Da Vinci Code: fiction shakes faith

DAN BROWN’S novel The Da Vinci Code is just that — a novel, a volume of fiction by a very good fiction writer.

Mr Brown is not a theologian; he writes fiction for a living, to help pay the mortgage and send the kids to college.

However, since its publication, this book has been the cause of intense debate. Now, with the release of the film based on the book, the debate flares up again. Even the Vatican, to my dismay and more than a little amusement, has entered the fray. The Vatican — that seat of learning and wisdom and bastion of male infallibility — is so unsure of its ground now it is suggesting that all Catholics should boycott this film.

But why? Is the Church afraid to run the risk that we may draw some conclusions from the story that differ from Vatican dictate?

Or maybe they are unsettled by the mental images we may conjure up of Jesus changing dirty nappies, arguing with his wife over whose turn it is to water the camel, or walking around the streets of Nazareth or Jerusalem in the middle of the night cradling a screaming and teething infant.

A little too much like real life, perhaps, for all those unmarried Vatican denizens? By their latest silly interjection, the Vatican is indicating that it believes the book poses a real threat to our spiritual wellbeing, thereby lending credibility to that which it argues against. Belief in anything — whether it be Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the Apostles, a monk with a penchant for the bleach bottle, Santa, or even God — is purely subjective. It does not matter whether these people or deities ever existed, whether or not Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, whether or not they had children. The only thing that matters is whether or not you believe in these people or deities and, if you do, whether or not your belief in them gives you solace, hope and comfort. Isn’t that what faith is all about?

And what has happened to people’s faith, I wonder, that it can be so shaken by the wonderful machinations of a fiction writer?

I think the answer is that we have lost our spiritual sense of belonging. We are looking for something to replace what, for many of us, was the once solid trust in our belief in the Catholic Church. Now, for a lot of people, that solid ground has fallen away under their feet; the trust has disappeared like ground frost by noon.

It is sad, but true, that Ireland is a fertile ground for cultivating the seeds of doubt as to the truthfulness and veracity of the Catholic Church, which has a miserable track record.

It is also true that nature abhors a vacuum, and so it is little wonder that disillusioned people would look to an alternative cast of characters to replace those who so bitterly disappointed.

So, finally, read the book, watch the film, and enjoy them both for what they are — great entertainment.

Gaye Walsh

827 NE 100th

Seattle

Washington 98125