Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
(KSL News) -- A movie based on the novel, the Da Vinci Code, is sparking controversy among religious groups. Today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement on the movie's plot line.
The film opens tomorrow at the Cannes Film Festival. The story suggests Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and they had a child. On the question of "Was Jesus Married?", a church spokesman said:
"The belief that Christ was married has never been official Church doctrine. It is neither sanctioned nor taught by the Church. While it is true that a few Church leaders in the mid-1800s expressed their opinions on the matter, it was not then, and is not now, Church doctrine."
Andrew Skinner, Ph.D., BYU Dept. of Religion: "There is nothing in the canonical New Testament, there is nothing in restoration scripture, there is really even nothing in non-canonical sources that you can use as evidence that Jesus was married or he wasn't married. The sources are silent on that aspect."
Also today, Greek orthodox priests, nuns and followers protested in central Athens, asking people to boycott the movie because "it insults Christianity."
The movie opens Friday in Utah.
