Emergent Conversation and the Da Vinci Code: Do Stories Matter?

The central theme of the Emergent Conversation is that we are moving from a modern to a postmodern world. An important part of this shift is moving away from foundationalism to narratives. The days of identifying foundational principles and building a belief system are over. We must look to the stories within communities if we want to understand the truth. It is through stories that we must communicate the gospel to cultures.

There is no question that stories can have a significant impact on culture. If we turn back the clock 150 years to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, we find a book many say flamed the abolitionist fervor into civil war. Another powerful story was D. W. Griffth's movie Birth of a Nation in 1915, which portrayed the abuse of Southern Americans by tyrannical northerners. It glorified the exploits of the Ku Klux Klan, which rose to its peak of acceptability in the mid-1920s, just as "Jim Crow" overtook the nation. Recently I saw a television special where several of our day's most innovative engineers and inventors pointed to Star Trek as their inspiration for going into their life's work. Of course, the greatest storyteller of all time was Jesus Christ. Stories matter.

Next week, a story is debuting as a movie: The Da Vinci Code. It is an action-packed adventure with intrigue, mystery, and conspiracy. It is also a story that mixes fact with fiction in a highly compelling way. At the story's core is the idea that the Christian faith is a ruse the Church knowingly foisted upon the world. Church leaders are willing to kill to protect the illusion they have created.

As I read this story, I wondered how well a fictional book leveling such charges at another religion would have done. For instance, how about a novel that has at its core the theory that Judas Maccabeus really composed the sacred writings of Judaism? He created monotheism to achieve world domination and formed a secret society to eliminate anyone who would reveal the truth. The strategy was to seize control of the political and economic world structures patiently and quietly. In the twentieth century, Jews realized they could more effectively accomplish their end by forming a nation. The events of World War II offered them the opportunity to concoct a story about concentration camps and persecution, thus making the world sympathetic to their idea of forming a nation. "Outrageous!" you say. "Inflammatory!" "Irresponsible! To which I respond, "What are you so worked up about? It is just a story."

As I have surfed the internet recently, I have noted conversations about The Da Vinci Code. I am particularly interested in conversations within Emergent circles about the book and upcoming movie. Some have been quite insightful and helpful. Yet there is a persistent refrain that one frequently reads and hears in such discussions: "What is the big deal? It is fiction. It is just a story." This is from a community that supposedly has as one of its defining traits the belief that stories are what matter most! This is also from many of the same people who wring their hands over the evil and corrupting impact the Left Behind series has on how people think about things like Israel and the role of the United States in the world.

Now let us get real for a moment. A couple of years ago, The Passion of the Christ was released, and some in the Christian Community were nearly hyperventilating as they made predictions about massive revival and world transformation. (Ahem… seen in any massive revivals lately?) Two years later, some people seem to believe that The Da Vinci Code will usher in the anti-Christ and the great apocalypse. Clearly, some need a firmer grip on reality (and possibly some prescription medication.) Yet for Emergent types, of all people, to flippantly dismiss concerns about events like The Da Vinci Code as "just stories" seems just a little inconsistent and a little too convenient.

When Evangelicals write books like Left Behind, we bemoan how they twist minds. We pride ourselves in that we have sufficiently evolved intellectually to see this foolishness for what it is. We recommit ourselves to telling better stories. When The Da Vinci Code comes along, it is no longer about the story but rather about those silly Evangelicals (God bless 'em) who are incapable of distinguishing facts and reality from fiction. (This even though all along we have said it is not about facts and propositional truths, but stories.) This kind of behavior makes me suspect all the more that too much of Emergent is driven by being contra-Evangelical than by a new way of being the Church. If there is to be a new way of being Church, we had better get our story straight, even when it might mean being confused with being a traditional Evangelical.

Comments

[david]

absolutely. spot on. thanks!

[Michael Kruse]

Thanks David.

[Keith Demko]

Very true ... Jewish, Muslim and other people don't have to stand for this hogwash, but I guess that's the price we pay for living in a free country ... Dan Brown has as much right to be an idiot as anyone else!

[Michael Kruse]

Ahhhh...but now a very wealthy idiot. *grin*

Seriously, the book is very creative and, as you say, it is a free country. Some of the "persecution" stuff is way over the top. But that doesn't mean that the Da Vinci Code event is totally harmless and meaningless. I look it at as an opportunity to talk with others about the real story and what it has meant for me.

There is an old adage that says that the Word of God is an anvil that has broken many hammers. God doesn't need my defense, just my witness. Fortunately, that is all he asks.

[Dave]

Well, there are stories and there are stories. I hesitate to talk of Dan Brown's story in the same sentence as God's story. I think Keith has the right of it when he says " God doesn't need my defense, just my witness. Fortunately, that is all he asks." To which I say, "Amen."

[Kelly]

Michael, I so appreciate your thoughts on this topic. Seems everyone's blogs have something about the Da Vinci Code this week and I thought you brought up some really good points. Having just recently started to explore this whole Emergent thing myself (just finished the second book of McLaren's trilogy), I really appreciated your comment about making sure that this "conversation" doesn't become all about being "contra-Evangelical." I love so much of what I am hearing and reading, but only when it is spoken with humility and not condemnation. Good for you for pointing out the inconsistencies that you noticed.

[Michael Kruse]

Thanks Kelly. It is so hard for most of us not to become driven by being contra-something instead being pro-God's Word and narrative. It is an ever present struggle in my life.

[stephen shields]

Michael, thanks for your thoughts on this!
The only thing I'll add is that the whole "it's just a novel" objection to taking DVC seriously is definitely not just coming from ec circles. It's all over the place. The ubiquitous response, of course, is that Brown's claiming his backstory is accurate in the book itself and in interviews and lots of folks are buying into that.

I like Scot McKnight's take on this that the best response to DVC is for us to be better people! I've elaborated on that a bit and have suggested a both/and approach here.

I think the most compelling story is the story of our lives!

fwiw

[Michael Kruse]

Thanks Stephen. You are clearly right that other's are dismiss concerns about the book for the same reasons. My reason for picking on EC was that they more than most groups have made such an issue of narrative and story.

I loved you post on the topic. I will be linking it shortly.