As Christians are about to enter one of the year’s holiest of weeks, many are faced with overwhelming questions and challenges against the truth of the Gospel message that is most celebrated at this time.

|PIC1|The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's bestseller is currently the most talked about text within and outside the Christian sphere three years after the book's release and weeks before its motion picture premiere.

On top of that, new studies and findings are putting the Gospel message and the Christian faith into question.

Not too long after the release of a multimillion pound scientific study that claimed that intercessory prayer had no impact on physical recovery, the National Geographic Society made public on Thursday an English translation of the "Gospel of Judas," which portrays Judas with a completely different persona from the one that most Christians have been familiar with – that of a traitor. Found in the Egyptian desert in 1970, the text presents Judas as a favored disciple of Jesus.

"I think we're dealing with the unique period of 'The Da Vinci Code,'" said Dr. Darrell Bock, research professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in the USA. "All these events kind of coalesced around the same time (Easter)."

Bock, author of Breaking The Da Vinci Code, broadened the controversies to a spiritual quest.

"There is, in many cases, a generic spiritual quest going on that involves either Christianity or a reaction to it. That's why it's important that Christians be prepared to engage or act on this material."

|TOP|Christians are mixed on whether to take the "go see it" outreach approach or protest against the movie's release. Carl Olson, co-author of "The Da Vinci Hoax," would rather not watch the movie, but has no interest in boycotting it either.

"The best way to approach it is to be more on the offense," said Olson, encouraging people who may support Brown's novel to consider reading what "the other side" has to say as well.

Similarly echoing Olson's stance, Bock said, "It's best not to be defensive in this material."

However, "to have any credibility, it's important to see the film or have read the book," said Bock, commenting that either of which is fine. "The movie is assuming the backdrop of the book."

"I think there is some merit of seeing the movie to see what is included," he added.

Both bestselling authors, Bock and Olson were the first ones to publish books in 2004 debunking The Da Vinci Code. Olson co-authored his book with Sandra Miesel, a medieval historian and journalist.

|AD|Within its context, The Da Vinci Hoax draws out comparisons between Brown's novel and several earlier texts that many have accused Brown of copying.

"We never accuse him of plagiarism. That's not our intention," noted Olson. "Our goal is to show that Brown relied upon sources that no historian takes seriously."

On Friday, Brown was vindicated after being accused by historians Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, of plagiarism.

"We never thought that the ruling was going to affect anything that we stated [in our book]," commented Olson. "The things that came out during the court trial especially Dan Brown's witness statement just further validated everything we wrote in our book - that he did very little research ... It speaks to what is the truth about how this [novel] was created."

Despite a growing trend discrediting Christianity, Olson is not afraid of the challenge.

"We as Christians have nothing to fear. In fact, we welcome a thorough examination of history because it validates what we believe as Christians. History is not the enemy. My hope is that it opens the doors to Christians to study churches and church history in a way they haven't before."

Meanwhile, the Christian Council of Korea (CCK) has applied for a provisional injunction to stop the release of the movie version of the novel.

The CCK filed its application in Seoul against the film's distributor Sony Pictures, according to Screen International.

CCK said the film was "an insult and defamation" of Jesus Christ and the Bible.

The group also said that they were "concerned about the damage that would be caused to individuals' faith" because of the film's content.

The Da Vinci Code movie is currently scheduled to open in Korea next month after its Cannes world premiere on 17 May.







Lillian Kwon & Daniel Blake
Christian Today Correspondents