'Da Vinci Code' Now a Tool to Win Christian Converts???

We agree with many of the other discernment ministries out there, including Moriel, and most importantly the BIBLE - God's own Word on discernment, that the Da Vinci Code is a blasphemous work of fiction.

The DaVinci Code attempts to redefine Jesus Christ, rewrite Church history and destroy the purpose of Christ's mission on earth which is to save sinners. No doubt the DaVinci Code will be absorbed by millions of readers, viewers and hearers. Countless people will be misled as to the true meaning of Christ purpose, Christ's true nature as Eternal God, and Christ's own word's of truth found in Scripture. The message of the cross will be rejected for Dan Brown's Gnostic lie.

Sadly, even undiscerning Christians are buying into the DaVinci Code lie. Some even doubting the Bibloe and their own faith in Christ. No doubt many will pay the movie fee and run headlong to go see another movie that the God of heaven hates. This is a tradgedy indeed!

Yes Dan Brown has written a fiction book, but in it he systematically attempts to destroy the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. He also attempts to undermine and reject the Word of God. He perverts the Gospel and creates a cleverly invented story. People, according to the BIBLE, this is Satanic - it is inspired by Satan. Remember in John 8 where Jesus says that Satan-the Devil is the "Father of Lies"? Satan's two weapons through time have always been, lies and murder, and here in the DaVinci Code, we have lie upon lie in order to decieve and ultimately murder humans spiritually.

Galatians 1:6-9
"6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."

My remarks about the DaVinci Code are based upon Scripture and much of the in-depth articles at the DaVinci Deception Resource Page that I have put together on our Spiritual Research Network website.
http://www.spiritual-research-network.com/apologetics_daVinci.asp

~SRN~


Proverbs 29:18a
Where there is no vision, the people perish:...

Jeremiah 10:21
For the shepherds have become stupid
And have not sought the LORD;
Therefore they have not prospered,
And all their flock is scattered.

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Here is the article that was in the LOS ANGELES TIMES and posted on Be Alert!


'Da Vinci Code' Now a Tool to Win Christian Converts

LOS ANGELES TIMES - By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer - May 11, 2006 - LITTLETON, Colo. — Evangelical churches across the nation are launching an aggressive effort to save souls by talking about a fictional murder mystery that many regard as blasphemous.

Pastors are setting out doughnuts and sandwiches and inviting non-Christians to come discuss "The Da Vinci Code" bestseller. They're creating hip marketing campaigns to draw nonbelievers to sermons about the thriller. They're even giving away free iPods loaded with their commentary on the novel.

The goal is to instill trust in the Bible and faith in Jesus' divinity — principles that many Christian leaders believe are threatened by "The Da Vinci Code," which opens in movie theaters May 19 as a film starring Tom Hanks.

A poll by Outreach Inc., a church marketing firm, found 68% of its customers, mostly Protestant churches, planned to respond to "The Da Vinci Code" with some form of evangelism.

The Catholic response has been ambivalent. Some Catholic groups and a few Vatican officials have urged the faithful to shun Dan Brown's book and the movie, directed by Ron Howard. But priests expect that many Catholics will see the movie anyway. So hundreds of parishes have set up study groups to pick apart the film's historical and theological claims...

"The Da Vinci Code," which has sold 40 million copies, opens with the murder of a curator at the Louvre Museum. A professor of religious symbology called in to consult discovers clues hidden in the art of Leonardo da Vinci. Racing to unravel the puzzles, he learns that Christianity is built on falsehood: Jesus was not divine; he left an heir by his wife, Mary Magdalene; and the Bible as we know it was pieced together by a 4th century Roman emperor intent on suppressing the role of women in the Catholic Church.

If those claims are true, "the Christian faith is a sham," according to a Catholic website that offers priests tips on how to respond to the movie.

Though angry, Christian leaders say they have nothing to gain by organizing pickets outside movie theaters. That would make them look closed-minded and defensive, when what they really need to counter the power of the film is "a very positive, wholesome, winsome" response, said Josh McDowell, a Christian writer and evangelist in Richardson, Texas.

