Why all the fuss?
Many have said, "What's the big deal? It's only a fiction novel."
Although this statement is true, the results of this 'novel turned movie' can be devastating to those who are not equipped with the accurate historical information in order to diffuse the lies that are told. One only has to watch Jay Leno or David Letterman coerce the public of New York for two minutes to see that most do not even know simple historical facts of even our country's past.
I have even spoken to a few Christians from birth in their 70's who were thrown to tears over the alleged history proposed from the Da Vinci Code. What a beautiful opportunity to reach out into the hearts and minds of both believers and unbelievers, to affirm and help them discover the Truth about Jesus Christ.
So, what are the claims of this book turned movie called Da Vinci Code? This is our pursuit! To acknowledge what author Dan Brown suggests and put it to the test and fire of historic truth. After all, that is what the author, himself, claims for his 'version' of history, that it is historic truth! We hope to aid you in "checking these claims out for yourself," in order to decide FOR YOURSELF who is telling the Truth. Please feel free to dialogue with us on your journey to Truth. The chatterbox, but especially the comments at the end of posts, are great ways for us to speak regarding these issues. Let us know how we can help. God bless your adventure into the truth claims of this novel and their importance to Jesus Christ.
posted by Tom King @ 8:52 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
This is the place where we can have meaningful dialogue, in love, concerning these things. As many comments as can be written can fit. Thanks for doing your homework.
Hello Tom, or Mr. King Whichever you prefer,
I wanted to take the oppertunity to comment on your comment to my comment ! lol
First, thanks Im excited to see I got a response, I look forward to more conversing.
Second Thank you for giving me information on the subjectat hand,
I jumped the gun, but I was misinformed or lack there of information.
I didn't realize the full spectrum of this and its effects.
I agree on your points they are valid. People who have weak faith and no Knowledge of the facts would buy into this, 6 months ago I would bought into it, ha!
Its an Insult That Dan Brown claims these as fact!
I'm afraid there will be more distractions like this..
I would like you to check this site out I stumble on it yesterday
something to the effect of Bibles that are not King James versions are incorrectly translated and its a plot by the devil to deystroy the word of god!
Get back to me on this be interested to see what you think maybe we can debunk this as well!
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0031/0031_01.asp
http://wrongbible.com/
Your Brother
Jonathan
Brother in Christ (Jonathan),
It's quite ashame what people will distort...but we have to remember who's distorting...and the war isn't flesh and blood, but Satan and his followers who are infusing these ideas into common thought (Eph 6:10-20). Our response is what Scripture says:
NIV 2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
So, is the Latin Vulgate in error? We could go on about that. But I think the real question is what is the Bible and can we trust it? Is the Bible a version/language interpretation? Some would sayt that anything but the King James Version is filled with error. But I wonder what they do today with the KJV of James when it says this:
KJV James 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
Under the context of our society and language today, does that mean that James was lifting up "gays" in his epistle? Or do we understand it in context of the language of its time. I think, in the context of language today, all other translations ring true on this one! James isn't speaking of a sexual orientation preference, but rather he is speaking of a type of clothing...fine clothing, as most translations put it. Even the New King James says:
NKJ James 2:3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool,"
So, is the KJV wrong? Well, yes and no. It all depends on the readers context. If language continues to change, than will we continue to have to change how we present it? That doesn't at all mean that we change the truth...but as we can see with the KJV, language, post-1970's and the homosexuality movement, has changed the meaning of the word "gay". So, I would never use the KJV ever when it comes to James 2:3.
That being said, they probably have a little truth in their concern. I'm not exactly sure, we would have to take it point by point. But we should remember that God has promised to provide the truth, and he did that in the Greek and the Hebrew. He does not promise to keep our English versions the way he first delivered his "inspired, inerrant" version. But that is not to say that we cannot trust these translations...only that we must discern where they are coming from. One of the best exercises to utilize (which can easily be done today via internet) is comparing different English translations to see where they agree and then "dive deeper" when they disagree. This is very helpful when no knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew is understood.
