The Da Vinci Code...
—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Tom Hanks)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads
Well, Jesus Christ had a daughter. The Church is full of liars. Christianity is actually based upon pagan religions. Jesus died 'for the betterment of humanity.' So, what question is left unanswered. Perhaps this one: What is the worst part of The Da Vinci Code? There are several possibilities, so let me sift through some of them for you.
1. The Sermon Nature: For a book that seems to have much trouble with the authoritative nature of the church, it sure seems to claim a whole lot of authority. In all honesty, I do not care about heresy or inaccurate pictures of the Church. That is to be expected and the thing that the Church needs to do is be an institution that is above reporach, that serves humanity and proclaims a risen Savior. Unfortunatley, the Church has often fallen in these regards, which means that the Church is going to get attacked. But the Da Vinci Code does not just attack the Church, but it tells you what to think. And what are we supposed to think? Well Ron Howard has clued Christians into the fact that Christianity is in fact New Age Pantheism where "what you believe is all that matters" and "maybe the divine is in all of us."
2. Tom Hanks Hair: I might have fallen asleep at how slow this movie was, but Tom Hanks' hair kept me awake the whole time. Frightening.
3. Ian McKellen's Anti-Church Rant: I know I am supposed to be objective here, but someone else should have had this roll. Granted, McKellen was perhaps the best actor in the movie, but the whole time I felt like this was a shot at Christianity, with no Christian to stand up and give any defense. Tom Hanks did what he could, but Ron Howard clearly was not too interested in Christianity giving any legit response to the ranting of McKellen. I know I am expecting too much here, but this did not appear to be any sort of humble approach to getting at any kind of truth, which I think hurts the movie's point that truth does matter.
4. The Absence of Jesus: Jesus was talked about, but the age old thought that the nice guy Jesus walked around blessing people and never said much else comes out again. One of the worst lines of the whole film is when Tom Hanks said that Jesus died 'for the betterment of humanity.' What does that even mean? Seriously, if a dude started walking around Bloomington, IN (where I live) saying he was God and that we should eat his flesh and blood (as Jesus said in a figurative matter) then I don't think we're going to start saying he's a good dude we should listen to. No. I have seen guys that claim to be God walking out on the streets, and they are CRAZY! I agree with C.S. Lewis when he reminds us not to patronize Jesus be turning him into a good teacher or an old pal. Either he's an insane liar or he's God. He's not a decent guy with some good things to say.
5. The Rejection of Scripture: This is the point that scares me the most, because many Christians today have started to question the authority of Scripture. Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis and the Emergent Church Movement are examples, and this is scary, scary stuff. The movie makes it sound like no one could decide what should be Scripture and that there were many credible Gospels to choose from. So, the movie quotes from the Gospels of Margy Magdalene and the Gospel of Philip, two crazy documents that NO ONE though should have been Scripture at the Council of Nicea. I recommend people study how Scripture came together because it is pretty amazing what both Scripture says about itself and how early on people were quoting what would eventaully become the N.T.
6. Anti-Climatic Actions Scenes: There is one action scene where Langdon, Neveu, Leigh, and his manservant (whatever his name is) are quickly driving away from the police who is chasing them. They are on their way to a plane to get away, and then, the next thing you know, they are in the air safely. Disappointing. There are two scenes then when Langon and Neveu are about to get shot, and a bullet casing and a flock of doves or something saves them. Stupid. Let's see, I'm sure there were other scenes, but honestly, they aren't worth recalling.
So, yea, pretty negative response, I know. Please know this is not an attack on Dan Brown, who's Angel and Demons is much better than The Da Vinci Code. This is an attack on a bad movie that attacks everything I hold dear. Granted, there are other movies like this that I have loved such as Jesus of Montreal and Jesus Christ, Superstar. But The Da Vinci Code was almost not even bearable to watch. Even if it didn't attack Christianity turning it into a pagan pluralistic religion, it was still a bad, bad movie. But, it will make a lot of money, and in that regard, I guess it is a success.
But there is one thing I love about this movie. It calls Christians out. It challenges us to think, act, and produce a people that are not liars, cheaters, and thieves. So often it just seems Christians are just like the rest of the world, which is so disappointing. There is power in the line of Christ, but not because we are some ancient royal bloodline. We are the adopted children of the Living God, with the Holy Spirit empowering us to live changed lives. Imagine if Christian's lives showed that.
—Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Tom Hanks)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads
Well, Jesus Christ had a daughter. The Church is full of liars. Christianity is actually based upon pagan religions. Jesus died 'for the betterment of humanity.' So, what question is left unanswered. Perhaps this one: What is the worst part of The Da Vinci Code? There are several possibilities, so let me sift through some of them for you.1. The Sermon Nature: For a book that seems to have much trouble with the authoritative nature of the church, it sure seems to claim a whole lot of authority. In all honesty, I do not care about heresy or inaccurate pictures of the Church. That is to be expected and the thing that the Church needs to do is be an institution that is above reporach, that serves humanity and proclaims a risen Savior. Unfortunatley, the Church has often fallen in these regards, which means that the Church is going to get attacked. But the Da Vinci Code does not just attack the Church, but it tells you what to think. And what are we supposed to think? Well Ron Howard has clued Christians into the fact that Christianity is in fact New Age Pantheism where "what you believe is all that matters" and "maybe the divine is in all of us."
2. Tom Hanks Hair: I might have fallen asleep at how slow this movie was, but Tom Hanks' hair kept me awake the whole time. Frightening.
3. Ian McKellen's Anti-Church Rant: I know I am supposed to be objective here, but someone else should have had this roll. Granted, McKellen was perhaps the best actor in the movie, but the whole time I felt like this was a shot at Christianity, with no Christian to stand up and give any defense. Tom Hanks did what he could, but Ron Howard clearly was not too interested in Christianity giving any legit response to the ranting of McKellen. I know I am expecting too much here, but this did not appear to be any sort of humble approach to getting at any kind of truth, which I think hurts the movie's point that truth does matter.
4. The Absence of Jesus: Jesus was talked about, but the age old thought that the nice guy Jesus walked around blessing people and never said much else comes out again. One of the worst lines of the whole film is when Tom Hanks said that Jesus died 'for the betterment of humanity.' What does that even mean? Seriously, if a dude started walking around Bloomington, IN (where I live) saying he was God and that we should eat his flesh and blood (as Jesus said in a figurative matter) then I don't think we're going to start saying he's a good dude we should listen to. No. I have seen guys that claim to be God walking out on the streets, and they are CRAZY! I agree with C.S. Lewis when he reminds us not to patronize Jesus be turning him into a good teacher or an old pal. Either he's an insane liar or he's God. He's not a decent guy with some good things to say.
5. The Rejection of Scripture: This is the point that scares me the most, because many Christians today have started to question the authority of Scripture. Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis and the Emergent Church Movement are examples, and this is scary, scary stuff. The movie makes it sound like no one could decide what should be Scripture and that there were many credible Gospels to choose from. So, the movie quotes from the Gospels of Margy Magdalene and the Gospel of Philip, two crazy documents that NO ONE though should have been Scripture at the Council of Nicea. I recommend people study how Scripture came together because it is pretty amazing what both Scripture says about itself and how early on people were quoting what would eventaully become the N.T.
6. Anti-Climatic Actions Scenes: There is one action scene where Langdon, Neveu, Leigh, and his manservant (whatever his name is) are quickly driving away from the police who is chasing them. They are on their way to a plane to get away, and then, the next thing you know, they are in the air safely. Disappointing. There are two scenes then when Langon and Neveu are about to get shot, and a bullet casing and a flock of doves or something saves them. Stupid. Let's see, I'm sure there were other scenes, but honestly, they aren't worth recalling.
So, yea, pretty negative response, I know. Please know this is not an attack on Dan Brown, who's Angel and Demons is much better than The Da Vinci Code. This is an attack on a bad movie that attacks everything I hold dear. Granted, there are other movies like this that I have loved such as Jesus of Montreal and Jesus Christ, Superstar. But The Da Vinci Code was almost not even bearable to watch. Even if it didn't attack Christianity turning it into a pagan pluralistic religion, it was still a bad, bad movie. But, it will make a lot of money, and in that regard, I guess it is a success.
But there is one thing I love about this movie. It calls Christians out. It challenges us to think, act, and produce a people that are not liars, cheaters, and thieves. So often it just seems Christians are just like the rest of the world, which is so disappointing. There is power in the line of Christ, but not because we are some ancient royal bloodline. We are the adopted children of the Living God, with the Holy Spirit empowering us to live changed lives. Imagine if Christian's lives showed that.
—Overview
2 Comments:
The most banal line must be, "... that means you, (what's her face) are the last living descendant of Chriiiiist..." brilliantly comedic, utterly flaberghasting
Yawn.
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