WINNIPEG - He found some scenes so offensive he nearly jumped out of his theatre seat to defend his religion.

Ken Bond was one of the first Winnipeggers to see The Da Vinci Code, the film version of Dan Brown's best-selling novel yesterday.

"There were some times there they really stretched the truth," said Bond, a Christian, just outside a Silver City cinema yesterday. "You just wanted to get out of your chair and tell everyone it wasn't true."

Bond said the scenes that claimed a blood line of Jesus Christ irked him most.

Yet he left the film feeling it reaffirmed his own faith. "It strengthens it quite a bit. When you have anything that challenges your faith, it's great to get it on the table and deal with it," he said.

Kevin Huska, a member of Campus Crusade for Christ, said the film's potential to lead people into spiritual discussion is why his group urges people to see it and research its claims. He hopes the movie will lead audiences to churches and the website discussdavinci.com, Campus Crusade's effort to "debunk" the films' "myths."

But after watching the film, he admits it might lead people away from the church.

"It has the potential to change people's minds," said Huska. "I think if people took it as fact, they might believe they were misled their whole lives."

Huska said the controversy surrounding the film's theory of Jesus' life is based on its ability to make the Bible appear less accurate, calling its other claims into question.

But most Winnipeg viewers said the film's most controversial theory -- that Jesus Christ was mortal, married and a father -- just didn't challenge their most critical beliefs.

"The fact that Jesus died on the cross is what matters to me," said Ian Falkenberg, a Catholic. "His being a father doesn't change that for me ... Regardless of what your beliefs are, there's nothing wrong with something that encourages discussions about spirituality."

Annie Eastwood isn't religious, but said the film piqued her curiosity.

"It's a conversation starter," said Eastwood. "This is strictly from the point of trying to figure out the truth."

Gerry Ward, a Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Winnipeg priest who led a lecture series on the film at the Millennium Library this week, advises audiences not to take the work of fiction too seriously.

"I thought the book was a real page turner, but very faulty in terms of its theology. As a result of that, I'm amazed at the number of people who are talking about this being against the church and taking it personally."