The world is changing, we feel in the Earth, we feel it in the water. The well-chosen words are J.R.R. Tolkin's, but soon enough people will remember other words, belonging to the new best-seller book, The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. And indeed, the world is changing...

What can be described as a work to be read by the sea, in a calm vacation, helping you to get lost for a couple of weeks has become in the past months one of the great subjects of discussion, debate and quarrel between its adepts and the Churches.

Probably one of the most common explanation of this success is that Dan Brown has begun his book by stating that this fictional work has at its core a fact. That is, the Church is willing to do anything in order to protect its secrets, well-guarded by all kinds of secret institutions and fellowships. But what are the major claims of "The DaVinci Code"?

The Claims
One of the most important claims made public by Sam Brown is that Jesus Christ was married. This kind of assertion results in a very human image of Christ, His person becomes more like us. Maybe the marriage of Christ appeals to more and more people and readers, because it brings Christ closer to the mentality of "normal" life today, when Christians are themselves
closing down on moral family values. The role-model occupied by Christ in 2000 years of Christian mentality is now the place for a more human Christ, a figure having the same attributes as our own. And if we add the image revealed by the Gospel of Judas, we are sitting in from of a over-humanized Christ, laughing at the Apostles, marrying Mary Magdalene etc.

The institution of the Church is not so much threatened by "The DaVinci Code", but it is put in the odd position of justifying its medieval acts and attitude. Mainly, Dan Brown is suggesting that some of the practices used during the medieval era is still in use today, when the Church has its "Cerbers", secret organizations preserving and guarding hidden truths not to be made public. This is the case with the obscure "Prieure de Sion", whose main objective is to keep the secrecy of the "real life" of Jesus. Once again, the phantom of the past seem to haunt the present. During the medieval times, the Catholic Church, and for that manner and in a different cultural and Christian background, the Orthodox and Protestant Church, benefited from the work of "elite choc-forces" ready to go a great length in order to defend and expand the interests of their Church. We leave this matters to be solved by the specialists, more answers can be found here about the facts presented by Dan
Brown.

One of the main figures mentioned by the book is that of Leonardo da Vinci. His historical character is not controversial; he is one of the most important exponents of the Italian Renaissance, inventor, science-man, painter, architect, sculptor. As do his fellow Renaissance men, Leonardo is well-known due to his great ability to solve specific scientific matters, especially when they are related to his main activity: architecture. He is one of the architects solving for good the problem of suspending big rches or cupolas on
a cylinder base. His competence, as well as his contribution to the field of architecture, are enormous.

Dan Brown uses the figure of Leonardo da Vinci in order to justify one of the main thesis of his book. In "The Last Supper" painting, the person on the right of Christ is usually recognized as Saint John, the youngest and the most virgin-like (using the expression of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria) inside the apostolic group. Saint John is the one resting his head on the chest of Christ after the announcement of the Passion has been made. Starting from this point, we imagine Leonardo has seen John as the young man who, understanding the mission of Christ, does not oppose it (as it happens several times in the case of Peter), but goes along its master. This is why John is represented so much different than the other apostles, who are whispering and talking among themselves, John being the only one in that moment to really understand the points at issue in Christ's words. But Dan Brown is not so much into theological details in his book; for him, the position of the bodies of Christ and the person at his right, as well as the women-like figure of this second person are signs this person has a greater importance in the life of Jesus, he, or we should say she, is the one standing by Christ all along, because she is Mary Magdalene, the wife of Jesus and mother of the merovingian royal line.

With this, we enter another realm of speculations. But these speculations are based on a painting made by Leonardo da Vinci; without taking away the great merits of Leonardo, we should say that a painting cannot be considered a source of historical truth revealing hidden secrets about a historical person. The claim of Dan Brown is twice wrong: because it holds that Leonardo's painting is more revelatory than the Gospels and because it holds as true one of the otherwise oldest known heretical claims, that Jesus was a mere human.
Along with "Prieure de Sion", whose goal is to keep under the bell the real truths about Christ, there is another organization with a hidden agenda: Opus Dei. In the Catholic world, Opus Dei are known to be an congregation dealing with one or more earthly things. They are present in almost all European countries, looking for funding to finance cultural and scientific projects. But in "The da Vinci Code" they are described as being the enemies of the priory of Sion, trying to get a hold on its secrets and powers. A violent image given to
the public about an institution with a humanist agenda.

