Posted on 04/30/2006 7:44:23 PM PDT by Coleus
P.S. I think that's true; my desire to work in the job I want has driven me to write long, LONG after I should have given up, and I've had some success in selling my short fiction. Has nothing to do with any belief in a god; it has a lot to do in my desire to write and my belief in my talent.
Well, I'll take that as a compliment. :)
I prefer to just call them Commies. But then, I live in Boston, and they grow like mushrooms up here.
Liberals are anything but what their name implies. They are Totalitarians who want an all-powerful state, rather than a free nation in which people decide how to live their own lives. The reason they cringe when they hear that is in part because that means people have to accept the tough part of living one's own life--the hard times.
No one likes going through hard times, but those are the things we must endure. The Commies among us claim to hate money, yet their solution to everything is to take money from me and give it to someone else.
I fail to see what's liberal about any of that.
There are many many people who thought Bill Clinton was a great President, because - rather than think for themselves - they bought the MSM hype.
Your comments demonstrate your lack of reading comprehension skills. In post #154 I stated that I thought the books were poorly written ("amateur at best" were the exact words I used). Entertained? Not the least little bit.
You can't say you love Jesus as the Son, and God the Son and then enjoy Him being maligned
Well, that's the big difference between you and me. I didn't feel He was being maligned. The Catholic church, yes, but Jesus, no.
Here's a novel idea (yes, the pun was intended). Since Dan Brown's books are so offensive to you, don't read anymore of them. As far as the ones you have already read that are offending you so much, hey, why not act like a Christian, and FORGIVE him his trespass, as you would have your trespasses forgiven.
Seriously, if you wanna know my personal beliefs, I really don't think Jesus is at all concerned with debates about his marital status. If anything, He's probably just as perplexed as I am about everybody's sudden concern over the possability that He had a wife.
Seeing as how my resources are limited, I'm forced to give precedence to any causes before I go jumping on the bandwagon. Even if I was retired and didn't have to work for a living, I don't think I would have time to jump into the middle of the fray with every cause of the moment, tempest in a teapot that comes along. Trying to convince people that abortion is wrong seems like a more pressing issue for me to spend my time on. Don't you have anything better to do with your life? It certainly doesn't appear so.
Can't get all worked about a fictional book/movie, though.
FRegards,
Chill out Mr. Say what you want, but you don't know me and I don't know you except for what you write here so don't go making ASSumptions about what I do with my day. Sorry to offend you but I won't ever back down from defending the holy name of Jesus. You can disagree with me all day long over what the book and movie is or isn't, but I am giving my viewpoint that anyone who calls himself a Christian wouldn't give a dime to read about his Lord being, well, uh, maligned. BTW, you insult the BODY OF CHRIST---THE CHURCH, you insult the head JESUS CHRIST.
You didn't write the book and you are not who I'm raging against, so chill out when I say I'm mystified by Christians who cavalierly wave their hand and say, "Oh its just bad fiction". Do I want to burn someone for heresy? No. I just want everyone to be a child of salvation, not a child of damnation
You started it. Don't forget, you even admitted that you were saying something that you felt would offend me, but you didn't care. Turn about is fair play.
BTW, you insult the BODY OF CHRIST---THE CHURCH, you insult the head JESUS CHRIST.
That would be true if I was Catholic, but I'm not. Also, I didn't insult the Catholic church. Dan Brown may have, but I didn't. I just said I didn't think it was something to get so worked up about.
It says in the Bible that the only path to Heaven is through Jesus. I just don't see how a true Christian church can ignore that and pray to a bunch of saints.
Now, we are on even ground. You said something with the express intent of offending me, and I have now returned the favor.
Seriously though, even if the Catholic church isn't heading down the correct path to salvation, it's at least heading in the right general direction. I feel the same way about the Mormons. They may be off the mark a little bit (according to my own beliefs), but at least they believe in Jesus, and aren't praying to a head of lettuce. Even if your beliefs are a little different than mine, we're both still on the same team. But I really do think you are making a mountain out of a molehill.
