Ship of Fools: Church militant (What Should Christians do?)

Thread: Church militant (What Should Christians do?) Board: The Da Vinci Code / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by GeoffH (# 133) on :

OK so we believe that TDVC is a load of old Cobblers. The film is due out in theUK next month what should the church or individual christians do?

1. Get the churches to write to the cinema manager saying that as christians we are greatly offended by the film and please would they stop showing it (fat Chance)
2. Ask for free advertising to advertise the books that de-bunk book/film

3. Picket the cinema with leaftlets advertising the books that debunk book/film.

4...er that's it

[ 17. May 2006, 21:05: Message edited by: Louise ]

Posted by A Feminine Force (# 7812) on :

Laugh it into insignificance. It's the only remedy against anyone or anything that takes itself too seriously. If you treat it like you take it seriously, you're only adding gravitas by dignifying it with a response.

And always remeber what the great Abe Lincoln said: He who argues with a fool is at risk of being taken for one.

FF

(clarity)

[ 26. April 2006, 15:35: Message edited by: A Feminine Force ]

Posted by The Great Gumby (# 10989) on :

Number 2 if anything, but don't count on anyone being even remotely interested. I was sickened to discover recently that my church is trying to tell the Theatre Royal in Norwich that they shouldn't show Jerry Springer: The Opera. Objecting to anything like that on the basis of your own opinion of it, in any but the most ridiculously extreme cases, is very unhelpful and counterproductive. For one thing, it raises issues of freedom of speech (going back to cartoons of Mohammad), and for another, it makes you look like a petty, narrow-minded little bigot whose God is too small to look after himself.

I'd say, don't give them the attention. Take a leaf out of ++Rowan's book, and be prepared to forensically (and scornfully, if you want) dissect the ridiculous ideas of the book and film. No one can possibly be ignorant of the fact that the Church would disagree with most of the central themes of the book, so why waste your breath making a big fuss about it? If you're going to do anything, why not arrange a few evenings at church where you can explore TDVC, discuss its main claims in small groups, and share ideas of how to easily and effectively demonstrate that they're false.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

Tell everyone it's a novel, not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

And wonder why everyone doesn't get equally upset when their children perform fanciful Nativity plays at Christmas ('The Woodcutter and the Dove', 'The fourth Wise Man', 'Meredith the Camel') which are equally as free with the gospel version.

Then put your feet up and enjoy the film.

Posted by Spiffy da WonderSheep (# 5267) on :

4. Don't go. Don't spend money on the book, don't buy merchandise. The only thing that Hollywood understands is money.

Posted by koffshun (# 11227) on :

I don't know about you, but I'm offended by the ignorant people who act upon said bollocks of TDVC, not the film/book itself.

It's true, Dan Brown did claim that the documents mentioned in the book are real, but it is found in the Fiction section of the bookshop/library and not Religion.

I love watching Ian McKellan, Audrey Tatou, Tom Hanks, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany et al. act, so I will definitely not give it a miss simply because the content is slightly dodgy. (I adored Sin City, but wouldn't imagine a large number of my church congregation watching it let alone enjoying it and the morals of that particular film are not very 'Christian', I would still recommend it)

Censoring something always draws more attention than necessary and will not aid the Christian 'cause'. (cf. Hermione's actions regarding Harry's Interview in Order of the Phoenix for another fictional reference!)

I have always harboured resentment against my local church community for making sure that The Reduced Shakespeare company were not allowed to perform "The Reduced Bible" in our town. W***ers.

I'm all for debunking the book, but not in the desperate way you're suggesting. It would be far more likely to harm your intentions than help them. Besides, I'm appalled at how many people watch films so passively that the content matters less than whether they had coke or popcorn while watching. Many may not even notice any blasphemy that TDVC propounds.

Those who do decide to abandon their faith because of watching the film had a faith built on sand to begin with...

Posted by Gextvedde (# 11084) on :

How about going to see it but only if you’re prepared to act as if you’re still 14? Some examples:

Start a popcorn fight
Spend the entire movie snogging in the back row.
Laugh at completely inappropriate moments (If there are any)
Draw on the neck of the person in front of you.
Offer a stranger out for a fight because they looked at you funny.
Shout the word “shit” during a quiet part.

Perhaps more seriously, personally I’m not really in favour of making complaints about the film. What are we complaining about? Because someone has a different opinion? Because it’s crap? Surely it’s better just to talk to people about it when it comes up in conversation.

Posted by GrahamR (# 11299) on :

Buy the Grove Booklet, Coded Messages: Evangelism and the Da Vinci Code and put on an outreach evening. You could even have flyers for it at the local cinema if they didn't mind!

The one advantage of the total (badly-written) drivel which is TDVC is that it has got people thinking about Christianity- let's make the most of it!

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

quote:
Originally posted by koffshun:

I have always harboured resentment against my local church community for making sure that The Reduced Shakespeare company were not allowed to perform "The Reduced Bible" in our town. W***ers.

The Reduced Bible was wonderful. And I was very impressed at the way the crucifixion was treated very seriously.
(Even if the resurrection involved the Easter Bunny! [Big Grin]

)

Tell the people who criticise to go and see the film first and only criticise once they have done so.
I saw Jerry Springer the Opera, as well, and thought it was great fun!

