The Wandering Heretic

What is it about Christians that they get themselves all up in arms about the strangest things?  Our world is plunged in misery, poverty, and oppression.  Tyrants everywhere oppress and harass the church.  Christians in foreign countries are under tremendous persecution, some facing torture and death.  Even in the relatively safe United States, divorce is overtaking the Church at a faster rate than the secular culture.  Our brothers face the agony of the loss of loved ones to the power of death.  Justice still remains elusive as the issues of foreign sanctuary, immigration, and exploitation take over the headlines. 

And instead, what is our current bugaboo?  A movie and novel called The Da Vinci Code.  In previous years it was the Harry Potter series of books and movies. The fear of the church in America is from two works of fiction. Somehow I think that reflects a rather poor set of priorities.

Now I think both are actually pretty good works of fiction.  Most of my leisure reading is done via books on CD borrowed from the library.  My perusal of both books was through this medium over a couple of weeks as I drove back and forth to work.  My best friend tells me that I would not have liked them nearly as much if I had actually read them.

Be that as it may, obviously a lot of people are reading them and are enjoying them.  I particularly liked the pacing of The Da Vinci Code.  It kept you moving like an episode of "24" with almost as many plot twists.  In all, I thought it was a real fun read (or in my case, listen).

Am I about to become a worshipper of obsolete French kings, no matter what their lineage?  I think not.  Do I think Mary Magdalene was the offspring of the tribe of Benjamin?  Probably not.  Did she carry Jesus' child?  Definitely not.  Is she under-rated in our theology and hierarchical practice?  Most assuredly.

Let me repeat this slowly.  The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction.  It is not even pretending to be a work of scholarship like its juvenile predecessor, Holy Blood, Holy Grail.  It is what it is: a novel.

Anyone with an internet connection can disprove any dozen "facts" in Dan Brown's book, but why bother?  Again, fiction.  By nature, fiction is a lie, a fantasy, a respite from reality.  Dan Brown's book just did it better than most in the last few years.

But let's say Dan Brown is squarely in the anti-Christ camp.  Let's say his demon-spawn followers are the movie makers Tom Hanks and Ron Howard.  Their goal was not to make money but to overturn two thousand years of doctrine through the flickering of the screen.  They are the declared enemies of Christ and their means of attack was climaxed through the use of a movie.

If that is the case, then why is almost every other church advertising for The Da Vinci Code?  I drive down the street and almost every other church billboard mentions the book or the film.  Pastors are giving messages, sometimes over the entire month, about the film or book.  (And the funny part is that the movie is reportedly pretty bad.  The sermon series may outlast the life of the film in the theatres once the initial run of curiosity is over; a curiosity also being fueled by the controversy generated by the church itself.)

So why all this attention?  Pastors, if you think your church is going to turn into a bunch of Magdalene followers looking for the next king of France than frankly you've done a pretty miserable job of discipling your congregation.  The movie or book are not the danger to your congregation: you are!

And Church, if the country is going to reject Christianity over the claims in Dan Brown's novel, than frankly, we've done a horrific job of being the Body of Christ.  The Da Vinci Code is not the embarrassment to Christianity: we are!

If we had exhibited the sacrificial life that we profess we possess, if we lived like we had entered the resurrection era already, then the world would read the allegations of The Da Vinci Code and laugh.  They would treat it like the good adventure story that it is: fun but with a stupid premise.

If we lived so well together that those outside would declare "See how they love one another" then we would have nothing to fear from pulp fiction novels.  Instead, we backbite, backstab, gossip, climb for recognition and power.  Where the world seeks those that serve it in sacrificial love, we provide condemnation, judgment, and despair.  Where the world grieves and seeks someone to hold its hand, we provide pat answers that shield us from our own emotions and belittle the pain of others.

There still remains hope,however. I have seen such a tender and sacrificial world in the nurses and volunteers at the hospice that houses my Dad as he dies.  I have seen it in the Willie Phams of the world, who work as janitors at the intensive care units of hospitals and provide prayer, consolation, and comfort to families who are at their most needy.  If the church could replicate such a sacrificial character in its members (myself included) then there would be nothing to fear from the fiction of the Dan Browns of the world.

The fantasy would be that such novels would be written in the first place.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 at 5:51 pm and is filed under Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.