Remember it's only to pimp a book.
Did I say that the BODY OF CHRIST was the Catholic Church? You infered it. And yes, it is. But it isn't all of it. If you are follower of Christ then you are part of it, and if you want to be on my team like you say you are, then for-crying-out-loud, be offended! Not by me but by people mocking Christ, calling into question every precious thing we know to be true THAT WE AGREE ON, mixing truth with lies and calling it good. He has been blasphemed, denied, scorned, mocked, lauged at, denigrated, WOW, this sounds like crucifixion all over again
First off, if you can imagine Christianity to be a big swimming pool, then I'm still down in the shallow end, with floaties on my arms while I learn how to doggie paddle.
Second, I asked a serious question of you, ie why this book was so offensive to you. You responded by deliberately attempting to offend me. (And you call yourself a Christian). Well, if you wanna win over any converts to your side of the debate/argument/what ever you wanna call it, deliberately attempting to offend someone isn't the way to do it. Why not try logic and reason, backed up with facts? At this point, all I know for certain is that A) I read the book and didn't think it was any good, and B) I have absolutely no desire to attend the same church you do. I'm not a great christian, or even a very good one. I'm a struggling christian at best. Being around people such as yourself who are so quick to hurl offensive statements at the slightest perceived provocation would most definitely turn me around and have me heading for the door. I'm still shopping around, trying to find a good church to affiliate with, and obviously after our discussion here, I can cross the catholic church off the list of possabilities.
Third, If I don't believe the the Catholic church is the embodiement of Christ, then why should I feel a need to get worked up over somone making disparaging remarks about the Catholic church? Not trying to get you riled up, just asking a serious question here, because I really don't believe that the Catholic church is the only/one true/best pathway to Heaven.
I see the novel as harmless and Brown being an inferior novelist (though his success is undeniable). Theologically, the RC church (which I'm on the verge of leaving under good terms) has survived much more serious threats than anything posed by Brown.
Having said all that, it's noteworthy that much of the premise (and title) of the book is based on, or at least supported by, Da Vinci's painting.
As is common knowledge, LDV was a genius and pioneer in many areas to include the visual arts. We are all familiar with his successes, but hear little of his failures, one of which includes the very painting in question.
Fresco painting (of which there are two general variants, secco and buon) consists of an application of pigment in a water based binder into and/or onto the plaster surface of the wall, ceiling or other architectural structure. It provides great permanence but the artist is limited with some of the optical properties of the image by the inability to apply glazes, varnishes, scumbles and other translucent effects.
Traditional oil painting has all the above visual advantages, but due to the properties of (linseed) oil based paints is best applied to gessoed panels or stretched canvasses.
Davinci tried to, in 'The Last Supper,' combine the best of both worlds...the media of the original was purely experimental and, with regards to permanence, quite a failure. It is a restorer's nightmare, and has been, 'touched up,' by countless hands over the centuries...
...in other words, there's no way of knowing how masculine or feminine the character in question originally appeared, or how close the image that we know today is to what had been originally rendered by the original artist.... ....Note that Da Vinci never used the same technique again, nor were the techniques Da Vinci used for this painting ever adopted by any others..... Due to the continuous maintenance, restoration and buttressing over the course of years, the painting is probably as close in appearance today to it's original appearance as the New Orleans levee system of today is to that originally conceived in the nineteenth century.
I truly am sorry you are offended, and I have completely failed to convey who I am and what I am in how I feel about Christ. I don't mean to sound righteous as I mentioned before, but that's the way you take me. I am no further along than you I am sure. I am sure I know the way to heaven and for me the path is through the Catholic church but if I have turned you off by my rhetoric and now you feel like you are further alienated from it, I have failed. Most importantly, I ask your forgiveness for causing offense. This whole deal has been boiling up for a while, and you were handy, and you asked me a question, giving me the opening to get up on my soapbox, which accomplished nothing
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