[Apologetics] Reacting to TheDaVinciChallenge.com - article from CatholicExchange.com

[Marty Rothwell]

I had not realized that ONLY Protestants were getting the offer to
"dialogue" on the movie.  I thought that Catholics also would have been able
to weigh in, especially since it's about the Catholic Church!!  But after
reading this piece I think we Catholics will have to take the burden of
refuting the movie.  The Protestants appear only to be willing to correct
the public about Jesus and Mary Magdalene and let the Catholic bias stand.
That's a shame.  This could have been an ecumenical moment.

-----Original Message-----
From: apologetics-admin at gathman.org [mailto:apologetics-admin at gathman.org]On
Behalf Of Art Kelly
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2006 11:56 PM
To: Apologetics Group; Jim Murphy; Michele Allen; Father Pollard; Father
Phillips; Father Peffley; Father Fessio
Subject: Re: [Apologetics] Reacting to TheDaVinciChallenge.com - article
from CatholicExchange.com

Thanks, Dianne, for this article.

I'm quite concerned about the propaganda value of the
DaVinci Code movie.

Several months ago, I thought ALL Protestants would
join with the Catholic Church in denouncing it as
trash.

However, about a week ago, I sent you an article
indicating that some Protestants have sold out
out--and I mean that literally!--and are actually
PROMOTING the film, ostensibily so that they can
discuss it.

I hope those Protestants enjoy their 30 pieces of
silver.

Catholics had better be prepared to condemn this
blasphemous movie when it hits the theatres.

Trying to ignore it will not do!

Art

--- Dianne Dawson <rcdianne at yahoo.com> wrote:

