Christian Conservative Christian "Independent"

I'm an evangelical Christian, member of the CPC, but presently & unjustly exiled to wander the political wilderness.
All opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

My point exactly: The Davinci FRAUD

There's been a rather active debate on this site about whether or not Christanity is discriminated against in this country. I woke up last night and couldn't get back to sleep, so I chewed on some thoughts and came up with this: the upcoming "Davinci Code" movie proves my point exactly.

The other night, my wife and I went to see Harrison Ford's new movie, "Firewall". (I'm a network tech, so of course this flick appealed to me) During the previews, they had a preview of the upcoming "The Davinci Code". I felt like leaping to my feet and shouting "BLASPHAMY!!!" right there and then. I'm unsure how I will respond to it when it comes out, to protest, or to sit quiet. But it started me thinking...

A couple of years ago, there was another major film that came out... and the left was in a tizzy, decrying it as a gore-fest, inappropriate for society, racist against Jews, and pulled out all the stops to discredit both the film and its producers. And then it went on to smash box office records in several categories and in several nations (including the Arab world... go figure), and beat the previous 5-day box-office record holder, "The Lord of the Rings - Return of the King". That's right, I'm talking about Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ".

I waited in line for about two hours to see that film. It was truely an "epic" film. For the most part, it was historically/Biblically accurate, and captured, in large part, what really happened there at Calvary. It was indeed a bloody event, both in real life and on the screen. And one event, right before the start of the film, caught my attention.

An employee of the theatre stood at the front, and asked everyone to be quiet for a moment. He then went on to state that if anyone had any objections to the film, they could recieve a full refund within the first 15 minutes of the movie. In all my years of movie going, I cannot ever remember that occuring. I heard that this occured at many theatres across North America.

Now I ask you this... where are the Davinci critics? Will anyone be standing up to see that this film, which attacks the Christian (albeit the Catholic side) faith? Will movie staff be warning people of the objectionable content of the film prior to its screening?

I have a feeling they won't be. Now I wonder why that is...

posted by Christian Conservative @ 10:02 a.m.  

25 Comments:

  • At Tue Mar 21, 12:31:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Christian Conservative said…

    No I haven't read it, but I'm aware of all those things. It doesn't "disprove" our faith, but many people are pointing to it as "gospel truth".

    THAT'S what my main problem with it is... the fact that it's being actively promoted as this fantasic work, when it's FICTION and BASED ENTIRELY on whispers, and then being taken as FACT.

    I don't think we as Christians can just let it be, because it will be ONE MORE attack on what's left of our Lord Jesus Christ's TRUE Church.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 12:53:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    "Will movie staff be warning people of the objectionable content of the film prior to its screening?"

    I have a feeling that this has to do with the violence in the Jesus Chainsaw Massacre (as I like to call the Passion of the Christ movie) more than it did the subject matter (I doubt anyone walked into the Passion not knowing what it was about).

    As far as critics of the DaVinci Code go, no one who actually has half a brain takes it particularly seriously (all that would happen if someone said something like "it disproved my faith" is my respect for their critical thinking abilities or ability to use Google would vanish). And walk into any Chapters or Indigo bookstore and you'll find half a dozen to a dozen books critiquing the story in the religion section.

    Anyway, I don't personally think that God needs us to worry about whether a book or movie is blasphemous or not for Him, He's big enough worry about it for Himself. If He doesn't like it He can do something about it, or torture the writers in His eternal chamber of magical fire after they die if He so desires. We have too many other things to worry about to have time to be offended on God's behalf about a movie.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 12:56:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    "I don't think we as Christians can just let it be, because it will be ONE MORE attack on what's left of our Lord Jesus Christ's TRUE Church."

    And of course we can let it be. It's not our job to fight the infidels, it's our job to proclaim the Good News. God doesn't need us to back Him up, He's big enough to stand up for Himself if He so desires.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 01:33:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This weekend at the theater I saw a trailer for the movie, and was not surprised when one of the taglines on the trailer was "SEEK THE TRUTH". That is what it is being presented as, possible truth that is merely well hidden, and many people will see it that way. The trailer does not start "What if the Bible lied and Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene?" it merely points to this story being another acceptable belief system. What are the odds the movie will start like the book, stating at the start that the story is fiction and based in no actual facts?

