College course will discuss 'Da Vinci Code'

By Susan Simpson

Published: May 29, 2006

GOODWELL - "The Da Vinci Code" -- Dan Brown's best-selling novel and now a blockbuster movie -- has been debated in churches and around watercoolers.

Now students at one state university will study its biblical and historic relevance in an elective class planned this fall.

"There is so much that a student can learn about the evidence of Christ and Christianity inside 'The Da Vinci Code,'" said Sam Collins, a Church of Christ minister who teaches adjunct liberal arts courses at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell.

He said the for-credit Christian Evidences class will provide an in-depth examination of the movie and its social, religious and historic relevance.

However, Collins plans to debunk Brown's claims, including those that Jesus was not divine and married Mary Magdalene.

"It's pure fiction," he said. "I can show evidence and through the Bible that it is not correct."

It's not the first time Collins has used Hollywood as a teaching tool. He shows parts of the Indiana Jones series in his class on Bible archeology.

"When Indiana Jones first came out, as a preacher, I didn't see it for a long time because I was upset by the way it treated the Bible narrative as if it were fiction. But I began to see it as a tongue-and-cheek depiction, and a teaching tool."

He doesn't expect students or community members will object to his pro-Bible teachings at a public institution.

"I think this is such a strong area for Christianity that I won't see many take the class who would want to be controversial. If the Bible is true, it will withstand debate."

A Tulsa minister developed the course materials.

Churches, classrooms
Timothy Paul Jones said his series, "Answers to The Da Vinci Code," are being used mostly by churches but also are appropriate for college classrooms.

"Whether students come out thinking that 'The Da Vinci Code' is true or false, they've been forced to think critically and historically about the issues," said Jones, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Rolling Hills.

He's already sold 70,000 copies of his coursework, published by Rose Publishing.

The movie version of "The DaVinci Code" will be included in future curriculum of a popular course at Oklahoma Christian University entitled "Jesus: From Scriptures to Screen."

John Harrison, a professor in the College of Biblical Studies, said the class examines movies depicting Jesus, including the controversial "The Last Temptation of Christ," and Mel Gibson's more recent "The Passion of the Christ."

He said students compare Biblical portraits of Jesus with those created by Hollywood.

"I try to use (movie) clips to show the basic question 'Does the film industry reflect our culture or does it help to shape our culture? Will this shape people's ideas about religion or does it reflect people's ideas about religion?'" he asked.

Like Collins, Harrison said his course will refute the claims made in "The Da Vinci Code."

"In higher education, we should be interested in the pursuit of truth," Harrison said. "There's nobody within Biblical scholarship that would take the claims made by Brown as very serious."

Still, society's response to the film also is worth academic study, he said.

"It is a social phenomenon, and that's worth investigating."