Posted on 04/11/2006 3:41:19 PM PDT by Rockitz
WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAY 19TH?
May 19th is the date the Da Vinci Code movie opens. A movie based on a book that wears its heresy and blasphemy as a badge of honor.
What can we as Christians do in response to the release of this movie? I'm going to offer you the usual choices -- and a new one.
Here are the usual suspects:
A) We can ignore the movie. ........
The problem with this option: The box office is a ballot box. The only people whose votes are counted are those who buy tickets. And the ballot box closes on the Sunday of opening weekend. If you stay home, you have lost your chance to make your vote heard. You have thrown your vote away, and from Hollywood's point of view, you don't count. By staying home, you do nothing to shape the decision-making process regarding what movies will make it to the big screen.
B) We can protest. ........
The problem with this option: It doesn't work. Any publicity is good publicity. Protests not only fuel the box office, they make all Christians look like idiots. And again, protests and boycotts do nothing to help shape the decisions being made right now about what movies Hollywood will make in the next few years. (Or they convince Hollywood to make *more* movies that will provoke Christians to protest, which will drive the box office up.)
C) We can discuss the movie. We can be rational and be ready with study guides and workshops and point-by-point refutations of the lies promulgated by the movie. ........
The problem with this option: No one's listening. They think they know what we're going to say already. We'll lose most of these discussions anyway, no matter how prepared we are, because the power of story always trumps the power of facts (why do you think Jesus taught in parables?!). And once again: rational discussion of history does nothing to affect Hollywood's choices regarding what movies to make.
But there's a fourth choice.
D) On May 19th, you should go to the movies.
Just go to another movie.
Save the date now. May 19th, or May 20th. No later than Sunday, May 21st -- that's the day the ballot box closes. You'll get a vote, the only vote Hollywood recognizes: The power of cold hard cash laid down on a box office window on opening weekend.
Use your vote. Don't throw it away. Vote for a movie other than The DaVinci Code. If enough people do it, the powers that be will notice. They won't have a choice.
The major studio movie scheduled for release against DVC is the DreamWorks animated feature Over the Hedge. The trailers look fun, and you can take your kids. And your friends. And their friends. In fact, let's all go see it.
Let's rock the box office in a way no one expects -- without protests, without boycotts, without arguments, without rancor. Let's show up at the box office ballot box and cast our votes. And buy some popcorn, too.
May 19th. Mark your calendars now: Over the Hedge's opening weekend. Buy a ticket.
And spread the word. Forward this e-mail to all the Christians in your address book. Post it on your blogs. Talk about it to your churches. And let's all go to the movies.
BTTT!
Thanks. Our library is rather small, but I'll take a look. If I don't have any luck there, I can always try Amazon.
He very conveniently chastises that which he uses as his main sources, namely the bible. How convenient. In his mind, the whole Bible has zero credibility except the parts of it which he draws on to loosely support his idiotic claims.
What a perfect book for the legions of fools out there who most likely also believe everything Michael Moore has to say as well.
It's a book for idiots.
And what you thought was true, the Bible, is part of the plot.
Oh give me a break. The DVC does not in any way undermine the Bible, it undermines only the Roman Catholic Church, who the DVC says is responsible for the necessity of keeping this "secret". but I have news for you.. the Roman Catholic Church is NOT the Bible. If you say it undermines the Bible itself, then prove it. Show me ONE PASSAGE of the Bible which makes a statement that something in the DVC contradicts.
BTW.. and this is the reason you need your head examined... it is a work of FICTION. The AUTHOR even presents it as fiction. It is in the FICTION section of libraries and bookstores. In case you do not realize it, that means it is NOT FACT. Something tells me that when the rest of us were 4 yrs old, and learning that not everything we see on TV is real.. somehow you did not catch on. The fact that one of your posts to me send me to some site about how the DVC is a hoax shows how idiotic you are.. after all, a hoax is, by definition, something that is fictitious but being presented as fact. Did I mention this.. the Da Vinci Code is FICTION.
Now, when I said it touched on some interesting historical events and such.. I stated the truth. Historical fiction is a work of fiction, that is written and interwoven with real people, places, and events. But that does not mean the story itself is true or meant to be taken as such. Some examples of historical fiction would be Ben Hur, Barabbas, Spartacus. All are stories woven around real historical places and events.. however there are serious inaccuracies, and some, such as Ben Hur and Barabbas are almost completely made up. The DVC has characters and events in it's tale such as Da Vinci, the Knights Templars, and the Crusades, all of which are interesting historical events and such, so I stand by my statement.
BTW, the Da Vinci Code is FICTION.
No, I did not read the link since it is irrelevant. That which is presented as fiction cannot, by definition, be a hoax.
I do find it enlightening that you read the book, and you were still unable to figure out that it is FICTION. Tell us again why we should even consider your opinions?
I will say it slow one more time so you can keep up...
IT...
IS...
FICTION!!! (I see your lips moving)
it undermines only the Roman Catholic Church, who the DVC says is responsible for the necessity of keeping this "secret". but I have news for you.. the Roman Catholic Church is NOT the Bible.For 1400 years, the Catholic Church was the only orthodox Christian relligion. By definition.
It was responsible for keeping and copying what became the canon, protecting and defining orthodoxy, the Nicene Creed (which I assume you hold) defining the nature of Christ and the Trinity, protecting the faith from heresy - such as the gnostics.
If the DVC undermines this 1400 history and the Church Fathers, which I believe it clearly does, it undermines the authenticity of the canon, the Trinity, the Councils and Orthodox Christianity.
A brush that paints black on this history, also paints on your Christian heritage, scripture and doctrine - all of Orthodox Christianity.
Do you see?
