What Does It Really Matter?
A while back my wife and I went to see The Davinci Code, right before it left the $2.50 last run theater. We read the book a long time ago and saw the movie mostly out of curiosity (the bad reviews almost kept us away). While I am fully aware of the book’s historical flaws, I admit that there were many intriguing aspects to the plotline. I even chuckled a bit at the local reaction to the movie release. Dan Brown’s novel about the “well kept secret” of the Holy Grail’s “true nature” really ruffled a lot of feathers here in the Bible Belt.
However, after having seen The Davinci Code I was instantly reminded of the power of the movie medium. It is one thing to read something in print and dismiss it as heresy; it is another thing entirely to watch to Ian McKellen portray it on the big screen. Only you can decide if seeing the film is right for you, but either way I think it is your duty to be discerning no matter what movies you choose to consume. If The Davinci Code interests you, then I would recommend that you do some research on the true historical facts of the film. Even if it does not, then it is quite possible that the movie you see as a threat may be an opportunity to share the gospel.
As we drove downtown for some after-movie drinks and hors d’oeuvres, Pam and I had our normal debriefing session about what we had just watched. One thing that stuck out in our minds was the closing dialogue between Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou). Sophie has just found out that she is directly descended from Jesus and is conflicted about whether or not to reveal this truth to the world–something that Leigh Teabing, played by McKellen, was so obsessed over that it led to murder. Robert attempts to console Sophie as she wrestles with a decision that could destroy or maintain the faith of millions.
In this melodramatic moment–the only brightly lit scene in the movie–Langdon asks, “Why does it have to be human or divine?” In other words, what does it matter if Jesus really was God? Then he suggests, “Maybe human is divine.” This must be very soothing to the post-modern ear, but for us it only begged more questions: What does it mean to be human? Divine? There is little time to dwell on these questions before Langdon concludes with, “What really matters is what you believe.”
That all sounds well and good, and is actually not too far from the truth, but what is more important than “what you believe” is what (or who) you put your trust in. For Langdon it is simply important to believe in something, even if it is a lie, so long as that lie makes you happy. Do we Christians believe in the truth or a lie? What if Jesus was just a good person? What does it really matter anyway? What does it really matter if we are blissfully ignorant?
If we spend our whole lives in faithful obedience to God and His Word, only to find out in the end that Christianity is not true, then we Christians are to be pitied above all men. If Jesus is not really who he says he was; if the Christ did not die on the cross; if, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:32, “the dead are not raised,” then we might as well be tripping billies with Dave Matthews. And so it happened that the Sunday after seeing the film we found ourselves in worship; corporately confessing our faith using The Apostles’ Creed. I was especially tuned to the words and what we were confidently proclaiming, because I knew that what you believe and trust in matters everything.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.Amen.
Hey Scott,
Saw your comments on the DaVinci Code. Great insights! My husband Chip and I saw the movie and he read the book prior to that. It seems that all the hype really came and went very quickly, but that our culture is very ready to swallow just about anything new and different. May we continue to be the lights of the Lord in a really dark world. I’d love to hear from you sometime. We’re coming to the mountain for Homecoming, and our daughter is a sophomore at Lee University in Cleveland, one of our soccer competitors! (We still love her!) Our son is in his senior year at Humboldt State University in Northern California. But of course, we’re not getting older in the process . . .:) Would love to hear from you!
I liked your review of the movie.. I too enjoyed it but suprizingly found myslef “uncomfortable” at times when certain “theories” were unveiled during the movie. Afterward I questioned as to why i would feel uncomfortable in a movie which went against what i belived and not the 4 millions things I see on the street everyday which do pretty much the same. Why is it that our emotions ( and anger at times) are taped from a media source rather than real life images and people i interact with in my life.? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
My guess can only be that we are a society who reads fictional books, watches movies, and basicly entertains ourselves to feed a emotional hunger. Some part of our mind is opened up and we let ourselves become the lead character. We sympthize with the cause, journey or mission in which the plot of the movie encompasses. I can only theorize that as I read the book and then watched the movie, that i tried to put myslef in the plot, a keeper of a secret, i imagined that I had knowledge of the Priory of Sion which very few people knew about. This was the reason i came to the movies to begin with. To get away from work for 2 hours and let my mind relax. I can only assume the “uncomfortable” feelings that i had was my faith, fighting the whole thing from the begining to the end. Afterward I relized that it was not as relaxing as i had hoped. I enjoyed the movie… it entertained me.. but I could not relax.. only fight it.
ohh and Scott… educate me as to what “then we might as well be tripping billies with Dave Matthews” might entail… you lost me there ..
I think as long as people remember that they can find The DaVinci Code, as well as Dan Brown’s other novels, in the FICTION section of every bookstore, everything is okay. Good story, though. And I agree, it is OUR duty to be discerning about everything we read and watch.
Also, Brown’s Deception Point is a much better book. Just thought I’d toss that in there!
Rob: Yeah, I think we often underestimate the power of the popular arts (movies, music, etc.). There’s a great book by William Romanowski called Eyes Wide Open that touches on a lot of what you mentioned in your comment. If you haven’t read it, I think I might have a extra copy.
Oh, and meet me at 4:20 behind the bleachers and I’ll explain the tripping billies.
For those who aren’t familiar with teen drug slang, or Dave Matthews Band, the song Tripping Billies (a so-called drug reference) has the line “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” So you see the connection to the second half (the unquoted text) of 1 Corinthians 15:32.
Virginia: I’ve got a copy of Digital Fortress around here somewhere that I have been meaning to read. Is it any good?
Out of the four books I’ve read, I’d list them in this order:
Deception Point
Angels & Demons
DaVinci Code
Digital Fortress
The last two are really a close tie … the first two are very, very good in comparison to the others.
Thanks! I’ll be sure to check those other two out.