The most anticipated movie of the summer (and one of the few that isn't a sequel or a remake) will open nation-wide this Friday. The film is of course The DaVinci Code, a big-budget adaptation of Dan Brown's runaway best-seller. The film stars Tom Hanks and is directed by Ron Howard.
The story itself is a murder mystery. The film's heroes, Robert Langdon (Hanks) and Sophie Neveu (played by Audrey Tautou, a newcomer to the American screen) attempt to solve the grisly murder of the chief curator of the Louvre Museum, who just happens to be Sophie's grandfather. Along the way they meet up with a historian named Sir Leigh Teabing (played by Ian McKellan) who supplies them with pieces of a centuries-old conspiracy theory that the Louvre's chief curator may have uncovered, thus leading to his death. The secret conspiracy involves the centerpiece of the Christian faith – the true identity of Jesus Christ.
But don't we already know who Jesus was? What secrets could be so damning that the Roman Catholic Church (or her proxies) would kill for them? Consider whether or not the following could be true:
1. Jesus of Nazareth was a great teacher, a mortal embodied with the spirit of The Savior whose role was simply to reveal to mankind the secrets of the origin of the universe and the existence of an "inner light" within each of us.
2. As a Jew, Jesus of Nazareth was expected to marry. His wedding to Mary Magdalene was kept secret by his disciples in order to preserve his image as a teacher and prophet.
3. Jesus and Mary had a daughter. She was also hidden by Jesus' closest disciples.
4. After Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by the Romans, his body was stolen by his disciples and the myth of his "resurrection" was born.
5. After the crucifixion of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and her daughter by Jesus were taken from Jersualem. Their whereabouts were kept secret. Jesus' bloodline exists to this day, known only to a handful of watchers whose sworn duty is to prevent the truth about Jesus and his descendants from ever being revealed.
6. Many people wrote down the true teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. But these writings were destroyed by the Roman Catholic Church because the true teachings of Jesus undermined the authoritarian, patriarchal version of Christianity crafted by Roman Church under the supervision of the Roman government. The Romans used their own "Christianity" as a tool to conquer and rule their empire. Modern orthodox Christianity is derived from this Roman Christianity.
7. The true teachings of Jesus are contained in the so-called "gnostic scriptures," writings produced by a subset of Christians called Gnostics. These gnostic scriptures also contain clues to the veracity of the marriage of Jesus and provide a more complete record of his teachings. The first nearly complete library of these rare writings was discovered in Egypt in 1946.
In the world that Dan Brown has imagined, the Roman Catholic Church still struggles with keeping alive its fabricated religious traditions, while at the same time working to suppress and destroy any attempt to re-establish the "truths" contained in the Gnostic scriptures.
(ADDED: Scot McKnight notes another tacit premise of the novel, which is that all the "Christians" in the book are kooks:
Then there is also a revelation in this book and in the movie of the sordid lives of religious leaders which resonates with our culture because of what's happened in public.
So we have in this movie and in this book a character names Silas who flagellates himself. And we have this other fellow, and I can't ever pronounce his name, an Italian name, and it's all about how corrupt these individuals are and making people think, “Is this really what goes on behind closed doors in churches? Are all religious leaders sordid? Are they all pedophiliacs? What is going on?”)
Many gifted scholars and writers have tackled the theories presented in The DaVinci Code. I am not going to attempt to rehash their work. Rather, I am going to look at myths of The DaVinci Code and the authentic second and third century teachings of Gnostic Christianity and ask the following questions:
- Why does Gnostic Christianity still appeal to so many?
- Does Gnostic Christianity truly offer a legitimate alternative to orthodox Christianity?
- Is modern Christianity (and especially American evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity) still struggling with ideas that are more Gnostic than orthodox in their origin? The answers to this question may surprise you!
- How can Gnostic Christianity and the myths of The DaVinci Code be used to strengthen our beliefs in orthodox Christianity and the truth contained in the Holy Bible?
I will also be posting an extensive list to good online resources about The DaVinci Code that I have found during my research.
Readers: Your thoughts and comments are welcome. I am a true "layman" and not a Biblical scholar or theologian. I am also part of the Arminian/Wesleyan holiness Christian tradition, and my ideas will reflect the A/W understandings of free will and evangelism. So please feel free to agree or disagree with my conclusions – just be nice!
Hello,
This is vamsi from india. This is to inform u regarding myself and my beliefs. I am originally a Ideal worshiper but i recently believed the god JESUS CHRIST that he won against the death, and he is the creator of the universe.But after listening to ur upcoming movie i was astonished as i heard it.BUT ONE WORD I CAN SAY THAT NEVER REVEAL FAKE THINGS UNLESS U TRULY EXPERIENCE. SORRY IF I HURT YOU.
Posted by: vamsi | June 01, 2006 at 02:11 PM
HELLO,
this is syl from india.i would like to let u know that there are very few who have strong faith in THE LORD.and this what you all are doin is anti-christ movement.if you believe in this remember that all this is the will of GOD and surely it would hav been the will to be revealed in the BIBLE too.so dont corrupt people and stop this non sense of ur's .
Posted by: melly sylvia | June 13, 2006 at 11:31 AM
HELLO. I GUESS THIS IS JUST A COMMENT ON MY CONFUSION ABOUT ALL THIS. I AM NEW TO THE "IDEA" OF GNOSTICISM , HAVE NOT YET READ THE DAVINCI CODE, BUT HAVE RESEARCHED ALOT OF MATERIAL ON THIS SUBJECT. THE REASON I ENDED UP HERE ON YOUR SITE IS, I WAS LOOKING FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF FINDING A CHURCH IN THIS ARE (MUSKOGEE, OK) TO PERHAPS LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT THE GNOSTIC CHURCH ITSELF, BUT HAVE FOUND THAT FOR SOME REASON, MOST OF THE ARTICLES IN THIS AREA ARE "LOST", "DELETED", OR "SCRAMBLED" WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE SITES. I HAVE ENJOYED YOUR ABOVE ARTICLE AND WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE FIRST HAND THOUGHTS ON THIS MATTER. CAN YOU STEER ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION OR SOME IDEAS ON WHERE TO FIND THIS MORE PERSONAL INFORMATION I AM SEEKING? THANKS FOR YOUR TIME... ANNIE
Posted by: ANNIE | September 04, 2006 at 09:43 AM
this roman is true storie's and all stories in this Movie are in Quran , this is Exactlly .........bye bye
Posted by: Xeni | October 02, 2006 at 06:13 AM