>               by Matt C. Abbott
> and Mary Kochan
>
> Other Articles by Matt C. Abbott
> Other Articles by Mary Kochan     Reacting to
> TheDaVinciChallenge.com
>         02/17/06
>
>
>      In a crafty marketing move, Sony, along with
> Grace Hill Media, launched a new website on February
> 9th, 2006. TheDaVinciChallenge.com claims to be a
> site "offering informative essays by a broad array
> of leading Christian scholars, pastors and educators
> addressing many of the historical and theological
> issues touched on in The Da Vinci Code. The essay
> writers represent an eclectic group of experts from
> Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions."
>
>     In This Article...
> Intellectual Pornography
> We Don't Need to See This Film to Defend Jesus
> Special Announcement: The Antidote is Here!
>
>                   Intellectual Pornography
>
> So what we have is a forum for critics who seemingly
> don't mind promoting a book and film they are
> critiquing. Or something like that. Now, in the
> interest of full disclosure, I haven't read the
> book, and I don't plan on reading it. I'm still
> undecided about seeing the film, though I have seen
> the trailer for it.
>
> It's kind of surprising to me that there has been
> such controversy over a work of fiction. But then,
> Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, has been
> crafty in his own right about the fictional aspects
> of the book versus the
> "oh-the-historical-stuff-is-true" aspects - which
> likely fueled its sales.
>
> On his website, Brown writes:   The Da Vinci Code is
> a novel and therefore a work of fiction. While the
> book's characters and their actions are obviously
> not real, the artwork, architecture, documents, and
> secret rituals depicted in this novel all exist (for
> example, Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings, the Gnostic
> Gospels, Hieros Gamos, etc.). These real elements
> are interpreted and debated by fictional characters.
> While it is my belief that some of the theories
> discussed by these characters may have merit, each
> individual reader must explore these characters'
> viewpoints and come to his or her own
> interpretations. My hope in writing this novel was
> that the story would serve as a catalyst and a
> springboard for people to discuss the important
> topics of faith, religion, and history.I see.
>
> In response to the The Da Vinci Code's immense
> popularity, books debunking its, er, "truthful"
> aspects have been written by noted Catholic authors
> including Amy Welborn, Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel.
>
> As to TheDaVinciChallenge.com, Amy Welborn had this
> to say on her popular weblog (edited):   These
> experts [writing for the website] are not paid, but
> of course, Sony is paying Grace Hill Media for their
> work. I've not yet seen any figures, and in the name
> of transparency and honesty, it would be helpful for
> this Christian organization to be up-front about how
> much they're being paid by Sony to help sell their
> movie.
>
> Hollywood Jesus, the old (in Internet years) website
> that was really first on the
> Christian-engaging-culture scene, is also involved.
>
> What is striking is that in all of the "Who's Who"
> and "What's What" material about people and things
> in the book, there is no mention of Opus Dei, at
> least that I can find. A rather interesting
> omission. And glaring.
>
> A website of this nature, with experts (we hope)
> telling the "truth" about The Da Vinci Code could
> have been dreamed up and promoted without taking a
> dime from Sony. Could have. Because frankly, you're
> now in bed with them. Hope it's good for you....
>
> And here's the snarkiest, rudest question of all:
> Could it be possible that this mainly
> Protestant-driven enterprise is perfectly happy to
> point people towards The Da Vinci Code because, in
> fact, it is the Catholic Church that is constantly
> besmirched, by name? In encouraging (or at least not
> discouraging) people to see the film, they are
> reinforcing bad vibes around the word "Catholic,"
> then are happy to "correct" the film by directing
> them to their own resources, produced by their own
> denominations?
>
> If a biopic were produced that dramatized
> ill-founded, negative "alternative" histories of
> Billy Graham, John Wesley or Martin Luther, would
> Grace Hill agree to push the film to Christian
> audiences, thereby making more money for the film's
> producers, all for that "teachable moment?" Would
> Campus Crusade for Christ and [Protestant apologist]
> Josh McDowell be producing materials that have the
> impact of encouraging people to see the film? I'm
> not completely sure, but I tend to doubt it.Carl
> Olson had this to say on the Ignatius Press weblog
> (edited):   Perhaps Amy and I are just full of sour
> grapes? I'm sure some will think so. Frankly, it's
> irritating that the vast majority of news articles
> and television documentaries/infomercials about the
> Coded Craziness contain hardly any content from
> Catholics who actually know something about The Da
> Vinci Code, who directly address the salient issues
> (that is, don't just talk incessantly about Jesus
> and Mary Magdalene, which is only part!
>   of the
>  problem), and who aren't embarrassed by Church
> teachings. But it's a rather moot point in this
> case, since I don't think I'd want to be eating from
> the hand that is slapping me and making money off of
> me....
>
> [I]s being involved in a website produced by the one
> attacking your beliefs really the the way to address
> controversy? Analogously, if Playboy magazine asked
