The Prayer of DaVinci

No, I do not have a copy of a cryptic prayer offered by Leonardo to whatever god or goddess he believed in. What I do have are questions about the reaction to The DaVinci Code by the Christian community at large. Can a precedent be found that would enable us to understand a little better how we are handling the current debate engendered by Brown’s book and the upcoming film, based on The DaVinci Code (starring no less a cinema giant than Tom Hanks - surely, that makes the movie believable)?

A contemporary literary phenomenon, albeit with the opposite effect of Brown’s book, that shows how Christians are suckered by hype is The Prayer of Jabez, by Bruce Wilkinson. I have two observations about Jabez that have a parallel in DaVinci (aside from the fact that both books have really nifty titles). First of all, a look at the content of Wilkinson’s book reveals the same kind of poor research and faulty theology as one finds in Brown’s work. Although not to the same degree as Brown, Wilkinson based his book on popular theology, not real biblical theology.

Wilkinson proposed that if one prays Jabez’s prayer everyday, God will bless him in a variety of ways. Number one, prayer is not a way of making God "work." Such an approach to prayer falls into the realm of pagan mysticism and magic. Regardless of what we do, God is not required to act in any particular manner. In other words, God is not like a coke machine: you don’t insert 60¢ and automatically get what you want.

Second, Wilkinson totally misrepresented the nature of blessing. The Bible never uses the word blessing or any of its derivatives in the way Wilkinson did in The Prayer of Jabez. According to Wilkinson, blessings are material things or incidents that one receives only because he asks. Well, how about Ephesians 1.3? Paul stated that God has "blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." Or, take Galatians 3.9, where Paul wrote that "those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer." So, do we need to ask for what is already ours? Further, does Wilkinson’s view of blessing match up with Paul’s? I think not. Yet, millions of readers uncritically accepted Wilkinson’s views.

Another similarity between Jabez and DaVinci is the amount of money made off both the books. Further, stacks of books, truckloads of trinkets, and gigabytes of data on CDs and DVDs have been generated by these two books. Millions and millions of dollars have made in one case by what is, essentially, a lie masquerading as the truth. In the other, well-intentioned, but mistaken interpretations of Scripture were promoted as binding truth. In both cases, many believers and unbelievers alike were caught up in the frenzies. Just as with DaVinci, Jabez made tons of money, and no one ever questioned the rightness of such an endeavor. Ironically, few pray the prayer of Jabez any longer, and all the cute Jabez novelties gather dust or waste away in the local landfill. So, too, will be the case with The DaVinci Code and its associated products.

In response to The DaVinci Code, as with the reaction to The Prayer of Jabez, believers have responded in a manner opposite to what should have been. Rightly, we have reacted negatively to Brown; yet, the reaction has been way over the line. To hear some, you would think a stake was driven through the heart of Christianity by Dan Brown. Rightfully, many have questioned Brown’s assumptions and and conclusions. Sadly, some of the works written in response to The DaVinci Code, such as one book I read, are as poorly written as Brown’s book.

Even more ironical was the response to Jabez. Because Bruce Wilkinson has the stature he does among evangelicals, none were willing to take him to task over his book. Mainly, few criticized The Prayer of Jabez because, some argued, the book was "doing so much good for so many people." How can poor theology and shoddy biblicism help anyone? Wilkinson surely was well-intentioned, but still was guilty of misunderstanding the Bible’s teachings.

I think that in six months or so, no one will be talking about The DaVinci Code. Most will have moved on to the next literary fad. Just as The Prayer of Jabez faded away into anonymity, so, too, will The DaVinci Code. The true biblical message will never fade away. We are faced daily with life’s challenges. We need to know how to maneuver through the ethical mine fields of today’s world. Only the Truth of Scripture can give us the guidance we need.

Perhaps, if we Christians show more consistency between what we say and do, and if strive for greater biblical accuracy in what we teach, a lesser need will exist to combat fad theologies. Rest assured, we will be confronted by another popular book that will espouse some biblically inaccurate point of view. Will we be ready?