Vineyard Church of Knox County
Da Vinci Code: Separating Fact from Fiction
Unless you've been living in a cave for the last 3 years, you have probably heard of the runaway blockbuster book "The Da Vinci Code." It was published in 2003 and debuted at #1 on the the New York Times Bestseller list and soon was the #1 book on EVERY bestseller list in the country. It has since published 40 million (yes million) copies and has been translated into over 25 languages. You may be asking, what does this have to do with the church or with Christianity in general? Just this, though it is a fictional story, the book's author, Dan Brown, claims that the story is based in real historical fact. And with those "facts" he proposes that "Virtually everything we've been taught about Christianity...is false." Wow! What a claim! I jump at the challenge to respond!
And that’s exactly what we’re going to do in our church for the next three weeks (May 21, 27 and June 4). Brown’s book has produced a tidal wave of discussion and debate about Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible that I believe can be very healthy and prosperous for the Kingdom. So, we will fortify our faith foundation by learning (or relearning) what we believe about the Bible, Jesus, and historical Christianity. You don’t have to know novel to appreciate the lessons we’ll learn over the next few weeks, but you are certainly welcome to read the book or see the movie. (Of course, you are welcome to avoid the movie, too, if you have convictions about paying Hollywood to produce this kind of message. But I’m planning to go to see it because I want to engage in the discussion and be able to answer why I believe what I believe.)
Why do we believe the 27 books of the New Testament are God’s Word? Why do we believe that Jesus was single and Mary Magdalene was simply a disciple of Jesus and nothing more? Why do we believe that Jesus was actually divine and not just a good, human, teacher? These questions will be answered in the next three weeks.
Peace,
Chris
