Dear friends:Below is important information relative to the upcoming Da Vinci Code movie, which may be the most sophisticated attack on Christianity in 2,000 years using all the star power and glitter of Hollywood. It's plot was hatched in the darkness of Hades, denying the Word of God and the identity and holiness of the very Son of God. It will prey upon the biblically ignorant, which is most people, and will appeal to those already on their way to perdition. But let us pray that for the elect, the movie will backfire on Satan, like the crucifixion, and cause many to seek and find the truth.
Jim
_________________________________________THE DA VINCI FACTOR
By Josh McDowell
HOLLYWOOD, CA (ANS) -- EDITOR’S NOTE: Our Board of Reference member, Josh McDowell called recently to say that he was misquoted by a reporter who said that he urges people to read THE DA VINCI CODE and see the movie. Josh says that his position is that people, especially children, should NOT read the book or see the movie. And, Josh joins with theologians, scholars and leaders in the Refuting the Da Vinci Code Project. Furthermore, Mr. McDowell suggests to people that they seek information from serious sound Christian theological scholars so they can understand and study the issues surrounding this cultural phenomenon so that they can refute the falsehoods in it. One way they can do that is by getting his two new books, The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers and The Last Christian Generation. By studying these and other, similar easy-to-understand materials, readers can equip themselves and their families answer questions about Jesus Christ, his Church and God’s Word, but to do it in a “positive, wholesome, winsome way.”
Fast forward to May 19, 2006 at 9:48 PM in Sometown, Anywhere, U.S.A.
“Well, Sarah did you like it?” 16-year-old Caleb asked his girlfriend as the walked out of the theatre.
“Yeah, it kept me on the edge of my seat,” Sarah replied.
“I knew you’d like it.”
“But I didn’t know there were all these secret organizations hiding things like Jesus getting married and stuff like that,” Sarah said as they walked toward Caleb’s car.
“I didn’t either,” Caleb responded. “And, I didn’t know that it was just a few people who came up with what we have in the Bible and that so many other books were left out.”
“Yeah, it makes you wonder what else they’re not telling us about Jesus, the Bible and everything.”
Mark it down. May 19, 2006 may well be the beginning of one of the most controversial periods the Church has faced in years. Because that is the release date of The DaVinci Code movie. The book and movie is a gripping conspiracy story that brilliantly mixes fact with fiction. It raises questions about fictitious issues that even solid Christians will be challenged to answer about the authority of the church, the deity of Christ, the authenticity of the Bible, and the very integrity of the Christian faith.
And, unless young people and adults can distinguish fact from fiction and discern truth from imagination, this movie could turn seekers into skeptics and undermine the faith of young Christians even more than it is already. I say that because currently the majority of our Christian kids’ beliefs are already critically distorted.
From Bad to Worse
Consider, for example, what our churched kids do and do not believe (NOTE THE WORD "CHURCHED"):
63% don’t believe Jesus is the Son of the one true God;
81% believe all truth is relative to the individual and his/her circumstances;
51% don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead;
68% don’t believe the Holy Spirit is a real entity;
65% don’t believe Satan is a real entity;Much of what they believe about Christ, truth and the Bible comes from a view they have gleamed from the world around them. And, when they are exposed to the distortions about Christ and the Bible from The Da Vinci Code movie, their already distorted views will go from bad to worse. What it does is reinforce one’s skepticism or beliefs.
We have an unprecedented opportunity here to equip believers with a solid answer to challenging questions about the deity of Christ and his Word. We don’t have to be confrontational or blast Dan Brown or criticize the star of the movie, Tom Hanks, or director Ron Howard (these two men are loved and respected by moviegoers). What we can do is equip our people with positive answers that will ground them in their faith and empower them to answer questions about Christ, his Church and God’s Word, but do it in a positive, wholesome, winsome way.
Not only will adults be challenged in their faith, but our young people are particularly vulnerable to this kind of challenge because the vast majority of them have already redefined what it means to be a Christian and are failing to base their faith on the true foundations of Christianity. I have just completed a book manuscript entitled The Last Christian Generation in which I document this alarming trend. Of course, I go on to detail what it is going to take from the church and Christian families to reclaim our precious young people, before you and I become the last Christian generation.
We have pulled together a critical 128-page book entitled The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers, aimed specifically at questions raised by the movie. It is an easy-to-read, positive book written in dialogue with a study guide that will equip youth and adults with rock solid answers. (We place a complimentary copy of The Last Christian Generation in every carton of The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers.)
I wanted you to know about the fervent work that is being done to provide pastors, parents and youth workers with resources well in advance so that we might implement a Da Vinci Code Movie Strategy that embraces, equips and strengthens the body of Christ. The following strategic tools are available:
1. Leaders Prepare with Over-Arching Long Term Strategy:
We need to see the Da Vinci Code phenomena in the light of why an entire generation is not returning to the church. The Last Christian Generation outlines an overarching plan of what it will take to reclaim our precious young people, especially in light of the skepticism heightened by the Da Vinci Code movie.
Together we can seize the immediate opportunities God has given us regarding The Da Vince Code. And, for the long term? Let’s ground our young people upon the true foundations so the can stand strong in a godless culture.
2. Believers Equipped with a positive Response to the Movie: The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers book by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler (120 pp.)
This book is written in dialogue, aimed specifically at questions raised by the movie. It is an easy-to-read, positive book with a study guide that will equip youth and adults with rock-solid answers.
3. Believers Open Dialogue with Seekers & Skeptics: The Da Vinci Code: A Companion Guide to the Movie (16 pp. full color, mini-magazine)
This piece can be used as a discussion starter. Once the dialogue is open, The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers book can be explored together with a seeker friend as a joint quest to discover the true answers.
4. Get parents to be involved with their own children. Inform your parents so they can use the book The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers with their kids.
5. Do not encourage families to go see the movie. You don’t have to see the movie to understand and answer the controversial issues that will be raised.
6. We need to be positive, winsome and wholesome. We don’t have to attack Dan Brown, the book or the movie (which would be totally unproductive). Let us deal with the conspiracy the book and movie promotes. It’s so easy to share the “truth” about Jesus, the Bible and the church.
7. Go to www.davinciquest.org to order resources or to read or download the manuscript.
These resources will greatly enhance your strategy plans! I encourage you to access www.beyondbelief.com and forward this information to others.