Da Vinci Code Sacrilege and Blasphemy

Friday night I went and saw the Da Vinci Code with a bunch of friends. The last time that I wanted to see a movie bad enough to face the opening night crowds was when I went to see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Considering my anticipation for seeing the Da Vinci Code I found myself leaving the theater trying to figure out exactly how I felt about it. Though, I don’t think that my reasons for having to think about it one way or the other would follow the mainline of critics who have not seemed to give the film quite dismal reviews.

During the time that I was watching the movie there were a few things that disturbed me right up front and left me squirming in my seat. The first was having to bear the view of Paul Bettany’s backside once again as he whips himself and makes use of a spiked belt wrapped around his leg tight enough to cause lesions. Then there was the portrayal of a sexual ritual performed by members of the Priory of Scion which was much less revealing then it could have been. There was a fair amount of obscenity which you come to almost accept as normal with Hollywood productions at this point in time.

The most disturbing aspect of the movie for me was the light treatment of the sacred nature of Jesus Christ. I went into the movie knowing full well the portrayal that Dan Brown had given to the so called fact that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had at least one child together; however, it seems that I had forgotten how much the life of Jesus was trivialized and how out of proportion the relationship of man and woman is distorted.

It is curious to me that it seems that both the book and the film seemed to put such a great enlargement of the importance of Mary Magdalene as the bearer of Christ’s child to the point that it is her that should be worshipped as a god instead of Christ himself. Christ taught that he was the way, the truth and the life of men (John 14:6). It is by following His example, by keeping his commandments, and following the Holy Spirit that we will regain entrance into the Kingdom of God.

I think that most people who have what Elder D. Todd Christofferson defined as a sense of the sacred will understand what I am trying to convey. “The importance of having a sense of the sacred is simply this–if one does not appreciate holy things, he will lose them. Absent a feeling of reverence, he will grow increasingly casual in attitude and lax in conduct. He will drift from the moorings that his covenants with God could provide. His feeling of accountability to God will diminish and then be forgotten. Thereafter, he will care only about his own comfort and satisfying his uncontrolled appetites. Finally, he will come to despise sacred things, even God, and then he will despise himself.” – CES Fireside for Young Adults, November 7, 2004, Brigham Young University.

This movie does little to convey a sense of the sacred nature of Jesus Christ and the sacred nature of marriage and the roles of men and women in our Heavenly Father’s plan for His children. The sacrilege and blasphemous nature of the movie was such that I will neither read the book nor watch the film again.

Doubt is Part of Faith???

"I know I believe in God but I have doubts, and doubt is part of faith," she [Madeline Albright] said.

I found this quote yesterday while perusing an article which was a report of the former United States Secretary of State’s opinion on President Bush’s affirmation of faith as it relates to his avowal of faith in relation to policy. The article can be found at the following site: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/22/albright.bush.reut/index.html.

The focus of my post at this point is not whether or not I agree with Ms. Albright’s assertions, but the utter self-contradiction of the statement which concluded the article which I have cited above. I don’t think that I have heard a more obvious and outright contradiction since the 2004 Presidential Election in which presidential nominee John Kerry said that, “I voted for it before I voted against it,” in reference to a military spending proposal that was made to the senate.

Thought it may be somewhat moot to do so, let us take a dictionary definition of faith:

1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

Let us also take the dictionary definition of doubt:

1 archaic a : FEAR b : SUSPECT
2 : to be in doubt about doubts everyone's word>
3 a : to lack confidence in : DISTRUST doubting him even when I know that he is honest -- H. L. Mencken> b : to consider unlikely

Is it reasonably possible for faith and doubt to cohabit the same mind? I would submit that they cannot. One rules out the other as they are in direct contrast in every aspect. Faith is negated by doubt. How can you say that you believe in something and doubt it at the same time. I believe that the correct word for such a circumstance in which you find yourself wishing to believe something but that you have your doubts as to it’s truth is skepticisim.

The benefit that President Bush has over Ms. Albright is that he is not skeptical about his beliefs. He has full confidence in them and acts according to the dictates of his own conscience and not that of what he thinks other people would like him to do.

The Da Vinci Code and A Sense of the Sacred

Last night I went and saw the Da Vinci Code with a bunch of friends. The last time that I wanted to see a movie bad enough to face the opening night crowds was when I went to see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Considering my anticipation for seeing the Da Vinci Code I found myself leaving the theater trying to figure out exactly how I felt about it. Though, I don’t think that my reasons for having to think about it one way or the other would follow the mainline of critics who have not seemed to give the film quite dismal reviews.

