Council of Nicea and "Da Vinci Code" fiction

[rgrove]

I spent this weekend looking at the Council of Nicea in particular because of some startling nonsense I had heard from an uncle of mine at a family get together. As my wife and I were driving home we were thinking it may have had something to do with this DaVinci code book that came out a while back and was so popular. Looks like it's going to be made a movie now as well. I'm personally convinced this is nothing short of Satan trying to offset the success of "The Passion" by attacking Jesus directly. Anyhow, I recommend every Christian begin to look more carefully at the early church and it's dynamics as well as the development of scripture. Gnosticism was not another form of Christianity, it was completely different and altogether incompatible mystery religion which creatively used the people and symbols of Christianity in a patently false way. The Council of Nicea, as well as some background information for it, may be found here:

www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-14/TOC.htm

A book I read this Saturday is excellent as an introduction to the issues involved. It's called Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everybody's Asking, by Darrell L. Bock. Darrell Bock is a highly regarded New Testament Scholar from Dallas Theological Seminary. I think you'll find it's far better than the almost comical reviews people have given at Amazon.com. If you've ever read any of Dr. Bock's works in the past you'll know from face value these people are just plain hostile to Christianity and don't seem to care about how badly history is being perverted. A Roman Catholic professor from a Catholic university wrote the introduction and fully supported Dr. Bock's conclusions. If anyone was looking for something both Protestants and RC's can get together and be "ecumenical" on this is one.

Have you run into this books influence on your family as well? Or, perhaps, do you have any questions about history where you're concerned that the chuch has covered up things about the life of Jesus?

In Christ,
Ron

[melinky]

Very interesting questions.

I haven't run into anything like this yet, but it wouldn't surprise me to have someone blind-side me with it one day.

I'd like to read the DaVinci Code one day when I have time, but as a work of FICTION, it sounds like a great conspiracy story. As for me, I think that for the most part, if it isn't in the Bible, it's speculation.

As for the non-believers, they are always happy to see something that "disproves" Christianity. If they only knew...

Melinda

[rgrove]

melinky said:

Very interesting questions. I haven't run into anything like this yet, but it wouldn't surprise me to have someone blind-side me with it one day.

That's pretty much what happened to me... I'm better prepared than most to deal with it, but since I hadn't read what the book was claiming I was still at a distinct disadvantage in not completely understanding where they were coming from. At first I thought it was one of those ridiculous discover channel or history channel programs where they invite the darndest "scholars" you ever saw to speak about Christian history...

I'd like to read the DaVinci Code one day when I have time, but as a work of FICTION, it sounds like a great conspiracy story.

I've heard it is as well. I figure I'll read it someday now as well since it has now come into my extended family. That wouldn't be such an important issue if it wasn't claimed to be true history...

As for the non-believers, they are always happy to see something that "disproves" Christianity. If they only knew...

Too true...

[Soulfyre]

The great problem to these pseudo-historical works of fiction (you know, sort of like Michael Moore creates....oops! sorry...just a little lapse there) is that they are sufficiently deceptive to confuse people. Dan Brown, heady with the reception of his first book, is following it up with a book entitled Solomon's Key. I can only begin to guess what that will be about.

Byron Barlowe, of Leadership University, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, writes: "Dubious doctrines like Goddess worship and neo-Gnosticism, critics charge, provide the core of Brown's acclaimed novel (although Brown makes egregious errors even within those, e.g., Gnostics would be repulsed by the idea of physical relations between Mary Magdalene and Jesus). Given the book's liberal use of long-debunked heresies and flashy but baseless theories on everything from church tradition to architecture to the heads of a secret society, cataloguing Brown's scholarly infractions will exhaust the casual reader who will likelier readily embrace such fast-paced fiction uncritically."(article).

Forget the book. They are soon to produce a movie based on The Da Vinci Code which will likely be at least as inaccurate but far more entertaining.

God bless and keep you all,

Matthew (soulfyre)

[melinky]

It amazes me how people will accept anything in print as fact, except for the Bible, and if it's on the internet it must be true.

I feel that with just enough tweaking of scripture a doctrine could be created that shows Mary Magdelene being divine or maybe even the real messiah. The scary thing is that there would be people who would believe it.

Melinda