May 21, 2006
For those who are ignorant, the Da Vinci Code is a fiction bellseller written by a former teacher Dan Brown. This book has recently been turned into a film worldwide. As for the story line, you've got to read it yourself. Here's a very good article to begin with. I was shocked upon reading it, and quite disappointed at the lowly faith and cowardice of these Christians.. or Catholics who claimed to be leaders themselves.
Da Vinci Code banned in Lebanon 
Best-selling book The Da Vinci Code has been banned in Lebanon after complaints it was offensive to Christianity.Catholic leaders called for the book to be withdrawn because of its depiction of Christ marrying Mary Magdalene and fathering a child.
Shop owners said security officials had told them to pull French, English and Arabic copies off their shelves.
In the fictional book by Dan Brown, an academic uncovers riddles hidden in the religious works by the famous painter.
Sexual relationshipFather Abdou Abu Kasm, president of Lebanon's Catholic Information Centre, said the contents of the book were "insulting".
"There are paragraphs that touch the very roots of the Christian religion... they say Jesus Christ had a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene, that they had children," he said.
"Those things are difficult for us to accept, even if it's supposed to be fiction.
"Christianity is not about forgiveness to the point of insulting Jesus Christ."
"Lebanon is a country with many different religious communities and there are still laws that ban articles that offend different communities."
The book, which has sold more than 7.5 million copies worldwide, portrays Catholic Church leaders as demonising women and covering up the truth about the Holy Grail, which Brown says is Mary Magdalene herself.
Roger Haddad, assistant manager at the Virgin Megastore's bookstore department in Beirut, said the book had been a success in Lebanon, where about 35% of the 3.5 million population is Christian.
"It was definitely one of our most popular books.
"This is censorship, people should be allowed to read what they want ... This book is fiction, everyone knows it's fiction. It is not political or propaganda or history."
Ahmed Fadlalla Assi, the head of Lebanon's Publisher's Union, was angry at the decision.
He said: "Salman Rushdie is forgotten in the annals of history, whereas Islam stayed on and Dan Brown will go, too, and Christianity will stay on."
The General Security Department said it consults with Christian and Muslim religious authorities on all books that deal with sensitive subjects.
Firstly, this book is
ONLY a fiction. Everyone knows it. Even a retarded priest who's gone to the woody lodge knows it.
Secondly, it is such
STUPID and
JUDGEMENTAL human perception that gave birth to the unnecessary troubles we all have to go through. The book is interesting. The movie is facinating. It is just how one perceives the message or, if you like, controversies.
Thirdly, Mr. Brown is selling his books pretty well. Why is it so? He used controversy. And controversy sells! This is a very relevant and practical marketing strategy used by contemporary people. Not people who are being kept in-house chanting prayers or tapping their head and shoulders and becoming irrelevant after a long period of time. These nut-case believers should go out and see how the world is like. Locally, we have this hokkien nickname for such people. It is called
"Suah Goo". In literal translation, it means "mountain tortoise", which refers to people who are back-dated, out of touch from society, and like what Jesus said, good-for-nothings.
Let me explicate.
When Adam was placed in charge of the garden of Eden, God told him to tend to all trees. That's including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was in the midst of the garden. But God said to Adam that he cannot eat the fruit from that tree. But in the end, Adam fell into temptation and failed to to obey God's instruction. Therefore Adam sinned, and sin is conceived through the generations after him.
Now, if God knew that Adam would eat of the fruit from that tree, why didn't He do something about it?
Why didn't God use a chainsaw to chop the tree down since He knew that tree would cause mankind to plunge into years of sin and perversion?
Look at it this way. If a father knew that his teenage child would hang out with his own friends doing silly things like getting into alchoholism, smoking or even drugs, instead of imposing family laws and value, he kept his son in a dark basement everyday refusing to let him see the outside world nor meeting bad companies along the way.
What is it going to become of the child?
A: The child will have psychological disorders over time. And he will suffer more than before.
What will happen?
A: Simple, the father will have to be charged for child abuse!
To God, innocence is
NOT a virtue. Then what is virtue?
Virtue is
NOT innocence.
Virtue is innocence
tested.
