There is a point to this post, that has to do with its title, but I'm afraid I won't reach that point until the very end. I'm sorry, happy reading!
To begin, if you have read The Da Vinci Code book...the movie will be a little disappointing.
Well, as you can see, I have been reading The Da Vinci Code because of all the controversy surrounding it so that I could come to my own conclusions. I don't think Christians should be afraid of it, but willing to defend the real Truth that it challenges. First off, I would like everyone to know, that at it's core, the story line of The Da Vinci Code contradicts itself. It claims that Mary Magdalene is the 'divine feminine' meaning that she, rather than Jesus, is worthy of being worshiped. Why? Because they said that Jesus wanted Mary Magdalene, rather than Peter, to be the one to lead His church after his death. This, also based on the fact that Jesus was supposedly just a prophet (= A person gifted with profound moral insight and exceptional powers of expression). Therefore, not God, not divine, and thus dead today rather than alive (which he is by the way...alive). But Mary Magdalene's divinity is based on the fact that Jesus gave her that great responsibility. BUT, if he was just a prophet/man, then Jesus himself...or God... was not divine and therefore cannot "bless" Mary Magdalene with carrying on any kind of divinity at all.
Next...
Another reason why the book, and the story it tells can be seen in no way as truth, is because the majority of the "messages" that carry the "truth" are interpreted from art. And for anyone who has ever been in a Mrs. Boyd or Mr. Smith English class, and are required to interpret author's meaning in a story or the allusions it contains, you'll know that there are MANY ways to interpret someone else's work...especially when they aren't alive to explain it to you. Who is to say one interpretation is the correct one? It is wrong to say "This is what Da Vinci was really trying to tell us in his painting" if he is not there to confirm or reject the analysis.
...so, this is the reason why I never liked English class. Because if you interpreted one thing one way, and it didn't align with what the teacher had come up with, then your interpretation was wrong. I guess that leaves my overall point to be: can't we just look at art work and admire the talent of the artist without putting our own meanings into it? If there was something they wanted to say, they would have just written it down!
To begin, if you have read The Da Vinci Code book...the movie will be a little disappointing.
Well, as you can see, I have been reading The Da Vinci Code because of all the controversy surrounding it so that I could come to my own conclusions. I don't think Christians should be afraid of it, but willing to defend the real Truth that it challenges. First off, I would like everyone to know, that at it's core, the story line of The Da Vinci Code contradicts itself. It claims that Mary Magdalene is the 'divine feminine' meaning that she, rather than Jesus, is worthy of being worshiped. Why? Because they said that Jesus wanted Mary Magdalene, rather than Peter, to be the one to lead His church after his death. This, also based on the fact that Jesus was supposedly just a prophet (= A person gifted with profound moral insight and exceptional powers of expression). Therefore, not God, not divine, and thus dead today rather than alive (which he is by the way...alive). But Mary Magdalene's divinity is based on the fact that Jesus gave her that great responsibility. BUT, if he was just a prophet/man, then Jesus himself...or God... was not divine and therefore cannot "bless" Mary Magdalene with carrying on any kind of divinity at all.
Next...
Another reason why the book, and the story it tells can be seen in no way as truth, is because the majority of the "messages" that carry the "truth" are interpreted from art. And for anyone who has ever been in a Mrs. Boyd or Mr. Smith English class, and are required to interpret author's meaning in a story or the allusions it contains, you'll know that there are MANY ways to interpret someone else's work...especially when they aren't alive to explain it to you. Who is to say one interpretation is the correct one? It is wrong to say "This is what Da Vinci was really trying to tell us in his painting" if he is not there to confirm or reject the analysis.
...so, this is the reason why I never liked English class. Because if you interpreted one thing one way, and it didn't align with what the teacher had come up with, then your interpretation was wrong. I guess that leaves my overall point to be: can't we just look at art work and admire the talent of the artist without putting our own meanings into it? If there was something they wanted to say, they would have just written it down!
