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When I first heard about The Da Vinci Code a few years ago, I figured nobody would believe author Dan Brown's ridiculous claims—including the allegation that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had a child. After all, I thought, it's just a novel. Pure fiction.

I was wrong.

The book has gone on to sell over 40 million copies, and is now poised to release as a major motion picture on May 19. And many people do believe the story; a recent poll showed that 17 percent of Canadians and 13 percent of Americans think its claims are true.

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So, how should Christians respond to all of this, especially as the movie brings the Code to the fore of the cultural conversation?

We could opt to skip the movie, and if the Holy Spirit so directs you, that's a viable response.

We could boycott it with loud protests, but I think that would only drive ticket sales even higher. Another option is a "quasi protest" by going to another movie on opening weekend, trying to offset Da Vinci's box office—but I doubt this strategy will work well.

My personal advice: Go to the movie, but not with other believers. Go with unbelievers/seekers; the ensuing conversation could eventually lead them to faith in Christ. Christians, if they are strategic, will be in prime position to answer seekers' questions.

But that brings up my greatest concern: Are Christians prepared to answer questions about who Jesus is? Are we prepared to make the case for the reliability of the New Testament?

My desire for wanting Christians to "know the Code" is for more than merely evangelistic reasons. It's also a great opportunity to sharpen our own faith by deepening our biblical and historical understanding.

I'll even go so far as to say that Dan Brown and his novel—and now the movie—have done the church a great favor.

In any discussion of apologetics, 1 Peter 3:15 is often quoted, where we are to "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." This verse is usually quoted with the emphasis on the ones receiving our "answer"—unbelievers. But I want to focus on the first part, about being prepared.

In 2004, Peter Jones and I coauthored Cracking Da Vinci's Code (Victor Books). After a live interview to discuss it on CNN, we ran into a national news anchor in the hallway who asked, "I do not mean to be indelicate or crass, but did Jesus have sex with Mary Magdalene?"

No evangelism class ever taught me that a discussion of Jesus' alleged sex life might be my "intro" to an unbeliever! I would have preferred something "tame" like, "What are the four spiritual laws?" But that's not what this anchorperson asked—and that's not likely what any of us will be asked by seekers when it comes to the Code.

This question—and others that might be asked—illustrates what I mean by Dan Brown's gift to the church: We now have a compelling reason to be prepared.

How will we prepare? We can't simply reply with, "Because the Bible says so." We cannot summarily dismiss the Code as something "of the devil," as I heard one believer do recently. We need more persuasive answers than that.

The key issues regarding the Code don't concern art history or details of the life of Leonardo Da Vinci. (For the record, Da Vinci had no "code"; art historians are as frustrated with Dan Brown's misstatements as are Catholic and evangelical theologians.) The key issues are historical and theological in nature.

The Da Vinci Code claims that Jesus was not perceived as being divine until the 4th century, that his divinity was an "invention" by the Council of Nicea in 325, done for purely political reasons—and passing by only "a close vote." In fact, the vote was lopsided, probably 218-2. Nor was it a "declaration." It was an "affirmation" of a truth for which Christians had been willing to die for 300 years.

And then there is the Code's claim that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. But there is not one shred of credible evidence that Jesus was married—not in the New Testament, not in the writings of the early church fathers, and not in the Gnostic Writings, with which Dan Brown is so enthralled.

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