I have encountered no less than 10 sermon series, seminars, or pamplets on the Da Vinci Code. Initially, I was on the bandwagon (what is a bandwagon anyway?) that saw this as a point of connection with those who do not consider God or Christianity in their daily lives. My question now, however, is have Christians missed the point by focusing on logical proofs that seek to respond to every single point made by Dan Brown in his novel? In other words, are Christians asking the wrong question? I believe that they are. The question that I do not hear being asked is what does the success of the Da Vinci Code reveal about culture and the role of narrative in relating truth? In other words, what does the success of the Da Vinci Code reveal about today's consumer culture and how methods are used to reach it with a message?
One thing is certain, Dan Brown composed a compelling story and many have read it. What would have happened if Dan Brown selected a different medium for his material. If Dan Brown published a study with a point-by-point analysis of Mary Magdalene, then would he have sold as many copies as the Da Vinci Code? Absolutely not!
The irony is that Christians have responded to the novel as if he composed that very study. In other words, Christians have missed the point. I believe that the Da Vinci Code has exposed the church's weakness in sharing the most compelling story - the story of God's love for humanity in the life and work of Jesus Christ. Dan Brown told a story, Christians have responded with point-by-point counter-proof. Going forward, I believe that Christians are called to bear witness to the compelling story that God loved humanity, even though humanity didn't care at all about God, and sent his Son to make a way for us to be known by God and know God and to experience life in the way of Jesus. As we replace that story with point-by-point lectures that give 3049304983408 reasons why the Bible is true, then I think Christians are missing an opportunity to respond. Even better, Christians are missing an opportunity to share THE compelling story (that story by the way has outsold the Da Vinci Code this year)...
1 comment:
You're absolutely right. I think that christians, in gereral, have gotten so comfortable over the years with not having their stories challenged, because they were taken on faith in the past, that they are now over-reacting to every "challenge" of fact to their faith. These are, however, two completely different realm, fact and faith. The notion of a fact is that it can be controlled, manipulated and used to prove something beyond a shadow of a doubt. The key word here is control. Faith, however, is about letting go of all control. "I believe that god created the earth", "I believe that Jesus ascended into heaven after being raised from the dead". When a person has faith, they do not need to control anything, that's the beautiful thing about it. Simply believing something makes it so. So, when christians try to prove the Dan Browns of the world wron they're responding to a distraction, a challenge of fact not a challenge of faith.
The Dan Brown's question is, "What significance lies in the revelation that Jesus stayed on earth and did not ascend to heaven after being resurrected?" And that question has not been answered by anyone that I've heard. I would say that it bears no significance, unless you want to believe that every bit of the Bible is true, a book of stories that has been passed on for hundreds of generations, slowly being changed by its bearers (like that game telephone). The truth of the Bible lies not in its facts, but in its truths concerning how one ought to live one's life. Would you agree? So, when christians argue with the Dan Browns of the world, they are allowing their story to be manipulated into a realm where it does not belong, that of fact. My impression of christianity, and other religions is that it is about faith, faith that your god will protect you, and faith that if you live your life as god tells you, you will be rewarded in the end, and faith that if you give control of your life up to a higher power all will be well. So questions of fact can be readily ignored without feeling threatened at all.
The same holds true for other "issues" such as evolution. There are myriad of ways that one can explain how god caused evolution to occur on earth. But again, that's getting into the realm of fact not faith. And the christian book does not deal completely with fact, mostly with faith. That's my take on it.
If the christian religion is losing its faith, there's something much more important that they need to be worrying about. I hope you're well, Jeff. Give my love to your family.
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