Power to Change » Leesa

“The only thing that matters is what you believe”

Tue, 23 May 2006 21:26:44 +0000

The movie The Da Vinci Code opened Friday, May 19 in theaters around the world. According to CNN.com,

The Columbia Pictures movie opened in 3,735 theaters in the United States and grossed a respectable average of $7,764 per screen.

And according to showbizdata.com, the movie has grossed $85.9 million in the US today since its May 19th opening.

In the movie there are two characters, Robert Langdon and Leigh Teabing, who make some incredible claims. In the introduction to the article, The Da Vinci Code Movie: Checking the Facts, author Mark Hansard writes,

The movie makes a number of claims about Jesus and Christianity that do not stand up to historical scrutiny. The film is briefly analyzed here in Q&A format. Questions are answered about Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the relationship between paganism and Christianity, the history of the Crusades and witch hunts, as well as Constantine and the divinity of Jesus.

It’s a very useful and quick resource on some of the historical differences from the movie and what really happened. It’s certainly worth a read.

Later in the article, Mark Hansard writes:

“The only thing that matters is what you believe”
This line from the movie may sound believable on the surface, but is really not a rational position. The implication here is that religious belief is a matter of taste or opinion, having nothing to do with facts, which is a popular notion today. But believing something cannot and will not make it true, no matter how strongly it is believed. A person may believe he can fly, but if he jumps off a building, gravity will work on him just as it will on anyone else.

You read Hansard’s article and the evidence for Jesus’ deity, but do you believe it? So what makes truth truth to you? Is truth absolute and what is the truth about Jesus to you? Who do you think Jesus is?

Christian crusaders want to discuss Da Vinci?Globe and Mail

Fri, 19 May 2006 18:36:23 +0000

Globe and Mail published an article Friday about this blog site and different religious groups? reaction to the The Da Vinci Code movie: Christian crusaders want to discuss Da Vinci

Omar El Akkad wrote: ?That’s partially why Campus Crusade is taking a decidedly non-combative stance on The Da Vinci Code. Volunteers at theatres will engage in “informal discussions” with moviegoers, said Braden Douglas, the group’s national head of marketing and communications. The pamphlets to be handed out don’t attack the movie, but rather invite people to visit a website, aptly named discussdavinci.com, where they can discuss some of the concepts . . . Although he says the response to a less combative campaign has been overwhelmingly positive, Mr. Douglas added that some donors were disappointed the group didn’t call for an all-out boycott as other religious groups have done.?

What do you think of people boycotting the film and telling others to do the same? What about people who picket against films? Have any of these generated bad experiences for you? What other bad experiences have you had with Christianity or religion and how has this affected the way you view Christianity?

Dan Brown: I am a Christian.

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 20:32:54 +0000

I was reading the FAQs from Dan Brown’s Official Website and found that Brown considers himself a Christian.

ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?
Yes. Interestingly, if you ask three people what it means to be Christian, you will get three different answers. Some feel being baptized is sufficient. Others feel you must accept the Bible as absolute historical fact. Still others require a belief that all those who do not accept Christ as their personal savior are doomed to hell. Faith is a continuum, and we each fall on that line where we may. By attempting to rigidly classify ethereal concepts like faith, we end up debating semantics to the point where we entirely miss the obvious–that is, that we are all trying to decipher life’s big mysteries, and we’re each following our own paths of enlightenment. I consider myself a student of many religions. The more I learn, the more questions I have. For me, the spiritual quest will be a life-long work in progress.

He lists three different answers for what people consider being a Christian is:

being baptized
accepting the Bible as absolute historical fact
believing and accepting Christ as personal savior

Christianity is not a continuum as Brown suggests, rather it is a specific set of beliefs. Many Christians around the world hold to a set of common beliefs outlined in the Nicean Creed:

We believe in one God
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit
and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand
of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
and the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in the one holy catholic

(universal Christian) and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

What about you? Do you hold to the Nicean Creed? Is there a part of it that you disagree with or do you disagree with it all? What beliefs do you hold?