tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post114917506124055861..comments2024-03-21T03:45:48.679-05:00Comments on Enter the Rainbow: DaVinci Code - Unfounded FearsAndy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05944614269873479581noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149578597936811502006-06-06T02:23:00.000-05:002006-06-06T02:23:00.000-05:00My comment will not inspire any dialogue or posess...My comment will not inspire any dialogue or posess any entertaining value. I simply wanted to state that once again an intervention by the Almighty has happened to me. I fully awoke in a complete state of anxiety in the middle of the night. Why? I don't know. I have a feeling it has to do with my serious illness at Christmas time that seems to continue to haunt me and freak out my system, although I am fully recovered. When I awake like this, the first thing I do is pray to bring me back to rationality. That usually takes me down a notch. But tonight I needed more, and BINGO, an entire blog post on fear and how I need to give it up to God. Thanks! I think I can go back to bed again.<BR/><BR/>Shelly :)!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149479336572265172006-06-04T22:48:00.000-05:002006-06-04T22:48:00.000-05:00I agree - strange parallel. Reminds me a little b...I agree - strange parallel. Reminds me a little bit of C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters where Screwtape might have co-opted the biblical mandate and turned it into something totally opposite. <BR/><BR/>Maybe Screwtape himself is working in Las Vegas now :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149364567877148092006-06-03T14:56:00.000-05:002006-06-03T14:56:00.000-05:00Larry B., Congratulations on your parallel between...Larry B., <BR/>Congratulations on your parallel between the Gospel and Las Vegas. I have never heard the two phrases "Perfect love casts out fear" and "What happens here, stays here" compared in such a way :)<BR/><BR/>I will also have to do some thinking on your "visceral reaction" comment. What's the difference between a visceral reaction and fear? Fear is visceral but not everything visceral is fear? Something like that, I suppose.<BR/><BR/>And finally, with regard to your scenario, I don't really think "The DaVinci Code" is about Jesus as much as it is about the church. If it truly is a threat, it's not a threat to Jesus, it's a threat to the church.Andy B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05944614269873479581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149316280918042822006-06-03T01:31:00.000-05:002006-06-03T01:31:00.000-05:00Picture the following scenario - Someone decides t...Picture the following scenario - Someone decides to make a movie about Jesus and in the movie he portrays Jesus walking around Jerusalem going up to openly gay people and telling them they are an abomination before God and will be excluded from the kingdom of God unless they repent and become straight. Wouldn't you, Pastor Andy, feel the slightest bit of anger of such a portrayal? You wouldn't want to at least get a message out to people that this is not what everyone thinks? <BR/><BR/>Why then are some so critical of someone having a visceral reaction to a cherished part of their life being turned into a conspiracy theory and spread through books and film so millions of dollars can flow into the hands of a few people? <BR/><BR/>What is even worse, is that Christians have turned against those who raise the objections as though they are a pariah to society and use labels to box the objectors in. The original post is a perfect example where arguments are simply rejected by generalizing the reaction as one of "fear" and then debunking "fear" which by proxy is supposed to debunk the original argument. It's really a logical fallacy brought about by attempting to shift the frame of reference for the argument. <BR/><BR/>People can have reasonable positions for rejecting a proposition which have little or nothing to do with fear. And fear can bring about the recognition that one needs to acquire knowledge to determine whether the position is rational or not. <BR/><BR/>Your example of people fearing mexican immigrants taking over could be one of fear, or it could also be a reasoned position. There are groups in the US who do want to reclaim a large portion of the southern US and are open about the intention. They identify themselves as the Nation of Aztlan. They have local chapters in nearly every high school in the city where I live. They have stated their intentions to find a way to have our state secede from the US and return to their homeland. Now is it fear for me to repeat in a factual manner what they have said? <BR/><BR/>If I turn to scripture and find through reason that the scripture is definitively negative towards homosexual behavior, and never once holds up the ideal of a "committed" relationship as being the only pre-requisite for a sexual bond, where in all cases when a sexual bond is discussed the pre-requisite is the male and female relationship, and then I conclude that homosexual