Kirk Bingaman:

Just out of curiosity, how many of you have read The Da Vinci Code? How many of you have it on your "to read" pile of books or on your "to buy" list? How many of you, who have not read it, have at least heard or read something about it? Pretty hard to avoid. Author Dan Brown has been doing the talk show circuit. The book is featured in weekly news magazines: the December 8 issue of Newsweek, for example: "Decoding the Da Vinci Code;" or the December 22 issue of U.S. News and World Report: "Jesus in America: Behind the Wild Success of a Theological Thriller lies a Centuries-Old Urge to Recapture the Original Jesus.

Yes, indeed. A century ago it was Albert Schweitzer and his The Quest of the Historical Jesus, Schweitzer wanted to get at the original Jesus, the pure and unadulterated Jesus, untainted by the myriad layers of tradition and doctrine and theology. And, maybe he was reasonably successful in his quest, yet, at the same time, the book raised even more questions and ultimately left us with the impression that the quest for the original, historical Jesus is, when it is all said and done, an exercise in futility.

I am not even sure, after 2000 years, if we would recognize the original Jesus if he were to enter this very sanctuary and come walking down the aisle. If he did, we may not even recognize him, let alone welcome him with open arms. It is reminiscent of Dostoyevsky’s classic essay, "The Grand Inquisitor," found in his magnum opus, The Brothers Karamazov. It is the 16th century, during the Spanish Inquisition, in the streets of Seville, and suddenly he appears. The people of the streets are irresistibly drawn to him, they surround him, flock to him, and follow him. Light and love and grace shine forth from his eyes. He holds out his hands to the people, blesses them, and heals them. But before too long, the bishop appears on the scene, and orders the rabble-rouser thrown into prison. Whereupon the bishop stops by for a visit one day, and asks of the prisoner, "Is it you?" But receiving no answer, the bishop continues by saying, "Don’t answer, then; be silent. I know too well what you would say (about me and the church), but you have no right to add to or take anything away from what you have said of old."

It also reminds me of the line from Woody Allen’s film, Hannah and Her Sisters: "If Jesus Christ came back today and saw what was being done in his name, he’d never stop throwing up." And so we find ourselves trying to go back to the beginning, to the historical Jesus rather than the Christ of 2000 years of Tradition. Talk about a tall, if not impossible, order. Look at Scripture: After we encounter the boy Jesus, at 12, visiting the temple with his extended family, telling his parents that they could not find him because he had important matters to take care of, after this we do not encounter him again until he is 30. This is part of Doug’s focus and research, while on sabbatical: the so-called missing 18 years. What did happen? What was Jesus doing? Will we ever know for sure? Mormon theology, for example, has Jesus making his way to America, or whatever it was called then, to evangelize the native people. Less fantastic, or more, depending on your point of view, is Dan Brown’s novelistic account.

Bethany Nelson

In The Da Vinci Code, Brown puts forward the theory that during the missing 18 years, Jesus was married, fathered children, the descendents of which are living among us to this day, albeit incognito. Moreover, the Holy Grail is not the cup or chalice Jesus and the disciples used at the Last Supper, but is rather a veiled reference to Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ wife who bore his children. Brown is basing his dramatic conclusion on the Nag Hammadi Gnostic texts discovered in Egypt, and, in particular, a word from those writings that he takes the liberty of translating as "wife" when in fact it really means "friend" or "companion." If you are hearing this for the first time, it may seem rather extraordinary, but rest assured, the theory has been around for centuries. In that sense, there is nothing new under the sun, no new information. Only a brilliant author and publisher who thought to put it in such a polished and readable and marketable form.

There is nothing new under the sun. Fifteen years ago, it was The Last Temptation of Christ, which created another firestorm by presenting to us, courtesy of Martin Scorsese, a very human Jesus who, interestingly enough, was tempted in ways that we all can identify with. I remember the disagreement I had with my father over whether Christians should even see the film. "Christians need to take a stand against this movie by boycotting it," he told me. "And yet," I said, "I have good Christian people in my church who have seen it and are now asking me what I think of it; I feel obligated to go and see what all the fuss is about, even if I don’t agree with all of the film’s theology." Later that evening, my father stopped by my room, leaned his head inside the door, and with a genuine tenderness, said, "You’ll have to be patient with me."

