The Da Vinci Code -
When Fiction Contradicts Fiction

by Robert L. Johnson

Christians around the world are up in arms regarding the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code which is based on the NOVEL by Dan Brown. The Vatican is so upset about the novel and the movie that it has called for a boycott of the film as have many non-Catholic religious groups. The reason for the outcry against the story by Christians and other "revealed" religionists? Christians believe it challenges the foundation of Christianity and the Bible.

What does this fear of having their belief challenged by a work of fiction tell us about their belief? To me, it screams out that Christianity is a work of fiction that can't stand any form of criticism, whether in the form of a novel or in the form of a fact based work, such as Tom Paine's The Age of Reason!

It seems that at the heart of the fear from the Catholic Church and Christianity in general is the account in the book and movie that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a child. Perhaps this upsets the promoters of Christian myth because it makes much more sense than Jesus being hung on a cross until dead and then three days latter coming back to life and flying up to heaven. It seems the Church can't handle the idea of Jesus having a normal life with a wife and family as Nature's God intended.

The pious Christian clergy like to pontificate before the news cameras about The Da Vinci Code being a fictional portrayal of history, falsely implying that the Biblical account of history is correct! What a sad joke! The Bible has more holes in it than a screen door! How can the "holy" men and women of  Christianity talk about historic facts with a straight face? The Bible makes such far-out and silly claims, such as not only Jesus coming back to life, but hundreds and potentially even thousands of dead people popping out of their graves and walking around Jerusalem at the same time as Jesus sprang back to life (Matthew 27:52)! Or how about the historical contradictions of something as simple as the time Jesus was supposed to have been crucified? The Gospel of Mark says it was at the "third hour", 9:00 AM, but John says it was the sixth hour, or 12:00 PM. Both can't be correct? At least Dan Brown and Ron Howard are honest enough to say their works are fiction!

We owe ourselves, our children and grandchildren, and society in general enough common sense and self-respect as to never believe in such foolishness as Christianity and the Bible. To me, it is insulting to the Creator to try and connect the Bible with Him/Her. Why would God give us the gift of reason and then produce something like the Bible that goes directly against this wonderful gift of reason??? And then tell us that if we don't believe what goes strongly against His gift of Reason, we will burn in hell for eternity! What total and utter nonsense! It's great to be a Deist and be free of all this man-made superstition and fear!

One part of The Da Vinci Code that sheds some real historic light on Christianity is a statement by one of its characters that Jesus was voted to be God by Church leaders at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE. This goes to the heart of the Christian myth and is very upsetting to Christian leaders. Of course, the source of the false belief that Jesus is God is the Bible and the Bible was voted to be the word of God after the Roman Emperor Constantine ordered and paid Christian leaders for a canon to be settled upon, that canon being the Bible.

I strongly believe it is our duty as Deists to let people know that Christianity and the other "revealed" religions are nothing but ancient mythology. The Da Vinci Code is a great opportunity to bring this reality out! And as Deists we're not only using the negative that the Bible is nonsense, but we're also offering people a reason-friendly belief in Nature's God!