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I've been reading the international best-seller "The Da Vinci Code" in anticipation of the up-coming film. I had tried reading the book in 2003, but bailed out after about 200 pages. I get hooked by story lines through the usual literary devices: character development, intrigue, etc. For some reason, "The Da Vinci Code" didn't hook me, although it has hooked millions of people world-wide.

Although I was raised with an awareness of the Bible and Christian beliefs, I have never considered myself a Christian. This is mostly because I have had difficulty believing the stories in the Bible. And, I tend to look at religion with the same skepticism I apply to the rest of the world. I have long believed many of the theories that "The Da Vinci Code" proposes: that Jesus Christ was a mortal man, and that the stories in the Bible have been distorted by the Church to suit their interests.

I suppose that for someone who has long assumed that the Bible has the same form today as it did a millenia ago, "The Da Vinci Code" puts forth some ground-breaking material. But for me, it's simply adding twists to what I always thought of as collection of stories. I think this is why the book didn't have the same shock-factor for me as it did for many Christians.

I think that the primary difference between stories and scripture is that stories permit customization, but scripture is gold. Their mission is often the same: to entertain, educate, and inspire. But how is scripture made?