A couple of weeks ago, Muslim world was outraged when the Prophet
Mohammed was portrayed negatively in twelve political cartoons that ran in
a Danish newspaper. The reason that the cartoons caused such a stir is that
Muslims consider any image (not just an negative image) of their Prophet
Mohammed to be blasphemous or insulting. So when the founder of the
Christian religion, who is not merely a prophet but is God himself, is
blasphemed in a book, how do Christians respond? Not with outrage, but
they line up to buy the book in great quantities. In fact, over 35 million
copies have been sold, mostly to Christians! Not only that, but many
Christians will probably line up again when the movie that was made of the
book is released in a couple of weeks. If you have not already guessed, the
book in question is The Da Vinci Code.

The Da Vinci Code should be offensive to not just Catholics but all Christians
on many different levels. The book contains many errors in the areas of
history, art, theology, and archeology. In spite of all of the errors some still
might say, "So the book is not completely accurate, but what's the big
deal?"

To understand the "big deal" one must look at the underlying principles that
guide the book. These principles are in truth anti-Christian. This is because
the book denies one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith, the
Incarnation, the truth that God the Son assumed a human nature when he
became man and was born of the Virgin Mary. All of the other mysteries of
the Christian faith are bound up with this great mystery, and one must
believe in it in order to be a Christian. Therefore, since the book distorts the
truth of the Christian faith, it cannot be considered as something harmless,
because if one wants to love Jesus and be with him forever in heaven, one
must know who he truly is. The danger of the book lies in the fact that it
can negatively affect one's understanding of Jesus and his Church. Satan
can use a variety of means to sow the seeds of doubt in one's faith.
The Da Vinci Code begins the attack the Incarnation by saying that Jesus
never claimed to be Divine, but rather, that the Council of Nicea tried to
suppress the humanity of Jesus and make him God so that the Church could
solidify its grip on power in the Roman Empire. However, if this is true, and
Jesus is not truly God, what is the point of being a Christian? As the scribes
and the Pharisees point out, "Who but God alone can forgive sins?" (Luke
5:21) Therefore, if Jesus is not God, then his suffering and death had no
power to save, and man has not been redeemed. As a result, if man is not
redeemed, then no one has the possibility of eternal life.

In order to understand why The Da Vinci code attacks the Incarnation, one
must understand something about the theological underpinnings of the book.
Unfortunately, this task is difficult because a number of different theologies
have been blended together to form an image of God in the book that is not
always consistent. One major element that forms the image of God in the
book is Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a religion of disputed origin that was
developing in Greek culture even before the time of Christ. Many different
types of Gnosticism exist, but certain elements are common to all forms. One
common element is that a dualistic principle exists in the universe. Therefore,
the spirit and the spiritual realm are good, while matter and the material
world are evil. Another common element of Gnostic belief is that man's
existence in the material world is seen then as a type of punishment. Also,
Gnostic beliefs do not have an understanding of atonement for sin, but
salvation is the overcoming of ignorance through self-knowledge. Once one
possesses this secret knowledge (gnosis in Greek) he is able to leave the
material world behind and return to the spiritual realm. This salvation is not
for everyone, but it is only for those who are able to discover the secret
knowledge. As Christianity began to grow, Gnostic sects began incorporating
some Christian beliefs into their own in order to convert Christians to their
religion. The "Gnostic Gospels" that The Da Vinci Code uses such as the
Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene are estimated to have
been written at the earliest, fifty to one hundred years after the Gospel of
John, the final Christian Gospel completed. In the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus is
did not come in the flesh, because the body is evil. Rather, he only appeared
to be in the flesh and to have died on the cross. Furthermore, Gnosticism
also claims that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God, but merely a spiritual
teacher, who gives a select few the secret knowledge that leads to the
spiritual realm.

Obviously from a Christian perspective, the material world is not evil, as John
writes in his Gospel, "the word became flesh and dwelt among us." (1:14)
Jesus did not just come for the redemption of the soul, but for the whole
person, body and soul. Jesus shows us this truth by his own Ascension into
heaven and by Mary's Assumption, body and soul into heaven, and he also
gives man the promise of the resurrection of the body (John 5:29) if one
lives his life in union with him. Therefore, the fundamental principles of The
Da Vinci Code can in no way be compatible with the Christian doctrine of the
Incarnation.

As a result, The Da Vinci Code should be a big deal to Christians. If goal of
the Christian life is to be in union with Jesus Christ, to know him, to love him
and to serve him in this life so that one can be happy with him in heaven,
then the question one must ask is, "Would reading book or seeing movie help
me to grow in union with Our Lord?" The answer is, quite clearly, no.