Friday, May 19, 2006

666 + 7

With the opening of "The Da Vinci Code" yesterday, I'm sharing this cross created from the glass pyramid that stands over the Louvre entrance in Paris. To repeat what I said in my April 10 blog (click on the 04-09-2006 archive), Dan Brown is incorrect in saying that the pyramid has 666 glass panels; there are actually 666 + 7, and if you're into numerology you can also make a lot of hay out of that.

Some Christians are in quite a panic over Dan Brown's work of fiction and Ron Howard's movie adaptation. The book and movie DO take some discernment, because they include: lots of indisputable historical facts, plenty of reasonable speculations, some valid critiques of a pattern of male domination in the church, a number of very old theories for which there is no real evidence, a great many mistakes, inaccuracies and bloopers, and a generous infusion of creative imagination. It's called "fiction," folks; no need to panic, and no threat to faith. Indeed, books and movies like this can provide a dialogue opportunity with folks who otherwise consider the Christian faith uninteresting and irrelevant.

You probably haven't read this 1532 quote from Martin Luther: "Christ committed adultery first of all with the woman at the well about whom St. John tells us. Was not everybody about Him saying: "Whatever has he been doing with her?" Secondly, with Mary Magdalene, and thirdly with the woman taken in adultery whom he dismissed so lightly. Thus even Christ, who was so righteous, must have been guilty of fornication before He died." [Luther's Tabletalk, LW 54:154 ; 1532 ]

Now perhaps Luther was drunk when he said this. Or maybe he was being sarcastic. Or perhaps he was trying to make the point that Christ took all of the sins of the world on himself at the cross. It's an embarrassing paragraph that is desperately ignored and creatively explained away by those who know of these words; but he DID write them.

The Mormon leader Brigham Young believed that Jesus was married. And we must admit that the Gospels never explicitly say that Jesus was NOT married. We would also believe that Peter wasn't married if it were not for one little story that refers to his mother-in-law. For the Gospel writers, wives were not necessary to the story they were telling. Other than Peter, we do not know the marital status of any of the major Gospel figures.

No, I don't think Jesus was married. But my faith doesn't depend on that opinion, and it certainly is not threatened by a work of fiction.
Order a print of this cross

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