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What they said ...
'We want to send a message to all those that are going to the film that this is not just entertainment, that this is blasphemy' Norman Fulkerson, spokesperson for the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Property and Family
'Ultimately "The Da Vinci Code" is an entertainment - an airplane read turned into a perfectly good airplane movie. The film is less interested in putting the very roots of Christianity up for grabs than it is in giving audiences an old-fashioned summer movie thrill ride' Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, writing in Access Atlanta
The issue at a glance
On May 18, 2006, Sony's Columbia Pictures released the film version of Dan Brown's international best seller The Da Vinci Code. The novel had been published three years before in 2003.
From the time the novel was published it attracted controversy. Christians and Christian churches have seen the novel and now the film as an offence and a challenge to their beliefs. The response of Christian groups has varied from calls to have the novel and the film banned to attempts to have Christians boycott the film.
The novel was banned in Lebanon. Christian groups from various countries, including South Korea, Thailand, India and France have protested against the film, planning boycotts, a hunger strike and attempts to block or shorten screenings.
In India, the government delayed the premiere, putting it on a temporary hold while it weighs complaints by Catholic groups that wanted the film banned. Lobbyists in Thailand persuaded local censors to cut the final 10 minutes out of the film but the censors later reversed their position after Columbia Pictures appealed. While Australian Christians bought cinema advertisements challenging the film's plot.
There have been others, including believing Christians, who have argued that the film is only an entertainment and that protesting over it or calling for it to be banned gives it an importance it does not warrant. Finally, there are those who have suggested that the film could be used as an opportunity to promote the Christian message. Hong Kong's Catholic Church, for example, has organised forums to 'clarify the facts'.
Background
The Da Vinci Code is a mystery-detective novel by an American novelist, Dan Brown. It was published in 2003 by Doubleday Fiction. It has been a worldwide bestseller with more than 60.5 million copies in print (as of May 2006) and has been translated into 44 languages. The novel is part two of a trilogy that started with Brown's 2000 novel Angels and Demons, which introduced the character Robert Langdon.
The plot of the novel involves a conspiracy by the Catholic Church to cover up the 'true' story of Jesus. The novel has the Vatican supposedly deliberately misrepresenting the story of Christ's life so as to retain its power. The novel has helped generated substantial contemporary interest in the Holy Grail legend, the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity and the history of the Catholic Church. Fans have praised the book as creative, action-packed and thought-provoking. Critics have attacked it as poorly written, inaccurate and creating confusion between speculation and fact. From a religious point of view, some critics consider it blasphemous, and object to its negative presentation of the Catholic Church and Opus Dei.
Dan Brown's novel was hugely successful in 2003, rivalling the sales of the highly popular Harry Potter series. It spawned a number of imitators and attracted positive reviews in the New York Times, People Magazine and the Washington Post. The novel has also inspired several tour groups like Da Vinci Code tours, and companies like Ravenchase Adventures to create Da Vinci code like races and adventures using codes, ciphers, actors and gadgets. It also re-ignited interest in the history of the Catholic Church.
Sony's Columbia Pictures has adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman, and Academy Award winner Ron Howard directing. The film was released on May 18, 2006, and stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, and Sir Ian McKellen as Leigh Teabing.
Internet information
Dan Brown's Internet site has a section given over to The Da Vinci Code. In the subsection reached by clicking on FAQ (frequently asked questions) are Dan Brown's response to a number of commonly asked questions and commonly made criticisms about his book.
The Da Vinci Code section of Mr Brown's site can be found at http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/
Though a critic of both the novel and the film, Dr. Samuel Bayo Arowolaju, writing for Nigeria World has argued that Christians would be well advised to ignore both. His arguments can be found at http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/arowolaju/052706.html
An On-line petition calling on South Africans to support the banning of the film of The Da Vinci Code in their country was open from May 17 to May 28 2006. The text of the petition can be read at http://www.gopetition.com/online/8600.html
On-line Opinion has published an article written by Mark Christensen arguing how difficult it is for Churches to respond appropriately to works such as the Da Vinci Code. The article is titled, 'The church and the code' and can be found at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4478
The New Age Centre New York published an article by Bruce Boucher, the curator of European decorative arts and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago criticising The Da Vinci Code for a number of obvious inaccuracies in its treatment of Da Vinci. The article was titled 'Does "The Da Vinci Code" Crack Leonardo'?
