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Engage Da Vinci Code..

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MrVersatile48

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Crosswalk - Religion Today Feature: Engaging the DaVinci Code Debate: Author Challenges Christians to Respond Biblically, March 2, 2006

Date Thu, 2 Mar 2006 04:26:11 -0600 (CST) Size 29.34 KB
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Religion Today Feature

Engaging the DaVinci Code Debate: Author Challenges Christians to Respond
Biblically
By Alex Murashko, Special to ASSIST News Service


DALLAS, TEXAS (ANS) -- Anticipating a huge interest upon the release of the
movie version of the best-selling and controversial book, The Da Vinci
Code, author Lee Strobel challenges Christians to respond biblically.

The book was published two years ago and is known as a mix of code
breaking, art history, religion and mystical myth. The book's claim that
Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had descendants, has offended many
Christians.

Strobel, author of the Case For Christ, and many other books, along with
Gary Poole have recently completed a DVD-driven discussion curriculum with
footage of their visit to Da Vinci Code sites in London and Paris. The
study aims to equip Christians with answers to questions prompted by the
movie to be released in May.

Some Christians may respond to The Da Vinci Code by protesting, boycotting,
or ignoring the movie, Strobel said in a recent interview with Peter
Wooding, Senior News Editor of UCB Europe. The interview took place at the
63rd annual NRB convention in Dallas, Texas.

"I just think that that's not productive," Strobel told Wooding. "I can
understand it, because when I read The Da Vinci Code I got mad, because
it's saying that my faith is based on a fraud.

But then I thought, wait a
minute, my anger is not going to help too much. How can I use this for
good? How can I do what the story of Joseph tells us in Genesis, where God
took something that was intended for ill and turned it for good?

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"And so I think the other response is to say, 'You know what, that book is
filled with so many historical inaccuracies it poisons people against the
real Jesus; it points people away from the cross.'

"So my response as a Christian ought to be, if the whole country is going
to be talking about this movie, if this is going to be a phenomenon in our
culture, why don't I seize that opportunity, get into spiritual
conversations with non-Christians and help get into a discussion about the
real evidence and the real Jesus?"

Strobel said he hopes Christians will understand the importance of
interacting with The Da Vinci Code viewers.

"I think to decide to engage in the culture is really the only meaningful
biblical position to take, because there are people lost who are confused
spiritually, who are headed on the path away from Jesus." he said. "We have
an obligation, biblically, to reach out to them."

Strobel said he believes the movie's release will be a time of great
interest in so-called spirituality and in the false picture of Jesus shown
in movie.

"If we can engage (the non-Christian audience), talk with them, let them
give their opinions, do what 1 Peter 3:15 says, not only defend what we
believe, but do it with gentleness and respect so that we can not demean
them because they believe the ridiculous stuff in the book and movie, but
we just engage with them," Strobel said.

By bringing movie-goers into a discussion, Strobel said he would like to
see believers bring people into a study group, watch the DVD, and through
further discussion come to discover the real Jesus.

"I'm praying and hoping that the church will take advantage of this, seize
the opportunity and turn it for good," he said.

The DVD and books, Exploring The Da Vinci Code and Discussing The Da Vinci
Code are scheduled to be released soon. Copies can be ordered through the
website: http://www.crosswalkmail.com/nbrnrrz_vzkfjz.html.

Strobel will be co-hosting an outreach event broadcast by Church
Communication Network (CCN). Unlocking the Da Vinci Code will be aired live
on May 21.

Mark Mittelberg will also host the 90-minute broadcast featuring opening
footage of Strobel at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the site of the fictional
murder that opens The Da Vinci Code.

Dr. Erwin Lutzer, senior pastor of Moody Church in Chicago and author of
The Da Vinci Deception will address the historical issues raised by both
the book and movie.

The event will also feature a live, interactive Q&A session for the
satellite audience. For more information: http://www.crosswalkmail.com/oxvpvvn_vzkfjz.html
 
I've heard of the Da Vinci Code, but I've never read it and didn't know what it was about, until I read this. Thank you for the information.

I have to agree with Stobel, though, that Christians should seize this opportunity to tell the truth.
 
What will the church do with a promise such as II Samuel 7:16?

