Christianity's Portrayal In Selected Texts

Christianity has shaped society European and English-speaking countries' society to a great extent. Because of this, it is a common theme in our literature. In selecting the texts The Da Vinci Code, Stigmata, 'The Maori Jesus', 'The Ballad of Calvary Street', and Theo's Odyssey, I included a wide range of points of view on the topic of Christianity. With conspiracy-theory-driven films that attempt to bring down the Catholic establishment, James K Baxter poems that force audiences to take a second look at their societies, as well as a French novel that looks at many world religions, I intend to analyse differences in characters' beliefs, and messages of the texts.

How does a character/society view Christianity?

Characters in my texts often portray negative or at least sceptical views of the Christian Establishment or those within it. In The Da Vinci Code, Sir Ian McKellan plays Sir Leigh Teabing, an eccentric Englishman who is very knowledgeable regarding Christian history. Teabing views Christianity as a doctrine of lies. At the beginning of the film, his views are openly negative towards the Church, but only to a relatively mild extent. He jokes about the divinity of the bible, saying "The good book did not arrive by facsimile from heaven." He continues to explain the happenings at the Council of Nicaea, where he claims any gospels that alluded to Jesus being mortal or married were rejected. Teabing's true, darker thoughts towards the Church are alluded to when he states "As long as there has been One true God, there has been killing in His name." His feelings become more obvious when he speaks of the Council of Shadows, a shadowy group within the Church that kill off the descendants of Jesus in order to keep them a secret. The audience learns that his knowledge of past atrocities in the name of the Church, and of the dark sects within it, has evidently led him to believe that it must be destroyed, when he shouts "Drive this Church of lies to its knees!" Knowledge of the past and of the secrecy within the Holy Catholic Church are not enough to drive away the faith of all though.

In Stigmata, Father Andrew Kiernan is a scientist-turned-priest within the Church that, while seeing how many secrets are kept from the public, still believes that faith is too important to lose. His feelings towards the secrecy are similar to Teabing's saying "Nothing gets out of here does it? Unless they want it to." His overall view contrasts deeply to Teabing's however, as he needs answers, and feels life without Christianity cannot deliver them. When asked how he can put up with a life without sex, he simply states "I exchanged one set of complications for another." Unlike Sir Leigh Teabing, he has the ability to separate deceitful, violent individuals within the Church from the message that Jesus Christ set down, and he continues to pursue the questions that plague him with the help of God, rather than set out to destroy the establishment.

Both of these characters have lives deeply entwined in Christianity, but in Theo's Odyssey the main character, Theo, has been brought up without any religion. When he is thrown into a trip of the world's religions, it is clear his knowledge of many of them, including Christianity has largely been limited to what he has seen on the news, or been taught at school. Theo shows a bias towards Christianity that seems to have emanated from news media's portrayal of Islam being extreme and war-mongering. His belief of Christian moral superiority is highlighted when, after being told of the massacre of tens of thousands during the crusades, he exclaims "But they were Christians!" Theo's scepticism towards Christianity grows healthily throughout the text, questioning Father Dubourg, his tutor, at every point that seems improbable.

For James K Baxter's poems, 'The Ballad of Calvary Street' and 'The Maori Jesus' I have chosen to look at society instead of a character. Unlike the three characters I have just reported on that hold a largely negative viewpoint Christianity, Baxter portrays society as being the problem. James K Baxter, at the time of writing 'The Ballad of Calvary Street' was Roman Catholic himself, and obviously held belief in the Church. Using a Mum and Dad duo living in Calvary Street, he presents society as misunderstanding the message of Christ. Society, he seems to believe, are living beneath a faÐ*ade of happy families, where children come to see their parents out of responsibility rather than love, and visits are sterile and business-like, shown by "The children come to pay their due, Mum takes down the family files." Society is shown to feel restricted by what they feel is right by the Church. This attitude is somewhat contrasting against 'The Maori Jesus,' where the portrayal of society shows us not to be restricted by Christianity, but rather ignorant and overly sceptical towards it. Jesus is shown in the poem to be walking on Earth, but instead of society being enlightened, the Maori Jesus is lobotomised. So unlike Father Andrew in Stigmata who's faith is made stronger when he witnesses divine phenomena, society as seen by Baxter in 'The Maori Jesus' ignores the signs of God being around us.

What message does the text give about Christianity?

In the texts I have chosen there seems to be a strong negative feeling towards the establishment of the Catholic Church. It also seems to be a common viewpoint that the message of Jesus Christ has been lost through the ages.

Stigmata, a film that presents divine phenomena as a reality, shows that the doctrine involving churches and priests is contrary to the word of Christ. In the movie the gospel of Jesus, a set of writings recently found, but covered up by the Church, states "The Kingdom of God is inside you, all around you. Not in a mansion of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood and I'm there. Lift a stone and you will find me." This film attempts to portray Catholicism as incorrect