By Irene Kuppan
Several Durban Christian leaders have vowed to disrupt the opening of the film The Da Vinci Code, threatening to go to court to prevent the movie from being screened in theatres from Friday.
Other leaders have called for debates and dialogue on the book and movie, saying that movie-goers would recognise the film for what it is - just a work of fiction.
The Dan Brown book, and now the film version, has caused controversy for among other things, claiming that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and fathered a child with her. The book claims that the bloodline of Jesus continues to this day.
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| 'Jesus did have children - you and I' |
The film screens in Durban on Friday, but was shown in China on Wednesday. Legal action taken by Christian groups in various parts of the world to have the film banned has so far been unsuccessful.
Cellphone text messages that were being circulated in South Africa called on all "Christian leaders, pastors, lawyers, advocates, doctors, businessmen and women, and any other helpful person to advice or assist in The Da Vinci Code saga".
The SMS also said that "maybe a high court action or march to stop the movie" would be an option.
Other SMSs read: "Shh, Jesus did have children - you and I ..."; "dialogue and engagement are more productive than protesting and picketing ..."; and "united we can distribute flyers at movies".
Dr Aldai Naidoo who is the chairman of a group of Durban pastors and leaders, called Concerned Christian Leaders, and the spokesperson for the Global Network of Christian Indian Leaders, said his organisations would be going to court.
| 'The Da Vinci Code is a money making scheme' |
"We are looking at taking some sort of action through our judicial structures to prevent the screening of The Da Vinci Code."
Naidoo said the plot of the book and the movie was based on an "intriguing bit of lost and misinformed history".
The Da Vinci Code questions the fundamental elements of the Christian faith - the divinity of Christ, the validity of the four Gospels and the beliefs of the early Christian community, he said.
"This attacks the very belief and fundamental core of the Christian faith. We distance ourselves from such theories and will mobilise our churches to protest against any form of sacrilege," said Naidoo.
Mark Naidoo, a former eThekwini councillor, was one of those who sent off SMSs, urging the Christian community to hand out flyers at cinemas.
"We should use this as an opportunity to inform non-Christians about the truth. We want to stand up for what we believe in at the cinemas but at the same time respect the cinemas, management and shopping complexes by not disrupting their business," he said.
Mark Naidoo said that over the years hundreds of people had tried to discredit the Bible and each time they had come up short.
"The book and movie is an excellent work of fiction. I admire the producer and actors for their talents and pray that in the future they would use their talents in a more meaningful way," he said.
Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip said people should be free to watch the movie and draw their own conclusions because "God can stand on his own".
"The Da Vinci Code is a money making scheme. It is nothing more than a commercial venture - one man wanting to get rich. Christians should not become too flustered by it because it won't take away from who we are," he said.
Father Chris Townsend, information officer for the Southern African Bishop's Conference, said the Catholic Church's stance was that people were free to watch the movie.
"We strongly recommend that people who do see the movie or read the book spend the same amount of time and money learning about the church and what it teaches," he said.
Townsend said that the public needed to keep in mind that even though the novel and the movie pretended to present the truth, it is fictional.
He added that the Southern African Bishop's Conference website - www.sacbc.org.za - provided those interested with some resources and the that the church was considering running a series of lectures that would address some of the issues raised in The Da Vinci Code.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of Daily News on May 18, 2006
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