Never have I seen a book of so little merit given so much attention. It boggles the mind, really. Dan Brown posits an unoriginal and entirely fictional account of Jesus' personal life, and people just go cross-eyed with joy over it. A bestseller? What a sad commentary on American culture. It's like taking a clod of dirt, wrapping it in a spiffy red ribbon, and saying: "Voila! A chocolate truffle!"
Yes, I'm aware it's only a novel, and all novels are lies, after all; but there are two factors that make this situation problematic. One is that Brown claims his book is based on fact. Actually, it's an exercise in heresy and deceit. The other is that the central thesis of his diatribe is a besmirchment of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and an attack on the Church. So I take issue with Brown and his malarkey.
Regarding the movie: you can't imagine how disappointed I am--yet unsurprised--that Tom Hanks and Ron Howard have involved themselves in this charade, helping usher a literary hoodwinking into the cinema. I've long admired Howard as a director and Hanks as an actor, but I've lost considerable respect for both. Their attachment to this project speaks volumes about their attitudes toward the Messiah and Christianity.
What troubles me most is the significant number of Christians who absorbed this tripe like sponges, hanging on Brown's every syllable, caught up in the mystery concocted by this devious modern mythmaker. The man is a liar--as are all those who spin fanciful false histories of Jesus' life on earth, without so much as a shred of evidence supporting their contentions. I and my family have zero use for this rubbish. We will not be waiting in line for tickets, or sitting breathlessly in the front row at the theater as falsehoods are paraded as truth.
Some are outraged by the movie and book; some love both; some are indifferent. But consider this: what if someone who is close to the kingdom of God sees this movie, and is turned away from His open arms?
What then?
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