protesting da vinci

The Vatican is calling for a boycott of the da vinci code.

As anonymous said over on on her toes

protesting a movie is nuts - that's my theological word for it - it's simply stupid - it didn't work or do anything around "the temptation of jesus" or any other jesus film, that someone or somegroup decided we should protest.

A think a boycott simply draws more attention to the film. Barbara Nicolosi of church of the masses [she's a screenwriter and teaches at Act One & Azusa Pacific University among other places] suggests an othercott - go see something else. It's an idea that some will follow, and that's OK.

But I think we can use the book/film as a jumping off point for talking about the real Jesus and about the real bible. However... you knew there would be an however...

I don't think very many Christians are aware of enought history to respond to what anonymous calls the "ahistorical mumbo-jumbo that brown serves up".
I don't think there are a lot of Christians who are so aware of who they are in Christ that they can speak clearly about Jesus in non-religious terms.

That said, I think a book/film like this is more useful than Narnia, probably more useful than the Passion as a discussion starter about Jesus. The hype around those films as the great witnessing tool really bothers me. John said it well:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our[a] joy complete. 1 John 1:1-4

We show the reality of the presence of Jesus in our lives and experience and the lives and experience of brothers and sisters in Christ throughout biblical/church history.

Instead, we in North America, like vicarious experiences - we live through the experience of others. And so rather than know who I am in Christ, and be able to articulate that, we let hollywood do that for us. I wonder when hollywood became an agent of salvation for the church?

So, if people don't know the historical truth, where can they find it?
Stay tuned for some links...