Posted on 05/26/2006 5:55:34 AM PDT by Simi Valley Tom
If you knew that someone was about to drive off a cliff, wouldn't you warn that person about the danger? Wouldn't that be the loving thing to do?
When Jesus calls His disciples to be salt and light, he was calling for Christians to do two things:
1. Warn people about their sins.
2. Show people that the answer to their sin problem is to establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through faith and discipleship.
The warning about sin is not to condemn people for their sins; that is something only God can do. The warning about sin is to warn people about eternal separation from God, who is the Source of all Knowledge, Wisdom, Love, Joy, and Beauty. The call to establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is an attempt to share with people the Knowledge, Wisdom, Love, Joy, and Beauty that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will bring.
To be salt and light, therefore, is an Act of Love to protect people from the destruction that comes from sin and to make people aware of the Light and Truth that comes from Jesus Christ.
Thus, when we at MOVIEGUIDE® warn people about the dangers of THE DA VINCI CODE, violent horror movies, or sex comedies like AMERICAN PIE, it is an Act of Love designed to point people away from darkness and toward the Light of the True, the Good and the Beautiful.
Although these works are fiction, recent polls from the Barna Research Group in the United States and the IPSOS Institute in Europe show that millions of people will change their beliefs after reading or seeing these fictional works. Barna reports that 11 million of the 60 million people or so who have read THE DA VINCI CODE have changed their spiritual beliefs about Jesus Christ after reading the book. IPSOS reports that up to half of the people who have read the book, 30 million people, have changed their beliefs about Jesus Christ. These numbers include people of weak Christian faith and non-Christians.
According to worldwide box office figures, at least 35 million people have seen the DA VINCI CODE movie so far. This means that the movie may affect the beliefs of an additional 17 million or more people.
The book version of THE DA VINCI CODE is a slanderous, vicious attack on Jesus Christ, His church and the Bible. Unlike the book, the hero in the movie, played by Tom Hanks, makes some positive statements regarding the traditional view of Jesus Christ and His divinity. He then says, however, that it doesn't matter what the real truth is, it only matters what people believe. Such irrational, anti-historical statements may be even more insidious than Dan Brown's book, because they lull people into a deadly sense of apathy about the historical, moral and spiritual identity and mission of Jesus Christ.
What makes this even worse is the fact that children, teenagers and young adults, who don't have the knowledge and wisdom that comes with age and experience, are the most vulnerable to the wicked effects of popular works like THE DA VINCI CODE.
No mater how you cut it, therefore, THE DA VINCI CODE, though a work of fiction, will greatly weaken Jesus Christ's loving mission to bring salt and light to the human race. Anyone who reads or sees THE DA VINCI CODE, especially those who advocate reading it or seeing it and those who say it doesn't matter if people read or see THE DA VINCI CODE, are taking a stand against Jesus Christ and His Gospel. It is they who are being unloving, not those who warn people about the dangers of such works like THE DA VINCI CODE. It is also they who will be encouraging the entertainment industry to make and market more books, movies and videos viciously attacking Jesus Christ, His mission and the Bible.
This is a Culture War that Christians dare not lose. We must win this Culture War and defeat the forces of darkness if we are to follow Jesus Christ's loving command to bring salt and light to the human race. Only by winning this Culture War will we be able to continue baptizing people in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them everything that Jesus Christ commands us to do.
The fate of the world hangs in the balance, but God is the ultimate power on whom everything depends. If we remain faithful to God through Jesus Christ, then God will remain faithful to us. For, it is ultimately He who will bring the fruit to our efforts to preach the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is His blessings on our work that will help make this world a better place for future generations, our children and grandchildren.
Let us prayerfully ask God, therefore, to deliver people from the historical, moral and spiritual confusion that comes from such things as THE DA VINCI CODE. Use us, Oh Lord, to bring salt, light and love to our fellow men and women. Fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Note: For more about THE DA VINCI CODE and other current movies and issues regarding the mass media, go to www.movieguide.org.