The success
There are many answers to be given to questions like: "why this book is so successful?", "why Christians themselves are so attracted to this new kind of understanding the truth about Christ?". We tried to summarize some of the opinions expressed in some of the world's most respected press institutions.

First, the Orthodox opinion is trying to see the usual conspiracy of masons, politicians who try to undermine the power and the dignity of the Churches. In an interview, Andrey Kurayev, professor at Moscow Theological Academy and well-known Orthodox theologian suggested this is one of the episodes of the cold-war between Catholic Church and masonry .

In a very equilibrated text, Michael Kress of Beliefnet.com settles the causes of this great hysteria: the Catholic Church's public image after the scandal of sexually abusing priests, the appetite for conspiracy theory and Dan Brown's claim the book is based on a fact make this book and this film to be a very large public success. But we should not forget the biblical illiteracy of many of the Christians, as well as today's culture of accepting anything criticizing the Church.

The American society was the first to respond to the "Da Vinci Code", giving it its success. But what features of this society (to be met in other parts of the world as well, inasmuch as the book was afterwards successful all over the world) gave this book its success? First of all the figures may surprise us. 75% of the Americans say they are Christians, but only 33% of them think about the Scripture as an inerrant text. Furthermore, 10.000 seminarists
think the same way about the Bible. This is causing people to see the Bible as an ordinary text, not as the revelation of God's name and activity.

In Washington Post, we have found a short history of Catholic understanding over the film industry. Here we are given the impression this Da Vinci-mania would had taken place 50 years ago, we would have had now boycotts of all movies, not just this one, protestors and public displays of faithfulness towards Christ. We are led to say these days are long gone.

It is very interesting how the arguments are developed inside the movie and the book. In a very challenging article, where it also directs the readers towards a host of resources to uncover and break the Da Vinci Code, Dr. Marc T. Newman manifests one of the attitudes to be seen more often about this media challenge.

There are several ways to relate to "Da Vinci Code". One of the most surprising is to speak about the claims extant inside the book, saying just some of the humans belong to a blood line going back to Jesus Christ. A specialist on this matter speaks in LA Times.

One of the most impressive carriers in interviewing, that of Chris Carpenter, was put to work in an interview with Richard Abanes, an investigating journalist that reveals many of the arguments inside the Da Vinci Code as "woefully inaccurate folly".

A question: who would have guessed the Council of Nicea and Mary Magdalene could be this hot? find the answers, as well as some other positive things about the Da Vinci Code, here.

For a more scholar view, as well as for the opinion of a professor and researcher in early Christianity, there is an interview with Bart Ehrman, focusing on the "howlers" existing in the book.

For those who need to have all the counter-arguments in just one place, or who want to get a more comprehensive perspective, you may find very useful this link, taking you to the text of the book "Da Ciphering Da Vinci", a Catholic book taking each of Dan Brown's claims one by one.

Some of the Christians see "Da Vinci Code" as a way of boosting up the evangelization in the world. This idea is developed here.

But maybe all the articles here are trying to answer just one question: is "Da Vinci Code" anti-christian? Find here an article named like this and its opinion.

Controversy continues
The Christian Churches owe their existance and especially their doctrine to centuries of debates and dialogue between members and opposing parties. "Da Vinci Code" is just another, more secular way, of seeing Christ. Of, course, you can see behind it conspiracies, institutions, hidden things (and some may be true), but in general it brings before our eyes another Christ. Just as with councils and heresies, this Christ must be scrutinized by the Church, Only by doing this, Christ will be forever the one proclaimed by the Apostles according to Scriptures.

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