Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Da Vinci Code Movie Not Off to a Good Start...
Well apparently the movie reviewers aren't too impressed with the Da Vinci Code movie. On the other hand, this could be a sign that it is a good one! Either way I'm sure you are likewise tired of the hype and responses. For a decent bibliography of the main points of contention with orthodox Christianity, and in conjunction with a dear friend, I offer these resources for your empathy, instruction in apologetics, edification, and use in evangelism.
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5 comments:
Ted Baehr just gave a pretty fair review of the film. I sent it to you by email.
The one concern I always have about movies like this is that I hate to give money to the people who produce this trash. But one does need to be able to comment on it authoritatively. Thankfully with this film, the inherent issues are so old and thoroughly discredited that I don't need to see the film to comment on it.
Greetings, Joe! I've read some of your comment's on SolaMeanie's blog and liked them very much. :)
I'm glad to see that not only Christians panning the movie, but secular critics dislike it as well. As I've mentioned on SolaMeanie's blog, The Discovery Channel and The History Channel did considerable research on the topic of The Holy Grail and concluded that Dan Brown had done a very good job of writing FICTION, not fact.
As disquieting as this Holy Grail baloney is, I believe The DaVinci Code can backfire in satan's face if we take care and approach it with the right attitude. Suddenly people are asking questions about The Bible and it gives us the opportunity (with the help of the Holy Spirit) to answer them truthfully and gently. Respectful dialogue is a good thing and we should grab the opportunity when it arrises.
CROWRING, Thanks for your kind words. I agree that God can, does, and will bring what was intended for evil and draw a greater good from it, inspite of the evil's intent. Joseph's situation toward the end of the book of Genesis comes to mind.
A challenge is that in this day when reason is currently popular only as under-valued, some issues cloud the emotions of the un- or under-informed so that their ability to give even a discerning hearing is challenging because the emotions of the issue are so trumped up.
An example on another subject is Michelle Malkin's expose' of a fake Army Ranger who waxes on and on about all the atrocities he committed in Iraq in great emotional detail. But then after the emotional damage is done to the parents of servicemen and women and morale etc, it turns out he isn't/wasn't in the Army at all.
So where does the reader end up even with that data correction after hearing stories of horrid atrocities? Corrected, but jaded I think. To get unjaded would seem to require prosecution of fakes and those that promote them as truth (fiction when called fiction by the creators excused in this illustration). Your thoughts?
Oooooooooh, boy. You've definitely posed a question that will take a great deal of thought, Joe. I'm not nearly as experienced in apologetics as Sola, but I'll give it a try.
As for the fake ranger, I am not up on the law to know whether what he did can be prosecuted in the court of law, but there is no question in my mind about the need for the lie to be completely exposed. I do think if professional news organizations want to keep their credibility, they should look deeply into the backgrounds of such accusers before swallowing such agregious accusations whole and giving them a soapbox from which to preach their propaganda. You'd think some people would have learned a tough lesson from the Jayson Blair scandal, but apparently that hasn't been the case.
As for prosecuting people like Brown and others for publishing such balderdash (whether as fiction or non-fiction)such as Holy Grail/Holy Blood or The DaVinci Code, I think that's a slipperly slope we'd best avoid. As I have said on other messageboards, I believe it is a serious mistake to try to use civil means to address SPIRITUAL problems. The American Civil War is a prime example of what happens when people take a spiritual truth (Slavery being evil.)and turn it into a civil cause. The failure of Prohibition is yet another example. While certainly well intended, Prohibition really did nothing to stop the rise of alcoholism in America and actually fueled organized crime. The 18th Amendment was finally repealed because it finally became evident the intended "cure" had only worsened the disease. The Scopes Monkey Trial also turned into a major humiliation to The Church because Christians used the civil courts to prosecute heresy disguised as scientific theory. As for prosecuting Brown and others who publish such rot, how do we prosecute those who wrote the Gnostic gospels of Mary Magdelene, Thomas, (and Judas) on which much of these books are based? If we get too involved in running around and trying to put out the little fires the enemy has sent to distract us, we risk being caught unawares by the huge forest fire racing down the mountain behind us.
As Sola has said, the faithful have an obligation to God to not let books like The DaVinci Code go unchallenged. I have myself challenged Brown's "little shell game" as rigorously as possible within the boundries of the knowledge I have. However The DaVinci Code is only one enemy dart among many and a distraction from what we need to be doing.
Crowring, I agree with you. And part of the reason it is easy to agree with you is because Brown speaks out of both sides of his mouth and his book is listed under fiction where it belongs.
I also agree that people publishing what they have been self deceived into believing is true is, as you say, a slippery slope we likely do not want to go down. The issue of those who publish and promote the fake Army Ranger thing...that may be a different story and context of legality. But like you, I confess to not being well versed in legal implications of such.
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