malcolm chamberlain

"Have you protested against The Da Vinci Code?"

That was a direct question I faced in a meeting with Christian young adults in Peshawar, Pakistan. I'd fully expected it after seeing the poster on the notice board of the Peshawar Diocesan youth office calling on Christians to boycott the book and film, not to mention the almost iconic status of Da Vinci's The Last Supper - almost every Christian household I visited had a copy of the painting displayed somewhere.

My answer to the question, which initially drew some very disappointed looks, was "No, I haven't."

But I did continue my response in discussion after the meeting had formally ended. What I said went something like this (though I may have used more understandable English!)...

"A lot of people in Pakistan think that I come from a Christian country. Historically it may be, but in practice today Christians are a minority community just as they are in Pakistan. However, whereas in your country the majority community belong to another faith, Islam, in my country the majority community would not ascribe to any faith and are at best apathetic to religion and God and at worst openly hostile. I can see how for Christians in Pakistan, living amongst a Muslim majority, something like The Da Vinci Code is very unhelpful. All it does is give further ammunition to a people who already believe that Christians have manipulated and corrupted their own scriptures over the centuries to teach errant doctrines like the divinity of Jesus. The Da Vinci Code adds fuel to their fire and so the Christian community in Pakistan must distance themselves publicly from it. I think your response of protest against The Da Vinci Code is wholly right in Pakistan.

But in England, where most people are uninterested in historic religion, The Da Vinci Code, through its popularist conspiracy theories, has reawakened an interest in Christianity, even though that interest is initially about finding holes in conventional beliefs. This has given the church an excellent opportunity to engage with the arguments of The Da Vinci Code and, through this, to expose its weak research base and largely discredited conclusions in comparison with the overwhelming evidence supporting the historic Christian faith. So, no I haven't protested against The Da Vinci Code! In my context, back in England, I have used it as an opportunity."

Of course, the discussion continued but I'm pretty sure that my questioner understood where I was coming from. I guess this one conversation six and a half thousand miles away from home highlights how centrally important the issue of countext is both to how we proclaim the faith we hold and to how we engage with the challenges raised against it.

A response that is wholly right in one context can be wholly wrong in another.

Labels: debates, Pakistan