> you to write an article explaining why pornography
> is bad, would you write the article and then
> encourage people to look through the entire issue
> before reading your article? Don't get me wrong - I
> don't think that boycotting the movie or telling
> people they shouldn't see it is going to evangelize.
>
> But warning people about spiritual and intellectual
> dangers doesn't have to be solely motivated by the
> desire to evangelize; rather, it should be motivated
> by the desire to spare them from intellectual
> pornography that they might not be able to
> adequately handle. Giving people living water is one
> thing. But telling them that they need to wallow in
> dirt before you show them how to shower is quite
> another....
>   We Don't Need to See This Film to Defend Jesus
>
> Catholic scriptwriter Barbara Nicolosi weighed in
> with an appeal to "just say no" on her weblog
> [edited]:   I just read a ludicrous statement by
> some Christian pastor, calling for all Christians to
> go to see The Da Vinci Code when it opens. His
> statement was something to the effect of "Every
> Christian needs to see this film!" I beg to differ.
>
> No. We don't need to see this film. We all know what
> is in it. (Especially me, as I have read the
> screenplay.) It is a movie which begins from the
> point that Jesus was a fraud. He was not only not
> Divine, He was less than a man. And His Church is a
> sham association of meglomaniacal conspirators whose
> unifying principles are in the oppression of women....
>
> The almost irresistible hook for us all is that we
> supposedly need to see The Da Vinci Code so we can
> then tell all the other people what is wrong with
> it. All these Christians are being hooked in to
> write and speak about the film in the name of
> "dialogue." "How could you criticize something that
> you haven't seen?" And, "Everybody is going to be
> talking about this film! We won't be able to talk
> back if we haven't seen it."
>
> Folks, there is no dialogue here. The dialogue which
> might have happened involved Sony and Imagine making
> changes in the story that would have reflected some
> kind of fidelity to history or fairness. They didn't
> make those changes. Basically because they wanted to
> bash Christians....
>
> Further, we absolutely do not need to see the film
> to talk about Jesus. No more than we need to see
> porn to talk about human sexuality. Or to read Mein
> Kempf to decide whether we can have an opinion about
> gassing Jews. Besides, it would be dignifying a
> really inane story. The Da Vinci Code is so
> ridiculous in its premises that it is giving it a
> false gravity to even take it seriously enough so as
> to argue about it. Yeah, let's all find a starting
> point for dialogue in the notion that a secret
> coterie of albino monks has been mythmaking about
> Jesus' Divinity for 2,000 years. No, you go first.
>
> Now, Christians being coaxed into writing anti-DVC
> pieces on a stupid web site are meekly accepting
> that they are being given "a seat at the table" in
> some grand cultural discussion. Duped! There is no
> seat, folks. There is no discussion. What there is,
> is a few PR folks in Hollywood taking mondo big
> bucks from Sony Pictures to deliver legions of
> well-meaning Christians into subsidizing a movie
> that makes their own Savior out to be a sham.
>
> The masses that will see this film will not be
> coming to the Web site. They will go into the
> theaters, eat handfuls of popcorn, and then come out
> marveling that millions of people for 2,000 years
> could have been so duped by a lie. They won't go to
> any Web site. They won't be coming to any Christian
> forum....Father John Trigilio, president of the
> Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, EWTN contributor
> and author of four books, is calling on Catholics to
> boycott the film [slightly edited statement]:   I am
> asking my parishioners and Catholics everywhere to
> boycott the film and any of its advertising
> sponsors. I am asking them to protest by sending
> email, snail mail, phone calls, and faxes to those
> who made this film.
>
> The Da Vinci Code is offensive, sacrilegious,
> blasphemous and historically inaccurate, as well as
> [not credible].
>
> Those who proclaim 'it is only fiction" forget that
> any and all written words have an impact on the
> reader; and erroneous conclusions based on imaginary
> premises can and often do lure many readers to
> accept and believe as true what their normal common
> sense and ordinary human reason tell them is utter
> nonsense.
>
> When I read historical fiction or any fiction for
> that matter (even science-fiction), if I find sloppy
> research as evidenced by inaccurate historical or
> scientific facts, no matter how peripheral or
> essential to the plot, I stop reading the book or
> stop watching the movie. I expect the author to use
> logic and reason in addition to overcoming [his]
> laziness and investigate material [used] in [the]
> work. Hence, if I read a historical fiction set in
> the Civil War era and the author erroneously inserts
> U. S. Grant as President when it was actually Andrew
> Johnson who was in office at the time the plot is
> supposed to take place, I refuse to read the rest of
> the book.
>
> Poor scholarship discourages me; manipulating and
> distorting history annoys me.
>
> No credible, scholarly evidence exists to support
> the ludicrous claims about Mary Magdalene. The
> Gnostic Gospel of Mary Magdalene was not written
> before the fourth century at least, whereas the
> Gospels have been verified to the first century. Not
> even the worst enemies of the Church, be it the
