Local leaders reject religious theories in 'The Da Vinci Code'

Controversy surrounding the movie release of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has religious groups wondering if it's another The Last Temptation of Christ released in 1988. Protests against Nikos Kazantzakis' "temptation" began even before it hit theaters.

Christian groups believed that a story about Christ that was not rooted in the Holy Bible would distort the true faith and lead followers to doubt their convictions.

On June 3 and 4 the San Marco Catholic Church held discussions on Brown's The Da Vinci Code in an effort to separate fact from fiction.

Much of Brown's book and movie are based on what Catholics are calling heresies from earlier religious traditions and just plain bunk.

"The majority of Catholics are somewhat lacking in their education," said Bill Roche, the lay leader of the discussion and education minister for adult faith formation and scriptural study at the church.

"Most of them know little about church history or the Bible." All good Catholics have a Bible in their homes and most Catholics never read it, he said.

Roche called into question Brown's authority to speak on religious issues. He noted that Brown was not an expert on the Bible and he probably never read it.

"He knows nothing about theology," Roche said. To prove his point Roche compared Dan Brown's sources with Biblical scholastics.

Brown's work, he said, that theorizes Leonardo Da Vince and others were part of a secret society called the Priory of Zion, is based primarily on a recent document that was forged in France as a hoax. In comparison, the Bible is based on primary sources, the synoptic gospels that have been validated by historians.

Those accounts make no reference to Brown's assertion that Mary Madgelaine was the wife of Jesus Christ. In addition, Roche pointed out, Biblical women take on a reference to their spouses once they are married, whereas Madgelaine was the hometown of this Mary, a key to her origin and a telling inference that she was not married.

Roche saw the movie because he felt he could not discuss it without having seen it.

He found the movie somewhat entertaining and enjoyable but primarily offensive.

"It is a direct insult to Christ, and a direct insult to the church," Roche said. He noted that Pakistan banned the movie in deference to its Christian minority and in response to its blasphemous information about Jesus.

Roche explained Opus Dei, an actual organization of the Catholic faith that attracts many people who are looking for a more religious lifestyle.

Although members of the group take a vow of chastity, he believed that mortification, such as the self-flagellation depicted in the movie, was not a part of their beliefs.

Roche recalled a time in his religious life when he chose to reduce his food intake as a symbol of his self-control and devotion to God. He was corrected, he said, by one of his superiors who told him that God did not want that kind of sacrifice. His superior suggested that giving up gossip or bad habits would be a better way to show devotion to God.

Reading the scriptures, Roche said, is the only way to know about Christ's life. More familiarity with the Bible, he said, gave him a wealth of knowledge and led him to ask four questions about his reading: What is the writer saying?

What does it mean? What is it saying to me? And what am I going to do about it?

Other authors have written books similar to The Da Vinci Code, Roche said, but they always made sure readers knew their works were fiction.

Brown, on the other hand, keeps saying his book is fact.

In addition, he said, the facts are misconstrued and based on erroneous text and misinformation.

He pointed to the Gnostic Gospels and their heresies, misinformation about the Council of Nicea convened by Constantine and the rise of the Arian schism from the church.

"Dialogue in the movie tried to put forward their agenda," Roche said, "but all Christians believe in the Trinity." Followers of Arian believed in a duality of God — the good and the bad — with the spirit being good and the flesh bad. They therefore had issues with a Christ that died in the flesh to become spirit and then returned to take up his earthly body.

The Council of Nicea was attended by 320 bishops, Roche said, with 17 being followers of Arian. After the council 318 bishops signed a statement agreeing on the divinity of Christ. The movie, he noted, depicted the vote as being very close.

Roche did not recommend seeing the movie because he felt its notions could play havoc with beliefs.

At the 10:30 a.m. Mass on June 4, Father Time Navin, pastor of San Marco Catholic Church, summed up his thoughts on the matter.

"Who cares? I'm not into it myself. It's just hokey. It's silly. It's just silly," he said.