A theological reflection on The Da Vinci Code movie
published:
Saturday | July 8, 2006
By Eniola Davis
The Da Vinci Code presents nothing new to the age-old landscape of Christianity. All Dan Brown has done is to take the argument of Arius, an Alexandrian theologian, and added more inconsistencies to an argument that has no merit.
Brown's book turned movie,
brings several issues into question concerning the church's doctrine. I will
address three of these : 1) The Divinity of Jesus, 2) The Canonicity of the
Gospels, 3) The Value of Scripture.
The Divinity of Jesus
Arius had proven himself
to be an expert at scripture but in time came to a distorted view of the Christ
due to extra biblical literature. Arius began to cite the gospel according to
John 14:28 "The father is greater than I", Mark 10:18 " Why do
you call me good? No one is good but God alone" and Proverbs "In the
beginning He created me [wisdom]." What is true is this: If Jesus is not
fully God He is not God at all and would not have been monotheistic.
Arius overlooked passages
such "And the Word was God" (John 1:1) and "I and the Father
are one" (John 10:30). Scriptures such as these present the Son's divinity.
Brown argues that it was after Nicaea that believers began to accept Jesus as
divine. This could never be true, as there was a majority vote against Arius
at Nicaea.
The Canonicity of the
Gospels
The gospels Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John were eyewitness accounts, not imaginings. Brown claims that it
was the Council of Nicaea that deified Christ and made a secret of Christ's
relationship with Mary Magdalene. However, the church at Nicaea did not seek
to formulate a secret or to cause scripture to appear to have fallen from heaven
but to protect the doctrine of the church from the wild imagination of Montanus
of Asia Minor. Montanus claimed to have received a revelation from God of an
impending Judgment Day. Montanus took advantage of the situation (the letters
of the Apostle Paul along with the Gospels was not yet compiled) and set out
to put his writings into circulation. The church responded about 190 A.D. by
circulating a list of apostolic writings known as the Muratorian Canon. Contrary
to Brown's claims, the church leaders who assembled at Nicaea only debated the
legitimacy of a few books, among them Hebrews and Revelation. The church has
never claimed the scriptures to be penned by God but to be divinely inspired
by Him and written by man.
The Value of Scripture
Dan Brown's "thriller"
will not shake the faith of the ardent believers. The bible has been around
for ages and it will continue to exist long after The Da Vinci Code is forgotten
just like the argument of the heretic Arius. The scripture continues to bring
stability to lives all over the globe and every time it is read the Glory of
Christ will be revealed and the confusion surrounding men will be lifted like
a veil.
The testimonies of believers- past- continue to bring victory to the lives of
the believers- present.
No council gave these testimonies power. It is these Testimonies that have given
power to numerous councils. They have given wealth to the poor, contentment
to the rich and shelter to the destitute.
I have not read the book
but my friends who have say that the movie is a 'watering' to the excitement
the book presents. The movie, to me, was a "James Bond" film without
the main character. It was exciting, with an attention-grabbing twist but nothing
more. Congratulation to Dan Brown for such an action filled script.
Eniola Davis is a ministry intern at the United Church in Jamaica and the
Cayman Islands. A present he is placed at Lincoln Kirk United.