> pagan Roman Empire or the Jewish Pharisees and
> Sadducees of the same period, made such bizarre
> claims.
>
> Would you find in a scholarly scientific journal an
> article on archeology which proposed as a valid
> hypothesis that [creatures who came to earth in]
> UFOs built the pyramids in Egypt? Of course not.
> There are crackpots who believe that, but you will
> not find them and their ideas being given any
> credibility in Scientific American. So why should
> anyone give credence to theories concocted by a
> 20th-century French forger who admitted he faked
> documents to establish his ludicrous claim to the
> French throne?
>
> The Apocryphal scriptures were never hidden nor
> forbidden. They were discredited and discounted.
> They are declared non-inspired, and in the case of
> the Gnostic Apocryphal writings, they are deemed
> completely inaccurate and untrue. Brown is using a
> sort of post-hypnotic suggestion in his book so that
> after reading it, Catholics and non-Catholics alike
> will say a day or two later, "It is so bizarre, it
> just might be true." Josef Goebbels, the Minister of
> Propaganda for Hitler and the Nazi party said, "The
> bigger the lie, the more people will believe it."
> Well, Elvis is dead, the lunar landing in 1969 was
> not a fake and Mary Magdalene was not the wife or
> lover of Jesus Christ and not the mother of His
> children, either.
>
> Conspiracy and Catholicism begin with the same
> letter, 'C,' and that is the only similarity between
> the two. Opus Dei has no monks, let alone an Albino
> hit-man who sounds more like a character in a James
> Bond movie.
>
> Fiction, yes. Literature, no. Recommend, no.
> Repudiate, yes. Had such ludicrous conspiracy
> theories been written about Islam, Judaism or any
> other religion, there would be lawsuits and protests
> galore. Catholics let their enemies kick them in the
> groin too much. It's time to wake up, stand up and
> defend our religion and our Church. Dan Brown should
> find another hobby.So...
>
> Will The Da Vinci Code be a success at the box
> office? I'd say a moderate one at best. After all,
> the book is still popular. I'd be quite surprised if
> the film tanks. Will it have much of an effect on
> the Church? I doubt it. Even The Passion of the
> Christ, which I consider one of the best films of
> all time, didn't have much effect on church-goers. A
> majority of Catholics still don't attend Mass on a
> weekly basis.
>
> Well, we'll see. In the meantime, watch out for
> those albino monk assassins!
>   Special Announcement: The Antidote is Here!
>
> Mary Kochan here: As Matt Abbott argues above, we do
> not have to see the film to know how wicked and
> ridiculous its premises are. The Proverb reminds us:
> "A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but
> the simple go on and suffer for it" (Prv 27: 12).
> Besides, there is something better we can do with
> our time and money than enrich the makers of this
> blasphemy.
>
> We don't have to be dupes; we can fight back by
> actively countering the destructive message of this
> film. What we all need to help friends and relatives
> who have fallen, or are in danger of falling, for
> Dan Brown's lies, is an antidote. And we have it in
> the form of a new book, The DaVinci Deception: 100
> Questions about the Fact and Fiction of The DaVinci
> Code, written by Catholic Exchange's Mark Shea and
> Dr. Ted Sri. This well-researched yet accessible
> book uses the same popular question-and-answer
> format of our million-selling book, A Guide to the
> Passion.
>
> Available now at Catholic stores and major
> booksellers like Borders and Barnes & Noble, The
> DaVinci Deception is the perfect tool to prepare you
> for the inevitable water-cooler and coffee-table
> discussions about the film. It will equip you to
> give solid Catholic answers, grounded in real
> historical data to the most common questions you'll
> hear: Was Jesus really married? Is the Church
> anti-woman? Did the Church really make Jesus a god
> three hundred years after his death? and 97 more.
> You will be able to charitably, yet firmly, make
> mincemeat of Dan Brown's preposterous claims, while
> demonstrating the reasonableness and dignity of the
> Catholic Church through the centuries.
>
> There is more. We are offering free study guides for
> The DaVinci Deception. These downloadable
> easy-to-use study guides are prepared to help you
> run study groups at home, school, and church at the
> high-school, college, or adult level. Visit
> www.DavinciOutreach.com today and let's put our
> money and time into defending our faith and our
> Church from this slander, and defending precious
> souls from this demonic deceit.
>
>
> The first two subheadings of this article were
> prepared by Matt Abbott for MichNews.com and are
> reprinted here by permission of the author.
>
> Catholic journalist and commentator Matt C. Abbott
> is the former executive director of the Illinois
> Right to Life Committee and the former director of
> public affairs for the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action
> League.
>
> Mary Kochan, Senior Editor of Catholic Exchange,
> writes from Douglasville, Georgia. Her tapes are
> available from Saint Joseph Communications.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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> Discuss at CE Roundtable
>
> Like a deer that longs for running waters so my soul
> longs for you, O God.
>
> Ps 42:1
>
>
>
>
>
>
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                          ART KELLY, ATM-S
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