The battle was between an Orthodox Rabbi, a Messianic Jew, and an Evangelical Christian – three of the world's leading biblical and cultural experts. Printed flyers publicized "The Da Vinci Code Debate" but the hundreds that flocked to the Hilton New York Hotel found a deeper spiritual issue that Dan Brown's novel had tapped into.
"I knew when we got these three together it would depart from the book," said Philip Murray, 51, who attends Manhattan Christian Church, "and that's the part I was hoping really to hear more."
The global debate, broadcasted live worldwide on the Internet, opened with summarized arguments on The Da Vinci Code which touched on the sacred feminine along with anti-Christian and anti-Jewish elements presented in the novel. It wasn't long before the debate went askew to broader issues of religion and the conflicting beliefs of the Jewish and Christian people.
Briefly mentioning the main topic of discussion to launch off to a deeper religious issue, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of Judaism for Everyone and London Times Preacher of the Year, drew attention to the popularity of Brown's novel, arguing that many are disillusioned with religion, its masculine aspects, and the hypocrisy seen in the believers.
For that matter, Dr. Darrell Bock, author of Breaking the Da Vinci Code, agreed saying that Brown tapped into the disenchantment people have with religion.
The dominant topic of argument that took much of the debate awry, however, was Jesus.
"I think that the real issue has to do with who Jesus is," commented Mitch Glaser, president of Chosen People Ministries, one of the event organizers. "People would talk about the movie, they would talk about whether Jesus was married, whether or not Jesus could have had children, but the real issue was what should we believe about Jesus, what should we believe as Christians, what should we believe about Jewish people."
"I think that this is a burning issue, probably more burning in people's hearts than The Da Vinci Code," Glaser added.
While some in the audience desired to hear more on the subject of The Da Vinci Code, others joined the heated debate asking questions on a broader note of Christian and Jewish beliefs.