marriage is therefore at odds with scriptural teaching am I acting out of fear? <BR/><BR/>It's funny, I just came back from working a trade show in Las Vegas and they use the "fear" argument too. Essentially they are telling you that you have "nothing to fear here" so go ahead and do whatever. i.e. any objections you have to sexual sin, gambling and gluttony are just silly fears and are to be ignored. You couldn't possibly have a thoughtfully reasoned position that would prevent you from engaging in any of those behaviors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149273652155625062006-06-02T13:40:00.000-05:002006-06-02T13:40:00.000-05:00I read the book and was disappointed with the movi...I read the book and was disappointed with the movie. But I thought "Angels & Demons" was a better book. I couldn't figure out the controversy either. I thought it wasn't a bad action-flick-lite type of movie but I couldn't see how it could convert anyone to believing the accounts to be actually true.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149271992899529852006-06-02T13:13:00.000-05:002006-06-02T13:13:00.000-05:00Brother Andrew, I apologize if I sounded accusator...Brother Andrew, I apologize if I sounded accusatory. I know that you are speaking from your personal experience, I would not dare charge you with making things up. Still, I think it is easy to write differing opinions off as unfounded or unreasonable levying a charge of fear against them…it can become a cop out of sorts, thus my “race card” interpolation, which becomes more regrettable each time I use it. I know that because I’m in the “sex is reserved for one man/ one woman within the covenant of marriage” camp that I have been accused of being afraid of gay people, which is not only untrue, but unfair. (“He’s too afraid of gay folk to know them and therefore doesn’t understand” which I hear as “His opinion doesn’t count because he is obviously an unenlightened bigot.” I know there are knuckleheads who think that gay Mexican Gnostics are trying to take over the good ole’ US of A and are afraid of that, but they are a scant few.<BR/>Fearfully yours, -MitchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149261049144922172006-06-02T10:10:00.000-05:002006-06-02T10:10:00.000-05:00Brother Mitch,So, are you saying you are in the "s...Brother Mitch,<BR/>So, are you saying you are in the "sex is only for making babies" camp, rather than the "sex is an expression of love for one another" camp?<BR/>And I'm going to have to call you on that "fear is the new race card" remark. I am basing my comments about the fear of others based solely on my observations of their actual reactions, in their own words, no less. You make it seem like I'm just making things up.Andy B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05944614269873479581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149253277254599632006-06-02T08:01:00.000-05:002006-06-02T08:01:00.000-05:00The only fear I have about DaVC is that it is conf...The only fear I have about DaVC is that it is confusing people who are not grounded in the faith. Maybe those of us who have been exposed to the Gnostics before are not shaken, but what happens to those who are hearing this for the first time? Isn't respecting the damage this heretical novel/movie could be doing worth a response from the church? I think the "fear factor" is being overused. I'm conservative on the gay marrige debate though I know and have known many gay people/ couples over the years. No, I'm not afraid of them or that they are destroying America...I simply (and respectifully) disagree with their understanding of human sexuality. The point is, accusing people of being afriad (they don't understand...they are afraid of us) is a new sort of "race card".<BR/><BR/>(I may regret saying that). -MitchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149191133314444362006-06-01T14:45:00.000-05:002006-06-01T14:45:00.000-05:00Right on, Andy. Lots of the military aggression i...Right on, Andy. Lots of the military aggression is also caused by our fears, perhaps fear of losing our comforts and wealth. (Why did we attack Iraq again?) The questions raised by the DV Code novel and movie are not a threat in anyway to people of faith. It's not history. It's not theology. It's not Biblical scholarship. It's not scientific discovery. It's just not worth another thought. If you enjoy a good story, you might want to read the book. But skip the movie. One of my biggest fears is that the church simply continues to atrophe due to complacency. Peace, JBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149179830081162282006-06-01T11:37:00.000-05:002006-06-01T11:37:00.000-05:00Nicely said. I think you hit exactly on the mark.Nicely said. I think you hit exactly on the mark.Beth Quickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14171030571583683180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-1149179727251428992006-06-01T11:35:00.000-05:002006-06-01T11:35:00.000-05:00amenamenAdam Caldwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04658691482502007651noreply@blogger.com