Monday, May 22, 2006

The conservative Christian got it wrong. The Da Vinci Code promoted an essential element of Christianity: Faith

Since creation man has always wanted the unanswered answered. He has continuously sought to create an environment that builds or adds to civilization. However, history has proven most human beings just want to know one single form of the truth. These are the people who condemn themselves to a life of surface intelligence. They refuse to holistically explore or enhance their beliefs. They do not understand the truth quest.

The movie and the book Da Vinci Code, despite the controversy surrounding it, is a story about three individuals who want a full understanding of Jesus. They decided to search for more than what they have been told. The woman who was selected to be the direct benefactor of the truth and the two men who wanted nothing more but to reveal to the world another version of the truth are examples of what God intends for us to do: Question.

Yes, I believe God wants us to question Him and question anything that will cause us to structure our lives around a belief concept. Christians and Muslims have decided to build a life surrounding various elements within their faith. It is this faith that sustains them. It is this faith that moves them to love and even kill.

The truth quest displayed and emulated by the characters in the Da Vinci Code is faith seeking an understanding. The characters are simply trying to understand. Their desire to know the truth is teased with one single item that could give them what they wanted and then their desire is fulfilled with the one thing they started with: Faith.

Faith is the beginning and ending of all things. It is all we have when the lights are dimmed to darkness. Faith is our sole reason to continue. It helps us get from one point to the other.

Our lives are mirror images of the three characters. We are benefactors of our truths and we all want our version of the truth to be read and heard. The one place we make a mistake is when we fanatically believe our truth and understanding is the only form worth building a faith concept around.

Let’s continue to build our faith by considering and understanding other versions of the truth.

Written by Brian E. Payne. Inspired by The Teacher, Robert Langdon, and Sophie Neveu (Da Vinci Code movie characters).

5 comments:

MUATA NOWE said...

Reader Responses:

I am debating on weather or not I am going to see the movie.
It can not interfere with my faith. -A Baptist Preacher

The conservative Christian got it wrong for sure. However, imagine someday waking up and realizing all this time that you are white. You have lived your life as a black man because everyone tells you that you are black and you see yourself as a black man. If you can imagine this, then certainly you can see why the conservative Christians have it wrong. They need to believe that all this time they have been following the correct path. Faith when questioned is not a concept they can understand. Faith when challenged crumbles if it isn’t strong.

The Catholic Church has made a fortune off of this code. Now an educated novelist writes a book that questions their whole system. It’s equivalent to Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto. It questions every aspect of out democratic-capitalist society and during the Hoover years our government made sure it never took off in this country.

Thus, here we are at the brink of questioning the mortality of Jesus and some of the other aspects of the Folktale called “THE HOLY BIBLE”.

If I were them I’d be scared too. They might be selling something that educated people may no longer be buying.
-Larikus Scott

MUATA NOWE said...

Reader Response:

How many versions of the truth should it be? If "faith" is the beginning and ending of all things where is the peace and assurance of what you know is right on the inside (soul/heart) the inner confirmation of the truth... We all have a basic instinct of righteousness and mortality.. it is faith that takes us a step further and takes us out of the carnal realm.....
-April Campbell

MUATA NOWE said...

Mrs. Campbell-
Versions of the truth are throughout the world. Believing in one way is irrational, culturally bias, and it is at times a self-induced level of ignorance.

Imagine this:

There is a young man living on a remote island in the Pacific. He has never heard of Christianity, but he is well-versed and knowledgeable of his religion and belief system. His belief system acknowledges Tutu and Tutu doctrine as the only path to heaven/spirit world. It is all he knows. Tutu is his religion. Remember, he has never heard of a man called Jesus. However, what he does know and understand is that without his beliefs in Tutu he is empty. He has no reality without Tutu.

This is an example of a belief system. It is a system that’s significant to the man living on the remote island in the Pacific. It is a system like Christianity. It is a system that is a version of the truth.

You mentioned that “we all have a basic instinct of righteousness and morality”. If this is the case, why is there a need for religion?
-Muata

Freedom In Christ said...

To me the Da Vinci Code was about a search.

A search for the TRUTH.

As The Teacher pointed out in the movie, the truth is usually right in front of our faces.

Oftentimes, what we are searching for can be found if only we stop and look at the clues. These clues have been in our faces all the time, but we have failed to recognize them.

MUATA NOWE said...

Reader Response:

I must agree.

I think it was an excellent movie that did not weaken or change my FAITH, but one that enhanced my belief and made me realize the possibilites of Jesus Christ and God are truly limitless and endless.

I even saw it as a Love story believe it or not. The quest to find the truth about the one true love (Jesus) and the one that truly loves us unconditionally.
-V