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Barna, Shmarna. Forget those pop culture conversations around the water cooler, which just involve a few folks. But a picket will get the attention of lots of people. We might even be on TV!

For all these reasons, when it comes to The Da Vinci Code, I urge my fellow believers …

Rats! Another interruption! My cell phone is ringing …

That was Darrell L. Bock, another one of those head-in-the-sand seminary profs. He teaches at Dallas Theological Seminary. But he did write a book called Breaking the Da Vinci Code; now there's a title I like! I figured at least he would be tracking with me.

But NO-O-O-O! Bock actually says we shouldn't view the movie as a threat. He says it's only a threat "if its facts are right, or it could simply persuade by making its claims."

OK, fine. So I told him that everybody doesn't have to picket. They can just pretend it doesn't even exist.

"Neither can you ignore it," Bock said. "The novel has sold 30 million copies, and 100 million people have probably read it or at least know its plot. It is a cultural phenomenon already. This topic will be on the cultural radar screen for a key portion of 2006."

He's right about that, because we Christians will make sure of it. We'll make so much noise with our boycotts and pickets that everybody will know about it. We'll run Sony Pictures out of business! We'll make sure Ron Howard AND Tom Hanks never work again! We'll …

AARRGGHH! Another interruption! But it's not the phone or my PC. It's a still, small voice inside …

"I'm not afraid of The Da Vinci Code," the voice says. "Sure, it's full of lies, but I've had worse things said and written about me, and I've come out just fine. And besides, I love Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, and everyone associated with this movie. You've seen the tagline on their trailer and poster: Seek the truth. They're all just seeking the truth, and I am that truth. They're looking for me. I can still be found."

I started to say something, but decided to shut up for a change.

"Besides," the voice continued, "if lies about me were such a threat, why would I have allowed so many of them to make it into your Bible? All those nasty things people said about me. And the things they did to me—mocked, scorned, beaten, bloodied, crucified. But I bounced back pretty well, don't you think?"

Good point.

"Do you really think the lies of a book and a movie will bring me down? I don't like it when people lie about me, but I can take it. The question is, what will you do about it? Please don't attack them—and certainly not in my name. Talk to them; talk to anybody who believes those lies. But first, you'll have to study up and know why they're lies. You'll have to know what you're talking about.

"My man Peter got it right when he wrote, '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.' Good words, those. Remember them.

"Ron and Tom aren't bad people; neither is Dan Brown, and neither are the millions who buy into his book or this movie. They're just looking for the truth. So help them find it … with gentleness and respect. Can't you do that? For me?"

Thankfully, that was the last interruption of the day. But it was a good one.

I'm calling off the boycott. And the picket.

Editor's note: We are not suggesting that Christians necessarily should watch The Da Vinci Code when it comes to theaters; skipping it is certainly a viable option. We are only suggesting that the Christian community be willing to take part in the overall cultural discussion about the film and the book, rather than take a reactionary approach with noisy protests and organized boycotts—just as we would hope secular culture would take part in the discussion of "our" movies, like Narnia and The Passion of The Christ.

Quotes from McDowell and Johnston were gleaned from this article. Quotes from Barna and Bock were gleaned from this website.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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