I don't think most Christians are so upset with the idea of Jesus having kids as much as they are with the notion that the resurrection was faked.
Ummm...NO! We do NOT agree. There is only one God who has revealed Himself through first the Written Word and then the Word made flesh. The God of Muslims, Hindus, etc is NOT the true God who has revealed Himself because they deny His Truth. And those who deny Him are those who are leaning on their own understanding - their own concept of "god", but deny the True God.
I am curious though...since you say we cannot show what is true, why do you say your way is the only way?
As I said before: I can't. Nobody can. Neither can you. Everyone is either putting their trust in God says is Truth, or in what man says he thinks/believes is true. That isn't "my way", it is His way and He Himself says it is the only way. If it had been up to me, I probably would have done something different, would have believed something different, something that elevated me at least a little in His sight, something that I could say that at least I brought something to the table, something to have a little bit of pride in that I was able to please God. It is a pride issues. It always has been, it always will be.
I also cannot give a good concrete reason for why I am in love with my husband of almost 26 yrs as much now as I was a few short weeks after meeting him. I cannot say why I fell in love with him and knew he was the man I was to marry. And he, nor our love for each other is not God! God's ways are far above our ways and His thoughts are far above ours. We mock Him if we try to bring Him down to our level. That is when we really aren't leaning/trusting on Him, but in man/ourselves. I am sorry that you don't understand that. I truly am. Our kids now are asking from time to time when you know if they have the person they will spend the rest of their lives with. My answer to them is the same to you: When you know... you know. And you know with a certainty that you cannot explain. You know with your whole being. No doubts.
You obviously have chosen for the moment at least to believe in a way other than what He has revealed. And it is also obvious that you have had this explained to you many time. If you truly don't understand, I can't help you there, but He can. That is part of what makes Him God. If you simply resist understanding, I can't help you there either and it would be useless to keep on trying.
How would you prove that this is a major fallacy?
I agree we all have different beliefs, etc, but how can what we, as humans, believe, make any difference to the one God? Regardless of what we believe, God is God.
How would you prove, that what you accept as the written word of God, really is?
I believe as you do, that it is not up to me. It is the way God made me. God has given us different understandings.
Or the Baptist Church, Inc. or the Methodist Church, Inc. or the Church of God, Inc. or the Presbyterian Church, Inc. or the Luthern Church, Inc. or the Episcopalian Church, Inc. etc.
Get my drift?
Why is it that the Catholic bashers never blame the Protestant Churches for doing the same as the Catholic Church?
Do Protestant churches not pass around the collection plate?
See above. If one is truly relying on, believing/trusting the True God, then it all fits into place and God's Word, which is God, which became flesh, they all agree - because they are One. They always have, they do, and they always will.
But not so with what the other "gods" have revealed. For they really are based on man's ideas (sometimes with a little dark spiritual help). And it agrees not just with the makeup of man, the universe and everything in it that points to the True God, it also agrees with how man acts. It predicts it to a "T". No other belief system, yours included, can. The "proof" is already known by us - it is just a matter of whether we suppress and lean on our own ways or accept Him as He truly is. Many, like you are duped into thinking "God" gave us the understandings. It is not the true God who gave you those understandings, but a false one. Beyond this, it is pretty much futile to carry this on further because it is obvious that you desire to rest in your own/man's understanding.
Oh, I agree with you. If anything, the Catholic Church is better in that regard than its Protestant competitors.
Since you apparently have not read the book - there was nothing in it to suggest that the Ressurection was faked.
I don't need to prove it (and how could I?). It's just an opinion, as is yours. But if you want to believe we pray the same god, go ahead. I don't understand how anyone could think that the Muslims pray to the same god as the Christians -- I'm not saying you believe that, but if you do, you're welcome to it.
So they have no basis in reality? Are good and evil illusions?
I do not believe good or evil applies to God.
In what sense? Are you saying that He is morally neutral, like a stone?
But how could such a being be perfect, if He lacks a will?
I truly believe that God means for me to believe as I do...why then, do we not agree?
Perhaps, you are the one that has been duped.
