Doubting Thomases

I honestly can not understand this entire brouhaha on the The Da Vinci Code. I can not believe that Cabinet members, no less than the Executive Secretary, are commenting on the book/movie and actually believe that the Brown bestseller is repulsive.

The Church and other religious issuing statements and other propaganda against “the code” is expected. Some Christian groups even scheduled seminars to talk about and discredit the The Da Vinci Code. I’m sure Dan Brown would be surprised that his book is the topic of the priest’s sermon in my mother’s hometown in La Union. As if the media mileage is not enough, an anti-porn group has been pushing the MTRCB to ban the movie. Anti-porn group reacting over Da Vinci? Beats me.

I was born to Roman Catholic parents, baptized Roman Catholic and went to a Catholic school from pre-school all through highschool. I consider myself to be a Catholic to this day, albeit non-practicing. I continue to keep a relationship with my God that I came to know of through my Catholic upbringing and harbor no doubt whatsoever on my faith. And yes, I loved the The Da Vinci Code and I can’t wait to catch it on the big screen.

The book was exhilarating, engaging and highly-informative. What stuck on me are the bits of trivia such as the value of Pi, the anagrams and the description of the famous paintings, structures and other works of art. The plot on the sacred feminine and the sub-plots on secret societies, medieval crusades, Church cover-up and other historical pieces of information appealed to me as interesting and yes intriguing. But never, for one second, did the book shake my faith and lead me to doubt and question.

I would like to believe, as any Christian should, that our relationship with our God is profound and meaningful, one that is solid and deeply-rooted. I haven’t heard of one person (I’m surrounded by people who read the book) who was disillusioned and demoralized and renounced his/her faith altogether because of Dan Brown’s brilliant story-telling. Nobody thought that the omnipotence of the Christ we know was diminished nor his being insulted because he allegedly sired a child. This is so, I believe, because spirituality is boundless. It is not limited by the church one goes to or the scriptures it teaches, the company a person keeps or the method a believer chooses to communicate with a higher being. It is a personal relationship of love and acceptance. All that is important to remember is a God who is forgiving and selfless and if this is the image to whom I was created after, nothing else matters.