Throughout history, there have been countless wars between followers of various religions. Christians have been known to fight to protect their views on their god; many of these wars have ended quite bloody and deadly. In the "Da Vinci Code" movie with Tom Hanks, the foundation of Christianity is questioned while theories arise challenging the facts that have been publicized by the leaders of the religion. The film caused many Christians, and Catholics in particular, to be concerned about the misinterpretation of their values and how the theories posed may discredit the values that they have believed in for many centuries.
In the movie (based on a book by the same name, by Dan Brown), Professor Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu unexpectedly embark on an adventure to find the holy grail -- a supposedly dark secret kept deeply hidden due to the fact that it could discredit the entire foundation of Christianity. There are two different groups who are aware of the grail: those who were the guardians of the grail, Priory of Sion; and those who sought out to destroy it, Opus Dei. The theory was that Mary Magdalene, who had married Jesus, had given birth to a daughter; this daughter was then raised in France and continued a royal bloodline. These descendants were to be kept hidden, protected, and kept secret. The holy grail is only to be exposed to the public when the descendant himself chooses to admit to the public of his or her bloodline.
Recurring themes in the film include the false conflict between faith and knowledge, the subjectivity of history, and the intelligence of women. The character Bishop Aringarosa is the portrayal of the tension between knowledge and faith; not insinuating that a man could not be both intelligent and of good faith but that the sciences do not mix with certain beliefs. Bishop Aringarosa did not believe that the church should be involved in scientific investigations. History is called into question when the "Da Vinci Code" reinterprets stories that have been retold for many generations. The intelligence of women is also questioned as Sophie is underestimated more than once. It was due to Fache believing that she was not as aware as she was that she was able to sneak Langdon out of the Louvre. Sophie’s grandmother, Marie Chauvel, is also able to live for years without being detected that she has to do with the royal bloodline.
Opus Dei is greatly exaggerated in the film: It is portrayed to be a congregation of priests and bishops determined whose goal is enforcing strict biblical interpretations such as celibacy and corporal punishment. In reality, Opus Dei is a group of people who join in activities to express their beliefs freely; the group is 98 percent lay people, and only 2 percent priests. While some of the members do chose to live celibate lives, the majority of the lay people are married with children (Opus Dei). The Priory of Siron was portrayed as a secret group of knights whose mission was to protect the bloodline of Mary Magdalene; however, the existence of the Priory of Siron is completely theoretical and has been attempted to be proven myth on various occasions (Richardson).
The "Da Vinci Code" fabricated a fictional representation of various theories and reinterpretations of Christianity, causing wide shock and offending many religious leaders. The film and the book caused the foundations of Christianity to be questioned, bun many the basis for the storyline is either false or based on a theory. In conclusion, religion is an institution that has various interpretations. Thus, thousands of wars that have led to bloodshed due to the discrepancies in beliefs.