Of course it is a work of fiction, however Brown claims a great deal of the source material is "fact." It clearly is not. And it relies on a "what if" possibility of truth.
If you believe it's possible that your Christian scripture, beliefs and history of the apostles and Christ could be a lie resulting from a conspiracy of suppression by the early church, then the book will work for you as fiction. It will satisfy the basic requirement of fiction for sufficient plausibility for the necessary suspension of disbelief.
You really don't see it. Ok.
it undermines only the Roman Catholic Church, who the DVC says is responsible for the necessity of keeping this "secret". but I have news for you.. the Roman Catholic Church is NOT the Bible.
For 1400 years, the Catholic Church was the only orthodox Christian relligion. By definition.
It was responsible for keeping and copying what became the canon, protecting and defining orthodoxy, the Nicene Creed (which I assume you hold) defining the nature of Christ and the Trinity, protecting the faith from heresy - such as the gnostics.
If the DVC undermines this 1400 history and the Church Fathers, which I believe it clearly does, it undermines the authenticity of the canon, the Trinity, the Councils and Orthodox Christianity.
A brush that paints black on this history, also paints on your Christian heritage, scripture and doctrine - all of Orthodox Christianity.
Do you see?
Of course it is a work of fiction, however Brown claims a great deal of the source material is "fact." It clearly is not. And it relies on a "what if" possibility of truth.
If you believe it's possible that your Christian scripture, beliefs and history of the apostles and Christ could be a lie resulting from a conspiracy of suppression by the early church, then the book will work for you as fiction. It will satisfy the basic requirement of fiction for sufficient plausibility for the necessary suspension of disbelief.
Our library's small, too, but we have two of his Allon books, and Silva's first two, as well. Good luck.
Try to define a Christian without examples. I submit that anyone who self-identifies as a Christian is one. I am not in a position to question another persons relationship with G-d. I'm not sure anyone is.
Unless of course, it claims:
"Fact: all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate"
Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
I think you will find that as a protestant, I probably believe a number of things the RCC considers heresy. Protestantism itself is heretical. Since when should us protestants give a damn about what the RCC doctrine is? The DVC contradicts ONLY Roman Catholic doctrine, as the issue of whether Christ took a bride is not even mentioned in the Bible.
Some of the authors sources ARE fact, some are not.. some have great liberties taken with them. But in case you or anyone else do not get it.. IT IS FICTION. To those who are educated in theology, it will have no effect, beyond possibly provoking more in depth investigation of certain things by folks, which is always a good thing. As far as those who might be led astray by the movie.. well if you get your religion from the Silver Screen.. you already have problems and so long as you continue that path, you are already lost.
But since you do not get that, then perhaps you will get this (though I have my doubts).. continue to make a big thing about the movie.. continue to protest it, scream about it, burn books, etc.. the author WANTS YOU TO. The entire time you are screaming, he is laughing all the way to the bank. Perhaps the smartest move would be, rather than having a fit over this movie.. to use it as an opportunity to get people interested in the subject enough to enlighten them as to the REAL truth.
Personally, I think those who have been on this thread wanting to ban such movies, burn the books, and protest.... when our nation is at WAR, and when we are facing problems like illegals overrunning our country... to be protesting over a movie that does not even present itself as fact? Some people have some really screwed up priorities and need their heads examined.
Friend, that's precisely what I'm doing here.
Oh, and btw, the same thing could be said of the movies Barabbas, and Spartacus. Both were based on real people, and the portraiture of ceremonies such as chariot races, roman executions, etc, are pretty accurate. The artwork and architecture in those movies was pretty darned authentic. But does that mean anyone is claiming the entire stories were true? They aren't true, ya know. Perhaps you should have been protesting those movies when they came out, decades ago.
No you're not. If you wish to do so, then take issue with seperate points that the book raised. I will readily agree that creative license was taken with a lot of his "evidences".. but that does not mean that it was with ALL evidences. But you cannot say the whole theory is B.S. until you can show ALL of the things to be untrue. It is quite possible that when you finish undermining many of his points, that the remaining ones that you have been unable to undermine might STILL point to this theory being true. Whether you realize it or not.. this theory about Mary Magdalene was NOT created in the Da Vinci Code.
That's why I gave you the link you didn't read. There are others..
Since when should us protestants give a damn about what the RCC doctrine is?
When it is their own.
Catholics and Protestants share: The aposostolic writings, the early church fathers, the New Testament Canon, the doctrine of the Trinity, the Creed of our shared faith.
These are the foundation of all major Protestant Churches as well. This foundation was built by Catholics within Catholicism in the first Centuries after Christ's death and resurrection.
This is our shared foundation.
You cannot undermine this foundation only for Catholicism or only for Protestantism. It is one and the same foundation.
No. As I noted before, most recently it was revived by "Holy Blood; Holy Grail."
It goes back much further; I'm speaking of the theory of a sexual relationship between Mary M and Christ. As I also noted, it goes back to the gnostics, which also ties into the battle over apostolic authority (Peter vs. Mary M. in the Gospel of Mary for example) and what's been termed feminine theology. This is all part of the same thread. This is what I'm trying to get you to explore and learn and understand.
Papal infallability are as much a part of early Christianity as well, in fact ALL doctrine preceeding the Reformation was catholic, but I got news for ya.. there are a LOT of catholic doctrines which protestants have rejected. Protestant beliefs are in no way dependant upon the Catholic Church. Not all christians, believe it or not, hold only to the New Testament Canon, as decided by the RCC, as the ONLY scriptures. Nor do ALL Christians believe in the Trinity. Just what do you think caused the Reformation if not for the fact that people stopped buying into all of the doctrines of the RCC?
Does this statement apply to you?
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