During the time that I was watching the movie there were a few things that disturbed me right up front and left me squirming in my seat. The first was having to bear the view of Paul Bettany’s backside once again as he whips himself and makes use of a spiked belt wrapped around his leg tight enough to cause lesions. Then there was the portrayal of a sexual ritual performed by members of the Priory of Scion which was much less revealing then it could have been. There was a fair amount of obscenity which you come to almost accept as normal with Hollywood productions at this point in time.

The most disturbing aspect of the movie for me was the light treatment of the sacred nature of Jesus Christ. I went into the movie knowing full well the portrayal that Dan Brown had given to the so called fact that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had at least one child together; however, it seems that I had forgotten how much the life of Jesus was trivialized and how out of proportion the relationship of man and woman is distorted.

It is curious to me that it seems that both the book and the film seemed to put such a great enlargement of the importance of Mary Magdalene as the bearer of Christ’s child to the point that it is her that should be worshipped as a god instead of Christ himself. Christ taught that he was the way, the truth and the life of men (John 14:6). It is by following His example, by keeping his commandments, and following the Holy Spirit that we will regain entrance into the Kingdom of God.

I think that most people who have what Elder D. Todd Christofferson defined as a sense of the sacred will understand what I am trying to convey. “The importance of having a sense of the sacred is simply this–if one does not appreciate holy things, he will lose them. Absent a feeling of reverence, he will grow increasingly casual in attitude and lax in conduct. He will drift from the moorings that his covenants with God could provide. His feeling of accountability to God will diminish and then be forgotten. Thereafter, he will care only about his own comfort and satisfying his uncontrolled appetites. Finally, he will come to despise sacred things, even God, and then he will despise himself.” – CES Fireside for Young Adults, November 7, 2004, Brigham Young University.

This movie does little to convey a sense of the sacred nature of Jesus Christ and the sacred nature of marriage and the roles of men and women in our Heavenly Father’s plan for His children

Iran following in Nazi footsteps?

I could hardly believe this headline when I saw it: Iran eyes badges for Jews,
Law would require non-Muslim insignia. Think for just one moment and see if this sounds at all familiar. If you are like me you didn’t have to think about it long at all to see what is happening. “Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.” I have pictured with this post the armbands that the dictator Adolf Hitler forced the Jews to wear during the 1930s and 1940s when he was at the height of his power in Germany. I can think of no good reason that any dictator should wish to distinguish between what he sees as the dominant race and culture of his country and those that are in the minority. The only motive that I can see is to make them easier to persecute.

Hitler was ignored for far too long before the world opened it’s eyes to the atrocities that he committed. We cannot ignore Iran who seems to be following in his footsteps. I have e-mailed both of my state’s senators in regards to this matter and I urge all active-minded people to do the same.

http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=11fbf4a8-282a-4d18-954f-546709b1240f&k=32073

An LDS perspective of The Da Vinci Code

Please note that the following is not a representation of the opion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but is merely the opinion of one member of the church.

With the upcoming release of The Da Vinci Code, I thought I would express my own views towards the highly controversial film. First of all I will say that my own religious views have not kept me from reading the novel by Dan Brown, nor will it keep me from attending the movie on opening night with a group of friends. I read the book some time ago so I will be borrowing from a web site to refresh my memory and explore the different premises laid in the book. The site from which I am referencing the books main premises is as follows: http://www.y-zine.com/mona_lisa.htm.

The premises are these:

• The Roman emperor Constantine conspired to deify Jesus Christ.
• Constantine personally selected the books of the New Testament.
• The Gnostic gospels were banned by men to suppress women.
• Jesus and Mary Magdalene were secretly married and had a child.
• Thousands of secret documents disprove key points of Christianity.

I must acknowledge my limited knowledge of church history and what would be considered documented facts. I will be taking these points in hand from more of a religious standpoint, rather than the standpoint of a scholar.

The first premise listed is that the Roman emperor, Constantine, contrived a conspiracy to deify Jesus Christ. To quote the cited article, “Brown reveals his conspiracy through the book’s fictional expert, British royal historian Sir Leigh Teabing. Presented as a wise old scholar, Teabing reveals to cryptologist Sophie Neveu that at the Council of Nicaea in a.d. 325 “many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon,” including the divinity of Jesus.”

