No Facts, No Faith! The REAL Danger of The Da Vinci Code
Photo by U.S. Department of Defense.
by Calvin Smith
In the sport of boxing there is an old saying ‘Kill the body and the head
will fall’. It means if you direct your attack at a foundational level (the
body) then when your opponent lowers his guard it will make it easier to attack
‘upstairs’ (the head).
It has been interesting to watch the church’s response to the release of the
movie The Da Vinci Code. Mainline Protestant and Evangelical church leaders
are standing up in droves (and rightfully so) to ‘de-bunk’ the anti-Christian
claims made by Dan Brown, the author of The Code.
And how is the church defending against this threat? By pointing to the evidence
from various disciplines (both outside of and within the biblical text). It is showing
that the evidence confirms the accuracy of the events recorded in the Bible
concerning Jesus Christ, the facts surrounding his life, death and resurrection.
In other words, church leaders are demonstrating that the Scriptures are accurate!
We can take them as plainly written.
The Switch Up …
A boxer cannot afford to allow a solid blow to the head to land. So a clever fighter
will also ‘switch up’ and come back to the body after attacking the
head, often catching his opponent off guard with his body now exposed.
Photo by U.S. Department of Defense.
This is the hidden danger of The Da Vinci Code. Because many Christians
have compromised the straight forward foundational teachings in Genesis, they have
left themselves open to the ‘switch up’ of an unbelieving generation.
Skeptics will simply switch to the piercing question, ‘So you say you believe
the Bible do you? Well, what about …?’
- Noah’s Ark, how could he get the animals on board?
- What about evolution?
- What about carbon dating?
- Where did Cain get his wife?
- What about the dinosaurs?
Why the origins issue is so important
Many Christians today do not understand that the church’s failure to engage
on the origins issue (the history of Genesis vs evolution) has led to the collapse
of Christian credibility. For many Christians Genesis is a ‘side issue’,
and the proclamation of the Gospel is all that is important. So, books like The
Da Vinci Code that attack the Gospel message directly are treated as a
serious threat.
Because many Christians have compromised the straight forward foundational teachings
in Genesis they have left themselves open to the ‘switch up’ of an unbelieving
generation. 
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However, if we look at the motivation behind the anti-Christian bias in our culture,
we find that disbelief in what the Bible says about origins is, in many cases, at
the heart of it. See what author Dan Brown said at a recent meeting.
‘The biggest challenge to our spiritual being is our brains are evolving.’
He then asked, ‘How do we become solidly minded scientifically, without
losing our religion?’ 1
Obviously ‘solidly minded scientifically’ to Dan Brown means that we
cannot accept the Bible as written. But evolution is not solid science; it is an
interpretation of scientific evidence based on a philosophy of materialism. If Dan
Brown had understood this he may not have rejected the history plainly written in
the Bible.
A strong foundation…
Jesus said that the one who hears His words and puts them into practice is like
a wise man who built his house on a rock. He said that the wise builder built his
house on a firm footing so that it would weather the storm. But He also warned that
without a solid foundation a structure would collapse in a storm. (Luke
6:46–49)
Christianity is based on a solid foundation of historical facts. These facts are
defensible even against The Da Vinci Code claims. Now, more than ever before,
Christians need to provide solid answers to the questions that non-believers have.
The Da Vinci Code will undoubtedly get people asking questions about the
Bible. They will not stop at the New Testament, however. Jesus is the author of
all Scripture. We need to show the world they can trust the
accuracy of the Bible both in the New Testament and from the very
first verse in Genesis.
Luke 16:31 says ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets [which
includes Genesis], neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the
dead.’
We encourage all Christians to learn how to defend the facts of Jesus’ divinity,
his life, death and resurrection. But go on to learn how to defend the basis
for the doctrines of the New Testament concerning Jesus. The foundational history
in Genesis explains why God the Father sent Jesus to Earth. He had to come
and die as a sinless descendant
of Adam because of the tragedy that took place in the beginning,
as recorded in Genesis.
For more information, see a critique of The Da Vinci Code.
Reference
- Dan Brown, The Music Hall, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, April 23 2006, ‘Writers
on a New England Stage’ series.
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