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Christians hope to use 'Da Vinci Code'

LOS ANGELES, May 11 (UPI) -- A number of evangelical Christian ministers have decided that "The Da Vinci Code" can be used to bring people to Christ.

Ken Baugh, a pastor in California, told The Los Angeles Times that he plans to hand out tickets to the movie, which opens May 19, and is encouraging members of his flock to see it with non-Christian friends.

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The book, a runaway bestseller, is based on the notion that Jesus Christ had children with Mary Magdalene whose descendents are still alive. The Roman Catholic Church and especially the conservative Opus Dei movement are depicted as sinister forces hiding the truth.

The Vatican has urged Catholics to stay away from both book and movie. But Catholic leaders, recognizing that a boycott is unlikely to be effective, are also responding to it with rebuttals and discussion.

Religious leaders are staying away from one potential response, the demonstrations and picket lines that greeted movies like "The Last Temptation of Christ."

Josh McDowell, a writer and evangelist in Texas, told the Times that the best response is "very positive, wholesome, winsome."

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