Des Moines Register
05-09-06
Iowa churches challenge 'Code'
Some Christians use the coming May 19 movie based on the popular novel as a way to explore the truth about Jesus' life.
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
Churches across Iowa and the nation this month are launching an offensive of sermons, study programs, CDs and Web sites to counter the message of the
May 19 movie release of "The Da Vinci Code."
The movie, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard, is expected to draw crowds to theaters. Dan Brown's page-turner mystery novel, upon which the movie is based, was a 40-million best-seller.
Previews for the movie urge people to "seek the truth." That's exactly what several Des Moines-area pastors want people to do, but they're hoping moviegoers won't accept Brown's unorthodox version of the history of the
Christian church.
"The reason why Christians - Protestants and Catholics, as well - feel the book and film are dangerous is because it is filled with inaccuracies and half truths," said the Rev. Dave Beroth, pastor of community life and Christian education for
First Assembly of God Church in Des Moines. "Even though it is a work of fiction, when the author claims the story is based on facts and then attempts to undermine the divinity of Jesus, then it is serious."
Since its publication in early 2003, the novel's premise - that Jesus and Mary
Magdalene were married and had a child, that the Roman Catholic Church has played a sinister role in shaping Christian history and that Opus Dei, a conservative group of ordained and lay Catholics, holds these secrets and will murder to protect them - spawned a cottage industry for Catholic scholars and theologians eager to defend the faith.
The upcoming release of the movie has pushed many Protestant denominations onto that bandwagon, as well.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is sponsoring a multimedia campaign to counter "claims that appear in current popular media" about the life of Jesus. A
Vatican official has called for a boycott of the controversial movie.
In metro Des Moines, congregations this month are promoting "Da Vinci Code"

workshops and Bible study programs and offering books, CDs and Web sites to engage people in the discussion.
But some Christians who have read the book said it didn't shake their faith. Janet
Jennings of West Des Moines, a member of Plymouth Congregational Church in
Des Moines, read the book and discussed it with a secular book club.
" 'The Da Vinci Code' had an interesting historical perspective," Jennings said.
"The idea of a group of men sitting around voting about whether Christ was divine or not gave me a chuckle. But it didn't raise any questions regarding my faith. I think the book treated the Catholic Church harshly, so I can see why
Catholics would consider it more controversial."
Denny Rehder of Windsor Heights is a member of Grace Lutheran Church. The questions raised by the book encouraged him to read more.
"It's a terrific suspense story, but I don't believe a word of it," Rehder said. "The idea that Jesus married seemed to have credence, because (Jesus' marital status) wasn't mentioned in the Bible.
"When I asked my pastor adviser, Fred Gee, he directed me to other reading to find the answers for myself. I like church history and it was fascinating to see how these things have developed over the first few centuries, what was sifted out. It was an academic exercise and fun, because I like church history," Rehder said.
The people who seem to be accepting the novel's brand of truth are people who are already questioning, according to the Rev. Jeremy Geerdes, pastor of Debra
Heights Wesleyan Church in Des Moines.
"The people who are most strongly questioning or challenging are people who don't want to accept the truth of the Bible," Geerdes said.
The Rev. Mike Housholder, who preached on the topic last weekend at Lutheran
Church of Hope in West Des Moines, said he has come to appreciate the controversy.
"The more I think about it, the more thankful I am for this book and movie," he said. "Not because it carries the truth, but because they will lead people to search for the truth, including the authenticity of the New Testament, the identity of Jesus and the important role of Mary Magdalene in the Gospels.
"It's not often that something comes along that inspires millions of people to ponder church history," Housholder said.
The Rev. Quintin Stieff, pastor of Valley Church of West Des Moines, agreed that the movie provides a teaching opportunity.

"Matters of faith, the life of Jesus Christ and the history of the early church aren't normal water-cooler conversation," Stieff said. "But because of 'The Da Vinci
Code,' we have an opportunity to tell people what we believe and why we believe it."
Making the most of the buzz surrounding the movie may open the door to high school- and college-age Christians whose lives are steeped in popular culture, according to William Edgar, professor of apologetics at Westminster Theological
Seminary in Philadelphia. Also, many young people question what they've been taught.
Hector Avalos, Iowa State University professor of religious studies , teaches a course about film and religion. Avalos said he has observed that much of what students know about Christianity has been influenced by the depiction of the
Bible, God and Jesus in the movies.
"The popularity of Jesus movies shows that there are still some issues very important to Christians," Avalos said. "And when a movie comes out that challenges their beliefs, you get a reaction.
" 'The Da Vinci Code' challenges who Jesus was. Was he just a man or was he divine? The identity and nature of Jesus still is a big, central issue for Christians,"
Avalos said.
The Rev. Frank Bognanno, pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church in Des
Moines, said he believes author Brown never dreamed the novel was going to be so successful or so carefully examined.
"It appears he wrote the book hastily and didn't do the research. Now that it's a best-seller, Brown has egg on his face," Bognanno said. "His claim the Christians didn't believe in the divinity of Jesus before the time of Constantine is like saying that Americans didn't believe in freedom until the election of Richard Nixon."