Da Vinci Code movie a target for US evangelicals
Sun May 14, 2006 9:33 AM ET
By Michael Conlon
CHICAGO (Reuters) - America's evangelical Christians who see "The
Da Vinci Code" as Bible bashing at its worst are taking a cue from
Hollywood to attack the story as well as capitalize on the hit
novel's impending movie version.
Largely forgoing boycotts or protests, leaders of Christians who
believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible are turning out
professional videos with titles such as "The Da Vinci Delusion" and
"The Da Vinci Deception Experience."
They are designed to show the perils of blurring fact and fiction
in Dan Brown's bestseller and take advantage of the reawakening of
interest in the Bible it and the upcoming movie have caused among
faith seekers.
"A boycott at this point would not do any good. When you have a
tsunami coming it doesn't help to build a wall," said Dr. Erwin
Lutzer, pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago.
"I have never in my 30 years of ministry had a time when so many
people are interested ... We as evangelicals welcome the debate,"
added Lutzer, who wrote "The Da Vinci Deception" which has been
turned into a video teaching kit on the subject.
He and other experts will appear in a closed-circuit broadcast this
month that will be aired to around 700 churches, to inform
congregations about the book's faults and take advantage of the
debate to promote church attendance.
"This is the engagement option," says Darrell Bock, professor of
New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.
It provides an opportunity for people "to become familiar with the
content of the book and the claims it's making and then being
prepared to respond, by pointing out the numerous factual errors it
contains," he added.
This has become the favored approach among evangelicals, instead of
boycotting the movie, said Bock, author of "Breaking the Da Vinci
Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone is Asking."
By contrast cardinals at the Vatican, who consider the book
blasphemous, have called for a boycott and unspecified legal action
to be taken against the novel and film.
DA VINCI "DECEPTION"
Across the United States on Saturday and Sunday, television viewers
were to be offered "The Da Vinci Deception," an hour-long program
produced by Dr. D. James Kennedy and his Florida-based Coral Ridge
Ministries.
The video, also being offered for sale, exposes "how a best-selling
book threatens to undermine the faith of millions," its promotional
trailer states.
Donald Wildmon, founder of the Mississippi-based American Family
Association which has organized boycotts against TV shows and
companies it considers morally offensive, says the video "should be
viewed by every Christian and shown in every church."
The book, and the film opening May 19, contain the idea that Jesus
sired a child by Mary Magdalene, leading to a clandestine society
that has for centuries protected the identity of their descendants
from agents of the Catholic Church.
Dr. Robert Hodgson, dean of the American Bible Society's Nida
Institute for Biblical Scholarship, says many Christians see the
debate as a great time to promote the Bible.
But there are others who "see a more sinister hand at work in the
movie and want to correct the record and get the voice of orthodox
Christianity out there."
The New York-based society produced a show called "Debunking the Da
Vinci Code" which aired earlier this year on about 300 cable TV
channels.
"Not only do we have the voice of Dan Brown telling us his
reconstruction, (but) we have an increasing Bible illiteracy here
in North America," Hodgson said.
Adds Lutzer of Chicago's Moody Church: "There is a huge battle
going on today on who has the best telling of the Christian
story.
"People want to believe the Da Vinci Code so badly because they
want a Christ who is manageable, a Jesus that is not going to
challenge you or threaten your lifestyle."