Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code and of Angels and Demons, has a new book out – The Lost Symbol
This time, the supposedly secret knowledge is held by the highest order of Masons in Washington, D.C. All sorts of powerful people are involved – the head of the Smithsonian Institution, the Architect of the Capitol, a high-ranking CIA official, who keeps saying this is all about national security.
Dan Brown is a great writer of thrillers. He weaves actual history and his own fiction together so artfully that the lines often get blurry. And he delves into philosophy and religion in ways that provoke readers to examine their own beliefs.
As I read his latest book, I pondered how fascinated so many people are with the concept of secret knowledge that only they and a few other worthy people possess. It’s not new to our age. Among the early Christians, there were groups that thought only they had access to the true message of Jesus.
It’s not only Christian groups that like to latch on to secrets. But what struck me is how antithetical that is to the way the Gospels describe Jesus’ work.
Yes, we have heard in the Gospel of Mark during the summer that Jesus told his disciples over and over again to keep something quiet – the leper he healed, the young girl he brought back to life, the deaf man whose hearing he restored. At one point, Jesus tells his inner circle that he is speaking in parables to the crowds, but he is telling them the real meaning of things: “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.” (Mark 4:11)
But Jesus was holding things close with his apostles as he was training them. He was not keeping things secret for the ages. He told them to let their light shine, to shout things from the rooftops. The “secrets” about God’s kingdom are for everyone.
When you think you hold the secret knowledge, then you think you have the inside track to eternity. One of the tendencies in religions of many types is to say that only those who follow that particular way will enjoy the rewards of the divine presence.
Jesus acted in ways that broke the boundaries of his era. The knowledge he brought – the word of God on earth – was neither secret nor exclusive. It ours for the taking, to make our own and then to find ways to live out in our lives.
It makes for a better thriller to be seeking secret knowledge. It makes for a better world that we all can share in the message of hope that Jesus offered the world.
Phil Haslanger is pastor at Memorial United Church of Christ in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
