Duc in Altum

As the movie the Da Vinci Code opens this weekend in theaters across the United States, I thought I would finally write about the movie and the bestselling book of the same name by Dan Brown. Although there would be much for me to write about, others have done a wonderful job of addressing the many grave problems with the book and the film. (e.g, Amy Welborn of Open Book)

The phenomena that astounds me the most about this book is just how widespread has been the acceptance of the falsehoods that are presented as so many truths about Christianity. And this "new perspective" on the Faith is being swallowed by countless numbers of people who consider themselves to be Christians. It is such a sad commentary on the state of Christian formation that Christians (not to mentioned others of good will) are accepting as a viable possibility that for instance, Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. This idea is completely opposed to the truths of Christianity. I think that it might even be blasphemous to state it as a fact. This one idea alone should cause believers to put the book down for good.

Unfortunately, it seems that the march of the "success" of the book and movie continues virtually unabated. The positive approach is to see this as an opportunity to speak about the truth of Christ and His Church. There will be ample opportunity with the release of the movie. The long term goal is to change the landscape of religious illiteracy as Dr Richard Umbers described it an interview. Perhaps over time, the "nowness" of the book will fade along with the desire of its adherents to want so much secret knowledge. The problem is that there will be some other neatly package set of falsehoods poised to fill the void. In the meantime, for those of us who profess to believe in Jesus and His Church, will we have done anything to help others to recover from the current lies and to prevent others from not being duped again?