It is my understanding that Christ was about 33 at the time of his crucifixion. If this is the case then the council at Nicaea took place 292 years following the ministry of Jesus Christ. If we look to the Bible as a historical document as well as a religious text then we know that following the crucifixion Christ spent 40 days among his apostles and other disciples in his resurrected form (Acts 1: 3). During his three year ministry and this time Jesus fully organizes his church and brings people into His fold (John 10:16). If you will further explore this same tenth chapter of John then you will see that the Jews sought to slay Christ for His own claim of divinity in verses 33-38. Was it the emperor, Constantine, 292 years after the time of Christ who first claimed divinity, or was it Christ himself that taught his followers that he was sent from God?

This question might be answered by addressing the second premise that it was Constantine who selected the books of the New Testament. Unless the great church historians have been manipulated this is highly unlikely. Several books of the New Testament were considered as authentic early as 140 AD by the historian, Marcion. The majority were recognized by Irenaeus in 180 AD. Several books were left out by Eusebius in 325 which is the time that Constinantine was working to unify the church and declare what was accepted as authentic. It was not Constantine alone who chose these books, but it was also the role of the council to ratify any decisions. The books of the New Testament were not listed in full as they are presently constituted until 367 AD by Athanasius.

Another of the premises that is presented is that several Gnostic gospels were suppressed in order to keep women in subjection. If this was indeed the case, it was the members of the early church and not Christ or the Apostles who wished to keep women in subjection to the will of men. From all scriptural accounts, Christ never degraded women, but rather held them in the highest of esteems. He never condemned them as was witnessed when he was presented with the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11), he taught them that it was faith that worked miracles when he spoke to the woman who believed that by touching the hem of Christ’s garment and was made whole from an issue of blood (hemorrhage) that she had been suffering for twelve years (Matthew 9:20-22). He allowed a woman who was a known sinner to bathe his feet with her tears (Luke 7:37-38). It was Mary Magdalene to whom he first appeared following his resurrection (John 20:1-17). To appear first to a woman showed that they were held in high regard in his eyes. It was also a woman from Samaria to whom he taught that if they were to drink of the water that he had to give that they would never again thirst (John 4:7-27).

It seems that the most controversial issue that arises in The Da Vinci Code was that Jesus Christ was married and perhaps had even conceived children. It must be remembered that Christ was around 33 years of age when he was crucified. The scriptural record accounts for the three years of his ministry. Prior to that time there are another 30 years of which we know very little of the life of Jesus. To say with certainty whether Christ was or wasn’t married according to scriptural records is to say so from silence as there is no indication one way or the other that he was married and had children or that he was not and did not. There are however, teachings of Christ himself and the apostles to indicate that marriage was a very important aspect of the gospel. Let us take the words of Christ as found in Matthew 19:5-6, “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Marriage is not just a practice of men for their own benefit, but it is ordained of God. Paul taught the people of Corinth that the man is not without the woman, neither the man without the woman in the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:11). As far as LDS theology is concerned, none of our Heavenly Father’s children may be saved without their husband or wife at their side and so it must be that Christ also marries. Whether he fulfilled this requirement during mortality, or following, it has not been made known. But it would not take away from His divinity if it were made known that he had married during mortality, nor would it do so if he were to have been part of the fulfilling of the commandment to Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth. Christ’s love of children was also displayed when they came to see him and his disciples attempted to send them away (Matthew 19:13-15). It is also pure conjecture to say why the scriptures are silent on the matters of Christ’s marriage or conception of children. We must remember that our thoughts are not his thoughts, nor are our ways his ways (Isaiah 55: 8-9) and that he has a reason for such silence.

The last premise to address is that of the alleged existence of thousands of documents that would disprove key points of Christianity. Such is the test of faith. To paraphrase an LDS movie entitled, “God’s Army,” it was said that it seems as though we are presented with thousands of things which might destroy our faith, and few to sustain it. One of the greatest blessings of being LDS is that we do not have to rely only on the Bible to sustain our faith. Another work of scripture reaffirms and provides instruction as to how one may come to a knowledge of the truth. This work is known as The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The original record was written by ancient prophets that lived upon the American continent upon plates of gold which were revealed to and translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. through the inspiration of God. It confirms that Jesus Christ was indeed sent forth from God to make the means of salvation available to all mankind and that his divinity was not conceived by the mortal mind in order to gain power or influence over other mortal minds.

Man may come up with many great schemes, ideas, and philosophies, but those that are inspired of God could never be overturned or destroyed.

