the da vinci code.....

[MoonyMama]

I'm sure there has been a thread on this before, but I just got done reading this book and was wondering what everyone else thought about it.
They claim that all the religious things in the book were researched and supposed to be accurate (I always have trouble believing anything I read/hear/see on t.v.) I was especially interested in the gnostic gospels (have been for a while) The Gospel of Thomas, of Mary Magdalene, etc.
Now, I definitely don't want to offend anyone, but after all the things I've read and such the past few years, it seems like Christianity isn't about Jesus anymore, (hasn't been for, what? 1,700 years?) it's just about the "power of the church" and male domination. The Gospels of Thomas are beautiful, what I've read of them anyway, and they are supposedly the words that Jesus actually spoke (anyone correct me if I'm wrong please)
I don't mean to single out Christianity, I'm sure every religion has it's quirks, so to speak. But I was just wondering everyone else's thoughts on this. (By the way, I thought the book was great )

[cappuccinosmom]

Haven't read it. But if you're open to read why some oppose it, check out equip.org.

I haven't found Christianity to be about the Church power and male domination (who discovered Jesus' ressurection first and were the first to tell the good news? Women! If all them church father's were such chauvinists, why'd they leave that in there? A woman's testimony meant nothing in the culture). I go to church, and I do submit to my husband (go ahead and gasp! ) but those are voluntary things born out of my love for God and the conviction His Spirit put on my heart. Christianity and the Bible is about God's love for us. Every command and principle there is based on that love. That's my opinion, anyway.


Do I get a prize for being especially controversial today?
: I'd better leave before I'm routed out of MDC.

[Rainbow]

I think most religions spark from a true and beautiful sentiment. Most also become more dogmatic and staunch over the years.
I read the gospel of Mary Magdalenee and it was beautiful. I have no doubts why it was left out of the "official" canon when the current gospels were selected by the early church fathers of the roman empire. It doesn't place women below men and actually shows a woman having a special place with Jesus himself.
I enjoyed reading many of the more recently discovered writings, and found them to be very inspiring. I don't see them being added to the standard bible though. Another great set is the Nag Hammadi Library. Thomas is included with many others. Gnostic gospels was interesting, but not as much so to me. Dead sea scrolls were a little dry and boring to me... lol.
I would reccomend researching how the bible became "the bible" if you are interested in this topic. The readers digest version is when Rome chose Christianity as the official religion the church and political leaders chose which to collect as the official canon and the rest of the writings were outlawed. Reprinting or owning resulted in death. Which is why all other writings went nearly extinct. The long story is far more fascinating. There is a book called The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance by Bruce Manning Metzger
It is pricey, but if you can get it used or on a library loan it is really fascinating. Here is teh amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=17WDZ26FNYC3J
I am sure you could find much valuable information searching through google or something to.
I haven't read DiVincci Code... I haer I should add it to my wish list though

As for the Gospel of Thomas... its validity is a matter of opinion to many. It is said to be the true words of Jesus by some, and many other disagree.

[DaryLLL]

Re: the da vinci code.....

Originally posted by MoonyMama
[B]I'm sure there has been a thread on this before, but I just got done reading this book and was wondering what everyone else thought about it.

Yes, there have been threads on Da Vinci Code in Books/Media. Do a search.

We also have a thread on the question, "Was Jesus married?"

They claim that all the religious things in the book were researched and supposed to be accurate

How accurate can one be when researching 1700-1900 yr old, heavily redacted, edited and censored texts? Also take into consideration, these texts are multi-layered and can be read esoterically or exoterically.

Noe of them were written by eye-witnesses. They were written by "apostles" who had visions and were excited about their idea of new good news. The 4 gospels and Acts are historical fiction. Paul never met Jesus and never mentions that any of the other apsstles he comes inot contact with ever did either. He says the Christ was "seen" but he does not mean, in the flesh.

it seems like Christianity isn't about Jesus anymore, (hasn't been for, what? 1,700 years?) it's just about the "power of the church" and male domination.

Well, it's not "just" abut that, as capmom said, but that definitely enters into it. Politics and power was and is a huge part of it.

