“BELOVED, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” – 1 John 4:1
“Two Thumbs Up”, “Two Thumbs Down”, “One of the Year’s Best”, “A Must See” are all archaic ratings or endorsements of movie talking heads. Let me introduce a new rating system – the Josie Jewels of movie ratings. An “RO” is Rental Only. A “NEAR” is Not Even A Rental (that’s actually mine). The rest of the rating system is yet to be disclosed.
As far as the Da Vinci Code is concerned, I give it a “RO” or a “NEAR”.
For background sake, I did read the book. It was fast-paced and very clever. It was filled with distortions, false claims and historical inaccuracies, but, after all, it is fictional.
Let me define “fiction” for you. According to Webster, fiction is “a making up of imaginary happenings; feigning; anything made up or imagined, as a statement, story, etc.”
The Da Vinci Code is purely fictional. It’s claims about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the existence of eighty gospels, the influence of Constantine, the results of the Council of Nicaea, the existence of the Priory of Scion, the purpose of the Opus Dei, the identity of the Holy Grail amongst other claims are all fictional. There is no truth to be found in his controversial revelations about the Christian faith.
If you read the book, I wouldn’t bother seeing the move, especially in the theater. You have enough exposure to defend the faith.
If you haven’t read the book, I wouldn’t bother seeing the movie since you probably won’t be able to totally follow the condensation of over four hundred pages of the book. The movie falls short because it tries to retell most of the book. The ending of the movie differs substantially from the book.
While watching the movie, I kept hearing myself say, “That wasn’t in the book!” or “That’s not the way it’s supposed to be!”
In my opinion, the movie is not much of a threat to orthodoxy. It seems very fictional.
I think people tend to believe what they read and tend to disbelieve what they see on the big screen. Anyway, the fictionalized facts of the book came off make-believe in the movie.
Some people will probably believe Dan Brown. The Bible says “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires…” 2 Timothy 4:3
The Da Vinci Code does tickle the ears…but it is a far cry from being convincing or the truth.

Blessings,
Pastor Cory, d.v.

Note: One of the keys of the Da Vinci Code’s claims lies with the Da Vinci’s picture of the last supper. The question I had in my mind was “why would anyone depend on an artist’s interpretation and rendition for the understanding of an historical fact?” Especially, an artist who, although gifted, was morally and spiritually bankrupt. Look up the life and times of Da Vinci. Would you trust a man like him to have spiritual truth?