It's Not About Mary
Cartoonist Scott Kurtz posted a cartoon and a rant today ridiculing Christians' objections to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Personally, I long ago parted company with Kurtz because his humor digressed from blue to obscene, and my former "guilty pleasure" brought only guilt. But I checked it out today after I received this e-mail from a friend:
Well, I had to reply, and decided to post my reply here:
It’s good to hear from you. I’m afraid I’m not siding with Kurtz here. To compare “Da Vinci” to “Star Wars” is absurd because the latter has no pretense of fact. The problem is not that “It’s FICTION,” but that it claims some grain of truth. Dan Brown and Ron Howard make no distinction between the fact and the fiction, and a historically ignorant public will swallow the whole thing not knowing what is what. Calling it fiction is almost as dangerous as calling it fact, though, because the end result is to call *everything* into question, which is exactly what Ian McKellan did in this interview about the movie: http://newsbusters.org/dv.html?q=node/5402
Would I want to see a movie that suggests George Washington was actually King George III of England and that the Revolutionary War actually secured British ownership of America? Now that’s obviously fiction, and there’s no purpose I can see in making such a suggestion. But, in a culture openly hostile to the moral claims of Christianity, could there be a purpose in undermining its credibility, even by a clever fiction?
Christianity is based on the belief that Jesus was who he said he was, the Son of God, fully human, fully divine. The premise of “Da Vinci” is, in fact, anti-Christian by suggesting Jesus was none of these things. In theological terms, it resurrects ancient Gnostic beliefs that died away centuries ago *not* by military suppression, but because the majority of people accepted them as false. Dan Brown and his Hollywood supporters, in their collective arrogance, like to think that they’re smarter than 2000 years of Christian and Western thought, and that the discernment of a majority of the faithful was really suppression by a political elite. Sure, it’s hogwash, but will you know what’s what when you see it?
I have not heard any of KTIS’ commentary on this, but I’ve had my own opinions since the book came out. What burns me more than Brown’s attacking Christ, the foundations of Christianity, and by association Western civilization, through “FICTION,” is his knowing he could do it with impunity. If I wrote a book, much less made a movie, suggesting that Mohammed was a heroin addict and that his revelations were psychadelic hallucinations, do you think I’d still be alive? No religion patiently endures ridicule like Christianity, but Brown inverts everything and suggests that Christianity revolutionized the world through the will of an oppressive, conspiratorial regime. Right.
I thank God I live in a country that promotes free exchange of ideas where the “Da Vinci” can be produced. I also pray that the movie is a dismal failure. Brown has bitten every hand that fed him. The freedoms of Western civilization are the direct result of Christian activity. I hope “The Da Vinci Code” inspires people to study history and see how ultimately credible and rational are the claims of Christ and how facetious and utterly inane is this attempt to discredit them.
Whew! Guess I got a bee in my bonnet over this one. I’ll just say that I hope you’d save your money and not bother to see this movie, but if you do, keep both eyes open, laugh out loud at the absurdities, heckle the heck out of it. And remember that the folks on KTIS have put a lot more thought into Christianity than Scott Kurtz has.
Have a good weekend!
- Greg
P.S. And by the way, Christians are not upset over the mere suggestion that Jesus married Mary Magdalene.
We received a booklet about The Da Vinci Code from Campus Crusade a few weeks back. I thought it was a very nicely-assembled, concise primer on the whole controversy. It's written to Christians and describes clearly the objections to the film and how to discuss it with friends. I found it in PDF on Campus Crusade’s Web site:
http://www.campuscrusade.com/DaVinciquest/Pdfs/DaVinci_Guide.pdf
The PDF has watermarks over all the pictures, so it’s a little distracting, but you can at least read it. You can order copies of it here: http://www.campuscrusade.com/DaVinciquest/ At 25 copies for $8.75, I wish I had ordered them when we first received a copy. I’d give them out, leave them in waiting rooms, around work, etc.
Follow-Up:
My friend replied:
To which I responded:
I’m glad you’re still speaking to me after my last counter-rant. :-) I apologize for the tone of it. I really was miffed with Scott Kurtz, and perhaps should have sent my comments to him, but he likely would just ridicule me too. I don’t think Dan Brown expects people to really believe his story, but I do think he wants people to question established tenets of Christianity and the validity of the Bible. I also don’t believe Brown intends people to research it for themselves and discover the truth, though I pray that is the result. Brown is peddling doubt in things that should be ultimately trusted.
As for the critics of “Da Vinci,” you can’t blame Christians for being personally protective of the reputation of Christ. I would be just as angry if someone wrote a story suggesting that my dad was a murderer or that my mother was a prostitute, even if everyone in the world knew it was false. I also would not pay that person $8 to promote the lie. As for Jesus, I know the bottom line, as Wayne Watson said it, “He doesn’t need me to defend Him, He just wants me to obey.”
[Subject: You guys read Scott's rant on PvP this morning?]