The promise of an eternal Davidic dynasty is the premise of such a book. Jesus Christ did not fulfill this promise in its entirety since He has not returned yet to claim the Throne of David. In the meantime, the promise indicates a succession of rulers in each and every generation until then. Before I go on, let me say something about the book(s):

I have not read this book, but I have read, at least in part the "Holy Blood Holy Grail" book. This book I found too verbose to keep my interest, but I have read in its entirety the "cousin" book "Bloodline of the Holy Grail". The premise is that Jesus' descendents (and thus King David's) are around today and it spoke a lot of the European/Merovingian dynasty. The authors did not have a supernatural faith in the Bible, but enough to see the importance of the continuing Davidic line.

In contrast, I believe the continuation of the Davidic dynasty was perpetuated thru the lineage of King Zedekiah--- much of European royalty traces their lineage back to King David or to Zarah-Judah. However, mainline Christendom teaches this is a cult as well. So what happens? When the truth is rejected, I believe the world has its substitute for truth by such books. I find that a lineage thru Christ (even if he had children) not valid because:

1) the curse of King Jehoiachin would be on them (Jeremiah 22:30)--- of course such authors believe in Jesus' natural conception which would place this curse on his descendents.
2) Although all the books trace the lineages quite nicely, and I believe there's truth to them, all admit that these are kings de jure that did not always reign. The eternal Davidic covenant demands Kings (or any ruler from david's lineage) to rule de facto.

Since I believe this was done via Zedekiah instead, points one and two are bypassed and it is more scripturally sound while still preserving the Davidic throne.

To conclude, there may be some out there which will read this post and ask, "Huh?" What are we talking about? That's a good point--- most Christians and even those in authority do not know enough of these promises, prophecies and genealogies to make a case against the Da Vinci code. And they think to "convert" people back to "the truth" and to "respond biblically" when they do not know what the bible teaches?? They all need education first.
 
I found the "Da Vinci Code" a fun and interesting read. But I also knew it was a work of fiction before I started reading it.

Its unfortunate that the author goes through great lengths to mislead and confuse readers. Too many turn the last page and are ready to quote the new found "facts" they have learned.

On another note, the author is being sued by the authors of "The Holy Blood, and The Holy Grail." The premise of "The Da Vince Code" comes directly from this book. Apparently a little too much.
 
BREAKING THE DA VINCI CODE..

I seem to recall that @ least 10 evangelicals have written books exposing Dan Brown's many errors

Here's a link to an article:-

http://www.christianitytoday.com/histor ... /nov7.html

Back to link a kinda parallel thread that is useful to combat all forms of forbidden pagan occult practices - bearing in mind 2 Thessalonians 2 prophecy that the coming of the Antichrist will feature satanic 'lying miraculous wonders, to deceive the elect, if that is possible'...

OOPS: posting didn't work, on @ 4/5 threads, for @ 20 minutes earlier

Here's another related article form http://www.crosswalk.com

The Da Vinci Hoax
A Tour de Distortion


G. K. Chesterton famously said something to this effect: When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing-they believe in anything.

A good example of this is Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum, in which a group of friends program a computer to "write" a book about secret hidden knowledge. Titled The Plan, the book is the result of random links between things like Kabbalah, Rosicrucianism, the Knights Templar, and other crackpot ideas.

While The Plan was intended as a prank, other people take it seriously, with tragic results.

Well, Foucault's Pendulum shows us how gullible unbelieving people are. And this is particularly so in our postmodern age when truth doesn't matter.

This phenomenon partly explains the remarkable success of The Da Vinci Code. Like Eco's novel, it's about a heretofore hidden knowledge that promises to let us in on the "true" history of Christianity.

Author Dan Brown gives us a Jesus who neither died on the cross nor rose from the dead. Instead, He married Mary Magdalene and had children by her. This "sacred blood line" is the treasure safeguarded by groups like the Knights Templar and the Masons. And the Catholic Church, in a desperate attempt to cover up this secret, murders those who threaten to expose it.

Devotees of The Da Vinci Code-like the fictional fans in Foucault's Pendulum-have trouble distinguishing fact from fiction.

They visit places mentioned in the novel, and "Da Vinci Tours" are a booming business. With the upcoming film, interest in The Da Vinci Code will explode. Christians need to seize this teaching opportunity, preparing ourselves to answer questions readers are asking.

The first is: Are the historical events portrayed in Brown's story true? Brown claims to have done extensive historical research and gives his readers no reason to doubt the novel's accuracy.

Since the average person knows almost nothing about Christian history, they're vulnerable.

For example, when Brown says that Knights Templar were put to death by the Catholic Church because they knew the "true story" about Jesus, people have no basis to question it, never having heard of the Knights Templar. Or when Brown says that at the Council of Nicea, the Vatican consolidated its power, most people are unaware that the Vatican didn't even exist in A.D. 325.

