"When I go around the country lecturing on New Testament history, I'm pretty excited if I get an audience of 15. But if I say I'm speaking on 'The Da Vinci Code,' I can almost guarantee an audience of 600. And it's basically the same lecture," said Darrell L. Brock, who teaches New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Ministries have used pop culture as a springboard before, embracing the recent films "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." But those movies drew wide praise from Christian leaders.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday May 13, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
'Da Vinci Code' outreach: An article in Thursday's Section A about churches responding to the movie "The Da Vinci Code" misspelled the name of a New Testament scholar. He is Darrell L. Bock, not Brock.
Movies challenging Christianity have been greeted with far more hostility. In 1988, for instance, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ tried to buy -- and destroy -- every copy of the Martin Scorsese film "The Last Temptation of Christ," which depicted Jesus on the cross fantasizing about Mary Magdalene.
About 25,000 protesters marched in front of Universal Studios in Los Angeles when the film was released. A few theaters were vandalized and studio executives reported death threats.
Mike Licona was among those urging a boycott of "Last Temptation." Looking back, he regrets it as an "immature" response.
"It created the perception that we as Christians are not interested in having our faith challenged," said Licona, an executive with the Southern Baptist Convention outside Atlanta.
"The Da Vinci Code" gives Christians an opportunity to build a new image as being open-minded and willing to listen respectfully to skeptics, said Michael Buckingham, who runs Holy Cow Creative, a church marketing firm in Midland, Mich. Not only that, he said, the film gives churches a chance to look hip, relevant and attuned to pop culture, instead of stiff, stuffy and dull.
"People are looking for answers," Buckingham said. "We're saying, 'Let's dig into God's word and find out the truth.' "
Sony Pictures has encouraged precisely that response. The studio invited dozens of Christian scholars to post essays challenging the film at www.TheDaVinciDialogue.com.
Brown himself writes on his website that he hopes readers will "use the book as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration."
"The truth is, Dan Brown gave us a great opportunity," said Steve Clifford, pastor of WestGate Church in San Jose. "People everywhere will be gathering around water coolers to talk about the reality of Christ. Maybe not in the exact manner we'd like, but I'll take advantage of it."
