28 Mar The Da Vinci Code
Just received some promotional material that churches can use to present the real truth of the Da Vinci Code movie that will be out May 19. It And got me to thinking about what our churches are doing, if anything, regarding the movie and subject matter. Sometimes these are tough calls to make. Do we do anything, or ignore it compeletly? The only problem is that some of your attenders read the book and some believed it was true. Other attenders will go see the movie and some will come away convinced that the claims it makes are true. Does that make any difference?
I personally believe that the book is a direct attack upon the reliability and trustworthiness of our Scripture.
The people you minister to every week will have questions about the book and movie. Will you be prepared to answer with answers that will satisfy them?
Just wondering if anyone is planning to combat this subversive material…that many will believe is really true. And if you respond to this please state whether or not you have read the book and/or plan on seeing the movie.
Brent Liechty
Posted at 19:16h, 31 MarchI read the book just earlier this year, knowing how popular it is and that a major movie is coming out. It would be a good idea to see the movie, if only to see if anything is changed from the book and how to answer questions more effectively. At Gethsemane, we will touch upon the Da Vinci code briefly during our post Easter series, which is a study of the crucifixion and resurrection.
Personally, it was a decent novel but I preferred his earlier book “Angels & Demons.” It definitely portrayed pagan practices, the divine feminine, ancient mystery religions, and gnostic gospels as understandable and even to be lauded for bringing equality to the sexes within religious circles. Dan Brown would bristle at the thought of this as being a subversive and anti-Christian story as shown from a quote in this article on MSNBC:
“This is not an idea that I would ever have found appealing. Being raised a Christian and having sung in my church choir for 15 years, I’m well aware that Christ’s crucifixion is the very core of the Christian faith,” Brown told reporters outside the courtroom, referring to the argument in the 1982 book that Christ had not died.
Brown has denied claims that he reproduced sections of argument from the 1982 book and said he disputes the proposition it makes that Jesus did not die on the cross.
“Suggesting a married Jesus is one thing, but questioning the Resurrection undermines the very heart of the Christian belief,” Brown said in a statment released to reporters.
So clearly Brown is not viewing this as undermining the underpinnings of Christianity. I don’t know what his view of essential Christianity doctrines of are, and am not defending him, but Mr. Brown is clearly not trying to kick the legs out from under his own religion. It would also be interesting to see how much of his FICTION work he finds valid or trustworthy in the real world. Clearly he is more interested in telling a good story than a completely factual, real world story.
Clearly, I found the storylines wrong and was frustrated at how untrustworthy sources were given credence and respect. But this could open up plenty of teachable moments, because how often are people asking pastors to explain detailed background information on the resurrection and why we believe it?