ELCA NEWS SERVICE
May 18, 2006
ELCA Seminary Professors, Film Reviewer Comment on 'The Da Vinci Code'
06-070-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- May 19 is the long-anticipated motion
picture premiere of "The Da Vinci Code," based on the popular
best-selling novel by Dan Brown. Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) seminary professors and a retired Lutheran
communicator who have read the book and written about it say it's
an interesting fictional story, but readers and movie-goers
should not assume all of the theology or religious themes are
based on fact or are correctly interpreted.
The novel's plot involves a conspiracy by the Roman Catholic
Church to cover up the "true" story of Jesus. There are
references to the role of Mary Magdalene in Christianity, the so-
called "Holy Grail" and the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. While
the book has been lauded by many as an action-packed thriller, it
has generated considerable concern among Christian theologians
for its inaccurate portrayal of the Bible, Christian theology and
the church's teachings.
"My biggest concern is that people will forget that this is
fiction," said the Rev. Sarah Henrich, professor of New
Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Luther Seminary is
one of eight ELCA seminaries.
"It's good fiction in that the author is skilled in creating
a believable story. But it is fiction, nonetheless," she said.
"I hope that people remember it's fiction and enjoy it as a
novel (or movie)," said the Rev. Matthew L. Skinner, professor of
New Testament, Luther Seminary. "It's a fictional story. It
also presents a great opportunity for education."
Henrich, Skinner and their colleagues at Luther, Dr. Lois
Malcolm, professor of systematic theology, and the Rev. Mark A.
Throntveit, professor of Old Testament, are authors of "Decoding
the Da Vinci Code," a commentary available as an audio CD.
In an online article, "The Da Vinci Code: A Cultural and
Religious Phenomenon," Dr. Martha Ellen Stortz, professor of
historical theology and ethics, Pacific Lutheran Theological
Seminary, an ELCA seminary in Berkeley, Calif., said while she
appreciates "a good mystery ... I also winced at a few fictional
liberties I feared people would take as fact."
Among the more significant concerns in the novel cited by
the professors were the claims that Mary Magdalene had a royal
pedigree; that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and they may
have been parents; how women are portrayed; issues of sexuality;
what actually happened at the Council of Nicaea; and the
suggestion of a Roman Catholic Church conspiracy to cover-up the
real story of Jesus Christ.
"I found the book frustrating to read," Skinner said.
"Almost all of the historical claims the book made were just
wrong. He (Brown) could have done better research and not
sacrificed the story."
Was Jesus Married?
One of the more intriguing pieces in the novel is the
suggestion that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and they may
have had children. Skinner said any suggestion that Mary
Magdalene is the "Holy Grail," as the novel cites, has long been
discredited. The idea that Jesus was married is, however,
possible, Skinner said.
"The bottom line is that there is no hard, positive evidence
either way to argue that Jesus Christ was married or not
married," he said.
Henrich said in early church documents there is no evidence
to suggest that Jesus was married. "However, one could argue
that was repression by the church," she said, "but I can't
imagine the church agreeing that strongly on anything." At the
time Jesus was on earth, it was not unheard of that a preacher,
prophet or holy man might have some family ties, she added.
"If he had been married, if he had children, I don't know
what to make of that," Henrich said. "What would that mean to us?
How would that impact the power of Christ?"
Acknowledging that Brown's suggestion that Jesus was married
may be "offensive" to many people, Stortz said she wonders "if
this outrage does not mask another religious yearning. We long
for a Jesus who shares our humanity. We confess this in our
creeds, we read it in our Scriptures, but somehow the Jesus
worshipped in our churches is the Christ of faith, removed from
the Jesus of history." The picture of Jesus in Brown's novels --
including "Angels and Demons," the forerunner to "The Da Vinci
Code" -- "is startlingly human," she said.
Powerful images may spur questions, learning opportunities
While no one in the United States will have seen the movie
version of "The Da Vinci Code" until May 19, Henrich said she is
more worried about the movie's power than that of the book,
because it combines a story that seems believable with powerful
images and music.
The professors believe the book, and now the movie, will
result in a variety of reasonable questions and promote healthy
discussion among Christians.
"People will learn when their interest has been piqued,"
Henrich said.
The book has stimulated an interest in Christianity for some
people, Skinner said. The book also raises questions about what
Christians really believe, the story of Jesus, religious
authority and questions of conspiracy, which are "popular in our
culture," he said. Skinner also expects people will ask about
the so-called Gnostic gospels which do not appear in the modern
Christian Bible.
Henrich said she expects there to be many conversations and
questions such as "Is this true?" She also expects that
Christians, who will see the film and have visited the places in
France and Great Britain portrayed in the book and movie, will
ask themselves if the story is persuasive and whether the
accumulation of such detail points to a conspiracy.
In her essay, Stortz discusses questions raised in both of
Brown's books on the humanity of Jesus, the portrayal of women
and power.
"I think both novels tap a deep suspicion of power and the
powerful, a tendency to read everything in terms of power and
penchant for conspiracy theories," she said. "In both novels,
the abuse of power in hands of religious and anti-religious
leaders borders on the satanic."
The most important lesson about the book and also the movie
is that it suggests who we are in this country, Henrich said.
"We love mysteries. We are a suspicious lot, and we imagine that
the world is hiding things from us."
See the movie, says retired Lutheran communicator
Robert E.A. Lee, a retired Lutheran communicator who
reviewed many films for print publications and a radio feature,
"Cinema Sound," said he recalls a "storm of protest" in the
Lutheran Church and other denominations when he gave a "semi-
favorable" review to the controversial film, "The Last Temptation
of Christ," released in -1988.
"My point is that it was worth seeing even though it had
fictional excesses," Lee said, noting that Temptation's writers
were "testing whether Christians really accepted the dual nature
of Jesus, that he was truly human as well as, at the same time,
divine."
"(The) Da Vinci Code has a similar problem -- or
opportunity. While I have yet to see the movie, I can appreciate
that it is bound to offend Christian viewers who cannot tolerate
fictionalizing any part of the Jesus story, particularly if it
intrudes into the human realm of sex, marriage, procreation. I
say to them: 'Good!' Express your viewpoints. Discuss the issues
with others. Let the movie industry know how you feel," Lee said.
"But I also would recommend that people of faith read the
book and see the movie. What fear is in that? If we realize that
faith is not history nor science that (is) based on fact, but on
a mysterious gift of spiritual blessing, it may even strengthen
one's belief," he added.
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A variety of resources on "The Da Vinci Code" is available
at http://www.ELCA.org/communication/film.html on the ELCA Web
site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