It is our job to expose the falsehoods. We can learn to answer Brown's lies with the truth by reading books like Darrell Bock's Breaking the Da Vinci Code and Erwin Lutzer's The Da Vinci Deception.

People flock to stories like The Da Vinci Code in part because all humans are searching for the secret knowledge that answers the mysteries of life. And when The Da Vinci Code debuts in May, millions more Americans will get a condensed tour de distortion.

Knowing our neighbors will see this film, churches ought to begin to get ready now-preparing to answer questions about it and to tell our neighbors that there is no secret knowledge about God. It's all in the Bible and all true.

The good news is that The Da Vinci Code readers and viewers are seeking answers to the central questions of life. The challenge is for us to supply the true answers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I post this emphasising that I'm not defending the highly erroneous RC system, but [b] only[/b] defending 'the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints' - in Man's Maker's Manual, the Bible

Back with that promised link to a thread exposing the many, many RC errors by comparing their own catachlysmically catastrophic catechism with what the Bible clearly teaches:-

http://www.christianforums.net/viewtopi ... c&start=15
 
See Campus Crusade For Christ - http://www.ccci.org/

Did you see their Josh McDowell - the magna cum laude genius who wrote the '70s classics, Evidence That Demands A Verdict & More..... - on TV on Thurs?

He's just brought out a cheap book unravelling the many gross errors of the Da Vinci Code - as the other 11/12 by evangelicals are maybe too costly for the very youth who need 'em most
 
cly said:
I've heard of the Da Vinci Code, but I've never read it and didn't know what it was about, until I read this. Thank you for the information.

I have to agree with Stobel, though, that Christians should seize this opportunity to tell the truth.
Click to expand...

Link to March Web Evangelism Bulletin here inc training @ how to handle Da Vinci Code phenomenon most effectively & more @ Internet Evangelism Day in May & report on a helpful CA techno missions conference:- 8-)

http://guide.gospelcom.net/resources/webull06feb1.php

You can click from there to its vast archives to research anything that grabs ya! :P

God bless all Code Crackers with a good harvest of hungry souls! :angel:

Ian :-D
 
Wow, there's a whole lot of effort put into proving that a work of fiction is...fictional.
 
moniker said:
Wow, there's a whole lot of effort put into proving that a work of fiction is...fictional.
Click to expand...

Would you care to join my campaign to refute the alleged historical accuracy of Bruce Almighty?
 
Just in from http://www.crosswalk.com

Decoding Da Vinci
Rusty Benson, AgapePress

(AgapePress) - What The Passion of the Christ is to Christians and
Brokeback Mountain is to homosexual rights advocates, The Da Vinci Code
promises to be to the foes of Christianity.

"[The novel titled] The Da Vinci Code is one of the most serious attacks on
the church in terms of effectiveness that I've seen in my lifetime," says
pastor, church historian and author James Garlow. "By that I mean it's an
attack on the Bible itself and the divinity of Christ."

Though Garlow is referring to the best-selling novel by Dan Brown -- over
36 million copies sold since publication in 2003 -- it's the upcoming
Hollywood movie that will likely thrust the story into cultural orbit.

With credits that include renowned director Ron Howard and superstar Tom
Hanks, The Da Vinci Code promises to be the kind of big-budget production
that will dominate entertainment buzz this spring. Sony's Columbia Pictures
plans to release the film nationwide May 19.

Already, the popularity of the novel has caused great consternation among
orthodox Christians. Though it is fiction, Brown not only challenges the
trustworthiness of the Scripture and implicates the Roman Catholic Church
in the biggest cover-up of all time, but so effectively blurs the line
between historical fact and fiction that some readers are sure to come away
confused.

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Garlow and Peter Jones, director of the organization Christian Witness to a
Pagan Planet, are among numerous Christian writers who have addressed the historical and theological inaccuracies of The Da Vinci Code. Their book is titled Cracking Da Vinci's Code (Victor). Other books aimed at debunking
Brown's story include The Da Vinci Deception by Erwin W. Lutzer (Tyndale
House) and A Quest For Answers by Josh McDowell (Green Key Books). In
addition, Radio Bible Class offers a shorter treatment on the issue in a
free online publication, The Da Vinci Code: Separating Fact From Fiction.
(See links to resources at conclusion of this article.)

