The Da Vince Code movie is coming out in a couple of weeks and I suspect it will rekindle the fires of the controversy that surrounded the book. The response to the book has been interesting to me, but I see it as a good thing, rather than bad. It was the first book I had read by Dan Brown, and after reading it, I read all of his other ones. Well written novels, I might add.
It does interest me that a fiction book is taken so seriously, but then again, it only ignites a century old controversy surrounding Christ's married status. What I think is so positive about this though is that people who aren't normally interested in talking about Christ at all suddenly are interested. While the reason for the discussion may be founded on fiction, it is still a wonderful thing that people ask questions.
There is one thing that concerns me though, and that has been the some of the Christian response. In a discussion last night, a question was asked -- was Christ married? The response I heard was -- no, he wasn't, because the Bible doesn't say He was, and since it isn't in the Bible, it isn't true. This is making at least two rather large assumptions: the Bible covers all truth (incorrect) and that the Bible will contain everything that society consider important or relevant (also incorrect).
John at the end of his gospel suggests that all the books in the world could not contain the words and actions of Christ -- how then can we suggest the Bible covers it all? Not to be crude here, but it never records that Christ used the bathroom, yet more than likely He did.
When did it become inappropriate to simply respond with - I don't know. The facts are: the Bible doesn't say He was or was not married. And is that really the critical question? May I suggest other questions that may be more relevant? Will a change in Christ's marital status change Who He is or what is known and is true about Him? Will the character of Christ change if He was married? Will my salvation change?
Let me close by saying that I don't think Christ was married. But I don't know for certain and am comfortable not having certainty. I am thankful for the opportunity to ask people in a non-threatening atmosphere about the movie and see where the Spirit leads. Perhaps over the next few weeks and months as the conversation ignites again, we can move forward without being defensive, but excited about the possibilities of getting to talk to others about a Savior we love.
