In the coming weeks, Roger will be reviewing several books addressing the claims of The Da Vinci Code, but I want to throw a recommendation out there for one I just finished.  It's called Cracking Da Vinci's Code by James L. Garlow and Peter Jones, and you can get a cheap paperback version for only $4.99.

I mentioned before that it seemed to me the issue of paganism in TDC has been overlooked as people rush to correct the historical inaccuracies.  I strongly believe that, in addition to facts, TDC needs to be addressed at the more fundamental level of worldviews, and this book is just what the conversation needs.

We must, of course, answer its digs at the Bible and the authentic Jesus.  However, the real significance of the book is its clear intention to undermine the very foundation of biblical faith and to establish in its place an opposing religious system.  Because Brown has adopted the pagan worldview, he is not content to shoot a few BBs at the facts of church history.  He wants to blow a hole in the foundations of the worldview of the Bible (p. 223).

Cracking connects TDC with the larger picture of paganism, ancient Gnosticism, and trends in our own culture as these ideas once again gain a foothold--and it does so in a readable, layperson-friendly way.  The whole phenomenon of TDC's success makes more sense when you can get the larger view of the history and basic ideas of the system of belief in question (i.e., the "sacred feminine," goddess worship, etc.).  Understanding the full picture of this puzzle is crucial for us Christians because it will enable us to recognize (and reject) the ideas that fit into this system--possibly even scattered ideas we've already picked up here and there and accepted, not recognizing their origins and place in the larger pagan worldview.

Two views of religion are warring in our day....There might be hundreds of factions (religions) with their unique little agendas, but ultimately they all will eventually align themselves under two fundamental alliances:  pagan monism and biblical theism (p. 223).

Behind the debates and conflicting facts, at its core The Da Vinci Code is a radical redefinition of God as the impersonal force of nature (pp. 225-226).

Think it isn't important for us to get a better grasp of these ideas?  Would you feel more motivated if you knew about the Center of the Sacred Feminine and its plans for a goddess temple in San Diego?  New Testament scenarios like that of Acts 19 are not so far away from us.

Like Paul in Ephesus, the authors of Cracking approach paganism not from a place of angry attack, but with a clear love and concern for those who are suffering apart from God.  After you read this book, I would suggest two things: 

1) Learn more about paganism.  I noticed another book by Jones called Capturing the Pagan Mind.  I haven't read it, but if it's similar to Cracking, I suspect he will offer ways to convey the gospel lovingly, intelligently, and intelligibly to those with a pagan worldview, so that might be a place to start.  If the trend of our culture continues, this will be important if we're to understand and communicate well with our neighbors. 

2) Read the Confession of St. Patrick.  Why?  For hope, my friend.  Jesus was greater, more beautiful, and more real, solid, and true than the entrenched paganism of Ireland, and the people came to Him.  Let us respond to spiritual need as Patrick responded, remembering the exhortation of Romans 10:14:

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

(Spoilers below.)  Yesterday, I spoke of the view of religious truth celebrated by the heroes of The Da Vinci Code.  Their goal in the novel was to conceal truth that would upset people's false beliefs.  For them, religious claims are "true" in a different sense than we would normally use the word, so that even when they're false, they're "true."

The villain, on the other hand, is one who would bring the truth to light at all cost, destroying the faith of millions.  Since it's all metaphor (the heroes would insist), what does it matter if the facts are false?  Those false beliefs uplift, and that's what religion is for!  "Religious allegory has become a part of the fabric of reality.  And living in that reality helps millions of people cope and be better people" (p. 342).  Only an evil person would try to show the world the truth that Christianity (or any other religious belief) is false and another is true.

For Dan Brown, there are two kinds of truths.  Spiritual claims are "true" in the sense that they inspire, but not in the normal sense of the word (i.e., that they reflect reality).  As he says in TDC, "Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical" (p. 341-342).

Paul disagrees:  "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied."

There is only one kind of truth.  Either Christianity is true (and its claims match reality) or it's false.  Either the object of its faith (Jesus) can save, or he can't.  Either we should place our trust in Him, or we shouldn't.  Paul understood this quite well.  Christianity declares itself to be true.  The goal of religion is not to nurture an uplifting, inspiring faith inside ourselves.  The goal is to worship the true and living God who exists outside ourselves.  This is why Paul insists that our faith is worthless if it's placed in something false.

I respect people who esteem truth enough and take the claims of Christianity seriously enough to reject them outright as false, but I've never been one to respect the patronizing idea that not only does the truth not matter (because, technically, all religions are false), but people ought to be protected from real truth in order to enjoy their little fantasies.

So I guess, in this case, that puts me on the side of the villain.   Viva truth!  Viva the living God!

When our friends inevitably ask what we think about The Da Vinci Code, I see two core issues that require discussion.  The first is paganism (which I wrote about here), and the second is TDC's view of the nature of religion.  (Spoilers below.)

Despite some early literary misdirection, The Da Vinci Code doesn't end up being an attack on Christians or Christianity.  Ultimately, it's an attack on any claim of spiritual truth (and by "truth" I mean true, real, actual truth--truth that reflects what is).

"Sophie, every faith in the world is based on fabrication.  That is the definition of faith--acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove.  Every religion describes God through metaphor, allegory, and exaggeration, from the early Egyptians through modern Sunday school.  Metaphors are a way to help our minds process the unprocessible.  The problems arise when we begin to believe literally in our own metaphors" (p. 341-342).

The heroes of the novel are interested in keeping the wonder and mystery of religious fantasy alive in all people, regardless of which fantasy they've chosen.  ("It is the mystery and wonderment that serve our souls, not the Grail itself" (p. 444))  They refuse to let grail seekers dig at their sacred site not because the seekers would find the treasure there and reveal its truth, but because they wouldn't find it, and the dream would suffer. 

"For some, the Grail is a chalice that will bring them everlasting life.  For others, it is the quest for lost documents and secret history.  And for most, I suspect the Holy Grail is simply a grand idea…a glorious unattainable treasure that somehow, even in today's world of chaos, inspires us" (p. 444).

It's the inspiration that matters, not the fact.  And it's that inspiration that must be protected and promoted, not truth.

Tomorrow I'll contrast this view with the villain's view of spiritual truth and compare these ideas with the Bible.