The following summarizes the plot of The Da Vinci Code, then highlights the
books mentioned above.

The Code

The Da Vinci Code is a complex tale of intrigue and conspiracy. Although
the story is fiction, Brown contends the book is historically accurate.

In the movie, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is called to
untwist the baffling clues and ciphers surrounding the murder of an elderly
curator of the Louvre in Paris. He is joined in the investigation by
cryptologist Sophie Neveu, the curator's estranged granddaughter.

The investigation uncovers a secret society called the Priory of Sion. The
group, whose members have included Leonardo da Vinci, Issac Newton and
Victor Hugo, guards a secret that, if revealed, would destroy Christianity.

The secret is that, among other things, Jesus was not actually divine but
was voted as such at the Council of Nicaea in 325; He married Mary
Magdalene and the couple had children; and He intended for Mary Magdalene,
not the apostles, to lead the church.

To preserve their version of the "truth" da Vinci and other artists in the
Priory of Sion embedded clues in their art, particularly da Vinci's The
Last Supper.

Opus Dei, a powerful organization within the Roman Catholic Church, is
ready to use any means, including murder, to insure that the "real" Jesus
remains a secret.

A subtheme is the story's assertion that the Roman Catholic Church intended to suppress women and the knowledge that sex is the "sole means through which man could become spiritually complete and ultimately achieve gnosis
-- knowledge of the divine" (The Da Vinci Code, p. 308).

Brown's theories draw heavily on alternative views of the historic Jesus
such as the Gnostic Gospels and the work of the Jesus Seminar, as well as
pagan beliefs that predate even the Greco-Roman world.

The Da Vinci Deception
The premise of The Da Vinci Code is simple: Jesus was not divine and the
Church is lying.

To prove his case, Brown spins a yarn that reinterprets real and imagined
events including the Council of Nicaea, the search for the Holy Grail, the
development of the Biblical canon, the art of Leonardo da Vinci, and the
person of Mary Magdalene.

In The Da Vinci Deception, Erwin W. Lutzer, author and pastor of Moody
Church in Chicago, convincingly separates fact from fiction in Brown's
book. In a well-written and brief volume -- 120 pages, including footnotes
-- Lutzer clarifies issues ranging from the veracity of the New Testament
to the alleged marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Lutzer defends orthodox Christian doctrine and accepted church history in a
way that is concise and usable, yet adequately detailed.

For example, in debunking Brown's claims in The Da Vinci Code that
Constantine "upgraded Jesus' status [to divine] almost three centuries
after Jesus' death" for political reasons, Lutzer offers a layman's look at
issues faced at the Council of Nicaea. He follows that with profiles of
early church fathers who were martyred defending the divinity of Jesus,
then counters the false claim that the Council rejected the Gnostic Gospels
in favor of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -- all in only 16 pages.

Cracking Da Vinci's Code

Garlow and Jones combine narrative and storytelling to reinforce their
contention that Christians should view The Da Vinci Code as a golden
opportunity to engage others with the Gospel.

To that end the authors created a short story of three college friends,
Carrie, Jen and Evan. Their story serves as an effective introduction to
each chapter as well as a real-life model for patiently and persistently
dealing with those who have been influenced by Brown's novel. In fact, the
story of the trio is so well done that readers may be compelled to complete
the book just to find out what happens to the characters.

In the story that accompanies the narrative, Carrie's lesbian roommate,
Jen, gives her a copy of The Da Vinci Code to help Carrie understand the
roommate's homosexuality. When she attends a Da Vinci Code discussion
group, Carrie begins to buy into the book's agenda.

At the same time she makes an unlikely friendship with a Christian student,
Evan, who patiently and gently challenges her suppositions about The Da
Vinci Code.

One of their early encounters includes this exchange:

"So you've fallen into the da Vinci trap, huh?" asked Evan easily as they
walked back from the one class they shared, Conversational French. "Now
every time you see the Mona Lisa, you're going to wonder if it really is
the artist himself in drag." He said this in a gentle, mocking manner.

"I couldn't care less about those parts of the book," said Carrie,
wondering why she felt it necessary to take a defensive position. "Da Vinci
was, admittedly, an odd duck. What gets me is that what Christians believe
about Jesus is all wrong; but I have a much clearer understanding of Jesus
now, after reading Brown's book."

Evan, still smiling replies, "I'm surprised at you, Carrie. Learning
theology from a novel. Next you'll be telling me that you can prepare for
the bar exam by reading Grisham."

