The "Da Vinci Deception"

A "Da Vinci" Nudge to BelieversMeeting at Angelicum Reflects on Fiction-Reality Tie ROME, MAY 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).-
A symposium held at a pontifical university called the movie "The Da Vinci Code" a "sign of the times" which challenges all believers to demonstrate their faith.The symposium at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelicum, was held Wednesday, the day in which the film was presented in at the Cannes Film Festival, in France.The "sign of the times" conclusion was voiced by Dominican Father Bruno Esposito, vice rector of the university, at the meeting on "The Da Vinci Code: Reflection on the Fiction-Reality Relationship."In the debate held at the school, Father Esposito, who is also a professor of canon law, said that "man is not against God but against a mistaken idea of God," and that is why it is necessary to address a phenomenon such as "The Da Vinci Code."Such an engagement, he said, is "not in a spirit of defense or confrontation but as an examination of conscience by believers, who must be committed to a new evangelization."Benedetto Ippolito, a professor of the history of medieval philosophy at the "Roma Tre" university, explained the success of Dan Brown's novel in a cultural context dominated by "conspiracies and mysteries."It is "a scene in which God is absent, in which God is not necessarily denied but lived in another dimension," said the scholar.High priceIppolito, who is also a professor at the University of the Holy Cross, explained that today there is a tendency to "consider Christian truth as a theory or even an invention."This vision implies paying a high price, he said. "The loss of the sense of truth implies the loss of the sense of freedom."On addressing the meeting, Joan-Andreu Rocha Scarpetta, a professor at the Regina Apostolorum university, said that "Dan Brown's work is a cultural thermometer that leads to reflection on contemporary religiosity."In particular, Rocha acknowledged that the novel might cause confusion in people who do not have "the tools of discernment necessary to understand what is behind it."Rocha, who directs Regina Apostolorum's master's program on "Church, Ecumenism and Religions," noted that the books of the New Age current are so successful because they emphasize "believing" without "belonging" and "they present reality as false and truth as esoteric and critical of institutions."Bernardo Estrada, a biblicist from the University of the Holy Cross, defined the Gnosticism of a certain apocryphal gospel of the second century -- which Brown makes ample use of in his novel -- as "the greatest threat Christianity had" because this philosophical-religious current professed the rejection of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection.SignsEstrada assailed the novel's gross distortion of the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene."It was a relationship in spiritual harmony," he said. "More than that, Jesus made an exceptional gift to Magdalene, the only one charged with announcing the risen Jesus, even before Peter."Father Esposito, the vice rector, concluded by appealing to believers to "give signs … against the relativism and voids that humanity demonstrates.""The challenge," he said, "is directed to us, ourselves, not to those who sell these books and films." ZE06051805
This article was culled from the Zenit Catholic News org.