Last night I watched a special on the Sci-Fi Channel about the Da Vinci Code. I was expecting something like I had seen in the past; a program which would discuss the elements of the book in a non-biased way - scratching the surface of the truths and quasi-truths of the book - ultimately telling us that it was a work of fiction based on many factual elements. What I got from "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" was Christian propaganda.

I watched the almost two hour long program in utter disbelief. Every person interviewed for the special either had a book debunking the Da Vinci Code (thus furthering their own agenda and that of the Church) or was a Christian minister of some kind. The arguments were completely one sided and not at all objective. I had to double check to make sure that the program was indeed airing on the Sci-Fi Channel. I thought perhaps I had mistakenly hit the section of Christian Channels that I affectionately call "Jesus Row".

The main point of "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" seemed to be the claims of truth in the first pages of Dan Brown's book - speaking of factual and accurate representations of documents, architecture, and artwork, etc. Dan Brown himself is painted as an immoral man who delights in lying to the public as opposed to simply being the talented writer of fiction that he is.

The program goes on to say that there is no such thing as Gnostic Gospels. This is a complete lie. The parchments within the Nag Hammadi library are often referred to as the Gnostic Gospels by scholars and educated lay people alike. Complete scholarly books have been written on the subject of these lost gospels. (http://www.webcom.com/gnosis/naghamm/nhl.html)

At the very end of last night's presentation I, as the viewer, was told that the truth is within the Bible and that I should seek that instead of the entertainment of a fictional bestseller. Once again Christendom feels it is necessary to tell the world what to believe. Isn't this how Mary Magdalene was painted as a whore in the first place? Of course, in "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" they claim she was never known as a whore. In fact it is true that no where in the New Testament does it say that Mary Magdalene was a whore, but in 591CE Pope Gregory decided to tell the people what to believe about her and it stuck for almost 1500 years. People who know nothing of the Bible - who have never read it - still remember that Mary Magdalene is supposed to be a repentant prostitute. Yet more half truths told by the producers of the program.

To close I would like to tell the people of the Sci-Fi Channel to stick to what they are good at: UFOs, Bigfoot, and cheesy B-Flicks about Mansquitos, Chubacabra, etc. Oh, and Ghost Hunters is fabulous. Leave the Bible thumping to TLN - whose Executive Consultant for Network Development, Charles E. Sellier, happened to have produced last night's one-sided, Bible fueled TV program. Sellier has also done work for the PAX channel whose show Faith Under Fire was spearheaded by Lee Strobel. Strobel has also joined the mission against the DaVinci Code and Dan Brown. (http://www.leestrobel.com/)

For those of you not familiar with TLN (Total Living Network) their mission reads as follows:

"To direct people to Christ and to provide resources for a vibrant relationship with Him through the electronic communications media."
http://www.tln.com/mission.html

On Charles E. Sellier (CEO of Grizzly Adams Productions): http://www.tln.com/leadership_sellier_bio.html

Grizzly Adams Productions:
http://www.grizzlyadams.com/ http://www.grizzlyadams.tv/

Press Release for "Cracking Da Vinci's Code": http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06050073.htm

Labels: Misc. Commentary