In the narrative, Garlow and Jones prove themselves competent to crack Brown's code. Quoting frequently from the novel, the authors deconstruct its major themes giving particular emphasis to the issue of sex as a way of gaining secret knowledge of God

Cracking Da Vinci's Code also includes end notes and a study guide.

A Quest for Answers

Apparently Josh McDowell, Christian apologist, evangelist and writer,
agrees that fiction is an excellent framework to demystify The Da Vinci
Code.

His recently released self-published book, The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for
Answers, is structured as a series of conversations between three
fictitious characters. Unlike Garlow and Jones, McDowell uses his fictional
dialogue without additional narrative.

Although the imaginary discussions are sometimes forced and predictable,
McDowell's effort overflows with details that break the back of The Da
Vinci Code. Readers of McDowell's earlier work including the Christian
classic, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, will recognize his thorough and
well-documented apologetic.

The volume runs 102 full-sized pages and includes endnotes, as well as an
extensive bibliography.

Prepare to Engage

Should Christians read The Da Vinci Code and see the movie? Garlow says
yes. "The movie will spark Da Vinci Code conversations everywhere," he
predicts. "People are going to be talking around the water cooler about the
divinity of Christ. What an opportunity!"

At the same time, Garlow says, Christians must exercise caution for the
sake of their own souls.

"This is a classic case where what the enemy meant for evil, God will use
for good," he says. "Therefore, I am not focusing on the offensiveness of
the book and movie, but rather on the potential for fulfilling the Great
Commission. We are all missionaries. And as missionaries in this hostile
culture, it is our task to learn their language. And in this case the
language is The Da Vinci Code."

RESOURCES FOR DEBUNKING BROWN

http://www.crosswalkmail.com/mkkfqqs_oimopi.html - The
Da Vinci Code: Separating Fact From Fiction (brochure) by Radio Bible Class
http://www.crosswalkmail.com/xiicwwk_oimopi.html - The
Da Vinci Deception by Erwin Lutzer
http://www.crosswalkmail.com/ettbuuu_oimopi.html -
Cracking Da Vinci's Code by James Garlow and Peter Jones
http://www.crosswalkmail.com/vmmzkkm_oimopi.html - The
Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers by Josh McDowell
http://www.crosswalkmail.com/jssjksw_oimopi.html -
Redeeming The Da Vinci Code, by Probe Ministries and EvanTell
 
Part of the movie is being filmed in the Lincoln Cathedral, an Anglican Church which has been set up to look like Wesminster Abbey. They were paid $180,000. Blasphemous?

Church officials defend supporting the movie by saying that if they can get people talking about the false aspects of "The DaVinci Code", then that is a good thing.

OK. But people are going to walk out of the movie hearing only one side of the story. This movie is going to be huge with a worldwide audience of millions. Does the Anglican Church have plans on educating these lost sheep? Lost sheep, I might add, that they helped deceive.
 
ttg said:
Part of the movie is being filmed in the Lincoln Cathedral, an Anglican Church which has been set up to look like Wesminster Abbey. They were paid $180,000. Blasphemous?

Church officials defend supporting the movie by saying that if they can get people talking about the false aspects of "The DaVinci Code", then that is a good thing.

OK. But people are going to walk out of the movie hearing only one side of the story. This movie is going to be huge with a worldwide audience of millions. Does the Anglican Church have plans on educating these lost sheep? Lost sheep, I might add, that they helped deceive.
Click to expand...

There's a book out called "Breaking the DaVinci Code". I hope they make that into a movie. :)
 
Heidi,
The History Channel presented "Beyond the DaVinci Code". Did you catch that one?
 
I think that was the 1 you can see fully @ http://www.JohnAnkerberg.org

Very briefly, Jesus was NOT wed - if He had wed, there's no reason why the 4 REAL gospels wouldn't say so

He did NOT want Mary Mag to lead the church

Funniest irony is that the FALSE 'Gospel of Thomas' is NOT feminist, as just reading its end will confirm

There is NO divine feminine

Jesus NEVER said that matter is evil

Whole thing fiction

See John Ankerberg's book @ that website, OK?

Must go!

Ian
 
I just saw that it doesn't seem to be in here yet that 99% of the Council of Nicea bishops - 314 out of 316 there - ratified the Nicene Creed

Hardly the 'close vote that hardly made it' of Dan Brown's false claim

Jesus Himself said He is God - as in John 10:30 & in John 14

7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."

9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.


Must go

Ian
 
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