The article can be found at http://www.newagepointofinfinity.com/new_page_10.htm
Arguments supporting Christians reading or viewing The Da Vinci Code
1. The story is intended as an entertainment
It has been repeatedly claimed that The Da Vinci Code is neither history nor theology. It is a piece of fiction intended to entertain. Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, writing in Access Atlanta has claimed, 'Ultimately "The Da Vinci Code" is an entertainment - an airplane read turned into a perfectly good airplane movie. The film is less interested in putting the very roots of Christianity up for grabs than it is in giving audiences an old-fashioned summer movie thrill ride.'
According to those who adopt this view it is simply inappropriate to take offence at The Da Vinci Code or to see it as making any serious claims about Christianity. If it is viewed or read in this light, it is argued, it should be an acceptable entertainment for people of any religious persuasion.
2. The story is not historically accurate
Those who believe that the novel can be read and the film viewed without either harm or offence stress that it is a work of fiction with no serious claims to historical accuracy.
Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has said, 'It's a fantasy presented with such conviction that it looks like fact. But Dan Brown's own website has stopped claiming that it is.'
On his website Dan Brown notes, 'The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction. While the book's characters and their actions are obviously not real, the artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals depicted in this novel all exist (for example, Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings, the Gnostic Gospels, Hieros Gamos, etc.). These real elements are interpreted and debated by fictional characters. While it is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit, each individual reader must explore these characters' viewpoints and come to his or her own interpretations.'
3. Discouraging Christians from reading the novel or viewing the film gives these works a credibility they do not deserve
Some opponents of both the novel and the film have argued that vocally opposing them gives them a prominence and an importance that they do not merit.
Dr. Samuel Bayo Arowolaju, writing for Nigeria World, has noted, 'I don't know why any Christian should be bothered by this man and his eccentricities. To me, Dan Brown is just a harmless writer who does not care about truth and morality but very much about his bank account ... If rulers like Herod, Pilate, and Emperors like Nero of the old or modern leaders like Stalin and Mao could not stop the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the writings of Dan Brown and his likes are nothing but the ranting of an ant that does not deserve the attention the some Christians have given to it.
I don't know why some church leaders think that anybody can make some Christians loose their faith in Jesus and therefore, their salvation. My quick reaction is why worry, God is in control. Nobody who has been predestined to be in the kingdom of God will ever be left behind when His Kingdom comes. Christians should not see themselves as ... [ignorant] like Dan Brown about the mystery of God.'
4. Both the novel and the film make claims that can be readily disproved
It has been claimed that both the novel and the film contain so many easily demonstrable errors that no reader or viewer need take it seriously, let alone see it as an attack on Christianity.
Bruce Boucher, the curator of European decorative arts and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, has noted a number of readily discernible errors in Brown's work. 'One small but telling point comes in Mr. Brown's references to Leonardo as "Da Vinci", as if that were the painter's last name, yet it is no surname but simply a reference to the fact that he was the illegitimate son of Ser Piero of Vinci, in the Florentine territory. Like other great artists, with or without last names, Leonardo is invariably referred to by his given name and not by Da Vinci.
The nomenclature suggests a lack of familiarity with the copious bibliography on the painter, as do Mr. Brown's references to Leonardo's "enormous output" of Christian art and "hundreds of lucrative Vatican commissions". Leonardo was, in fact, notorious for his meagre production and spent little time in Rome. Neither, for that matter, is it accurate to call Leonardo a "flamboyant homosexual": despite a charge of sodomy against him as a young man, the evidence of his sexual orientation remains inconclusive and fragmentary.
It is also breathtaking to read that the heroine, Sophie Neveu, uses one of Leonardo's paintings, "The Madonna of the Rocks", as a shield, pressing it so close to her body that it bends. More than six feet tall and painted on wood, not canvas, the "Madonna" is unlikely to be so supple.'
Mr Boucher ultimately concludes that The Da Vinci Code is a clever entertainment, however, he believes, it does not deserve to be taken seriously on any other level.
5. The Da Vinci Code may promote religious belief
Many churches see the film as a new opportunity to reach the wider community.
In Sydney, several Anglican churches have booked entire cinemas to take congregations and non-church goers to see the film, followed by comments on the Christian perspective. The Australian Catholic Bishops' Committee has set up an Internet site.
Barry Hickey, the archbishop of Perth and the chairman of the bishops' media committee, has said the church welcomed any interest in Jesus Christ generated by The Da Vinci Code, and had compiled resources to help people.
Father John Sewell of St. John's Episcopal Church in Memphis has stated, 'This [novel] is not a threat. This is an opportunity. We are called to creatively engage the culture and this is what I want to do. I think Dan Brown has done me a favour. He's letting me talk about things that matter.'
