Reading the Book of Daniel
By Brian Ross |
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On an episode of the NBC comedy, The Office, a fire in the office kitchen forced the entire staff of the Scranton based paper company to spend the day outside. In trying to pass the time, the co-workers launched into a game of “desert island” part of which required them to share what books they would  want with them if trapped alone for days on end. Angela, an unhappy looking, uptight blonde (who is supposed to be a Christian) remarks she would want to have the Bible. When asked her second choice she quickly blurts out “The Purpose Driven Life.” The next player begins by stating her desire to have “The Da Vinci Code.” Immediately the usually quiet yet always disapproving Angela interrupts saying, “Oh yeah, I would want The Da Vinci Code too.” And before the brief silence goes back to her co-worker, Angela nastily confesses, “So I could burn it!”
I agree with Angela that the Bible would be a good choice. However, at least for her, maybe Warren’s book could be fodder for heat and cooking and Brown’s conspiracy-mystery-thriller would be good reading for her soul. Yes, I’m sure of it.
No doubt there are some good articles on the web helping Jesus followers to understand the pseudo-theology of Dan Brown and the clear wrong turns it makes interpreting God, history, and spirituality. (And if these are not to your liking, there is probably by now an entire book shelf at the local Christian bookstore on the evils of “Da Vinci.” It might be right under the Purpose Driven section.) Yet this “Book of Daniel” might contain some unexpected insights for sincere followers of Jesus.
On the Today Show, Rick Warren confidently shared part of the amazing success of his book is that it struck a chord with people. In today’s fast-paced, materialistic world, people are looking for purpose and meaning, especially spiritual purpose. There is little reason to doubt him. For a book to sell as many copies as it has, it is obviously hitting home with people’s longings. But don’t forget the same is true about The Da Vinci Code. It does ring true with the experience many have had with organized religion and seems to satisfy what they are longing for. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
First of all, though the book is a very interesting piece of fiction, to many people, the premise is fairly believable. From clergy sex scandals and the embezzlement of donated funds, to the general Christian aura of disgust with popular culture, readers do not find it hard to believe that Christianity is little more than a political system bent on keeping power and control over the masses. Though most would not believe that there are albino monks with assassination contracts from Opus Dei, good fiction is good because it tends to be half-way believable. It is not that far of a stretch for readers at Borders bookstores to believe that the entire history of Christianity is based on the values of a powerful elite and their religious lies, rather than on the truth of Jesus Christ. It is something to keep in mind.
Second, people are hungry for spirituality and craving for meaning (as Warren wisely picked up), yet, for many, they do not believe they would find it in the Church. For increasing amounts of people, the Church is a boring (if not backward) institution that offers little in the way of excitement or in satisfying the zest for life like a good mystery or international adventure would. They know there is a real “something” out there that is spiritual and transcendent, but they find it real hard to believe that the “real thing” has anything to do with the “church thing.”
Finally, truth is not proved through rational argument and appeals to historical validity (as if we could get down to that anyway.) I have personally talked to several bright, professional, graduate school alumni who base their understanding of “God and Goddess” on the novel from Brown. In a postmodern, post-rational world appealing to “authoritative historical proofs” does not have the power it once did. There are just as many on the other side. (Besides, Brown masterfully exposed a lot of the true errors of the Church while working in his own thoughts, that makes sorting fact from fiction a tedious process.) Hearts and lives are not awakened through rational arguments, but from compelling narratives and images that offer life and it more abundantly. Jesus did not create airtight outlines. He lived and envisioned life that somehow just seemed true to people. Maybe we need to re-discover His compelling story. Not the narrative of Christianity and the Church, but the life-giving story of the ultimate unmasker of conspiracies, the adventure of the Jesus life? Telling beautiful, compelling stories (think Tolkien and Lewis, and Jesus for that matter) offers the way forward, not simply trying to get at the “facts.” Read the New York Times, the Onion, Foxnews.com, or the Limbaugh letter. Does anyone really know the facts?
Christians would do well to read and think deeply about Dan Brown’s novel and the sure-to-be hit movie based on it. Not because it is “true” as in the way we should live, but because it is “true” as a description of the philosophy and assumptions of many outside of faith. To be faithful witnesses of the true Jesus we need to understand the people and the context and beliefs of those He loves. We need to be as wise as serpents, as we seek to be innocent as doves.
Maybe it would be good for Angela to be alone on a desert island being reminded of what the real historical Jesus is like. Then she would see that it would be good for her to also read from the “Book of Daniel” and burn something else. Maybe then she would find a real purpose while she works in the office?
 Brian Ross is the pastor of Koinos Church in Reading, PA, (www.koinoschurch.org). He just become a father for the third time, and reigns as the one with the cheesiest picture on the web. You can contact him here by email. |
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