Naivety in my opinion is ignorance. Ignorance is not a bliss. It is a form of poverty. If one is naive, he is weak. He's not tested. His faith is weak as well. He gets paranoid easily when some things offended him prior to his faith or belief. He is closed up and is not open-minded. A naive person is narrow-minded, and doesn't know how to think out of the box.
Why must we ban the Da Vinci Code book or movie?
Will it harm the minds and stumble the beliefs of the believers? If that is so, God is laughing at us.
Will it harm the reputation of the Church and the believers? If that is so, God is also laughing at us.
Is this all we care about, believers? Our reputation and fear of being insulted? Our narrow-mindedness and fear of confronting controversy with the Truth?
Where is the Truth? The Truth is within our grasp. It is the Word of God! That's the sword of the Spirit, which is the weapon we have against the powers of darkness and principalities!
Whom shall we fear?
John 17:14-17"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."This explains that we are in the world, but we don't embrace sins. We don't follow the sinful lifestyles of the world. We aren't conformed to the 'culture' of this world.
Matthew 5:13-16Believers Are Salt and Light "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."Believers are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, not a life of candle-light dinner nor the garlic of the earth!
We are to shine for the Lord in all things that we do. Because of what we are doing unto others, we are doing it unto Jesus himself. When we serve others, we are serving Jesus our Lord!
Therefore, our attitude is different. Our mindset is different. That's what makes Christians so distinct. We are in fact called to make a difference in society. We are called to penetrate society. We are called to be a great influence within our community. God has planted seeds of potentials and talents within us so that we can use it and be fruitful by multiplying all He has given us. He has also given us strength and courage to stand up for what we believe in according to His purpose. We have the authority to rebuke the evil one. We have that same authority to confront deceptions and controversies in the world, not by banning them or shunning away from them, but to debate about them and speak up for our own faith!
Christ did not die for nothing. He died so that our sins can be forgiven when we repent as we believe in His name that He is Lord. He died so that all who believes in Him shall be called children of God. Being children of God, we have the power and authority to rebuke the devil and to confront our own temptations to sin, much less those little lies or half-truths. Life of a Christian is a battlefield. It is a life where we constantly break free from the bondage of sin as well as renewing our minds day after day as we mature in our faith. All these things will pull us out of our innocence and test our faith. When our innocence are tested, we will become stronger, wiser, braver and God will be able to use us mightily in His kingdom.
It all depends on how strong our Christian faith is. We should face controversial books or movies with a right state of mind. One should develop a strong foundation in the Word of God and constantly building up his own faith in Jesus. In order to not stumble easily, one has to have the foundation of the Truth in his/her heart.
If this little fiction can ruin your faith in Christianity, I suggest you go and retake your bible study lessons all the way from lesson one. You probably did not have the right foundation.
As for the rest, why ban such a book or movie based on reputation of Christianity? Christianity is not built upon reputation. It is built upon faith and fear of the Lord. If you want reputation, go be a president or something else. Why choose to be a priest or a pastor?
If one pathetic movie or a book could destroy Christianity, then Christianity would be gone some 6000 years ago, when God could actually use a saw and chop the tree of the knowledge of good and evil down. And with that, man would not sin.
Why is your faith so weak? Dear bishops..? Dear pastors..? Dear pope..? Dear... whatever you call yourselves...?
Romans 14:1-2The Law of Liberty"Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables."A strong Christian will accept what is unbearable or sinful in others. That doesn't mean he follows their sinful lifestyles.
A weak Christian can't bring himself to accept what is sinful in others. He is bias, abstinent and legalistic, not mentioning the pharisees Jesus detested.
In conclusion, it doesn't matter what movies one watches or what types of book one reads. Whether it is controversial or non-spritual, it is still the condition of one's heart that will determine the choice he makes between the truth and the lie. It is still the faith one has in Jesus, which will be tested as he live his life day by day in this broken down world. We can shun controversies or we can ban improper materials, but at the end of the day, our faith is Jesus Christ our Lord will still be tested. Even as you're banning this fiction book, your faith and innocence are also tested. And thus it shows how abstinent, naive and legalistic such believers you are!
Disgrace, O people of Lebanon!
