Friday, June 09, 2006

The Da Vinci Code - How Should We Look at it?

Ever since author Dan Brown has written the book "The Da Vinci Code", there has been a HUGE controversy and many questions asked. Loads of my non-christian friends were asking me stuff like...

1. "Did Jesus REALLY marry Mary Magdalene?"
2. "Can the Bible really be trusted?"
3. "How do we know that the Scriptures in the Bible today are true ones?"

Being the young and insensitive Christian that I was (perhaps still am), I dismissed their questions with an airy wave and pointed out to them the small print in "The Da Vinci Code" book, which stated that the book was merely a work of fiction.

Seriously. At first I felt that people were making too much of a big deal out of this book. After all, Dan Brown's idea of the Holy Grail being the bones of Mary Magdalene wasn't a new one. And I coudn't really relate to the big fuss that was made over the Holy Grail. After all, I am sure Jesus isn't taking kindly to the fact that people seem to believe in the 'power' of an ordinary cup he was drinking from at the Last upper rather than believing in HIS power and prestige as the Son of God.

It was only much later that I realised that as ficticious the book may be, it was SERIOUSLY misleading many of the close non-christian friends I have been trying to encourage to enter the Lord's family. Which is why I find it vital to address this situation here, in this article.

First of all, Jesus was NO ORDINARY man. He did things that a man can never achieve. He walked on water. He turned water into wine. He healed the blind. He raised Lazarus from the dead.

And those things that he did weren't merely parlour tricks. They were MIRACLES. In Colossians 2:9, we read of Jesus being fully man and yet fully God, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."

Jesus, being the son of God, was the perfect man. And I hardly think that the perfect man would choose to engage in sexual intercourse with Mary Magdalene. He was here on earth with a Godly purpose of washing our sins away with his blood; to be the ultimate sacrifice for us in order to provide us with salvation. As seen in the famous verses, John 3:16-17, we know that Jesus was sent by God so that we "should not perish but have everlasting life" and that "the world through Him might be saved."

Secondly, I believe that the Holy Bible is the only book you can seriously trust in this world. And not only do I believe this, I KNOW this. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we can be assured that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, throughly equipped for every good work."

We know that the Bible we have in our hands today is perfect and without mistakes simply because God says so! The fact that all of the prophecies in the Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ's first coming were fulfilled precisely proves that the
Bible is indeed well-accounted for (e.g Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23).

The Bible was written over a span of a thousand and five hundred years by many different authors. However, despite this diversity, all it's Scriptures are miraculously linked and united. This proves that the Bible is of God's word, and not man's word, though men have helped to put God's words on paper.

Last of all, I would like to emphasise that though "The Da Vinci Code" is an extremely creative piece of fiction with many fascinating theories, we should not be so overly intrigued by it that we neglect the truth of the Bible.Though I must admit that "The Da Vinci Code" is really an interesting book, we must not be misled by it and we must always go back to the Bible when in doubt.

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Victoria Chang is 16 years old and a member of the Jurong Church of Christ. She also happens to be an avid reader. Welcome Victoria to the team!

6 comments:

Joshy C said...

A passionate and well written post. We are looking forward to more from you. A very warm welcome to the team!

Anonymous said...

Great article. Well thought out and well expressed! Keep it up!

Lucas said...

I must admit I was awed by the web of Mr Brown's deceit. However, watching and reading various books and commentaries on the "truth" behind "the Da Vinci Code", coupled with studies in the history of the Church, has helped me realise the folly of the book and renewed my faith.

A very well-written piece my sister, thank you for sharing your inner-most feelings and I do hope to hear from you too! =)

Anonymous said...

I don't think Mr. brown is out to deceive anyone. By writing on controversial and mysterious subject/s it helps to sell his book and therefore make him a lot of MONEY.

As the scriptures rightly pointed out in

2 Timothy 4:3,4
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

God is Great and his Word, as recorded in the Bible, is everlasting and ever applicable whether at the time of Adam (creation) or NOW (so called modern age) or at the end of time (Christ's second coming). We will do well to rely on it.

I Tess 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

If we view Mr. Brown's work as a story and all others that will come after this, they are sure to come as the God's scriputure already predicted, our faith will remain strong not be "shaken" (toss to and fro) every time someone decide to bring something new to the world.

Keep up your good work. Keep writing all of you.

In Christ Love.

Kareen said...

Interesting read.

Kareen said...

Btw, victoria's gonna be writing here too? Lookin forward to it! :)