Church turns `Da Vinci Code' into a teachable moment

Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in yesterday's editions of Globe West gave the wrong date for a lecture organized by First Baptist Church of Sudbury. ``Decoding `The Da Vinci Code' " is scheduled for 7 p.m. on June 16 at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.

One of a regular series of columns about religion in the suburbs west of Boston.

So far the protests over the film version of Dan Brown's blockbuster novel, ``The Da Vinci Code," have fallen into two major camps -- Christians who found it offensive, and others who found it just plain boring.

Most local media attention has focused on reaction by Catholics to the film, which, like the book, features a murderous monk, corrupt bishop, and a secret about Jesus that, if revealed, purportedly would blow the lid off the Vatican.

Getting much less attention are other area congregations -- non-Catholics -- that also feel the book and film overstep the line between Gospel and fiction.

Take the 200-member First Baptist Church of Sudbury, for example. As Southern Baptists, they consider Jesus to be their savior.

Its outreach committee is hosting a free lecture tomorrow night at 7, ``Decoding The Da Vinci Code." Organizers say the ideas presented in the book -- including assertions that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that she sits by his side in Da Vinci's ``Last Supper" portrait -- are, to put it politely, garbage.

``There's just no historical basis for that," said Erika Szendrey, a member of the committee. ``I worry that with our culture being as instant gratification-oriented as it is, people will take it as truth. It seems like a lot of people are just buying into his claims."

But First Baptist wasn't keen on organizing a boycott or protest -- too many local Baptists were interested in seeing the movie and talking about it. Instead, it decided to approach the whole ``Da Vinci Code" phenomenon as a sort of teachable moment -- not exactly an ideal cultural happening, but a sure-fire way to get people talking about Christianity.

The outreach committee decided to lease a room at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School for the lecture, seeking a more welcoming space for people of all faiths.

The idea of giving the movie even more publicity seems counter-intuitive. ``I guess we thought anything can be good if it gets people talking," Szendrey said.

Szendrey, at 28, is on the younger side of the congregation. She's got a keen interest in Christianity and popular culture, and a degree in art history from Bucknell University. Her ideas for church outreach activities run toward the hip and cool -- like a showing of ``The Chronicles of Narnia," a recent film based on the children's books by C.S. Lewis. She said she likes to tie outreach efforts ``into things that are already around us. People can relate to it a little bit more."

Another committee member, Jeff Remmers, said he liked the idea too, even if some tradition-minded church members are underwhelmed by the idea and probably won't attend. Remmers said he hopes people who enjoy the talk will consider joining their flock.

``We're interested in driving people to Christ -- if that means our church , that's fine; if it's another church , that's fine too," he said. ``But we do hope to fill a need -- we see people seeking to explore their spirituality , and I think that's partly what's behind the success of the books and the movie."

Indeed, popular culture has not focused such intense and critical attention on Christianity in years, said James Sweeney a seminary professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's Boston campus. Sweeney, who will be tomorrow night's main speaker, said he will approach Christian history from a scholarly point of view -- and debunk many of Brown's assertions in the process.

Weighing in on -- not ignoring ``The Da Vinci Code" -- is important, he said.

On a personal level, Sweeney said, he objects to Brown's universally negative portrayals of Christians and the idea that a violent conspiracy was concocted to hide the true origins of Christianity.

``I can't think of another religion that could be portrayed as badly as Christianity is here without a major outcry," said Sweeney, who is also a pastor at Immanuel Church in Chelmsford. ``But the responsible Christian thing to do is to engage people on the big issues. And the origins of Christianity is a very big issue."

Erica Noonan is Globe West's bureau chief. E-mail your religion news and ideas to enoonan@globe.com.