Sunday - May 07, 2006

Religious Kerfuffle

Disclaimer: I have not seen the movie yet but I plan to when it debuts in a couple of weeks. I have however, read the book, which is a highly entertaining work of fiction. The story revolves around a fictional plot by the Catholic church to supress a fictional history of Jesus. Did I mention that the book and the movie are works of fiction? It seems that several groups have somehow missed that point.

I don’t mean to offend anyone but how is getting upset over a book or movie that revolves around a fictional history of Jesus and has no basis in fact supposed to be different from Muslims getting upset over Mohammed cartoons? Will the Christians storm the movie theatres and set fire to the popcorn machines? Will Dan Brown, Ron Howard and Tom Hanks have to go into hiding after a Christian “fatwah” is issued against them? I doubt it. Christians usually have better sense than that, with the exception of Pat Robertson.

I didn’t get around to reading the book until just recently when it came out in paperback (yeah, I’m cheap about some things). I had read all the negative reviews from churches but finally decided to see what the kerfuffle was all about. Now I’m not a Bible-thumping religious fanatic by any means but I am a Christian (Baptist) and I do believe in Jesus and the salvation he promised. Oddly enough, after reading the book I found that my convictions had not changed one iota. I did however, have a rip-snorting good time with a fun story.

To me the book was nothing more than an elaborate game of “Clue” with step after step of cryptic hints leading two people toward an unknown destination while the bad guys were on their tail the whole time. The only fault I had with the story is that Brown’s clues were kinda lame. I was usually about two pages ahead of the heros in the book and found myself snickering at their failure to see the obvious at almost every turn. Then again, my background is in mathematics and computers and I’ve always had an interest in cryptography. In addtion, the Fibonacci sequence, the Masons and the Knights Templar are really old set pieces in almost any conspiracy story. It’s time to get a new set of evil conspiracy characters. Those groups are worn out and have been since “The Maltese Falcon” started it all.

Bottom line: when the movie opens, I’ll be there with my jumbo popcorn and coke ($15 - which is the only outrageous thing about this), watching the plot unfold and silently screaming at Tom Hanks and the screen, “NO! You jerk! Rearrange the numbers! It’s the Fibonacci sequence!” And at the end of the movie, Jesus will still be the Son of God. Amen.

Churches Prepare To Rebut ‘DaVinci’
_{May 7, 2006}

Area churches are preparing to counter unorthodox claims about Jesus Christ in the movie “The Da Vinci Code,” which opens in theaters later this month. “‘The Da Vinci Code’ kind of gave a focus that there’s a lot [of misinformation] about Jesus Christ and Christianity out there, and perhaps it’s time to rebut it,” said Monsignor Francis J. Maniscalco, a spokesman for the District-based U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “If people see [the movie], they should go prepared.”

Dan Brown wrote the best-selling novel, “The Da Vinci Code,” published in 2003. Its film adaptation, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, will premiere in theaters May 19. The fast-paced, fictional novel reads like a giant Christian conspiracy theory, with a plot built on claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, that they had a daughter named Sarah and that their bloodline still exists.

The book also states early Christians never claimed Christ was divine and that the Catholic Church has covered up such information. Though the book is a work of fiction, those statements and Mr. Brown’s claim in the prologue that certain details in the book are authentic have alarmed area clergy.

“It poses certain questions to Orthodox Christian believers that the church needs to address,” said John Yates, rector of Falls Church Episcopal, where sermons on “The Da Vinci Code” will be featured May 21 and 28. “My hope would be that it would cause people to want to go back to the New Testament and read about Jesus more carefully than they ever have before.”

- More on this story at the Washington Times ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 05/07/2006 at 09:59 AM   
Filed Under: • Hollywood • Religion •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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