So go ahead, see the Last Temptation and read The Da Vinci Code. Talk about it with your family and friends and other Christians. For in so doing, your own spirituality and views of Christianity and personal convictions about Jesus will be fine-tuned and sharpened and clarified. And do not worry, God will not be offended, nor will we lose our faith just because we encounter "heretical views." God is much bigger than that. That is the God I trust in. Because, at bottom, all the fuss is really about a deep yearning for God.

When Kirk and I decided to talk about the questions surrounding The DaVinci Code, I decided I had better do some research. I had read the book, but I wanted to get a better understanding about the accuracy of some of the religious history and theories presented in the book. So I did a lot of reading. I read literary critiques, historical analyses, philosophical ponderings, and theological interpretations. There are a lot of people with a lot of opinions about this book. And you know what conclusive findings I came up with after all this research? Absolutely none. I found people who thought the book was quite believable, and people who thought no part of it was believable. I found people who thought the author’s research was impeccable, and people who found it quite flawed. I found people who thought his theories could be quite accurate, and some who found them utterly impossible. So the search for answers continues. Isn’t it interesting how we as Christians often come up with more questions than answers? And really, I shouldn’t limit it to just Christianity. At an interfaith workshop I went to last December, a Jewish rabbi talked about how asking questions was one of the critical aspects of her faith. How, in her faith, searching for the truth by asking questions was an ongoing and always enlightening process.

So I’m glad that this book has encouraged people to ask questions. I love to play the "what if" games and listen to the various theories people have. It’s important for us to question, to converse, to debate. As author Elaine Pagels says, "The history of Christianity is not a triumphal march of ideas, but a series of intense arguments and conversations."

The questioning process can be helpful. But what happens when we don’t have answers? Are you going to follow Jesus’ teachings differently because you don’t know for certain if he was married? Is the guidance you get from reading the Bible going to change because it may not accurately portray Mary Magdalene? The Psalm we read this morning reminds us, "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust." Even without all the answers, I trust in God’s grace and God’s love. I trust in Jesus’ commandment to love God and my neighbor with all of my heart. I trust in Jesus’ example of reaching out to the poor and the sick.

I want to be careful not to focus too much on the book. The academic and historical questions it raises are interesting to discuss, but it is, after all, a work of fiction. How about the questions we face in our daily lives? They often are not academic, but cut right to the heart of our faith. For example, when someone wonders why your child went to church on Sunday rather than the soccer game. Or when you get that strange look because you took a moment to bless your food before eating at that business lunch. Or when your friend dies too young from cancer and someone asks how God could let that happen. Do these questions have answers? With faith, I believe they do. "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust." I trust that God grieves with us in times of pain, and laughs with us in times of joy. I trust that God loves us unconditionally. I trust that when we put God first in our lives, our priorities – on Sunday mornings, at business lunches, and in every part of our lives - will change. Look at Jesus. When he was twelve, he disobeyed his parents because he felt called to study with the teachers in the temple. Later, he went against the norms of society by choosing to stay at the house of Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector, and sharing water and conversation with the woman at the well, who was an outcast of the community. We may not be able to give a biography of Jesus’ life before he turned 30, but we can use what we do know as an example of how to live ours. Through his life, we can know of God’s love in our lives.

Questions about Christianity, about the Bible, about Jesus, about our own personal beliefs will always be a part of our lives. A couple of years ago the hot topic was Revelation and the end of time, because of the Left Behind series of books. Today it’s Jesus and Mary Magdalene, because of The DaVinci Code. Tomorrow it will be something else. I’m sure the new Mel Gibson movie will spark some conversation at the end of this month. Participate in the discussion. Enjoy the questions and the debate. Even dare to have some questions directed at you because your priorities are driven by faith. But through all the questioning, debating, and searching for answers, don’t forget about the answers we already have - the truth of God’s love, the power of Jesus’ life, and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Amen.