The Da Vinci Code and the Jesus Movement

Alexandra Alter, writer of the Knight Ridder Newspapers, in her article on The Da Vinci Code (April 24, 2006), said several things, but three things in particular that deeply intrigued me and make me believe that this new movie’s supposed popularity has some pertinence to us here in Fayette County.

First, because of more than 40 million copies sold of Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” the writer said the novel “has become one of the most influential faith-based books since the Bible.”

A little perspective, please. The Bible has been printed in full or part into 1,500 languages. The Bible is the most widely distributed book in the world. Long, long after “The Da Vinci Code” has come and gone and Tom Hanks and Ron Howard have gone on to their next movie, the Bible will still be flying off the shelves in towns and villages where the “Code” will never go.

Oh yes, don’t forget the recent “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren that has been flying off the shelves helping people live a full and meaningful life in the power of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

And don’t forget Billy Graham’s book, “Peace with God” because it has been translated into more languages and dialects than other book other than the Bible.

Second, every Bible reading individual fully understands that Jesus was fully divine and fully human; it was put another way: he was truly divine as if he were not human and truly human as it he were not divine. But it was not because of Mary Magdalene, whom the male Gospel writers — empowered by the Holy Spirit -— tried in no way to hide or hide her relationship with Jesus. It’s ludicrous to think that Jesus had a woman on the side. If he had had a woman on the side, Jesus could not have been the savior of man much less women.

Jesus was fully human and fully divine because his mother, Mary, was fully human and his father, the Holy Spirit, was fully divine. Could it be that hardly anyone in Hollywood can’t get this straight because they can’t keep their pants on?

Third, Alexandra Alter ends her article by quoting a Gnostic bishop, Tau Malachi, who leads a congregation in Sacramento, California. “I don’t think the success of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ happened in a vacuum,” said Malachi, “The Jesus movement is re-emerging.”

As one who has known and talked to some the early movers and shakers of the The Jesus Movement, I can assure every Fayette reader that this book and this movie and this interest have no similarities to The Jesus Movement.

Rowland Croucher, who leads John Mark Ministries, made this observation on The Jesus Movement that swept from the Pacific to the Atlantic and across the big drinks: “...if any one mark clearly identifies them (followers of The Jesus Movement) it is their total belief in an awesome, supernatural Jesus Christ, not just a marvelous man who lived 2,000 years ago but a living God who is both Saviour and Judge, the ruler of their destinies. Their lives revolve around the necessity for an intense personal relationship with that Jesus, and the belief that such a relationship should condition every human life...”

The Da Vinci Code: an interesting attempt at fiction with some historical base. But it will not make a Jesus Movement in the least. Cash registers will ring. But few lives will be changed. Cha-Ching!