Media, Controversy and Faith

The Da Vinci Code is on its way towards Indian cinema halls. Consider these:
1. Rajasthan Patrika, a Hindi daily says that the movie is ‘about a secret code hidden in Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous painting - The Monalisa. What can I say? Dude, we know yours is a Hindi newspaper but at least take the pain of reading the novel once before printing information just by viewing the first ad of the film, which obviously was made to arouse curiosity and was not related at all.
2. Aaj Tak, the pioneer among the news channels focuses more on the fact that the book shows Jesus taking wine (and believe me, it highlights this like anything) whereas it was mentioned only once in the novel and that too as a matter-of-fact rather than any claim.

Well, the media has a knack in uprooting controversies whether the roots exist or not. The movie has been received quite critically from Christians all over the world including India. I was watching news on another channel where it was showing some Christians on a hunger strike to ban the movie to be premiered and shown in India. A priest comments, “This book is trying to go against the Church and the God which ¾th of the world’s population follow.”
My dad was sitting there and he just made an interesting remark, “Hehe … ¾th don’t follow”. And though it was spoken with humor, it is a truth indeed. To follow Christ and to be a Christian are altogether different things. I believe that more than ¾th of the elder Christian population drinks. So, do they follow Christ (who Bible proclaims didn’t drink and according to which it is a sin)? I wish to ask how many people who were sitting on that hunger strike have actually read The Da Vinci Code. I am convinced that the number of those who haven’t read it will be more than ¾th.
And even if all that is there, if your faith is strong, what is the need to worry? A weaker faith will fail anyway in time of difficulties (or rather at the time of test). I was really surprised to see even Pope commenting and condemning it directly. And to me, Langdon’s words in the book seem so appropriate to mention here - "It's important to remember that the modern Church's desire to suppress these documents comes from a sincere belief in their established view of Christ. The Vatican is made up of deeply pious men who truly believe these contrary documents could only be false testimony."
In fact I forgot to mention that Aaj Tak also highlighted that Dan Brown has claimed that Jesus was married and that the ‘Royal Bloodline’ still exists. I disagree because the book is an interwoven work of facts and fiction and the ultimate product is only a fiction and not a claim. One has to understand that whereas all documents and rituals mentioned are accurate, all clues left by Jacques Sauniere, all cryptography involved and the final disclosure of Sophie as Merovingian were all but a matter of fiction. I doubt Brown claims that the Holy Grail is there in the Louvre as is indicated in the end.
A little confusion also arises from the fact that Dan Brown gives an accurate description of the documents, rituals etc. (he has mentioned it in the very beginning) and therefore at times, I also got a doubt if it is real or fiction. For example, consider the books that Teabing shows to Sophie for explaining Holy Grail. Now, are they real or fictitious? I take them for real.
And even on the controversy over Jesus’ marriage, I understand that the priests and bishops of Church would practice celibacy but I am not sure if they teach and preach the same. Is marriage an evil for Church and if so, how do they justify creation? Should a married person divorce when he understands Bible from his heart or when he wants to become a priest and serve God? Pardon me for allowing my mind to wander so randomly but I just wish to emphasize that being a married person doesn’t make any difference in your having godly attributes and Krishna is the best example for the same.
The controversies to me are baseless. Does it really matter if any Merovingian is alive on this earth? I mean the son/daughter of a good father turns out bad in this world. Here, we have a span of more than 20 generations. How does it matter even if the Priory of Sion is trying to protect them and why should the Church be bothered about them? You’ve to see where you stand, what you want to believe in and just do it!
I believe that Dan Brown has indeed created a work which shacks your faith but at the same time it is a good thing to understand another perspective. Does it really matter if Jesus Christ was ‘Son of God’ or a mere human being who achieved apotheosis in his lifetime? He had inspired many during his lifetime anyways and His life and actions are still worth emulating.

Disclaimer: The above post is not an effort to disregard Bible, Christianity or its practices. I am just trying to emphasize that one should try to penetrate the surface and get the essence rather than just allowing oneself to get entangled in the spider’s web. When we understand the true inner meaning/essence, we really follow and don’t remain as mere followers.