Couldn't Help Noticing

Couldn’t help noticing in The Da Vinci Code (Part II)

The tagline for the upcoming The Da Vinci Code movie is “Seek the Truth”. However, I wonder if there is more emphasis on the ‘seek’ part than on ‘truth’ part, and whether this is merely another symptom of what's wrong with our world.

The plot of the novel is roughly structured around the stages of the journey that Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu take to solve the mystery of who killed Jacques Saunière and why: at each stage, they are faced with a new riddle or a puzzle which, when unlocked, points to the next one. Readers can participate in a similar kind of experience (minus being hunted by the French police and threatened by a zealous albino monk) by taking The Da Vinci Code WebQuest and working their way through all its anagrams, riddles and codes. (This was part of the book's original promotional campaign and there is now a second WebQuest that makes use of clues found in the US Edition of The Da Vinci Code which point to Brown's next novel, The Solomon Key.) There is also something for the movie-goer: on the movie's flash site, the viewer is challenged to

Watch The Da Vinci Gallery and embark on your own quest for hidden truth! Search through some of Da Vinci's most famous works of art for hidden symbols. If you succceed in finding all six symbols, you will unlock a secret.

But it seems to me the journey is more exciting than the destination and the seeking is far more enjoyable than the thing that is found. (Who else thought that the end of The Da Vinci Code was a real anticlimax?) The sense of accomplishment you get from finally working it out is what you're supposed to take away with you, not the ‘truth’ you've uncovered. The truth doesn't matter.

In contrast, the truth about who Jesus is can be accessed without code-breaking, riddle-solving or puzzle-cracking: it is plain for all who care to listen. Furthermore, it is a truth that matters for it is a truth that promises liberty to its knowers:

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31b-32)

Such treasure makes The Da Vinci Code look like nothing more than fancy packaging.

Letter to the Editor

We'll wait and see what happens to this request to the Sydney Morning Herald to correct their story in today's edition:

Dear Sir,

I am writing to bring to your attention a significant factual error in the story (Church public relations blogs up discussion about the doctor and the vicar) in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

Paola Totaro asserts that Matthias Media is an “Anglican public relations organ”. This is incorrect and seriously misleading to your readers.

Matthias Media is an independent, non-denominational book publishing company. It is not a public relations organization. It is not Anglican. We do not, in any sense, speak on behalf of the Anglican Diocese. Nor do any of our employees, including Mr Cheng. Nor do we, or any of our employees, speak on behalf of Dean Phillip Jensen.

I would ask that you (1) bring these errors to the attention of the author of the article to ensure there is no similar misreporting in the future, and (2) publish a correction as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Ian Carmichael
Operations and Finance Director

Psalm one said so, part I

Yes, the title of this CHN is a pun.

For those of us used to song books that are arranged alphabetically by first line or by title, the book of Psalms surprises.

Alone of the books in the Bible, the chapter and verse divisions are not recent editorial additions but come with the text.

Speaking of editorial additions, don't get me started. OK, maybe just this once, and only because you people out in CHN land are pushing me.

We are accustomed to the intrusions of latter day editors who assume that we need our subheadings, or else we will flail around the text of the Bible in utter confusion. Those of us who enjoy reading the Bible on its own merits are used to ignoring these frills and spills of editorial ink.

But it's not so easy when it comes to the Psalms. Here, there are a number of divisions that have been put in place not by a crazed sub-editor, but by the Lord himself. Book One of Psalms (Psalms 1-41), for example, really is book one; likewise Books 2, 3, 4 and 5. The headings (“Book One” and so on) themselves are not in the original, but there are plenty of indications that the divisions are. Each of the five books ends with a similar word of praise to God. Ps 41:13 says for example, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.” Psalm 72 ends by saying “Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!” And then the statement “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended”—although there are other songs and prayers of David in books four and five.

Not only this, but there are in fact a number of headings that are in the original Hebrew, and in the Hebrew Bible get their own verse numbers. “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.” “To the choirmaster: According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.” “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.”

So there you are, there is structure in the book of Psalms; the order is not accidental, and there are even subheadings that are meant to be there because the Lord wanted them there.

By the way, you would think that when the subheadings are supplied by God himself, the sub-editor would leave well enough alone, and not put in extras. But sub-editors are an uppity bunch, and they just can't help insert their own bits, with additional meaningful titles like “Lead me to the rock”, “Tell the coming generation” and “Ode to my best friend Nigel” (alright, I made that last one up).

Like I said, don't get me started.

Copyright or Copywrong?

For all those who missed the copyright seminar delivered by Karen Gettens and hosted by the Fellowship for Evangelism in the Visual Arts in early March, the key points from her talk are now online at SydneyAnglicans.net. A video of the seminar is in the process of being edited and will be made available soon.

Biddulph on child care

All credit to Steve Biddulph, well-known psychologist and a best-selling author of books on parenting and relationships.

In a move that will undoubtedly make him persona non grata in many circles, having spent several years in research, he has written and spoken-out about the harm that early child care does to children, and the fantasy of the idea of ‘quality child care’.

In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend, Biddulph is quoted as saying: “Quality care appropriate to very young children does not exist. It is a fantasy of the glossy magazines.”

Interestingly, it is reported that the book is only being published in Britain at the moment, and that there are “no plans to publish locally for now”. Why, I wonder? This is strange in the bold new world of global publishing, with simultaneous release of best-selling authors' books in markets all around the world. Could it be that Biddulph's Australian publishers have a philosophical objection to publishing such a book or are worried about the backlash?