The book of Genesis is particularly well-studied in this regard and for a very long time. All the names of the Biblical Patriarchs are encoded in Genesis in the same manner.
So, while I grasp the source of the controversy, I do not grasp the derision. This is not new. In the modern era, some liken the purpose of it to a check sum, an authentication. Some say it's the book sealed unto the end times.
Regardless, it's to me an interesting puzzle. The surface text is vastly more important, but this is far beyond random chance and is there for a purpose.
We do not know just what that purpose is intended to be. Speculation could be a bad thing, but that should not stop further research into the matter, and has not.
Here is a pretty fair summary of the last decade or so, covering both the pros and the cons, for those who might have an interest:
http://unitedisrael.org/blog/2009/11/19/bible-codes-looking-back-a-dozen-years/
What it isn't is a means of predicting the future. The few examples of codes that appeared to have done so are the very rare exception.
>> “What it isn’t is a means of predicting the future.” <<
.
Obviously, since you’d have to know what to look for, and even the most educated sage would have to fall down in that regard.