The DaVinci Code movie arrives at a busy time for students, when many are focused on final tests and graduation. InterVarsity staff are similarly occupied with end-of-the-school-year issues.
But on some campuses, such as the University of California—San Diego, the movie and its hype offer a unique opportunity to dialogue with students on spiritual issues.
“For the three weeks surrounding the release of The Da Vinci Code movie we are doing surveys and contact evangelism on a daily basis (Monday-Wednesday) in the center of campus,” reports Wendi Joiner, an InterVarsity UCSD campus staff member. Three large banners have been deployed with the questions: “Is Jesus a fraud?”, “Is God sexist?”, and “Is the Bible fiction?”
Students are offered three options for further discussions: large group meetings to discuss topics that The Da Vinci Code brings up, small groups which are discussing “the REAL Jesus,” or GIGs (Groups Investigating God—small group Bible studies). “So far, 74 students have given us their contact information, saying they are interested in hearing more,” Wendi says. “Five students made a decision to follow Jesus at our first large group last week.”
Wendi encourages fellowship members to see the movie with their friends and to talk about it afterwards. “It is exciting to see staff and students learn how to use popular culture to initiate spiritual opportunities,” she says.
Many Christians are concerned that the movie and the book misrepresent Christian history, claiming fiction as fact in an outrageous attack on the foundations of the faith. There’s some disagreement about how Christians should respond, and whether they should go see the movie.
In his bi-weekly email message James Emery White, the new president of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and an InterVarsity Press author, wrote, “We are called to be salt and light, and that means cultural engagement. We can have robust dialogue as to how, but the question of whether we should is without debate for those who claim to be biblical Christians.”
He thinks he will see the movie, although not on opening weekend. Dr. White has written a booklet titled i>The DaVinci Question, published by InterVarsity Press, also available as an ebook. He offers it as a resource for those who want to be informed about the issues raised by the book and the movie.
“There will be water cooler conversations following May 19th, and Christians should be present and accounted for,” he wrote. “It has been said that we do not need to defend our God, which is true in the sense it is often spoken, but we do need to engage our world.”
Other online resources have been prepared by:
The reviews are in and the critics are not impressed.