I have a program called "Bibleworks 6" that costs $300, but is great in helping me understand what the true meaning of these words really is, making me less dependant on English translations, and better able to discern what one person is saying is truth over another.
I believe that what we have today, which are translations of very, very accurate copies of the inerrant, inspired Word of God, and we can say what R. Laird Harris wrote in his book "Can I Trust My Bible": "We can now be sure that copyists worked with great care and accuracy on the Old Testament, even back to 225 B.C....indeed, it would be rash skepticism that would now deny that we have our Old Testament in a form very close to that used by Ezra when he taught the word of the Lord to those who had returned from the Babylonian captivity."
Sir Fredrick Kenyon wrote in his book "The Bible and Archaeology":
"The number of manyuscripture of the New Testament, of early translations from it, and of quotations from it in the oldest writers of the Church, is so large that it is practically certain that the true reading of every doubtful passage is preserved in some one or the other of these ancient authorities. This can be said of no ohter ancient book of the world."
I think this understanding comes out in most translations, but to be sure, with a little research, we can find out what the church for 2,000 years has thought on any subject. Since Christ is the head of the church (Eph. 5), we can be sure of his leadership. We cannot be sure of every of the 6,000 different denominations...so we can go back to the original sources...the bible, and the early church fathers understandings of the apostolic witness.
Hope that helps. Let me know what you think. Trying to serve. tom
Sorry, the quote was: "The number of manuscripts of the New Testament, of early translations from it, and of quotations from it in the oldest writers of the Church, is so large that it is practically certain that the true reading of every doubtful passage is preserved in some one or the other of these ancient authorities. This can be said of no other ancient book of the world." (Sir Fredrick Kenyon)
Tom
Brother in Christ
Thank you for you input, I have the NIV Bible, and I don't feel that its message is evil or distorted I feel I'm reading gods word and I believe that if I wasn't god would make sure I did get the the right message, just as he gave me everything else in my life.
Now the verse they compared to in NIV I feel is the same message in easier language thats my take.
Yet another Distraction!
conspiracy theory rubbish possibly.
Well hope to hear from you I will be writhing some interesting points soon.
Hey if your interested check out the church I go to I love it
www.rolwc.org
Jonathan
That sounds usual. Although, there usually is something they are talking about in the translations that is true. As I understand it, the translations are not inspired, inerrant. That being said, that certainly doesn't mean they are not God's Word. But to get "touchy" and "down and dirty" with the fine points, we should do our homework on the Greek and Hebrew.
Since language changes all the time, that puts our translations in jeopardy, because the human mind, fashioned by language and the relationship we image with every word, does not always make the change in understanding. So, that may be why we need "updated" versions from time to time. Just take a look at the original KJV, it is very difficult to read, because English then was much different than English today.
I do hear the "KJV people" make some good points every once in a while, but that is no different than any translated version. They are all 'flawed' depending on the reader's perspective and presuppositions (what they knew before they read...their 'take on life' so to speak). I like the NIV myself, because its an easy read. However, I have found numerous 'errors' myself, as I check my understanding of the NIV with the Greek and Hebrew. That doesn't mean it isn't God's Word, just that we have to do our homework. It helps to have trustworthy leaders.
My denomination is slowly moving to the ESV version. I am not thrilled with that because the NIV is so readable. However, I realize why they are doing so...they feel that there are less verses that could be understood wrongly when read...and I agree, from what I have seen.
Again, the best thing to do is to study the Hebrew and Greek and equip yourself with the ability to check out the original language. The next best thing is to compare solid versions and look for differences, and then check out the questionable areas. The NIV, ESV, NKJV, and NAS (95') are some good ones.
Finally, I would research a good commentary on the bible. Not just one that is easy to read, but one that is solid in the historical understanding of passages. Unfortunately, sometimes people allow culture to change our understanding of Scripture. Although we may understand the Truth differently because of our context (as opposed to past generations), the Truth doesn't change. So find someone with the apostolic take on things. I have some suggestions if you are ever interested...but I'm still finding them out for myself too.
Thanks for the link. I am still light years behind on "dial-up", so I will check tomorrow. Keep the faith.
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