Ironic

Perhaps you are familiar with Ironic by Alanis Morisette
Thought I am not a lyricist by many means
I have my own version of that song to write

One woman I lost from my life three years ago
Now she is slowly becoming a part of it again
It makes me so happy to hear her words
Though they are only read in letters

Another woman is slowly fading from the picture
Though I often wonder how much she was really there
There is only one thing that seems to have changed
I have stopped trying to keep in contact with her

Up, down, to the left and to the right
Which direction will life take me next?
One woman will undoubtedly be there
Right now the other is a giant question mark

Relationships held so dear in my heart
Ties that have been forged over so much time
Strain now, threatening to break
Will they stand the test of time?

Distance narrows and hope grows on one side
Slowly the fire of friendship burns down on the other
How hard do I try to keep the flames alive?
On the other, despite the time, it is as though we never parted

Escape the Whirlpools of Sin

[VALJEAN]
What have I done?
Sweet Jesus, what have I done?
Become a thief in the night,
Become a dog on the run
And have I fallen so far,
And is the hour so late
That nothing remains but the cry of my hate,
The cries in the dark that nobody hears,
Here where I stand at the turning of the years?

If there's another way to go
I missed it twenty long years ago
My life was a war that could never be won
They gave me a number and murdered Valjean
When they chained me and left me for dead
Just for stealing a mouthful of bread
Yet why did I allow that man
To touch my soul and teach me love?

He treated me like any other
He gave me his trust
He called me brother
My life he claims for God above
Can such things be?
For I had come to hate the world
This world that always hated me

Take an eye for an eye!
Turn your heart into stone!
This is all I have lived for!
This is all I have known!
One word from him and I'd be back
Beneath the lash, upon the rack
Instead he offers me my freedom
I feel my shame inside me like a knife
He told me that I have a soul,
How does he know?
What spirit comes to move my life?
Is there another way to go?

I am reaching, but I fall
And the night is closing in
And I stare into the void
To the whirlpool of my sin
I'll escape now from the world
From the world of Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean is nothing now
Another story must begin!

---

Here we have Jean Valjean facing his own introspection after he has been counseled by the Bishop, who's silver he had been apprehended attempting to steal, to use the silver as a means to become an honest man. He faces his hate and his hoplessness and perhaps realized that if the Bishop could look past the fact that he was a former convict, who had just attempted to steal again, and grant him forgiveness, perhaps he could look past it himself and make himself a new man.

Recently in a Church Educational System (CES) Firside, President James E. Faust gave counsel that life is full of new beginnings. Each day, each hour, and even each minute presents us a new opportunity to change our lives and bring it into accordance with the way that we hope that we can and should be. We can resolve again, no matter how many times we have previously failed, to raise ourselves from our own whirlpools of sin.

"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." - Matthew 23:12

Sometimes I wonder at the cycle that I seem to find myself going through. I find myself, like a hiker in the midst of a great and exhilerating mountain climb, reaching one summit only to find that in order to get to a higher position I must first descend. It is as though my desire to draw as close to my Heavenly Father as possible wavers as a graph of a line that, rather than ascending with a good incline, is rather a chart of peaks and valleys. Hopefully though I when looking back I may be able to find that each peak is higer than the last and that the valleys are never as low or lower than the prior. Like many I have been taught that I should be able to depend on myself.

Humility is a very common theme through out the scriptures. I know that I must do more to show that I am not leaning upon my own strength, but that I remember that it is only upon the merits of Christ and by developing my relationship with him that his atoning blood may wash clean as snow, my scarlet sins. I know that he is there if I will only draw upon the strength that He is so willing to offer.

The House of the Lord

Holiness to the Lord
The House of the Lord

Upon each of these holy houses these words are engraven. They are a mark of the purpouse that they are built. It is within the hallowed walls where all of the ordinances that are necessary for the salvation of God's children may be performed not only for the living, but for those who have passed beyond the time of their own mortality. Were it not for the sacred commandment to perform these ordinances all mankind could not be saved. An innumberable host of men, women and children have died without ever having had the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ; that He came into the world so that we might be delivered from sin and transgression. Neither were they afforded the opportunity to participate in the ordinances that would make it possible for them to return to the presance of our Heavenly Father. Because of God's desire that all mankind might be saved (John 3:16) he has revealed the means by which we may provide vicarious ordinances for those who are no longer among the living; that they might be afforded the opportunity to accept all of the principles and ordinences that are required to enter the Kingdom of God.

It has been quite some time since I was able to have the opportunity to enter one of these sacred houses, but I am pleased that once again I find myself in a position to attend The House of the Lord on behalf of my brethren. 