Posted by Keren-Happuch (# 9818) on :

There was a thing on the radio the other day about Winchester Cathedral having allowed parts of the film to be made there and now having an exhibition to debunk it. They were accused of hypocrisy of course, but it's interesting! They were taking the line of "it's a good thing if it raises interest".

Posted by smileyjo (# 11336) on :

I know this would go down like a lead baloon in some churches but I would like to see Churches hosting evenings of showing the film when released on DVD and allowing space for questions and discussion after. Give space for everyone to explore their thoughts and the reasons for them. Mr Brown has such an obvious ulterior motive in the book, it would be nice if we could just give the facts as established by a wide range of historians and facilitate people to form their own opinions. I believe the true facts speak for themselves....

Posted by Gextvedde (# 11084) on :

Hi Smileyjo, welcome to the ship. I think that’s a good idea. Why not try to arrange some key speakers, for and against, and then open it up for questions. I believe it’s much better to do some positive engagement with the film and peoples opinions rather than just condemn it.

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :

5. B-r-e-a-t-h-e!

FYI, I love the book. 30 years ago, I probably would've been livid about it, as I was about HBHG. But as I mentioned recently on the "Never Read It/Never Will" thread, it filled some important needs for me--and I found it a good read.

If you make a big fuss about DVC, you will convince people that there's something to it, that Christianity has something to hide. Do you really want to do that?

If you really want to "fight" DVC, you might want to think about why it's so popular. What needs does it fill? What important themes does it address?

Many DVC posts I've seen on the ship over the years come across as Christian hissy-fits. "Poor us. They criticized us! They don't like us. Oh, and they're stupid, too!"
[Roll Eyes]

Newsflash: Many people have been hurt by Christianity, never believed in Christianity, are ex-believers who feel they were sold a bill of goods, are sick to death of the way "the Church" treats women, are sick of the Church's abuse of temporal power (coverup of abuse comes to mind), and/or want the Church to get back to what Christianity at its best has always been known for and been good at--helping people in need, and helping people to live.

If you address that, you'll have something to say. If you don't address that, Christianity's problems run much deeper than DVC.

Read through Dan's site.

quote:
My hope for The Da Vinci Code was, in addition to entertaining people, that it might serve as an open door for readers to begin their own explorations and rekindle their interest in topics of faith.

quote:
Father John Sewell of St. John's Episcopal Church in Memphis stated it particularly eloquently in the press recently, saying: "This [novel] is not a threat. This is an opportunity. We are called to creatively engage the culture and this is what I want to do. I think Dan Brown has done me a favor. He's letting me talk about things that matter."

If someone talks to you about DVC, you can roll your eyes, say "it's fiction, you know", say "I loved this bit...where in the world did he come up with that?", ask "why did you like it", quietly discuss your own spiritual path. But do NOT go ballistic.

Posted by Little Miss Methodist (# 1000) on :

Can anybody explain to me what all the fuss is about?

I read the book last week, and thoroughly enjoyed it, sucker for entertaining fiction that I am. But I have to admit that I was prepared to be a bit more, well, shocked or at least surprised by what I read. Instead, I appreciated it as (in my opinion) a good read, and enjoyed the story. That was it.

I really can't understand why it's evoked this flurry of discussion and cries of dissent from the churches. I've read books that make far sillier claims about christianity than this one and no one batted an eye about them. What is it about this book that people seem to find so threatening?

While I was reading it, one of the impressions I got was that Dan Brown wrote bits of it with his tongue firmly in his cheek. Yes, some bits are written in such a way that (were you particularly impressionable) you might give them some credit, but other bits are so clearly taking the idea juat a step too far that its hard to believe that Mr Brown isn't sat in his office laughing at us all for taking it so so seriously.

Hate it cause it's badly written, hate it cause it's not your type of book, but for goodness sake, it's just a book, it's a work of fiction, nothing more. Ther are some things that are worth getting worked up about, and some that are not, and this is just not one of them.

Go read or see something else if it's not your kind of thing, i'll go to the cinema, hopefully enjoy the film, and be entertained.

LMM

Posted by kempis3 (# 9792) on :

quote:
Originally posted by A Feminine Force:
Laugh it into insignificance. It's the only remedy against anyone or anything that takes itself too seriously. If you treat it like you take it seriously, you're only adding gravitas by dignifying it with a response.

And always remeber what the great Abe Lincoln said: He who argues with a fool is at risk of being taken for one.

FF

(clarity)

Well said.

Those who have a strong faith ignore it.

Those without strong faith enter the argument.

Now, let's see who has not got a strong faith .......

Or perhaps those who wish to keep their institutional power ......

Posted by xSx (# 7210) on :

Block book seats for your church to see another film when it comes out. Persuade all the churches in your local area to do the same. Do it quietly without making a fuss. Make sure you pick a film made by a different company to that making TDVC.

Hollywood understands money, but it would, IMO, make more of an impact if some other film were making money, rather than people just not going i.e. no money being spent at all.

Posted by Caz... (# 3026) on :

What should Christians do? Hmm. Tricky.

If you fancy the film, go see it.
If you don't, don't bother.
Just like any other fictional blockbuster.

It's fiction , people...

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