The Da Vinci Code is no challenge to real faith in Jesus 
(republishing, copying, no restrictions)
By: Father Shay Cullen
First there was the book and now the movie it will be released world wide 19 May and many in the Catholic Church are understandably worried. They say that Dan Brown’s book is fiction masquerading as fact and it can do a lot of damage to the image of the institutional Church. The subject is insensitive and irreverent but it’s not faith shattering.
It is just an intriguing impious suggestion built into a clever detective story. That is the heart of its appeal. It arouses the curiosity in those of little faith or none at all. It is a story, pure fiction of course. There is not a shred of plausible evidence to convince any one of moderate intelligence that the Catholic Church has covered up a secret about the life of Jesus of Nazareth. That he married Mary Magdalene and had children and their descendants are living secretly somewhere in France.
It’s a really corny story but it has fascinated millions, more than 40 million bought the book. It’s the most successful novel, ever. The secret code, if broken, is supposed to unravel the truth. It unravels nothing so it’s a bit of a disappointment for those who were hoping for mysterious revelations. I wish I had written a suspense fiction thriller that earned that kind of money to use for the thousands of street kids all over Asia hungry and starving, jailed and in need of our unconditional love and help.
Stories of religious conspiracies,
mysterious codes and secrets are just the stuff of Harry Potter with his
magic wand. It does not deserve the credibility of intelligent people.
It’s just a paperback novel with an interesting farfetched story told in
a way to make it appear that it really might be true. I stopped reading
half way thru; it became so corny and unconvincing. I had better thing
to read but since I knew I would have to write this column so I finished
reading it to its big flop end.
The Church people say it must be refuted for more people will read it.
It’s better to take it for what it is-pure fiction. The Movie will be
much the same. If believer’s faith is shaken by this, then I say they
had little in the first place. They don't know Jesus and what
Christianity is about. Faith is not about some speculation about the
historical Jesus but about Jesus as the son of a loving God-infinite
goodness and the transforming presence of unconditional love.
Jesus gave us dignity as God’s children and from that all our human and
civil rights, our dignity and inviolability of our persons and above all
- unconditional love came into the human experience. Something very new
had hit the world.
Love as Jesus taught us by his word and deeds are not a trade off, it’s
not business. It is having compassion, empathy, support and concern
allowing “Infinite Goodness” to shine out to others with nothing to give
us. This means the poorest can live, survive and be whole.
Yet it is a great challenge for all of us to understand the secret code
of love and how to overcome self-interest for the sake of another.
Making sacrifices for another without an ulterior motive is really to
conquer selfishness and win a great victory. Break that code and you
will find happiness. Some will sacrifice and help others in the hope of
gaining eternal life. But that too ought to be put aside as we strive
for unselfish giving.
All too often we place conditions on love. We demand our children,
spouse, friend to conform to our conditions rules and expectations. The
secret to Da Vinci, the victory, is to conquer ourselves and our
temptation to be selfish. We can strive, however imperfectly, to achieve
the only victory worth striving for - to love without conditions and
without seeking a reward. Break through that and you have the “Da Vinci”
of love that Jesus has for us. That's fact, all else is fiction.
[End]