Music Box

This is one of my Favorite movies of all time. The music and the message within have the ponwer to warm your heart and to help you want to be a better person. It's one of those feel-good movies that leaves you with a smile on your face and tender feelings in your heart. If you have never seen the movie or heard the music, I highly recommend it.

---

The Melody Within lyrics
Artist - Rigoletto Soundtrack
Album - Rigoletto
Lyrics - The Melody Within

Music boxes have within,
melodies they carry with them,
once they open music fills the air.

Every person you have known,
has a song of their own,
once they open up you'll hear whats there.

It's not easy you must listen
with your heart for what lies hidden.

There was a melody,
locked deep inside of me
but now its free,
it found a place embraced by harmony,
sweet harmony,

Love more than anything,
Teaches our hearts to sing,
Only love, could break the spell,
now I know, very well, the love within myself.

(music)

There was a melody,
locked deep inside of me
but now its free,
it found a place embraced by harmony,
sweet harmony,

Love more than anything,
Teaches our hearts to sing,

Only love, could break the spell,
now I know, very well, the love within myself. 

Moving Forward

Today my brain has felt somewhat muddled. I can’t say exactly why this might be so. I also have a bit of a headache so I wonder if I am just trying to think too much and not do enough. I have been long toying with the idea of writing an essay on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I don’t think that I could try to write about a more comprehensive subject thus the basis of the appeal of the idea. It would be challenging and would require a lot of time and effort. It would also be something at which I could look with immense satisfaction upon its completion. There is one fallacy in my thought and that is that it will ever be complete. The human mind is too finite to hope to completely grasp the depth and scope of the sacrifice that has been made by the one man who, through all the ages of time, lived a sinless life on behalf of all the others who have committed offenses against the eternal laws that have been laid down since the foundation of the world. Still I only want to relay my own personal pursuit of what I have encountered in my own life.

It’s funny how sometimes you just need to take a break from what you are trying to do, focus on something else for a while and then come back with a renewed energy and you suddenly find that you can go on and on from where you thought you had a roadblock. It also helps to take a couple of ibuprofen to help alleviate the headache. Anyway, I took some time to take some medication and to get some dinner and I was able to make a little bit of headway in progressing my essay.

I read another blog today by what I can only see as a very beautiful young woman. She related how she seemed to define her self esteem by being in a serious relationship. This isn’t the first time that I have seen such a situation and I was just wondering to myself what it is that creates this need from love in people. Having a knowledge of the plan of salvation that our God has for us has helped immensely in coming to what I feel is a good answer. It is my belief that we existed before we were born into mortality as the great family of God and we all dwelt in his presence as his children. (Romans 8:16) While we were there we knew of the great love that He has for us and when we were required to leave his presence to begin this time on earth we were left with the desire to once again feel that love and so we seek it almost to the point where it is as necessary as air to survive. Without knowing that it is God that is the source of this love we will look for it in those that we encounter in life, but unfortunately we, as mortals, do not possess love in the great capacity that God does. So sometimes we are left lacking and we are disappointed, hurt and may move from relationship to relationship hoping to find a constant and dependable source of love. Until we come to God it may never be found.

An Insight to Deity

It has been a delightful Sabbath day. Today’s meetings were excellent. They were uplifting and gave the boost that I am sure that I will need this coming week. It is interesting to be involved in a singles ward in a college area. The end of the school year brings about an end of the consistency of the congregation as it has been for the last several months. It is a bittersweet time as you have people that are returning home for the summer but who are moving on with their lives. You never know who you might see the next year. Tonight I had the opportunity to share my testimony with all the people that were there. It is funny the way it usually works when I share my testimony. I usually have a hundred things that I would like to say and then end up not saying any of them. The Lord knows better what the people need to hear and so I try to merely be the conduit through which He can speak. Dru and I also had the opportunity to talk quite a bit today. We spent a good amount of time this afternoon talking on MSN instant messenger and then we spent another hour or so talking following ward prayer. He is a wonderful friend and I admire him a lot.

I have come to a greater understanding of what it must be like for the Savior and our Heavenly Father who want to help us so much, but having to watch us sometimes suffer immense amounts of pain, knowing sometimes that it could have been avoided. I can’t imagine it being easy to not say what they know we could do to fix things, but rather they let us work out our own problems and wait for us to turn to them for help if we desire it. Sometimes even when we ask for help we still have to work things out on our own. It’s an interesting thing to try to understand, but even if I might not understand all of the things that happen in life I know that They know the end from the beginning and that all things may work out for our benefit.