Thank God for the Da Vinci Code?

I’ve just watched the Da Vinci code last night. Well, it’s not as boring as other people have suggested it to be. It was a thriller, no doubt, with all its plot twists. It’s just too bad that I already knew what was coming, thanks to all the hype surrounding the movie, not to mention the flyers spreading all over. And it seems that almost every Christian blog is talking about it, putting links to articles about it, etc… and they are all full of spoilers!! It seems that the Christians are taking this work of fiction too seriously, even more than our non-Christian counterparts! So here I am, continuing with the trend… haha!

There are already more than enough articles claiming to rebut the theories put forth by Dan Brown about Jesus. I’ll be sick if I look at another one. Yes, yes, there are a lot of theological and historical errors in the story. But is there any truth in the Da Vinci code? Or, to reframe the question, does Dan Brown have a point?

Has the Church focused so much on the divinity of Jesus that we have forgotten how human He was? Do we need to allow Jesus to be the man that He was 2000 years ago? And there is no better place to see Jesus in all his humanness in the four canonical gospels. We don’t need to go to the Gnostic gospels (they don’t really portray Jesus as a human being anyway, since according to Gnostic beliefs, Jesus never had a physical body!).

And, has the Church forgotten its mission? Christianity began as a subversive and radical movement against the unjust powers of the first century, namely the Temple hierarchy, and the Emperor cult of Rome. No wonder they were mostly tortured or killed. Now it seems that Christianity is colluding with those powers and systems that Jesus openly criticized. Instead, the Church in certain parts of the world is turning against those people Jesus would have sought to protect – the sinners, the poor and the marginalized. The role has been reversed. No wonder people are so fed up with the Christians! No wonder they don’t like the version of Jesus that the Church seems to portray to the world. No wonder people believe that the Church is a power-crazy institution that will do anything to protect its power. Does the Church need to reevaluate what it stands for, and learn again as little children what it means to follow Jesus?

Thanks to the Da Vinci code, my colleagues are all talking about religion. They’re asking me more questions than ever before about Jesus. Every time we sit down for lunch, the topic is sure to enter the conversation. So I made it a point to watch the show with them. I guess the book and the movie are a blessing in disguise. No doubt it hurts to hear what the movie says about our Lord and Christianity. But we can be assured that the shame, humiliation and pain of Friday will ultimately lead to victory, joy and glory on Sunday…

On another note, the Church has gone to great lengths to teach its adherents how to differentiate between fact and fiction in the Da Vinci Code. We are reminded again and again that this is a work of fiction. Now, why doesn’t the Church do the same thing with another work of fiction that is equally as damaging and dangerous, if not even more so because many Christians actually believe it to be true? I’m talking about the ‘Left Behind’ series, which is as much fiction with as much theological errors as the Da Vinci Code is and has. Why aren’t there as many rebuttals and seminars about it?

By the Waterfalls, a Reflection

The waters fall, the streams continue to flow. On and on, they never seem to run dry. Where does the water come from? Did someone up the hill forget to turn the tap off? The waterfall answers, “We come from the clouds. The rain keeps us going. Every time the dew from heaven falls on the mountainside, we are strengthened, refreshed and renewed.” Like the waterfalls, we depend on God to keep us going. “Rain down on us, O LORD, and rejuvenate us” we pray. Sometimes we forget.

By the sandy riverbanks, the trees reach for the sun. The animals come to live on their branches, and under their cool shade. Why do they grow so tall and strong? “The river gives us life”, they say. As the stream follows its course, it brings life wherever it goes. Our lives flow by a multitude of other lives. Like the stream, do we become that channel to which life can flow from God to others?

On and on the river runs, never stopping to rest. “Hey, wait a minute! I can’t keep up with you!” Like the river, our lives flow on and on. Most of the time, we can’t catch up. One year passes by, and then another. We then wonder what happened. “Where did it all go?” we ask. “All gone in a flash” the echoes whisper in our ears. We need to slow down. We need to pause for a moment to reflect, to enjoy and to really live. Are we aware of the beauty that surrounds us each day? Are we aware of the little movements of God in and around us?

The stream flows next to me. The water is muddy, but the current is strong. Why? Why does the stream look the way it does? Why is it the way it is? The sand and the mud follow it down the mountainside. The little streams that flow into it along the way determine its volume. What I see next to me is merely a snapshot of a long, winding journey down the mountain. Past experiences flow like little streams into our lives to make us who we are today. We carry scars along with us like silt carried by the currents. Chance? Inevitable accidents? Fate? Or God’s careful shaping of our lives? Is this what it’s been leading to? Or is there more? I cannot see. Where does the river go next? What happens after the next bend? They are obscured by the trees. Where are we going? What’s next? How long more? We can’t see. They are obscured by the misty unknown we call the future. All we know, is that somehow, somewhere, the river flows into the sea. Infinity. Eternity. Hope. What will carry us through the unseen stretch ahead? What will keep us going? A promise… and a hope…