'DA VINCI' FANTASY LAND

Knight-Ridder is pushing a piece on the Da Vinci Code-Judas Gospel soon to be destruction of Christianity as we know it. At least they hope so:

Perhaps one day, Sunday school students will learn that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, seminaries will teach alternative gospels as the true Christian canon and Bible colleges will emphasize Christ’s human attributes over his divinity.

It hasn’t happened yet. But theologians and pastors worry that if Dan Brown’s bestselling theological thriller, "The Da Vinci Code," keeps flying off the shelves, it could potentially rewrite the popular understanding of Christian history....

Some Christians grappling with newfound Gnostic material may long for the days when Judas was seen as a betrayer, Mary Magdalene was seen a prostitute and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were seen as the only Gospel writers.

Ah, if only to recover those halcyon days of ignorant simplicity.

Despite the best efforts of a 21st Century boilerplate suspense writer (or his counterparts in the press), Christianity somehow will plug along. Yes, defenses must be--and should be--made against popular misconceptions. But no one really interested in anything approaching truth is going to be led astray for long by a beach novel.