Monday, September 04, 2006

How NOT To Go Astray

The Davinci Code movie and book has generated much outrage and apprehension from Christians. People are concerned about the unflattering portrayal of historical Christianity and the supposed promotion of a heterodox version. Because of this, there has been copious material analyzing various details and the particular positions expressed therein. Yet the Davinci Code is not about the quest for truth, but rather about the process and practice of faith and values. Exclusively focusing on the facts or the two religious perspectives will not answer pressing questions about how to reckon with a disconnected Church and her followers.

Another example of a provocative challenge for the faithful was a "Capitalist Piglet" cartoon featured this spring in the University of Saskatchewan's student newspaper The Sheaf. It provoked some controversy and offended many. The comic displayed a character resembling Jesus in a compromising position with a pig, while an onlooker expresses shock in an amusing fashion. Some objected to the explicit sexual content with Christ and the critical commentary of Christianity, while others felt it turned the tables on those who mocked Muslim reactions to the Danish cartoons at the time.

This series of posts will demonstrate that the Davinci Code and the "Capitalist Piglet" cartoon can inform Christians on how to criticize their institutions and leaders instead of simply railing against critics. Outrage is easy; reappraisal is not.

I. How NOT to Condemn

"...destroy the faith, or renew it?"
- Professor Langdon, The Davinci Code

Both The Davinci Code and the Capitalist Piglet cartoon attempt to confront troubling scenarios. In the Davinci Code, the problem is with an oppressive, unsympathetic church willing to suppress an awkward secret that could cause a crisis of faith if revealed. Two characters are attempting to resolve this problem. In the comic, a visitor views someone who appears like Jesus in a sexual situation with an manipulative animal. The visitor says a profanity and thereafter leaves the situation. Yet neither truly resolves the presenting dilemma, that of an unwelcome and unreasonable expression of faith.

The Davinci Code essentially ends in a stalemate, with the Church intact and the underground continuing in parallel. Not only that, the two who tried to remedy the original situation are neutralized. The Capitalist Piglet cartoon shows the disturbed person being traumatized, then merely escaping the unpleasant circumstance. What has been accomplished here? Is it enough?

To some extent, they illustrate the challenge of reckoning with our dissatisfaction about established Christianity. It's one thing to see how to condemn; it's quite another to understand how to reform it. However, they do demonstrate here that something serious is awry and must be resisted as well as defeated. The Davinci Code suggests that proclaiming Jesus as divine has promoted a repressive and inhumane institution, while the Capitalist Piglet comic implies that greed and materialism has corrupted a naive and ignorant Church. Both are valid concerns and should be addressed, whether they have defined the reality sufficiently or not.

There is some unease in some quarters about the way the difficulties are construed. The Davinci Code considers the root to be in impersonal, dominant power struggles within the Church's history that emphasized the uniqueness of Christ. Yet this does not adequately determine whether it was the divinity of Jesus strictly or the dissociation from the humanity of Jesus that is the problem. The Davinci Code proposes one option over the other without an helpful solution. In the other case, the Capitalist Piglet cartoon considers the root to be in the participation of organized Christianity in a capitalistic society, without allowing for the fact that other sectors of society are also effected. The comic does not differentiate between active and passive involvement as well. These limitations are at the crux of much of the frustration concerning both.

So how does one handle the uncomfortable and unnerving criticisms? One Biblical passage can offer some direction for Christians. In John 8: 1 - 11, Jesus is dealing with a question of justice. In this situation, a woman has been caught in adultery and the accusers ask Jesus about the issue of appropriate punishment. Should they kill her or not, as the Mosaic Law required? Jesus considers the specific context and proposes only doing so if they have no convictions. Therefore, the accusers leave.

Note that the issue here is about solving the problem with a heavy-handed approach. Stoning the woman would have stopped the problem, but at a harsh price. Justice is not equivalent with humiliation. Moreover, it would place more disparity between the accusing men and the accused woman. She appears to be an embarrassment for the judgers, and could be conveniently eliminated by death. Yet Jesus basically told the questioners to "go and sin no more". The genuine problem was spread across the boundaries of status, and the solution should benefit all instead. (The accusers seemed to skew the situation to their advantage, considering a guilty man seemed absent. Jesus aptly dealt with that possibility.)

One part of managing negative and critical outsiders is to evaluate our culpability in maintaining some advantage. Yet Jesus in this narrative speaks to the woman too. He asks her whether anyone is charging her. After all, the stage is reset here. She responds with the obvious answer, and Jesus reinforces this by exhorting her to use the opportunity to be truly free. If she was dead, she would not have this option.

Therefore, there are two things to consider when responding to phenomena such as The Davinci Code and The Capitalist Piglet. First, realize our part in the protracted faults of the Church. Second, enable the creators the option of surviving their ordeal with an unjust system, however well-intended. Only then will we start to make progress in reducing the common disappointments of others toward mainstream Christianity.

Part 2: How NOT to be Unfaithful
Part 3: How NOT to be Tempted

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