It takes belief, and that is all we have, while we are here on earth.
Since you asked the question and you knew you wouldn't accept any answer that actually comes from the Bible, why didn't you make fair disclosure when you asked the question?
Thus is your taunting foolish.
Things can and will occur in your life that are manifestly evil, so that people can have free will in this life. Having free will, they choose whether to do good or to do evil to other people, even some bad things they didn't intend for evil but ended up hurting others. Followers of Christ's teachings believe that, ultimately, every minute of your life and every word out of your mouth is witnessed and judged by God, and will determine the degree of your enjoyment of eternity.
No natural human can approach perfection of his own efforts; therefore, our sins (offenses against others, rationalizations and lies) are more or less constant. Even if we try really hard, some sins are done in our name, such as those done by the effects of actions in our workplaces, governments and other group structures which we support by our taxes or participation.
Fortunately, God sent a manifestation of himself in human form into this world as Jesus of Nazareth, who after himself sent the Holy Spirit to instruct us in what God wants of us and to guide us when we are in doubt or are tempted to do wrong. Persons who believe that this is a possibility are able to perceive the workings of the Spirit. Those who deny the very possibility, quite obviously, cannot believe nor even hear the promptings of the scriptures or the Holy Spirit.
Christ's death on the cross was an atonement to God for our sinful natures, and he will stand up for us when we are judged by God, provided that we make a conscious choice to follow him and his teachings, which we must read in the scriptures, not in pop fiction, in order to know. God (who, being all-knowing and all-powerful, can read hearts and minds) knows who belongs to him by the convictions of their hearts, by their regret and repentance for their sins, their efforts to avoid further sin and their willingness to endure the persecutions of unbelievers, to the death if need be.
And, being all-knowing, he knows who will not do these things. Many skeptics do believe that if they do not believe in God, they will simply cease to exist when they die, or that they will go to an entertaining place of their own invention. It's a crap shoot as to whether either of these beliefs are any more true than the Christian scriptural beliefs that they will be judged, and some will ascend to live eternally in paradise, while others will not; or, worse, will be punished for their harmful acts.
You have the free will to believe as you wish. The burden of proof remains yours, as well.
If you would like to try a simple test, vow to yourself that you will go one entire 24-hour day in which you interact with people normally, on the job or in your community, without lying. Be honest within yourself. See how easy or how hard it is to avoid telling an untruth for just one day of your life.
I think that way, because I believe in one, almighty God.
We will all eventually know...if that is the way God wants it.
I believe good and evil are very real human traits.
I do not believe that we can apply our views on what is or isn't moral, to God.
Perhaps, the will of God, is something which we cannot understand.
I did make disclosure...later on, as you must have read.
The difference is in who we pray to. If the Muslim God says it's OK to kill infidels, and the Christian God says you should turn the other cheek, are we* both praying to the same God?
*hypothetically speaking
Perhaps God is only interested in those who put forth the effort to find out whether they can perceive his will or not. Pass the Doritos and the remote, honey.
I guess you really didn't read what I said, not this time, and not the times before that. So, I don't expect you to "read"this, but I will give it one last shot anyway:
Your "god" negates himself and says differeng things, your "god" is not consistent in many ways, and so, therefore cannot be trusted. The True God always is consistent, it is not in His nature not to be. You are still seeking confirmation that your beliefs (what you are leaning on - man's ways or views of God) are true. That is why you are continuing on in these conversations and cannot quit. Again, you are seeking some kind of confirmation - not of the the Truth of God, but of in whose hand you are placing your own life. And that is simply a result of the bondage of being a slave to man's ways, or man's thoughts of his personal made up god's ways. But the "bondage" to Christ Jesus, to the God of the bible results is liberty to such bondage. I pray that you will someday see His face - in this earthly tent.
Hypothetically speaking, when someone kneels down and says...'dear God, etc...' if there is only one God, then doesn't the only God there is, hear that prayer?
As another hypothetical, take the 100years war between England and France, both Christian nations. When their respective priests prayed for victory, who were the prayers directed to?
???
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.