In this season we celebrate the death, passion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, the popular media seems dedicated to challenging the validity of our faith and the Biblical testimony we use. The coverage of The Jesus Dynasty, The Gospel of Judas and The Da Vinci Code speak to that challenge. People of faith need not run from the coverage nor should they fear reading articles that attack their faith. Such attacks have been happening for centuries and our faith and the church live on.
Start with the blessed assurance we have in the words from our Lord recorded in John 14:23-27: "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to guide us and give us peace. Paul testifies to the power of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:14-17: "Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba," (Father) The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
You see Jesus left so that we might have the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide and strengthen us in our faith. Why did some early writings never make it into our Holy Scriptures? Some would call us to conspiracies like the one used in the popular novel and soon to be movie--"The Da Vinci Code." From faith, we believe that it is the Holy Spirit that has guided authors, believers, church leaders, and the collective church through the centuries to nurture the truth of the Gospel.
Just because some scholars study the Bible does not mean that they are fully understanding it. You ask our children at Children's time on Sunday, "Did you hear the verse today?" You get blank stares. When the Holy Spirit testifies with your spirit to the enlivening of faith, all of a sudden we see things in Scripture that touch our souls. The Word of God comes alive! The church theologian, Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), said, "I believe in order to understand." It is only by faith and in faith that we begin to understand scripture fully. We will know fully in heaven, but the Spirit helps us to grow in that understanding after faith.
Ephesians 1:17-18: "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." We come to Scripture in faith and it works in us to deepen our faith through the work of the Holy Spirit.
It will always be so until Christ comes again. The true church of Christ will prosper. Critical scholars and great novelists will come and go, but the Bible will continue to outsell them all, because Christ did not leave us alone. He left us with the Holy Spirit to guide us in understanding the Word of God. The Bible is God's love letter to you and me; the Holy Spirit helps us understand that letter!
With that blessed assurance we do not need to fear seeing shows that question our faith. We can use those shows to deepen our understanding of what we do believe. Here are some coming up and some resources to help you understand and grow because of them.
Tonight, April 7th, on 20/20, they will be doing a segment on James Tabor, a Biblical scholar and the author of the just-released book, The Jesus Dynasty (Simon & Schuster). The Jesus Dynasty offers a bold but not that new interpretation of the life of Jesus and the origins of Christianity. As with many committed to what they call "the historical Jesus," he debunks his divinity and his resurrection.
On this Sunday evening, April 9th on the National Geographic Channel, they will present a documentary on the Gospel of Judas that was first mentioned by Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon in 180 AD. The discovery in Egypt of a Coptic copy of the gospel written about the year 300 AD from the original Greek has stirred new interest in the contents and implications of the finding. You can find out more about the Gospel of Judas at http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/ and the upcoming program. The gospel implies that Judas was not a traitor but was only did what Jesus wanted him to do in order for him to be crucified.
Outreach Magazine provides a wonderful perspective on The DaVinci Code and the movie's potential for important discussion of what are faith is. You can access Lisa Ann Cockrel's "The Da Vinci Code Intrigue" that was published in the March/April 2006 issue of Outreach magazine by visiting http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach/articles/davincicodeintrigue.html and reading more.
You may want to read a great sermon, The Da Vinci Code: Faith, Fact, or Fiction, that gives you a background to understand the novel and where they deviate from the facts to make the storyline work. Visit
http://sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=76452&sid=4435AB80470BE17F to read this very informative sermon.
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