Torch, Summer 2006

S ince March 2003, Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code , has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. By any standard, the book is a publishing success, and its popularity has brought its author wealth and influence. Brown made more than $75 million last year alone and was #12 on Forbes magazine’s list of most influential celebrities — ahead of David Letterman and Michael Jordan. The book has actually received mixed reviews. Novelist Nelson DeMille exclaimed, “Dan Brown has to be one of the best, smartest, and most accomplished writers in the country … this is pure genius.” The NewYork Daily News wrote, “His research is impeccable.” On the other hand, Laura Miller at Salon.com countered, “ The Da Vinci Code has characters so thin they’re practically transparent, ludicrous dialogue, and prose that’s 100 percent cliché.” Celebrated writer Salmon Rushdie added, “ The Da Vinci Code is so bad it makes bad books look good.” The most stinging review came from Peter Millar of The London Times . He wrote, “This is without doubt, the silliest, most inaccurate, ill- informed, stereotype- driven, quaff-eared, cardboard-cutout- populated piece of pulp fiction that I have read. And that’s saying something. It would be bad enough that Brown has gone into New Age overdrive by trying to draw together the Grail, Mary Magdalene, the Knights Templar, the Priory of Sion, Rosicrucianism, Fibonacci Numbers, the Isis Cult, and the Age of Aquarius, but he has done it so sloppily.” So what gives? How can a mediocre book cause such a stir? Why is the movie version of the book being touted as the “cultural event of the decade”? This issue of TORCH is dedicated to making sense of The Da Vinci Code …not simply to grapple with its message, refute its assertions, or even to expose its error. There are many excellent Web sites and resources available to help Christians do those things. Rather, my passion is that we will go one step further and see The Da Vinci Code as an opportunity : • an opportunity to peer into the window of our Postmodern culture • an opportunity to engage our culture with the heart and mind of Christ • an opportunity to share the Truth with people who are spiritually hungry So, while The Da Vinci Code readers “seek the truth,” let’s be there to listen, answer questions, and point them to the source of Truth. Indeed, the Truth will set us free! Dr. Bill Brown Cedarville University President : Just the Facts THE BOOK Author: Dan Brown First release: March 18, 2003 (hardcover) by Doubleday Second release: March 28, 2006 (paperback) by Anchor Copies sold worldwide: 45 million THE MOVIE Release: May 19, 2006 Director: Ron Howard Producer: Brian Grazer Writers: Dan Brown (novel), Akiva Goldsman (screenplay) Cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina MPAA rating: PG-13 Production co.: Columbia Pictures and Imagine Entertainment Distributor: Sony Pictures Production budget: $125 million The Da Vinci Code 2 TORCH / Summer 2006