On his Internet site, the author, Dan Brown, has stated, 'I wrote this story in an effort to explore certain aspects of Christian history that interest me. The vast majority of devout Christians understand this fact and consider The Da Vinci Code an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate. Even so, a small but vocal group of individuals has proclaimed the story dangerous, heretical, and anti-Christian. While I regret having offended those individuals, I should mention that priests, nuns, and clergy contact me all the time to thank me for writing the novel. Many church officials are celebrating The Da Vinci Code because it has sparked renewed interest in important topics of faith and Christian history. It is important to remember that a reader does not have to agree with every word in the novel to use the book as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration of our faith.'
Arguments opposing Christians viewing or reading the Da Vinci Code
1. The story contains claims that oppose what Christians believe
Across the world Christian groups have expressed their concern at the manner in which what they believe is depicted in Dan Brown's story.
The novel and the film suggest that Christ was not God, but a mere mortal. It is also claimed that he did not die on the cross and then rise again in a divine resurrection. Instead Dan Brown claims that Christ was taken down alive from the cross and that the story of his resurrection was later invented by the early Christian Church.
The Indian Catholics' Secular Forum (CSF) has issued a memorandum to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, seeking a ban on Dan Brown's controversial thriller The Da Vinci Code in India.
The forum argues for such a ban on seven counts, including how the book allegedly paints Jesus as a ''mere mortal with basic instincts'' and not as ''god or son of god'' and that the authenticity of the Bible has been challenged.
2. The story is likely to offend many Christians
It has further been claimed that the manner in which Christ's life is treated in both the novel and the film is likely to cause significant distress to all believing Christians.
The General Secretary of India's Catholics' Secular Forum, Joseph Dias, has stated, 'The ban [the group has called for] is not meant to be a form of censorship, but aims to be an indication of our displeasure and protest.'
Father Abdou Abu Kasm, the president of Lebanon's Catholic Information Centre, has said the contents of the book were 'insulting'. 'There are paragraphs that touch the very roots of the Christian religion... they say Jesus Christ had a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene, that they had children,' Father Abdou Abu Kasm has noted.
'Those things are difficult for us to accept, even if it's supposed to be fiction. Christianity is not about forgiveness to the point of insulting Jesus Christ.'
3. The story may promote a lack of regard for Christianity
It has been claimed that both the novel and the film could spread a popular disregard for or disrespect for Christianity.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, who heads the Vatican's liturgy congregation, has suggested that Christians might take legal action to counter the disrespect shown by the book and upcoming film version of the work.
Cardinal Arinze said 'The Da Vinci Code' was loaded with mistakes that orient people against the church and that 'any film produced on the basis of the book is already in error from the word go'.
'Christians must not just sit back and say it is enough for us to forgive and forget. ... Sometimes it is our duty to do something practical,' the Cardinal said.
He said it was not his role to tell Christians what action to take, but that 'some know legal means which can be taken in order to get the other person to respect the rights of others'.
'This is one of the fundamental human rights: that we should be respected, our religious beliefs respected, and our founder Jesus Christ respected,' the Cardinal further said.
4. The story contains untruths, distortions and exaggerations
Many critics have accused Dan Brown of distorting and fabricating history.
The book opens with the claim by Dan Brown that 'all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents [...] and secret rituals in this novel are accurate'; but this claim is disputed by many academic scholars in the fields the book discusses.
In 2005, a British television personality, Tony Robinson, edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of Dan Brown. The program featured lengthy interviews with some of the main authorities cited by Brown in the Da Vinci Code. Arnaud de Sede, son of Gerrard de Sede, stated categorically that his father and Plantard had made up the existence of the Prieur‚ de Sion, the cornerstone of the Jesus bloodline theory - to quote Arnaud de Sede in the program, 'frankly, it was piffle'. The program's detailed analysis of other claims by Brown in the Da Vinci Code apparently showed them to be unverifiable or unhistorical.
Sandra Miesel, in an article titled, 'Dismantling the Da Vinci Code' has detailed some of the inaccuracies critics complain of. Some of the examples Miesel gives are that Brown falsely claims the Merovingians founded Paris. She also notes that he appears to forget that the popes once lived in Avignon and that he states that the Church burned five million women as witches. (The latest figures for deaths during European witch hunt are between 30,000 and 50,000 victims. Not all were executed by the Church, not all were women, and not all were burned.)
Brown's contention that the five linked rings of the modern Olympic Games are a secret tribute to the goddess is also apparently wrong - each set of games was supposed to add a ring to the design but the organizers stopped at five.
