE presents blasphemous fiction as fact in a deceptively convincing fashion
THE DA VINCI CODE denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, claiming He was no more than a mortal prophet
THE DA VINCI CODE alleges Jesus married Mary Magdalene with whom He had a child
THE DA VINCI CODE falsely claims the Christian church has historically hidden these “facts†through deception, murder and conspiracy
These are serious errors to be sure, and Baehr begins his argument against seeing the movie by citing Philippians 4:8 which says, “Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise – dwell on these things.â€
He also gives some other things that Christians can do to “engage the culture” including seeing another movie on the day that The DaVinci Code is released. He suggests seeing Over the Hedge, a definite family movie and nonoffensive to Jesus Christ. He also suggests watching an older version of a movie about Jesus or writing letters to your local newspaper or to the movie studio producing the film.
One thing is sure, Christians are divided on how to respond to this upcoming heretical Jesus-bashing movie. While some believe educating the Church and equipping them to directly engage the culture and those who will see this movie, others are suggesting to turn Hollywood away and giving your money to something that does not offend Christ or His followers. Neither side is wrong, just different. Regardless of the side you choose, remember to make your decision based on your love for Christ and conviction of truth.
Da Vinci Code Evangelism
Just got this in email and wanted to pass it on … The world is ecstatic with excitement about a book and movie that attempts to discredit the New Testament, and (unbelievably) Hollywood has had the audacity to use, “Use…
[...] But not with protest! As Daniel Radosh noted earlier this week, there’s a nascent movement to attack The Da Vinci Code not in its message or pocketbook, but in its Monday-morning box-office numbers. Taking a page out of the Evangelical playbook that has found it more effective to promote items you like than to protest those you don’t, some Catholics are pushing for mass-attendance at the only film opening opposite The Da Vinci Code, the family-friendly cartoon Over the Hedge. Thus far, the effort is only suggested or cited in a relative few outlets [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (yes, that’s not very few — but fewer than the hundreds you’d expect if the effort were really taking off)], though some of those outlets are fairly mainstream. It’s an interesting approach and one that, if it had more momentum behind it than it seems to, could have a serious effect, as it ties into the particulars of Hollywood economics. Of course, it seems impossible at all to stop the juggernaut that is The Da Vinci Code: those 40 million book-buyers aren’t going to Over the Hedge. Radosh writes: It’s a slightly more sophisticated approach (and the low-key grassroots element means that nobody outside the church will notice when it fizzles), as is the slew of books aimed at refuting the evidence of the DVC (expressing your ideas is always better than shutting out other people’s), but, frankly, the most sophisticated thing Christians could do is to be more secure in their faith and not get into a panic about a stupid summer movie. [...]