Da Vinci Code movie a target for US evangelicalsSun May 14, 2006 9:33 AM ET
By Michael Conlon
CHICAGO (Reuters) - America's evangelical Christians who see "The Da Vinci Code" as Bible bashing at its worst are taking a cue from Hollywood to attack the story as well as capitalize on the hit novel's impending movie version.
Largely forgoing boycotts or protests, leaders of Christians who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible are turning out professional videos with titles such as "The Da Vinci Delusion" and "The Da Vinci Deception Experience."
They are designed to show the perils of blurring fact and fiction in Dan Brown's bestseller and take advantage of the reawakening of interest in the Bible it and the upcoming movie have caused among faith seekers.
"A boycott at this point would not do any good. When you have a tsunami coming it doesn't help to build a wall," said Dr. Erwin Lutzer, pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago.
"I have never in my 30 years of ministry had a time when so many people are interested ... We as evangelicals welcome the debate," added Lutzer, who wrote "The Da Vinci Deception" which has been turned into a video teaching kit on the subject.
He and other experts will appear in a closed-circuit broadcast this month that will be aired to around 700 churches, to inform congregations about the book's faults and take advantage of the debate to promote church attendance.
"This is the engagement option," says Darrell Bock, professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.
It provides an opportunity for people "to become familiar with the content of the book and the claims it's making and then being prepared to respond, by pointing out the numerous factual errors it contains," he added.
This has become the favored approach among evangelicals, instead of boycotting the movie, said Bock, author of "Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone is Asking."
By contrast cardinals at the Vatican, who consider the book blasphemous, have called for a boycott and unspecified legal action to be taken against the novel and film.
DA VINCI "DECEPTION"
Across the United States on Saturday and Sunday, television viewers were to be offered "The Da Vinci Deception," an hour-long program produced by Dr. D. James Kennedy and his Florida-based Coral Ridge Ministries.
The video, also being offered for sale, exposes "how a best-selling book threatens to undermine the faith of millions," its promotional trailer states.
Donald Wildmon, founder of the Mississippi-based American Family Association which has organized boycotts against TV shows and companies it considers morally offensive, says the video "should be viewed by every Christian and shown in every church."
The book, and the film opening May 19, contain the idea that Jesus sired a child by Mary Magdalene, leading to a clandestine society that has for centuries protected the identity of their descendants from agents of the Catholic Church.
Dr. Robert Hodgson, dean of the American Bible Society's Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship, says many Christians see the debate as a great time to promote the Bible.
But there are others who "see a more sinister hand at work in the movie and want to correct the record and get the voice of orthodox Christianity out there."
The New York-based society produced a show called "Debunking the Da Vinci Code" which aired earlier this year on about 300 cable TV channels.
"Not only do we have the voice of Dan Brown telling us his reconstruction, (but) we have an increasing Bible illiteracy here in North America," Hodgson said.
Adds Lutzer of Chicago's Moody Church: "There is a huge battle going on today on who has the best telling of the Christian story.
"People want to believe the Da Vinci Code so badly because they want a Christ who is manageable, a Jesus that is not going to challenge you or threaten your lifestyle."