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CDT Newsletters | MySpecialsDirect | Subscribe to DMN Advertising Print | E-mail | Most E-mailed | RSS Discuss | Subscribe | Home News Archives SportsDay Find a Car Job Seekers Business History in the Find a Dealer Employers Entertainment remaking Sell Your Car CNE Lifestyles Opinion Homes for Sale Classifieds New Construction TicketCenter More Features BOOKS: 'Da Vinci Code' spurs Rentals DatingCenter Multimedia Selling a Home Photography debate about Christianity shopping News on Demand Browse All Ads Blogs/Chats/Forums Shop by Keyword Obituaries 06:04 PM CDT on Sunday, April 23, 2006 Weather Sell Your Stuff Cars Jobs By CHARLES EALY / The Dallas Homes Morning News Classifieds Advertising Archives Celebrations The Da Vinci Code has become DMN Resources more than a record-breaking best- Subscriber Services seller. It has spurred an unprecedented level of speculation about the history of Christianity. In fact, four Da Vinci imitators, all of them thrillers involving supposed conspiracy theories, are climbing the national hardcover best-seller charts. The big winners are Steve Berry's The Templar Legacy (No. 6), Javier Sierra's The Secret Supper (No. 8) and Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar (No. 15). Meanwhile, Kate Mosse's Labyrinth has been nibbling at the top 15, while The Da Vinci Code itself is No. 3 on the hardback list and No. 1 in paperback. And that's just in fiction. Nonfiction titles, many of which challenge the pseudo-history of The Da Vinci Code, have also ridden a wave of popularity. Theological scholars and other experts offer a variety of reasons author Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has tapped into the American psyche. Whatever the case, nearly all agree that the book, and the upcoming summer movie, represent a cultural tipping point. "It's not like Brown started this. ... The interest in the history of Jesus and the Gospels has always been out there," says Gene Fant, chair of the English Department at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. "But The Da Vinci Code slammed it into hyperdrive, with a cross-breeding of mystery, religion, conspiracy, feminism. And there's a big Venn diagram with him smack-dab in the middle, with a big dollar sign." Many of the books posit that the Catholic Church vigorously tried to hide Jesus' alleged sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene, to hide that Jesus allegedly had children, or to suppress the Gnostic and other alternative gospels. In the process, Opus Dei, a Catholic organization, says it has been demonized and has asked for a disclaimer on the Da Vinci Code movie opening May 19 and starring Tom Hanks. "The Da Vinci Code narrative tends to advocate the point of view that history is a conspiracy, and that the trick is to catch the bad guys," says Christopher Sharrett, a professor of communications and film at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. "So, in a way, the conspiracy thriller is the ultimate melodrama that wraps everything up in a nice, neat package," he adds. "Maybe all the answers aren't provided, but ... you are finally placed on the path of a consoling solution." Dr. Sharrett, however, doesn't take comfort in such beliefs. "In a way, conspiracy theories of most types, not all, invite a kind of lazy thinking on the part of the public. Instead of inviting you to study some very complicated social and economic problems, you're asked to see American civilization as part of a very ornate fairy tale." Still, Dr. Sharrett doesn't think the Da Vinci Code phenomenon is all bad. "Such narratives are a kind of populist introduction, at their best, to history and politics. And The Da Vinci Code may not be accurate in the events surrounding the life of Christ, but it invites people to question the official narrative." Arthur Dewey, professor of theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, agrees that the book, although flawed historically, has at least gotten people to start asking questions. "A lot of us might be Bible readers, but we're not all critical Bible readers," he says. "This is news," he says. "If you go to church, what do you hear? Rarely do you hear pastors or priests mentioning other gospels. I know people are looking, are reading Gnostic materials, looking at alternative readings. But that doesn't usually get the play in the typical newspapers and magazines." Dr. Dewey thinks the popularity of The Da Vinci Code provides an educational opportunity. "But the bad news is that some people are going to use this to play the authoritarian game. They're disproving The Da Vinci Code and talk about how it's not true, but they don't get to the nerve that's being touched. "You don't get too many people saying, 'OK, let's investigate the whole thing, open it up and look at the evidence,' " he says. "I find it exciting, but some feel it's a threat to their faith." Such nerve-touching stems from the fact that "a lot of people are hearing of these things for the first time," says Dr. Fant of Union University. "Many people have no context and are blown by the winds of contemporary thought," he says. "If you have no roots, you're a tumbleweed." And while the debate rages among the faithful, some of whom find even the questions offensive, theological scholars have their own disagreements about the life of Jesus. "Today you have about four or five views of who Jesus was among scholars," says Joe Barnhart, professor of philosophy and religion studies at the University of North Texas. "Each view is well-defended," he says. "I have respect for all of these views. No one is so overwhelmingly compelling." He thinks it's natural for people to ask questions about Jesus' life. "The details about the life of Jesus are not so nailed down, and that fuels fascination. If you have this great person, then what was he really like? Is it possible he married? If he was fully man, did he have any urges? Those are fair questions." At the same time, he says, some of the speculation spawned by The Da Vinci Code has no basis in historical evidence. "While the orthodox view of Christianity is not so stabilized as it used to be, the Holy Grail stories are not in the mainstream of biblical scholarship," he says. Dr. Barnhart compares the current debate to the discussion surrounding the musical Jesus Christ Superstar in the early 1970s. "Billy Graham said that Jesus Christ Superstar raised the interest in Jesus, and I think that these books raise the same kind of interest." It's exciting that the news media are no longer ignoring religion scholarship, even if the impetus comes from discredited fiction, Dr. Barnhart says. The nation needs "newspeople who can understand" such scholarship, he says, and translate it for the public, "who are paying the bills for us professors." E-mail [email protected] More headlines Every which way Plan your life in 60 seconds Abbott's new projects pay tribute to slain brother TV on the Radio getting excellent reception Fright flick scares up $20.2 million in debut More... Print | Discuss | E- mail ARCHIVES: Search for more stories on this and other topics | Search Tips SUBSCRIBE: Get The Dallas Morning News delivered to your home Table of Contents News SportsDay Lifestyles Other Features Related Sites City-by-City SportsDay Lifestyles Can't Find It? 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