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 01:38:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    If someone goes to a movie expecting accurate history then they deserve to be fooled. :)

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 03:56:00 p.m. EST, Blogger OMMAG said…

    So lets get this straight!
    You have not read the book.
    You have seen some promotional trailers in the theatre.
    You judge the book and the movie with this much knowledge.
    I suggest....you:
    Read the book. Watch or do not watch the movie.
    Try to understand that this is FICTION.

    Your current position is about as intelligent as the Islamofascists rioting over the stupid lampoons.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 04:28:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Christian Conservative said…

    Actually, I've been following the Davinci Fraud controversy for quite some time... just having seen the trailer recently prompted some new thoughts.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 04:35:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Guelph First said…

    Hey AP...boy you get into some interesting discussions over here...

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 04:40:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    My pastor is doing a 4 part series on this too... I think it is massive overkill. The commenter above is right - this is a flaming novel. If people are so stupid as to take a fiction novel and think it is real, then hand them a copy of "The Lord of the Rings" and ask them if they believe that Hobbits once lived on earth too now.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 04:55:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Lord Kitchener's Own said…

    I can understand how one might be concerned if the movie was being promoted as a documentary, but I think most people realize that this is a work of fiction. I hardly see this as some kind of attack on Christians, but even if it were, I seem to remeber someone once saying "turn the other cheek". Gee, I wish I could remember who that was.

    And as for the 15 minute thing, I'm pretty sure that's standard movie theatre policy. I think you can always walk out of a movie within the first 15 minutes and get your money back. I'm guessing they just started announcing it right off the top because of the number of people taking their young kids to see a movie about Jesus, and having to pay for years of counselling afterwards.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 05:45:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hey never underestimate people's willingness to be deseived. Think about the holocost deniers, there are still living witnesses to the events, but that has not stopped many willing people from denying it ever took place. Anyone who knows anything about history knows that there is little to nothing to Dan Brown's story.

    The writers of The Holy Blood The Holy Grail who first published the story of the Prior Sion, now reject any historacity and completely deny the credibility of thier sources.

    But think about the recent "documentary" The God Who Was Never There. This documentary claims to be able to prove that Jesus never even existed! A position that no credible historian supports, not to mention Jesus has had a greater impact on the world than any other person to walk the earth. People who do not want to believe in God will believe almost anything that helps them support their desired point of view.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 08:09:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    "People who do not want to believe in God will believe almost anything that helps them support their desired point of view."

    And? I'd say that that's their right. If it wasn't, God wouldn't allow it, I'd suspect. :)

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 09:45:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 09:48:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 09:50:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think we have to look at this book as a gift. When life send you lemons make lemonade. This book and movie present us with an opportunity to speak to others about Jesus Christ just as the movie "The Passion of the Christ" caused so much conversation. The book is full of errors and we have to get out and correct them. I also think we all have to go to the movie "Over the Hedge" on May 19th, the day the "Duh Vinci Code" opens. Over the Hedge is the new Dreamwork's movie that also opens May 19th and we have to make sure this is the movie to top the box offices that weekend so we can send Hollywood a clear message.

     

  • At Tue Mar 21, 10:39:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    thanks drew

    you don't need to argue the implications of free will, I fully understand them.

     

  • At Wed Mar 22, 12:17:00 a.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Ryan,
    "...claims to be able to prove that Jesus never even existed! A position that no credible historian supports..."

    Jesus is not mentioned in any historical documents. He is only mentioned in the Bible.
    Can you direct me to the historical sources that these "credible historians" refer to?

     

  • At Wed Mar 22, 08:51:00 a.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    OK, anon here you go.....

    Josephus (1st Century)
    Very important and often cited historial, also Josephus was a non-Christian Jew and had no reason to perpetuate the "Jesus myth"

    About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he . . . wrought surprising feats. . . . He was the Christ. When Pilate . . .condemned him to be crucified, those who had . . . come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared . . . restored to life. . . . And the tribe of Christians . . . has . . . not disappeared.

    Tacitus (64 A.D.)