Despite Brown's claim to the contrary, it has been noted that the Templars had nothing to do with the cathedrals of their time, which were commissioned by bishops and their canons throughout Europe. They did not wield tools themselves on their own projects, nor did they found masons' guilds to build for others.
The Catholic organisation 'Opus Dei' has noted, 'We ... want to point out that The Da Vinci Code's depiction of Opus Dei is inaccurate, both in the overall impression and in many details.' Apart from denying the sinister and criminal actions and intentions attributed to it, the organisations website has also noted, 'Throughout The Da Vinci Code, Opus Dei members are presented as monks (or, rather, caricatures of monks). Like all Catholics, Opus Dei members have great appreciation for monks, but in fact there are no monks in Opus Dei. Opus Dei is a Catholic institution for lay people and diocesan priests, not a monastic order.'
5. Christians should not financially support this novel and film
It has been argued that Christians should not financially support a film that essentially attacks the central tenets of all Christian faiths and presents the Catholic Church, in particular, in a very negative light.
Either buying the novel or a ticket to see the film is seen by some as financially assisting the writer Dan Brown, his publishers, the film's producers, financiers and its distribution network. It has been claimed that not buying either the book or tickets to see the film might impact upon their financial success and therefore discourage the production of similar works that might bring Christianity into disrepute.
A United States coalition of religious groups, the Inter-Faith Coalition Against the Da Vinci Code, linking Christian and Jewish groups, has said movie-goers should not waste their money.
'This is a blasphemous movie we shouldn't give our money to,' Reverend Thomas Euteneuer, the president of Human Life International, has claimed. 'In many ways it defames our Lord Jesus Christ, in many more ways it undermines people's faith in the church that Jesus Christ established, and in even more ways it celebrates paganism and even Satanic rituals.'
Further implications
It seems highly unlikely that many religious groups will take any serious action against The Da Vinci Code, either as a novel or a film. The novel has been banned in only one country and though the film has been the target of a variety of protests it has not been banned.
There have been some religious leaders who have advised Christians not to read the book or view the film and a few commentators who appear almost to regret that Christianity does not adopt the sort of militant, indeed sometimes violent, response to slights that some Muslim leaders and their followers do.
The novel has been an international best seller and the film opened to huge audiences in most countries where it was screened. What appears to have been the case is that the controversy surrounding the novel has actually served to promote the film, so that, despite a number of unenthusiastic reviews, film-goers have watched the movie, perhaps to discover what all the fuss has been about. Newspaper sources used in the compilation of this issue outline The Age:
AGE, March 1, page 13, news item by J Button, `Da Vinci author faces accusers who want his holy
blood'.
AGE, March 4, page 19, analysis by J Button, `Battle of the Code-busters biggest show in town'.
AGE, March 3, page 16, editorial, `Ciphering the code to an original idea'.
AGE, March 15, page 13, news item by J Button, `Wife emerges as mystery force in Brown's
bestseller'.
AGE, April 9, page 3, news item by Elder and Burrow, `Loss in court but Holy Blood's sales soar'.
AGE, April 8, page 3, news item by J Button, `Da Vinci case proves publishers' dictum: where there's
a hit there's a writ'.
AGE, April 29, page 11, analysis (photos of contents of Maranatha) by J Sullivan, `Puzzle book offers
$2. 3m to "unlock the most important secret in the history of creation"'.
AGE, May 6, Insight section, page 5, analysis (photos, incl of Opus Dei members) by B Zwartz, `Out of
the shadows' (with boxed information / "fact box").
AGE, May 17, page 6, news item by B Zwartz, `Archbishop OKs "The Da Vinci Code" for Catholics'.
AGE, March 18, Insight section, page 11, comment by A Attwood, `Dan Brown is the Da Vinci of
fiction? I just won't buy that'.
The Australian:
AUST, March 4, page 21, analysis (photos) by J Este, `Riches in a Christian conspiracy'.
AUST, May 18, page 13, editorial, `Over-hyped Da Vinci'.
AUST, May 18, page 12, comment by Dean Bertram, `Cracking the conspiracy code'.
AUST, May 13, page 23, analysis by J Rowbotham, `Deciphering the code'.
Herald-Sun:
H/SUN, March 22, page 41, news item, `Code case twist'.
H/SUN, April 9, page 40, news item (photos), `Da Vinci da winner'.
H/SUN, April 17, page 4, news item, `No almighty cover-up / Archbishop attacks Da Vinci Code'.
H/SUN, April 14, page 18, comment (photo) by N Richardson, `Cracking the Da Vinci code'.
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