In case you weren’t offended enough by “The Lost Tomb of Christ,” this blog post from Michael Medved indicates that the “Easter Surprise” is on its way.

I’ve been working on a major column for USA TODAY (it’s slated to run in the newspaper on Monday) about the Discovery Channel documentary “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” In the course of my research I learned that Newsweek is planning a big feature story in its March 28^th issue under the headline FROM JESUS TO THE CHRIST.

Isn’t it amazing how our popular coverage discovers Jesus once a year, every year, at just about this time? Do you think it’s a coincidence that we get a major TV documentary (and a new book associated with it) as well as a big Newsweek article at just about the same time? Could this sudden flurry of interest possibly relate to the upcoming Easter holiday?

The strategy behind this timing is slightly patronizing, even insulting. Once a year, just before observances commemorating the crucifixion and resurrection, the media suddenly (and briefly) recall that hundreds of millions of Americans take Christ and Christianity very seriously indeed. They therefore strain to hype some “sensational new discovery” (“The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” “The Gospel of Judas,” etc.) in an effort to make their transparent exploitation of religious enthusiasm seem newsy and relevant.

I’ve begun speculating on what breathless, heavily-hyped “scientific breakthroughs” they may generate next (“DNA Identifies Skeleton as Pet Dog of Jesus!”) but it’s hard to take this too far without tilting over toward sacrilege.

It might be refreshing if our media gate keepers remembered that many Americans remain passionately interested in Jesus every month, every day, nurturing a fascination that isn’t limited to the few weeks leading up to a big religious holiday.

I wish I was as certain that it’s a “transparent exploitation of religious enthusiasm” that’s to blame. I think that there’s also the factor of colliding worldviews between believing Christians and believing secularists.

Well anyway, we’ve got a couple weeks before this article appears. If I can adopt the optimistic point of view of those who say that all of these attempts to discredit Christ and His Church represent an opportunity to educate and dialogue, that means there are a couple weeks to get ready. To judge from the title — “From Jesus to the Christ” — it sounds like we’re about to hear an expanded claim on Dan Brown’s notion that Jesus wasn’t thought to be divine until it was “voted on” at the First Ecumenical Council. If so, the proponents will have to do better than Brown — there’s absolutely no foundation for that claim at all. Like many howlers in the execrable “Da Vinci Code” it was tossed off as fact and never disputed. But in any case, it looks like it’s time to brush up on the Seven Councils, the Biblical validation for the divinity of Christ, the early Church teachings on it, etc. etc. etc. Not to mention seeking the strength and peace to be an instrument of the Truth in a world that loves lies.

By a coincidence, I watched a video last night that disputes the claims of the “DaVinci Code.” Now, goodness knows, we’d all like to let this sleeping dog lie. But I don’t know. It looks like both Cameron’s “Lost Tomb” and this upcoming feature article are in a sense the offspring of that mutt. So apparently that dog hadn’t just been sleeping; it had “gotten busy” (as the bad guy in The Incredibles says). As mind-bogglingly insupportable and unreasonable as these “DaVinci” theories seem to us, it appears that they take their toll on people in our society. Seems like we might need to get busy and produce some offspring of our own.

Good thing it’s Lent. That’s the name of the game anyway, right?