The Vatican and the Da Vinci Code

Cardinal Francis Arinze wants Christians to take legal action against the film "The Da Vinci Code."

"Christians must not just sit back and say it is enough for us to forgive and to forget," Arinze said in the documentary made by Rome film maker Mario Biasetti for Rome Reports, a Catholic film agency specializing in religious affairs.

"Sometimes it is our duty to do something practical. So it is not I who will tell all Christians what to do but some know legal means which can be taken in order to get the other person to respect the rights of others," Arinze said.

"This is one of the fundamental human rights: that we should be respected, our religious beliefs respected, and our founder Jesus Christ respected," he said, without elaborating on what legal means he had in mind.

He seems to envy the Moslem's active defense of Allah exemplified by the strong reaction to the cartoons of Mohammed. There is one problem, unlike the Koran which calls for the followers of Islam to kill blasphemers the Bible has no such instruction. It says quite plainly that Christians should "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15. What he is missing is an understanding of who and what God is, He is not one dependent on any man. If Moslems would take just a moment and contemplate this idea they would realize the god they serve is no god. So it is with Cardinal Francis Arinze if he feels Christians need to resort to the courts to defend God, than the god he serves is not the God of the Bible nor is he a god worth defending.

So what about "The Da Vinci Code"? Should Christians denounce it or boycott it? The worst reaction that an idea can receive is indifference. To react with enthusiasm or anger will draw attention to any idea regardless of its merit. A general dismissal of the movie as fiction could get people to ask questions where strong denunciations would signal insecurity in one's belief.

A Christian should be so familiar with the truth that he would recognize a lie and know the basis of its falsehood. That is the reason for the scripture. It is the light of truth, yet few who call themselves Christian are reading it. Even a man who holds the title of Cardinal in the Vatican seems to have neglected his reading. Otherwise he would not have made such a statement. A Christian who follows 1 Peter 3:15 would see the movie so he could than answer anyone who asks with the truth and do so with gentleness and respect.


Basil's Christian Carnival CXXI (121)

Christianity Da Vinci Code