The Gospels of Thomas are beautiful, what I've read of them anyway, and they are supposedly the words that Jesus actually spoke (anyone correct me if I'm wrong please)

There are 3 school of thought in Biblical scholarship, on who Jesus was/is:

conservative: supernatural (name your fundamentalist)
liberal: historical (ie: Pagels, Starbird, Brown)
radical: mythological (Freke and Gandy, Robert Price, St Paul [in his letters, not in the spurious Acts of the Apostles], gnosticism, docetism)


The Gospel of Thomas sounds Buddhist.

[Megan_Cherry]

I read this book and thought some ideas were kinda hokey, Poo-poo. The whole idea that basically the gospels are fake and that Jesus is not in fact divine. I cannot agree with that. However, I do believe that there is a lot about Jesus's life on earth that we do not know. I like to think that he was married and that Mary Magdaline did play a very important to his ministry. This book was fun and fictional. I had to finish it even though by the end I was like hoo- hum. I just wanted to see what the author had in store for the big finalie. So now that I did finish it I gave it away the next day and dont care to ever read it again.

[Elzabet]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

I haven't found Christianity to be about the Church power and male domination (who discovered Jesus' ressurection first and were the first to tell the good news? Women! If all them church father's were such chauvinists, why'd they leave that in there? A woman's testimony meant nothing in the culture). I go to church, and I do submit to my husband (go ahead and gasp! ) but those are voluntary things born out of my love for God and the conviction His Spirit put on my heart. Christianity and the Bible is about God's love for us. Every command and principle there is based on that love. That's my opinion, anyway.

Can I use the : smilie?

[lab]

I loved this book! I literally devoured the book in one day!

That is not easy to do for me! I have 3 school aged kids.

Unlike cappuccinosmom, I completely agree that the Church and Christianity is about power and male domination.

I can't wait to teach my dd about goddesses (how exactly would you pluralize that!??? )

[its_our_family]

Christianity isn't about Jesus anymore its more about the church....

I can agree with that one. yes, it is still baout Jesus and faith but in everyday practices behind closed doors the main issues that divide a chruch aren't about Jesus. they are about tradition and "church" matters.

Politics in churches are ugly, very ugly, and unless you are directly involved you prbably don't see it. But trust me, it is probablly there.

Sadly, ppl have forgotten to go to the Bible instead of their own opinions. You can say I'm wrong but in the grand scheme of things, its true. It might not be in your church but how hard have you looked. And not everyone needs to be aware of it so if you do't want to look then don't.

As for male domination, in the past yes. I grew up in a church where women were not allowed to speak in business meetings, womeon could not pray unless it was for women or children under the age of 12. They could not teach unless it was strictly women or under the age of 12 boys. They were not allowed to teach their own material. it had to be approved. NO women could be in charge of a class on her own, nor could they lead the women in anything without being watched over by a man. And we associated with other churches in our area that were the same. It is common in a lot of churches to still see this going on.

Now, I submit to my husband but only because I know he would never make a judgment call that would put our family in jeopardy. I know he is a responsible man that makes responsible decisions. If I had married a man that were not like that, I doubt I would be able to submit.

Like I said, it might not be like this in your church but how many churches are there in the country? I've been in several different denmoniations and non-denominational churches, in different states, and they are ALL like this. (which is why I cannot stand modern churches!!)

T there is a book called A New Kind of Christian. This is an awesome read and speaks of where the church is going...or should go...in a post-modern society

[Ravin]

One thing I liked about The DaVinci Code is that despite the main character's openness to the Sangreal, he didn't see that as making the beliefs of the modern church leaders illigitimate. Faith is faith, and no number of debates about this or that text change the reality that one believes something because one chooses to, because it feels right in one's heart and soul.

If you believe the Bible as we know it is the inspired word of God and that those church leaders had God's hand leading them in choosing what would be included, rather than their own political interests, then that is what you believe and there's nothing wrong with that. Any other texts can be considered by such a person to be academic curiosities, that at most shed interesting historical light on the early Church.

But if you don't, and are a Christian, the possibility of different writings about Jesus are probably of import to you and worthy of study and consideration, or fascination at the least.

If you're not a Christian, which I'm not, then the whole thing is a matter of academic curiosity, perhaps worthy of study from a historical standpoint because so much of our modern culture is shaped by Christianity. And the puzzles were really cool.