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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- "The Da Vinci Code" banked an estimated $29 million at the box office on its first day in theaters, an industry official said Saturday, positioning the film to turn in the strongest opening weekend for any movie this year.

Religious Leaders Call for Boycott of Sony’s DaVinci Code the Movie:Sony’s Da Vinci Code the Movie… seeks to profit off bigotry, proselytizes paganism, and undermines the dignity of women …,” states prominent Roman Catholic Priest(Front Royal, VA) The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President of Human Life International (HLI), joined Dr. Ted Baehr of Movieguide.org, Don Feder, Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society, and Bob Knight of Concerned Women for America as part of The Interfaith Coalition Against 'The DaVinci Code.'" An address by Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President of...

MUMBAI: A Catholic group on Tuesday called on Christians to starve themselves to death in protest at the release of the “The Da Vinci Code” at cinemas in India. The Catholic Secular Forum said it hoped thousand of people would attend a protest Wednesday in Mumbai to burn effigies of Dan Brown, the author of the best-selling novel. “It’s to show the extent that our feelings have been hurt,” said the group’s general secretary Joseph Dias. He denied the hunger strike was irresponsible. “It’s a more Christian way of doing things rather than pulling down things and tearing them up,”...

09 May 2006 04:38 A Catholic group on Tuesday called on Christians to starve themselves to death in protest at the release of The Da Vinci Code at cinemas in India, as others burned copies of the novel. The Catholic Secular Forum said it hoped thousand of people would attend a protest on Wednesday in Mumbai to burn effigies of Dan Brown, the author of the best-selling novel. "It's to show the extent that our feelings have been hurt," said the group's general secretary, Joseph Dias, speaking of the "fast-unto-death" call if the government fails to take action. He denied...

Here's something that all Catholics can do in the days before the the release of the Da Vinci Code movie. Pray the Rosary, with the intention that all those who are thinking about seeing the movie avoid doing so, so their souls may not be put at risk. If you say the Rosary daily, add this intention to those that you already have. If you can, pray the Rosary every day, during the nine days left before the release of the movie. Continue to pray the Rosary during the run of the movie in the theaters. No matter what you...

Official wants Da Vinci movie bannedWed May 10, 8:51 AM ET MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine government should ban the controversial movie "The Da Vinci Code," a senior official in the mainly Catholic country said Wednesday, describing the religious thriller as blasphemous. The film, based on the best-selling fiction novel of the same title, is due to open in Manila's cinemas next week. "I think we should do everything not to allow it to be shown," said Eduardo Ermita, executive secretary to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, expressing his personal opinion as a "devout Catholic." He told journalists the state's censors...

The Da Vinci Code director Ron Howard has rejected demands by Opus Dei to attach a disclaimer to his would-be blockbuster labeling the film as a work of fiction, spurring a rebuke from the religious sect. "It's not theology. It's not history. To start off with a disclaimer...Spy thrillers don't start off with disclaimers," Howard told the Los Angeles Times in Sunday's edition. ... "It's very controversial," Howard said. "What Dan Brown did with the novel, we didn't back away from in making the movie. I think what a lot of people have discovered--a lot of theologians--is this is a...

Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code An interview by Lisa Ann Cockrel With The Da Vinci Code poised to go from bestseller list to the big screen on May 19, pastor and writer (and Sojourners board member) Brian McLaren talks about why he thinks there's truth in the controversial book's fiction. What do you think the popularity of The Da Vinci Code reveals about pop culture attitudes toward Christianity and the church? Brian McLaren: I think a lot of people have read the book, not just as a popular page-turner but also as an experience in shared frustration with...

The row over the imminent release of the Da Vinci Code film grew today when star Tom Hanks hit out at its Catholic critics. Cardinals, speaking with the authorisation of the Vatican, have called for the Hollywood version of Dan Brown's bestselling novel to be boycotted. They say the theme of the film - that Jesus Christ had children with Mary Magdalene and that hardline Catholic movement Opus Dei covered up his secret life - is highly blasphemous. But Oscar-winner Hanks said objectors to The Da Vinci Code are taking the film too seriously, telling the Evening Standard: "We always...

'The Da Vinci Code': Why Christians Should Celebrate May 11, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any Hollywood studio would pay big money for publicity like this. In Rome, a top Vatican cardinal asks Catholics to boycott a soon-to-be-released movie. Another cardinal suggests filing a lawsuit against its makers. And three cardinals say the only reason there’s so much public interest in the film is because the general public is so ignorant. In Athens, the Greek Orthodox Church condemns the film as “undermining religious knowledge in a treacherous manner.” In Manila, a top government official demands the Filipino government ban the film. The government...

Scratchcards, usually associated with National Lottery games offering "instant cash prizes", are to be put to a more elevated use - debunking The Da Vinci Code.The Christian Enquiry Centre is distributing 270,000 specially designed cards today to every cinema screening the Hollywood version of the Dan Brown bestseller when it is released next week. The film is expected to be one of the biggest hits of the year despite being denounced as "stridently anti-Christian" by Vatican officials. The cards feature 10 claims made in the book. Cinema goers are asked to judge whether they are fact or fiction by scratching...

On the way from bestseller to blockbuster, Da Vinci Code producers launch a schizophrenic marketing plan to win a religious following without a religious backlash. Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, has sold some 43 million copies, making it the biggest-selling adult novel in history. Now the movie adaptation, with A-list director Ron Howard and superstar Tom Hanks, is poised to reach millions more when it opens in theaters nationwide May 19. If The Passion of the Christ brought millions of moviegoers to see a powerful, though controversial, film about the Jesus of Christianity, The Da Vinci Code presents...

"Da Vinci Code” director Ron Howard has said there would be no disclaimer in the film labeling it as a work of fiction – and Catholic League President Bill Donohue is deeply disturbed by Howard’s stance. "The book which the film is based on begins with three ‘facts,’ all of which are malicious lies, yet Ron Howard says no disclaimer is needed because ‘this is a work of fiction,’” Donahue said in a statement. "He is disingenuous.” As Donahue points out, the following got a disclaimer in a fictionalized TV show or film: Asians: "Year of the Dragon” Blacks: "Birth...

Tom Hanks Provokes Catholics’ Ire As if starring in one of the highest profile blasphemies of history was not enough, The Da Vinci Code star Tom Hanks has added insult to injury with a blasphemous skit on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” on May 6. During the show’s beginning monologue, cast members dressed as clergymen and “clergywomen” reportedly derided Mr. Hanks for starring in The Da Vinci Code and threatened him with eternal damnation. The blasphemous parody escalated as actor Jason Sudeikis appeared dressed as “Jesus Christ,” saying that he forgave Mr. Hanks. Mr. Hanks responded, “So you have seen the...

Dan Brown's murder mystery novel presents a problem for Christians. A 2005 Canadian survey showed that one-third of those who have read the book believe that it is factual.( 1 ) The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 42 million copies. The film version starring Tom Hanks is opening on May 19 in the United States. Serious Christians will see through the many lies and historical fictions that Brown plants throughout the book, but millions will believe that this profoundly dishonest book contains at least some "truth" about Jesus and the church. The truth is that Brown is peddling...

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HARRY POTTER: ENEMY OF GOD By Dr. Bradley Carey (c) 2005, All rights reserved I am amazed at how many churches get up in arms about Christians participating in Halloween, and yet turn around sell Christmas trees in their church parking lots. It is these same churches that refuse to take a public stand against the legalized murder of unborn children know as abortion and close their eyes to the plague of abomination known as homosexuality that is overtaking the world. Yet when someone speaks out against a fictional character named Harry Potter and the books and movies made around...