Tom Hanks and the Da Vinci Code

I hear that Tom Hanks may star in the movie version of The Da Vinci Code, the Dan Brown bestseller.

The pedigree of the people involved in making the movie will insure the film will probably be a blockbuster. Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Beautiful Mind, Cacoon and many more) will direct. Akiva Goldsman who did the screenplay for Beautiful Mind is adapting the novel into a screenplay.

I think part of the appeal of Da Vinci Code is the whole conspiracy theory. People seem to like the idea that what we think we know is true isn't really true. And so what better story to tell than to call into question Christianity as most people understand it?

We live in an era when there is a lot of post-modern skepticism (people may not use those terms but they know what it is!) which says truth is either relative or unknowable or both. Oddly, this line of thinking leads to this two-edged irony in attitudes toward Christianity: (1) Christianity is based on a fabrication as described by Dan Brown and like-minded writers; (2) Christianity, even if a lie, is "good" because it comforts people and helps them try to be "good" people.

However, if one believes that truth actually exists and matters, then one must ask: are the claims of Christianity true? And if true, then its claims upon my life must be taken seriously.

A good place to go to read responses to Da Vinci Code is Belief.net. Run the search for "Da Vinci Code" in the search box to pull up a variety of articles.

Be sure to check out this interview with Darrell Bock who points out some of the historical and theological issues in the book as well as why he thinks the book garnered so much appeal.

In this article Bock gets to the root of the Da Vinci Code: was Jesus divine or not? He provides links to these interesting web pages that describe the Priory of Sion, the Knights Templar, Opus Dei, and the Merovingian Lineage.

Religion has a number of elements: ethics, ritual and theology.

I have no problem, as a Christian, in recognizing that the various religions of the world have a lot of common ground in the realm of ethics. Indeed, most religions want people to be good.

As for ritual, even within Christianity there is variation. In my mind, what type of music you use to celebrate God and life doesn't matter all that much as long as the substance is true. There is a place for diversity in how our worship to God is expressed. There is place for cultural elements and personality preferences.

The last component is theology. Intellectual honesty demands that we admit that not all religions are the same on this point. The nature of God, humanity and existence and the relationship of God to us and the world around us is part of theology. Dan Brown's book has one vision of what that looks like. Traditional Christianity has another description.

Which world view reflects reality more accurately?