Unplugged & Raw

Beneath that Smile

I received a copy of 'Beneath That Smile' from Robin a few days ago. It's a magazine meant to accompany the launch of The Da Vinci Code movie. It's a really good magazine because it just counters whatever that is claimed in the novel. It's titled 'Beneath That Smile' because of the famous Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. The Mona Lisa was supposedly a self-portrait of Da Vinci painted as a female. Apparently, Da Vinci was trying to tell us something with her enigmatic smile. Well, could be a smirk too that he knew a secret.

We all know how much the movie, and the novel itself, will affect the Christian world one way or another. In Singapore alone, 3 million more copies of The Da Vinci Code novel will be published because of the movie.

In case people are wondering what the Da Vinci Code is about, it's a novel written by Dan Brown. In it, he claims that the famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci supposedly left clues in his paintings, that Jesus Christ was romantically linked to Mary Magdalene. Not only was Jesus married, but He was a father. The Da Vinci Code also characterizes the New Testament Gospels as mere "fabrications" and casts doubts on the deity of Christ.

People around the world, including Christians, will definitely be swayed and thrown into confusion by the amount of facts and evidence that's in the book. Problem is that, those supposedly truths and facts were being manipulated. There's a "FACT" page in the book that supports the claims in the novel and that every word is of historical fact, such as the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. It is indeed a "FACT" page. It clearly states that the documents, rituals, organization, artwork and architecture in the novel all exist. However, the "FACT" page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Intepreting those ideas is left to the reader, Dan Brown. There's a reason why in Borders, you can only find The Da Vinci Code under the FICTION section. Dan Brown himself admitted that the Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore is a work of fiction.

So which to believe ?! The Holy Bible or The Da Vinci Code ? Put The Bible alongside the novel, it wins hands down. Talk about best sellers, The Bible is the best-selling book in the history of Mankind, whereras the novel was the best-selling book in 2003-2005. The Bible to date, has 2.5 billion copies sold. The Da Vinci Code, 36 million copies.

The Bible wasn't written by 1 man alone. It was written by more than 40 different authors, and across a period of 1,600 years. Yet amidst the diversity of authorship, there emerged a single unified story - the salvation plan of God for a sinful humanity. Only God could have pulled it off. Try getting 10 different carpenters to design a part of a table each. Can you imagine how impossible it would be ? The legs of the table would not be of the same length, and the drawer wouldn't fit.

It only matters on how we look at it. I believe that the novel and movie isn't here to destroy our faith. Instead, it's here to strengthen our faith. It's a time for God to truly test our faith in Him. How are we going to react when people are going to come up to us and question us if we still think Jesus is Lord ?

"My hope for The Da Vinci Code was, in addition to entertaining people, that it might serve as an open door for readers to begin their own explorations and rekindle their interest in topics of faith"

- Dan Brown

I believe God can use this opportunity to turn the tables around. Exactly what Dan Brown had said, it will surely stir up curiosity and interest in the people around the world. They will want to know more. They will want to know who exactly Jesus is. It will be a chance for us to find out how much we've grown in the Lord, to speak with His wisdom and words. It will be a chance for us to show them the Truth, to share with them who Jesus was and is, to sow the seeds in them. Instead of us going out looking for men to share the Word with, they will now come to us wanting us to share with them !! That's God's grace.

My King will reign in the end.

signing off at 11:53 AM

Saturday, January 28, 2006