Evangelicals are coming out left and right with what Lee Strobel calls a "mini-industry of books" debunking Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, especially as the best seller is slated to open in cinemas worldwide.

|TOP|While the film adaptation stirred protests among Catholics and Protestants alike, more Christians are encouraging people to go watch the movie.

Internationally known speaker and author Josh McDowell will be releasing his book, The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers , for Christians to use as a witnessing resource.

"May 2006 presents us with an unprecedented opportunity to equip believers to answer the challenging questions raised by the movie about the deity of Christ and his Word," said a statement released by Campus Crusade for Christ, which is promoting McDowell's new book. "If we approach this with a positive readiness, we can seize this as an opportunity to open up compelling dialogue about the real and relevant Christ."

In the same way, best-selling author Dr. James L. Garlow saw the upcoming film release, which is scheduled for May 19, as an evangelical opportunity with his own written tool.

Garlow's The DaVinci Codebreaker, to be released early April, helps readers sort fact from fiction - what even Christians have largely been confused on. With Brown's repeated statements on his book being "fact" and media buzz that has yet to die down, Garlow, co-author of New York Times best-seller Cracking Da Vinci's Code, saw a crucial need for a glossary.

|AD|The nearly 200-page book is a glossary of terms, documents, artifacts and people that includes explanations that are "historically and theologically correct," as Garlow stated in his book, and a "must have" when the movie releases in May.

Rather than protesting or avoiding the anticipated film, Garlow, much like other Evangelicals, suggests Christians, armed with the facts, to see the film with friends, churched and unchurched.

Another New York Times best-selling author and evangelical, Lee Strobel, saw The Da Vinci Code as more than a serious challenge to Christianity. He called it "an incredible opportunity."

"What if churches and individual Christians took advantage of the hoopla surrounding the forthcoming movie to reach out to their friends, colleagues, and neighbours with the real story about Jesus?" he said in a released statement. "Wouldn’t it be ironic if the book that sought so fervently to discredit Christianity ended up spurring countless seekers on a spiritual journey that ultimately took them to the authentic Christ?"

Strobel, a former-atheist, and Gary Poole, director of evangelism at Willow Creek, helped develop a DVD small group curriculum – Discussing the Da Vinci Code – to prepare Christians for their seeking friends.

With two months remaining before the film release, evangelicals are telling fellow believers, "Go, see it with your friends," said Garlow's spokesperson.







Lillian Kwon
Christian Today Correspondent