Responses to Brown

Peter Edman

I should start with the disclaimer that I personally am inclined to the camp that thinks the book and movie of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code are best ignored lest further efforts to debunk his scholarship and historical claims actually contribute to the publicity campaign. But there’s no ignoring the fact that the publicity he’s already earned from the lawsuits and the dozens of debunking books and websites—combined with the novel’s own narrative drive, the human weakness for conspiracy theories, and the perennial desire to create a more comfortable form of religion—has made it a cultural force to be reckoned with.

Senior Fellow Bill Edgar is taking the lead for a new Da Vinci response site sponsored by Westminster Theological Seminary, The Truth About Da Vinci, which will also be including articles and multimedia from a variety of people we like, including Trinity Forum co-founder Os Guinness. The site looks winsome and non-defensive, attempting, as it says, to create “doubt about doubt.” But Bill & Co. are not the only ones out there—not even the only ones from the Reformed stream of the faith—making a stand. 

There seems to be a whole cottage industry of Brown-debunkers (it’s useful, it’s fun, and it’s ever so easy!), both independent, like the Westminster folk, and “official” like those on the Da Vinci Dialogue website kindly or crassly sponsored by Sony (which also includes participation from some people we like, like Frederica Mathewes-Green).

I’ve seen books out from across the theological spectrum, ranging from Nicky Gumbel of Holy Trinity Brompton and Alpha to D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries to Josh McDowell and Campus Crusade to Amy Welborn. And it looks like the indefatigable Bishop Tom Wright has one coming out just before the film hits (probably an expansion of this article). (Amy Welborn notes that Catholic scholar George Weigel recommends Wright’s Challenge of Jesus as a singular go-to book for those troubled by Brown’s portrait of Jesus.)

And it would be wrong to omit the pioneering and tireless efforts of the folks at Ignatius Press, publisher of The Da Vinci Hoax and host of the Da Vinci Hoax Blog. Also on the Catholic side is The Da Vinci Antidote and a more official response from the UCCB, Jesus Decoded.

I guess it’s nice to see something that all the various types of Christians can rally around. 

Sightings, Arts and Culture, Faiths and Worldviews, Wed 19 Apr 2006