Besides, "it's probably going to be an awesome movie," said Garry Poole, a pastor at Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago.

Poole drew 22,000 to a sermon about "The Da Vinci Code" last month. He hopes that those who came for the sport of hearing a minister take on a bestseller will return this Sunday for another round. Over time, he hopes they will find truth and comfort in the church and develop an abiding faith.

Moved by a similar vision, California pastor Ken Baugh plans to hand out free tickets to "The Da Vinci Code."

Other Christian leaders think that's going too far: "I don't have to watch pornography in order to be able to dialogue about it," said Matthew Pinto, president of Ascension Press, a Catholic publisher.

But Baugh wants to encourage members of his congregation to see the film with non-Christian friends. He plans to give them Starbucks gift cards along with the tickets so they can sit down over coffee when the movie ends and offer their perspective on Jesus.

Baugh has already distributed 325 iPod Shuffles loaded with his "Da Vinci" sermons to young members of his congregation so they can give them to friends who do not come to church.

"I think the Lord is going to use this film to bring more people to Christ, absolutely," said Baugh, senior pastor of Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo.

At the very least, it has given churches a potent marketing tool. In Littleton, a suburb south of Denver, more than 50 first-time visitors joined 530 regulars at Valley View Christian Church last month when Pastor Gene Barron launched five weeks of sermons on "The Da Vinci Code." (He advertised the series by mailing out 15,000 postcards with an image of the Mona Lisa on one side and a map to Valley View on the other.)

Barron opened the first service by quoting an e-mail he had received from someone who had read Brown's book: "Is the last 25 years I've been a Christian all a lie? Is everything I was raised to believe just made up for the money? … Please help me … I'm brokenhearted."

"You need to know about this story and the potential damage it could do," Barron told his congregation.

His sermon, like many on "The Da Vinci Code," was no fast-paced romp through the novel's intrigues. It presented historical, archeological and theological evidence about key elements of Brown's conspiracy theory: The Gnostic gospels, the Council of Nicea, the Roman Emperor Constantine, the Priory of Sion.

In recent years, evangelical pastors have shied away from such dense sermons, preferring to preach practical self-help messages instead. "The Da Vinci Code" has prompted a renewed interest in basic theology — to many scholars' delight.

"When I go around the country lecturing on New Testament history, I'm pretty excited if I get an audience of 15. But if I say I'm speaking on 'The Da Vinci Code,' I can almost guarantee an audience of 600. And it's basically the same lecture," said Darrell L. Brock, who teaches New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary...

Movies challenging Christianity have been greeted with far more hostility. In 1988, for instance, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ tried to buy — and destroy — every copy of the Martin Scorsese film "The Last Temptation of Christ,"...

Mike Licona was among those urging a boycott of "Last Temptation." Looking back, he regrets it as an "immature" response...

"The Da Vinci Code" gives Christians an opportunity to build a new image as being open-minded and willing to listen respectfully to skeptics, said Michael Buckingham, who runs Holy Cow Creative, a church marketing firm in Midland, Mich. Not only that, he said, the film gives churches a chance to look hip, relevant and attuned to pop culture, instead of stiff, stuffy and dull.

"People are looking for answers," Buckingham said. "We're saying, 'Let's dig into God's word and find out the truth.' "

Sony Pictures has encouraged precisely that response. The studio invited dozens of Christian scholars to post essays challenging the film at http://www.TheDaVinciDialogue.com .

Brown himself writes on his website that he hopes readers will "use the book as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration."

"The truth is, Dan Brown gave us a great opportunity," said Steve Clifford, pastor of WestGate Church in San Jose. "People everywhere will be gathering around water coolers to talk about the reality of Christ. Maybe not in the exact manner we'd like, but I'll take advantage of it."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-davinci11may11,0,5907831,full.story?coll=la-home-nation