another lovely monday...

[iamthewater]

well outreach is officially 1 month away. We're going to Paris for two weeks and then Jordan for two months. I'm looking forward to both, but I'm not like jumping at the bit to go to Jordan...the sociologist in me is totally interested to see the culture there...experience something different etc. but I think by the time we're finished I'll be glad

Comments

[tracemonkey]

You dont have to necessarily protest it to stand up for the truth. God tells us to not listen to lies and to not even welcome them into our home... not only are christians doing that, they are PAYING to do that. You are paying to hear lies against what you believe. You read the book and now you are going to go see the movie. I'm not saying you have to go picket outside of the movie theater... but you dont have to support people who are blatantly telling lies against what the bible says (which is Truth).

By the way... i think standing up for being against False Teaching is a very good thing not be content with. People can sin and will always sin, but you dont have to let false teaching into the church and especially into your own mind.

1 Tim 6:3-5 "3If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain."

1 John 2:22 "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-he denies the Father and the Son." and I have read things where Brown has said that he doesn't believe in Jesus as the Christ. You do NOT have to listen to people who believe in things contrary to the truth, God tells us to not even listen to those lies. We need to be saturated with the Truth to be able to stand against this world... not listen to the lies so that we can become more like the world.

this turned out to be a long comment... haha... thats just the way I feel about false teachings and I believe that Da Vinci Code is exactly that.

[krunkokintaro]

I could be wrong, but I thought the book was more focused on the Vatican/Catholicism than Christianity itself? Although I guess any alternate version of who Jesus is would be attack on Catholicism and Christianity as well.

I don't disagree with Christians boycotting the movie, as far as not going to see it. It's up to us whether or not we're going to pay our money to go see the movie, so obviously the Christ-like thing would be to download it off the internet and watch it at home on your computer monitor. Ok...maybe not. Haha.

I totally relate with both of you though. I do think it's stupid that some Christians are throwing a huge fit about the movie saying that it should be banned from countries and what not. When someone disregards freedom of speech (if you have it in your particular country) because someone puts out fictional media about your faith, it really comes across as a huge insecurity. It's kind of like when athiests put so much of their energy into trying to disprove God, when they claim they don't believe in him. You don't see me getting really worked up trying to disprove Scientologists that we didn't come from murdered alien souls that were put in volcanoes later to explode and manifest theirselves in our bodies. I don't even need to put energy into it, because it is so ridiculous I wouldn't really know where to start. Of course this is an exaggerating analogy.

I do think though that it is important to educate one another about the truth of the matter, Christians and non. I have actually talked to people who for some reason thought that the Da Vinci code was like 90% non-fiction. The movie takes facts and does inductive reasoning in order to prove the books conspiracy theory. Basically, you take your theory, and then after that you find facts that would support it. That's the Da Vinci code for you. It's not really that uncommon of a practice though, because even some Christian theologians have/do this. The more reliable ones would use deductive reasoning.

This kind of reminds me of the Last Temptation of Christ. When this came out there was a huge outroar from a lot of the Christian community. Basically the movie touched on the human side of Jesus, and that he faced temptation like other humans. Although He never gave into the temptation, there was a dream sequence where He was imagining/being tempted into marrying Mary Magdaline and having kids and a family and all that. Obviously, this isn't in the Bible, but the point of the movie was to show the human side of Christ. I wouldn't say this is the same case of the Da Vinci code, because its story just tells what exactly didn't happen, and with the Last Temptation of Christ it just touches on the humanity of Christ rather than saying He did marry Mary Magdaline.

I guess a big question is...if it's fiction then is it lieing/false teaching. People don't say that the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe is false doctrine and teaching, because obviously it is meant to be fictional. We all know Jesus wasn't ACTUALLY a lion. Although that would have been pretty cool when he turned the tables in the temple, gARrRRagagg....ok..sorry...i just like lions. I think the issue is that the Da Vinci code kind of blurs the fictional/non-fictional line, not making it very clear. Dan Brown, from what I've heard, has almost been pushing it as a semi non-fiction book.

Hey, do lions bury their poop?

[iamthewater]

I think the reason why you see the Da Vinci Code getting more publicity is BECAUSE there is so much controversy around it. BECAUSE certain groups in the church are throwing a fit and protesting. that always will attract more attention and I think that protesting it to that degree of fervor will only backfire (should the goal be that people shouldnt see it) because even MORE people, Christians included, WILL want to watch it.

Even the group that the book basically demonizes (Opus Dei, a sect within the RC church) isnt --as far as Ive read in Time Mag-- reacting in protest. They are seeing this as an opportunity to draw attention, questions, etc to their religious practices and following. They are seeing this as a chance to play the cards Dan Brown dealt them in a beneficial way.

I think this line of thought could also work for the rest of us Christians who want to share about the good news about Christ.

People are going to be faced with doubts, questions, false teachings, lies etc everywhere in life, pretty much 24/7 and it does not have to be through the media or Dan Brown. It is often the "controversy" and conflict of ideas that gets people talking and thinking and even more open to seeking the TRUTH! Yes, I see value in not feeding our minds with things that are impure, evil, and say wrong things about the Lord. But I bet you all that some of the same people that declare that the Da Vinci Code is the new Satanic Bible or what have you, are the same people who just like the rest of us (with myself included) have absolutely NO problem watching movies about violent serial killers and rapists, witches, demons, bigtime violence, and people repeatedly and unashamedly taking the Lord's Name in vain. And taking the Lord's name in vain is NOT limited to yelling "jesus christ!" when you're mad, or saying "Oh my god!" when in shock about something. I want to challenge people to think about this. Seriously, who here can honestly say that all they watch is Sesame Street and Anne of Green Gables???!!! All y'all know you don't!!!

So Im not hear to say, everyone needs to see the Da Vinci Code. If you don't want to, if you have no interest there, then don't. Its also fine to have an opinion that it's not a good film and to declare that, as a work of fiction, it contains false information about Jesus. It most certainly does. If you want to speak up and encourage people to not see it, you are free to do so. But I want I also want to exhort, is the God DOES use the so-called "secular" things just as much for his Glory. A friend of mine just emailed me the following when I asked if he'd have any new revelations from God recently, and I was surprised by his response:

"any new revelations from God?
actually, yes.
and believe it or not, from the da vinci code.
actually i should rephrase that.
as a result of reading the da vinci code.
i can see a little more where other are coming from.
not that they could be right.
i just see how one would think if not for the personal experience
of knowing Christ.
i can hardly imagine that kind of emptiness, and
the kinds of things one would do to fill it."

Danny, if you are reading this, I hope you don't mind that I put this in here!!

Ok, so I know this has been a long discourse (which is my new favorite word), but I've got one more thing to say. I agree that freaking about the /movie does seem like it is revealing a big insecurity within the church. Just like the Atheism analogy....I mean, the book itself, I thought it was ironic that the church was going to such great lengths to block the "secrets documents about Jesus'" life from being revealed to the world, when they didnt even believe them to be true in the first place!!
I just think it is sad that people in the church get all fired up about this movie --something that directly affects their reputation-- but how many poeple in the church do we see out there fervently picketing and protesting and spreading the word about ending world poverty? and human trafficking? ---things that in general ARENT directly affecting us?---

Just some more food for thought.

[krunkokintaro]

Great post, but...

You never told me if lions bury their poop.