Contributing to the Ignorance of a Christian

I have noticed that many churches are taking a proactive approach to the release of The Da Vinci Code film, set to be released May 19. To the churches, like ours, who are doing so, I applaud you. This is going to be a blockbuster film that will be seen by our neighbors, our co-workers, and our school mates. And we need to be prepared to field the many questions that will be raised.

To do that we have to do something many Christians are refusing to do. Read the book and/or see the movie. I purchased the book about a month ago and just started reading it last week. It is a thrilling story. I'm about half way through it. The story presents a character labeled an "expert" and a "historian" who is obviously neither. This character spouts statement after statement that contradicts the fundamental truths of Christianity. The books paints a very poor picture of the church, discredits the reliability of scripture, and makes some very unfounded claims about Jesus. That of course has stirred up some emotion in me. I'm passionate believer in Jesus Christ as fully human and fully divine, and the reliability of the God inspired word (and all its claims concerning Jesus), and a member of the God ordained body of Christ. So I read up on the origins of the theories presented in the novel. They are interesting, as well as completely bogus. They are also theories that have been around for many years. These are not Dan Brown's (the author of The Da Vinci Code) theories. They have been developed by various people throughout history. To get into all the details in one post would take more words then you probably have time to read. Let me suggest a couple books. The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers by Josh McDowell and Cracking Da Vinci's Code by Garlow & Jones. I understand this novel is just that, a novel, a work of fiction. However, there is just enough fact tossed in along the way to make distinguishing what is true, and what is not, a bit difficult.

Some might say they don't want to line the pockets of the author of a book so blasphemous. So they refuse to even consider reading the book or seeing the movie. That is one way to approach this whole situation. It is the approach that many Christians have taken throughout the years. It has not however, stopped the people God has called us serve from doing so. And the gaping hole created in their beliefs caused by these types of medium need to be filled by someone. How can I be that someone if I have no clue what truths are actually being questioned in books like The Da Vinci Code. To merely respond to inquiries from people in our communities with "You shouldn't believe that junk" is no longer sufficient. Although that is true, people need to know why. They need to be given the evidence that supports the truth. And there is much to be given. People need to know exactly what Christians truly believe and why. All that boycotting these types of films and books does is contribute to our own ignorance. Ignorance severely damages our witness for Jesus Christ. We can longer be ignorant to the cords Satan is using to pull our friends and family away from God. If we are, how will cut them lose?

There has also been a lot in the news about this document entitled The Gospel of Judas. It's funny, people think just because something is old it must be true. Well, let me ask one question. If two thousand years from now someone in California discovers a copy of The National Enquirer from 2006, in a cave near Hollywood, does that mean they should believe aliens landed in Beverly Hills?