Christian bloggers: I know it’s only fiction, but The Da Vinci Code should definitely be on your list of “things to blog.” The book was a raging bestseller, and the movie is scheduled for release in May 2006.

The convoluted plot is just window dressing. The two main characters discover that the “Holy Grail” is not a chalice but a woman: Mary Magdalene. Mary and Jesus were married, and after Jesus was killed, she fled to Gaul (France) and had a child. One of the main characters is a descendant of the child.

The Roman Catholic Church hid this knowledge for 2,000 years, recasting Jesus the man as Jesus the divine Son of God. The Jesus of The Da Vinci Code was a sinner… just like you and me. In the end we learn that the way to God is not through repentance, redemption, grace or divine mercy. No, the way to God can be found through a pagan sexual ritual.

The Da Vinci Code hype has died down in the past couple of years, but it’s sure to heat up again. The story is not true, but that’s hardly the point. In a world hostile to the faith, we must be prepared to defend the faith when confronted by questions and absurd arguments based on the nonsense within the pages of this book.

Related post: Review of Breaking the Da Vinci Code

Also see:

• Dismantling The Da Vinci Code
• Review by Anne Barbeau Gardiner
• Dan Brown and His Fiction of Renown

Update (8/27): From a reader:

Just a thought as I hear more about the book and the movie and the claims made therein. Can you imagine… just imagine… what muslims would do if such a book/movie were made about islam?

-They commit terror in the face of Korans in the toilet
-They riot when someone suggests Mohammad would’ve married a Miss Universe contestant
-They issue a fatwa against Salman Rushdie for the “blasphemous” Satanic Verses

I think the DaVinci Code’s movie release may provide an opportunity for Christians to show that we can oppose such a blasphemous work without resorting to violence, and perhaps that opens a door or two allowing for some opportunity to witness to others.