maier in real time

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: apologetics, books, movies
• Date: May 31,2006

The critique tonight by Maier is called: The Da Vinci Distortion.

Here we go [times are in the p.m.]…

7:14: There have been various attempts by authors through the centuries to ‘caricature’ the person of Jesus

7:18: On the first page, Brown makes the statement that he is keeping ‘faith’ with his readers that the information in the book are ‘authentic’

7:20: Maier says he liked how the book started, but once Teabing opens his mouth, there are 6-8 bald face lies per page

7:23: The main premise of the book is the Priory of Sion. It is a hoax. The creators of this organization were found guilty in a court of law for forging the documents that supposedly ‘proved’ its existence

7:25: The NY Times when reviewing the book, called it The Da Vinci ‘Con’

7:29: The primary answer to why sales of the book skyrocketed: controversy. But not controversy alone, but controversy with the largest phenomenom in the history of the world: Christianity

7:30: The Passion of the Christ shows what ‘controversy’ can do to box office sales

7:33: If we would have not reacted to the lies, the book and its momentum would have been over in three weeks

7:40: Each of the falsehoods in the book are easily refuted-the Gnostic gospels in particular, which are late, derivative, and packed with absurdities

7:50: Offering time

8:03: Novelists can do whatever they wish with the foreground, but always offer an authentic background. Brown has fictionalized the foregrounded and he has falsified the background and many readers don’t know this

8:05: Who is responsible? The publishing industry more so than the sensationalist authors

8:06: The paradox is that as more caricatures of Jesus are being written, we are discovering more hard evidence that proves Christianity than in previous times and gives us an opportunity to witness

8:14: Our faith is based on innerant fact. which overwhelms all other world religions

8:14: Be sure to respond to counter-arguments with gentleness and respect [1 Peter 3:15]

filling in the blanks

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: apologetics, books, movies
• Date: May 31,2006

In about an hour and a half, my church, Grace Church-St. Louis, is hosting Paul Maier.

Maier is the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. He is also a vice president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Maier also, interestingly, studied under famed scholar Karl Barth.

Maier has recently surfaced on news programs because of his book, The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?, cowritten with Hank Hannegraaff and the recent release of the movie, The Da Vinci Code.

I am going to try to blog real-time tonight.

In my previous post, in the year 2036, I stated that learning is good if it helps us ‘fill in the blanks’ for culture and give them the full Gospel. I no doubt will walk away better by being here.

But I’m not listening with ‘reactionary’ ears tonight. In other words, I’m not looking for ammo to use against those who are vehemently non- or anti-Christian. I’m looking for truth to elucidate the Gospel for those who are in dire need of it.

I hope Maier teaches us with that heart as well.

in the year 2036

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: books, movies
• Date: May 27,2006

Watch it or watch out?

A week has passed since the release of the much-anticipated movie, The DaVinci Code, the controversial Dan Brown New York Times bestseller that has been adapted into a film. And an interesting week has been.

The reviews have been underwhelming [see Rotten Tomatoes; movies.com], yet the movie is an early summer blockbuster. Some have even said that because of the eruption of discussion about the controversial plot, it has actually given the movie a spike in the box office, where it otherwise might have not [see Mark Lee]. Intriguing��

Not since The Passion of the Christ [except for maybe The Last Temptation of Christ] has a movie spawned so much discussion in the Christian community and society at large.

Books have been written to refute its claims [see this]. News programs have been done [see this]. A website has been created for noted evangelicals to dialogue [see this]. And the internet and blogosphere has been a flurry of discussion about whether we should boycott [see this], �other�cott [see this], or actually watch it [see this].

Who cares, right? It is just a movie. Movies are meant to entertain, not educate. We watch many movies with subtle and overt historical and religious revisionist theories.

Remember Raiders of the Lost Ark with Indiana Jones and the Ark of the Covenant? Remember National Treasure and the fine print of the Constitution? And in the end, we just simply enjoyed those movies instead of changing our minds about the past.

So what�s the big deal? And further, what else can or should be contributed to the conversation?

It�s a little presumptuous to join into the discussion when folks like Paul Maier and Lee Strobel are involved. But really, presumption is what gives the blogosphere its power. Let the audaciousness begin…

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