I completely agree...except for one of the paragraphs towards the end where he is talking about the whole Jesus getting married thing. That is just silly...but the rest is what I have been saying...even about KTIS [one of our local Christian radio stations]. They have been harping on the "Jesus and Mary were not married" and basically telling us OVER and OVER and OVER that the story isn't TRUE. OF COURSE ITS NOT! ITS FICTION!
ARRRRRGHHH.
Ok....I'm done now.
Well, I had to reply, and decided to post my reply here:
It’s good to hear from you. I’m afraid I’m not siding with Kurtz here. To compare “Da Vinci” to “Star Wars” is absurd because the latter has no pretense of fact. The problem is not that “It’s FICTION,” but that it claims some grain of truth. Dan Brown and Ron Howard make no distinction between the fact and the fiction, and a historically ignorant public will swallow the whole thing not knowing what is what. Calling it fiction is almost as dangerous as calling it fact, though, because the end result is to call *everything* into question, which is exactly what Ian McKellan did in this interview about the movie: http://newsbusters.org/dv.html?q=node/5402
Would I want to see a movie that suggests George Washington was actually King George III of England and that the Revolutionary War actually secured British ownership of America? Now that’s obviously fiction, and there’s no purpose I can see in making such a suggestion. But, in a culture openly hostile to the moral claims of Christianity, could there be a purpose in undermining its credibility, even by a clever fiction?
Christianity is based on the belief that Jesus was who he said he was, the Son of God, fully human, fully divine. The premise of “Da Vinci” is, in fact, anti-Christian by suggesting Jesus was none of these things. In theological terms, it resurrects ancient Gnostic beliefs that died away centuries ago *not* by military suppression, but because the majority of people accepted them as false. Dan Brown and his Hollywood supporters, in their collective arrogance, like to think that they’re smarter than 2000 years of Christian and Western thought, and that the discernment of a majority of the faithful was really suppression by a political elite. Sure, it’s hogwash, but will you know what’s what when you see it?
I have not heard any of KTIS’ commentary on this, but I’ve had my own opinions since the book came out. What burns me more than Brown’s attacking Christ, the foundations of Christianity, and by association Western civilization, through “FICTION,” is his knowing he could do it with impunity. If I wrote a book, much less made a movie, suggesting that Mohammed was a heroin addict and that his revelations were psychadelic hallucinations, do you think I’d still be alive? No religion patiently endures ridicule like Christianity, but Brown inverts everything and suggests that Christianity revolutionized the world through the will of an oppressive, conspiratorial regime. Right.
I thank God I live in a country that promotes free exchange of ideas where the “Da Vinci” can be produced. I also pray that the movie is a dismal failure. Brown has bitten every hand that fed him. The freedoms of Western civilization are the direct result of Christian activity. I hope “The Da Vinci Code” inspires people to study history and see how ultimately credible and rational are the claims of Christ and how facetious and utterly inane is this attempt to discredit them.
Whew! Guess I got a bee in my bonnet over this one. I’ll just say that I hope you’d save your money and not bother to see this movie, but if you do, keep both eyes open, laugh out loud at the absurdities, heckle the heck out of it. And remember that the folks on KTIS have put a lot more thought into Christianity than Scott Kurtz has.
Have a good weekend!
- Greg
P.S. And by the way, Christians are not upset over the mere suggestion that Jesus married Mary Magdalene.
We received a booklet about The Da Vinci Code from Campus Crusade a few weeks back. I thought it was a very nicely-assembled, concise primer on the whole controversy. It's written to Christians and describes clearly the objections to the film and how to discuss it with friends. I found it in PDF on Campus Crusade’s Web site:
http://www.campuscrusade.com/DaVinciquest/Pdfs/DaVinci_Guide.pdf
The PDF has watermarks over all the pictures, so it’s a little distracting, but you can at least read it. You can order copies of it here: http://www.campuscrusade.com/DaVinciquest/ At 25 copies for $8.75, I wish I had ordered them when we first received a copy. I’d give them out, leave them in waiting rooms, around work, etc.
Follow-Up:
My friend replied:
I certainly understand all of your issues. I am just frustrated with the whole discussion ... I just don't hold the view that Dan Brown is trying to "fake" anyone out and convince the public about the whole conspiracy thing.
I guess I'm just not that gullible and am able to think on my own and form my own opinions.
To which I responded:
I’m glad you’re still speaking to me after my last counter-rant. :-) I apologize for the tone of it. I really was miffed with Scott Kurtz, and perhaps should have sent my comments to him, but he likely would just ridicule me too. I don’t think Dan Brown expects people to really believe his story, but I do think he wants people to question established tenets of Christianity and the validity of the Bible. I also don’t believe Brown intends people to research it for themselves and discover the truth, though I pray that is the result. Brown is peddling doubt in things that should be ultimately trusted.
As for the critics of “Da Vinci,” you can’t blame Christians for being personally protective of the reputation of Christ. I would be just as angry if someone wrote a story suggesting that my dad was a murderer or that my mother was a prostitute, even if everyone in the world knew it was false. I also would not pay that person $8 to promote the lie. As for Jesus, I know the bottom line, as Wayne Watson said it, “He doesn’t need me to defend Him, He just wants me to obey.”
posted by StarBittrune | 11:53 AM
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