    Nero fastened the guilt . . . on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of . . . Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome. . . .{5}

    Pliny the Younger (112 A.D)

    They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.{10}

    The Babylonian Talmud (A.D. 70-200)

    On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald . . . cried, "He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy."
    Lucian

    Plus the New Testament is importanat and I won't just discunt it because some people choose to call its authors biased. The New Testament has not only more survived ancient manuscprits than any other ancient book, but has survived in a purer form. Some counts put surviving manusripts at 24,000, far more than any other ancient document.

    Also,is an important historical doucment, Polycarp and Irenus qoute 23 of the 27 books of the new testament, Irenus specifically afirms the authorship of the Gospels.

     

  • At Wed Mar 22, 08:59:00 a.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I won't get into that argument here, but dig deeper as at the very least, the Josephus quote is now believed to be a forgery added into the text at a later date.

    Don't trust everything you read in a Christian apologetics book, double check with secular sources as well. :)

     

  • At Wed Mar 22, 09:08:00 a.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I know but....


    Most scholars think the core of the passage originated with Josephus, but that it was later altered by a Christian editor, possibly between the third and fourth century A.D.{18} But why do they think it was altered? Josephus was not a Christian, and it is difficult to believe that anyone but a Christian would have made some of these statements.{19}

    For instance, the claim that Jesus was a wise man seems authentic, but the qualifying phrase, "if indeed one ought to call him a man," is suspect. It implies that Jesus was more than human, and it is quite unlikely that Josephus would have said that! It is also difficult to believe he would have flatly asserted that Jesus was the Christ, especially when he later refers to Jesus as "the so-called" Christ. Finally, the claim that on the third day Jesus appeared to His disciples restored to life, inasmuch as it affirms Jesus' resurrection, is quite unlikely to come from a non-Christian!

    But even if we disregard the questionable parts of this passage, we are still left with a good deal of corroborating information about the biblical Jesus. We read that he was a wise man who performed surprising feats. And although He was crucified under Pilate, His followers continued their discipleship and became known as Christians. When we combine these statements with Josephus' later reference to Jesus as "the so-called Christ," a rather detailed picture emerges which harmonizes quite well with the biblical record. It increasingly appears that the "biblical Jesus" and the "historical Jesus" are one and the same!

     

  • At Wed Mar 22, 11:18:00 a.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    So...no sources during Jesus' life time?

     

  • At Wed Mar 22, 06:32:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    anonymous

    Is it reasonable to expect that a historian would be following around a person of low social standing from an obscure Roman province? Especially one who made it a point to remove himself from the limelight, and was only in the public eye for a period of 3 years?

    Compare the accounts of Jesus to other historical figures. Parsi, the most popular biography of Zoroaster was written in 1278 A.D. about 2000 years after his death, Buddha lived in the 6th century B.C., his first biography was written in the 1st century A.D. The first biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than 400 years after Alexander's death, and yet classical historians still consider them to be trustworthy. Do you doubt any of these historical figures existed?

    Plus, I'm not willing to simply discount the chronicles of the New Testament. The Gospel accounts would have been recorded within the life times of the witnesses. Insert any conspirocy theories you want, but they still confirm a man named Jesus walked the earth.

    The greatest evidence of all; people will die for a lie they believe to be true, but no one will die for something they know to be a lie.

     

  • At Wed Mar 22, 07:46:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    jevant

    "I do wonder if perhaps the best response to this book and movie is simply to treat it with a mild sense of amusement - that people will take a piece of SELF-ADMITTED fiction (the front cover of the book says "A Novel") and try to turn it into fact."

    Laywers are curretnly argueing in defence of Dan Brown in his plagerism case, citing the protection of a writer's ability to make use of "historical fact" from earlier works.

     

  • At Mon Mar 27, 07:54:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    If you don't believe in the foundational points of Christianity, why bother identifying yourself as a Christian? There must be some other title that would be more fitting.

    I don't dispute anyones right to put forth whatever opinion they wish, but I don't have to believe it, and if it conflicts with my beliefs (and in this case the evidence) then I will point out where if deviates.

     

  • At Wed Mar 29, 11:48:00 a.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I didn't say you couldn't disagree, but that dissenting opinions from yours are not necessarily discrimination. Disagree away, including my handle.

     

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