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I am always suspicious when a movie creates as much controversy as did the Da Vinci Code. Most verbally upset by the movie were members of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. They immediately began to point out errors in a fictional movie. How can a movie contain errors when it's intention is entertainment and not a presentation of truth or doctrine? Movies that elicit strong emotions are bound to "rile people up.

Let's face it, the passion and death of Jesus is one of the central beliefs of Christianity. I personally do not believe that the more cruel and outrageous the beating of Jesus, the greater the sacrifice and the deeper our beliefs become. I found the movie to be repugnant and overly dramatized. As a Christian, I understand that Jesus' controversial teachings angered the orthodox Jews of his time and that the Roman government leaders felt that Jesus threatened their leadership and power.

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST was intended to rile up the public. The excessive beating and disturbing sound track made it possible to ignore the torture endured by Jesus. As Christians, we believe that his suffering and death were essential to our salvation. The greater the torture and the more painful his death, the more we seem to believe that our salvation was attained by Jesus through this self giving act.

When one group of movie goers finds themselves moved to tears and their understanding of the sacrifice made by Jesus in his passion and death, there will always be a counter group who believes that Jesus died by crucifixion and that the passion of Jesus was awful, and maybe this was a salvific action. There is an obvious clash here that will not be easily resolved.

There is a point, I believe, when we must separate truth from exaggeration in media presentations. Many Christians are fearful of questioning what is presented as truth lest they somehow lessen their chances of attaining "heaven." While clawing their way to the top of the belief pole, they also often step on those who do not share those beliefs or who question the entire story. Wars have been waged over beliefs far less important that salvation!

The Da Vinci Code (or, the DA Vinci Code as some theologians pronounce it) was written as fiction. Brown may have heaped some of the criticism of the book and movie upon himself by his presentation of certain groups and events as reality, when in fact, there is no clear cut evidence for this.

Monasteries are wonderful places to stage secretive events. Although

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