Attack of the Knights Templar

Religion is a scary thing. It has a grip on so many people, and commands such tremendous respect that it could almost be a state of its own. A state that extends across the entire world. 'Tis frightening, no? But its control is limited to the people who ascribe to its cause. There are many who do not believe as the Church believes, and such is the way it should be. A balance of power must always be maintained. However, it has not always been so.

Centuries ago, the Church had a larger role in the governing of states. In the name of religion, the Church's ranking members could blacklist non-believers as heretics and blasphemers. Those heretics were scientists, men and women who believed differently than the Church. Their reward for thinking beyond the Book was quite often death. Over the years, this has changed to the point where religion is kept separate from the state; a judicial branch has been created in its place to deal out punishment as it sees fit.

As any governing body knows, there are forces that will constantly strive to bring it down. The Church feared men of science because the theories they announced threatened to turn people from the Way of God. Such is the case now, with the eminent release of The Da Vinci Code in theaters across North America. We are two days from opening night, and as the marketing machine winds up, the Church has created its own counter-measures.

Churches across the U.S. and Canada have prepared their men for an onslaught of questions raised by Dan Brown's novel. Ministers are being educated in the "approved" history of the Knights Templar and Opus Dei. Counter-documentaries, pamphlets, and information packages have been assembled to dispel notions that Jesus might have married and had a child. Why the fervor over such non-sense as a novel? A fictional novel at that. The Church is merely doing what it has been doing for years: protecting its followers from the heretical and paganistic views of outsiders.

It seems sad though, in this day and age, that a fictional novel could create such a maelstrom of activity over an idea which is really nothing more than the result of one man's over-active imagination. Does the Church really believe that a novel will alter the foundations upon which its followers' beliefs are based? That people are stupid enough to take what has been clearly declared as fiction for truth? If anything, this is a message about the Church's views on mankind.

However, blame cannot be placed solely upon the shoulders of the Church. Its members have also perpetuated the idea that this story will only lead to confusion and disbelief. Boycotts and hunger strikes are being planned around the world in protest of the film's release. The film's director, Ron Howard, recently addressed the controversy at the Cannes Film Festival in France, by saying, "This is supposed to be entertainment, not theology." His opinion of this fiasco is that if you think you might be offended by the material, then don't see it. It's as simple as that.

The controversy surrounding The Da Vinci Code is unfounded. What we seem to have forgotten is that, even though some truths lie within its pages (and even they have been molded to fit the plot), this is supposed to be fun. Reading for pleasure, being swept up in the rush of escapism. Once the film has run its course, this will all seem like a distant memory. So go grab a book, sit in your favourite chair, and just relax. Stop trying to turn fiction into fact.