Hysteria Over The Da Vinci Code

I never felt the need to voice out my thoughts about the book ‘The Da Vinci Code’ until I received this email (which provoked me to clear up all these redundant frenzy):

<< THE DA VINCI CODE – Lecture by Fr. Gino Henriques (23/4/2006)]
*Jesus had said “Watch out and do not let anyone fool you.(Matthew 24,4).
St. Peter said ” Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1, Peter,4, 8). Pope John Paul II had spoken about the Culture of Death, Relativism, the dictatorship of Negatism and a God-less world. Today many speak about ” Don’t talk about God, about religion or about Christ”

The Da Vinci Code was written by Dan Brown as a fiction taking excerpts from the book “The Holy Grail”, a fiction story, but claiming that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and offspring, Sarah, forms that genealogy line( see below). The Dan Brown book has now been translated into 45 languages and the author now has changed and believes that the information is now “fact” and not fiction.

*Jesus warned ” …Look, here he is! Do not believe him. False Messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will perform miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God’s chosen people, if possible. Be on your guard. I have told everything ahead of time. ( Mark 13,21-23)

Hi All,
Please find attached the lecture given by Fr Gino recently. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, Zenit News ,our Church Fathers have all condemned this book the Da Vinci Code, which started out as a fiction story by Dan Brown, and now he insists it is fact. On the 19/5 the movie is out in town. The Da Vinci Code is aimed at destroying Jesus Christ, the Christian Faith , the Catholic Church and all religion, and replacing them with his own religion and thesis. It is time as apostles of Christ that we go out and give the Good News and debunk this book publicly. It is a hoax and full of falsehood and distortion of true Church history. May our Lord and the Holy Spirit go with you >>

Here’s my prescription for those Christianists (Christians who are politically-oriented) who are terrified over the book ‘The Da Vinci Code’ written by Dan Brown as to the impact it might have on fellow believers; for those planning to boycott the documentaries shown on the history channel and the up coming movie with Tom Hanks playing the role of a  “Harvard symbology professor named Robert Langdon who gets embroiled in a murder mystery of Biblical proportions”: “TAKE A CHILL PILL will ya!”

As a Calvinist I believe that faith comes from GOD and hence it can never be taken back, although often times as a fallen creature, people do doubt this very faith, like Thomas!! Interestingly enough this Da Vinci issue has been a nightmare for “freewill” believers (who believe that the faith is purely a voluntary act of man, because man has the freewill to choose between good and evil) like Catholics and some Protestants who follow Armenian theology; because of this freewill, they believe that the devil can deceive and make us relinquish our faith! 

Can the devil deceive? Yes, because of our fallen nature, we do give-in to flesh often times and rebel & grieve the Holy Ghost, but can the devil take away the faith given to the chosen ones? No, because the faith comes from God, and once the elect are saved by this faith they remain saved forever, hence this constant repentance (a war between the flesh and the sprit which the Apostle Paul talks about). 

Here in US, the Catholics and some freewill Evangelical communities (politically called the Christian Right-Wing) have taken their “moral” addiction so far in warring about abortion, gays, cloning and so on, and completely distracting themselves from the sweet gospel of our Savior; which is “repent or perish”. They think by keeping their moral values (which Paul calls as “filthy rags”) they can sustain their salvation; pity without realizing salvation was obtained by the Man (JESUS CHRIST) on the cross whose atonement “alone” is the cause and the price of our salvation!! (In a way my husband was pink in glee that at last The Da Vinci Code is serving these “freewillers” right for good!!)

Here are the basics of the Doctrine of Grace upon which I wrote this blog:

There are two mains camps of theology within Christianity in America today: Arminianism and Calvinism. Calvinism is a system of biblical interpretation taught by John Calvin. Calvin lived in France in the 1500’s at the time of Martin Luther who sparked the Reformation.

The system of Calvinism adheres to a very high view of scripture and seeks to derive its theological formulations based solely on God’s word. It focuses on God’s sovereignty, stating that God is able and willing by virtue of his omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence, to do whatever He desires with His creation. It also maintains that within the Bible are the following teachings: That God, by His sovereign grace predestines people into salvation; that Jesus died only for those predestined; that God regenerates the individual where he is then able and wants to choose God; and that it is impossible for those who are redeemed to lose their salvation.

Arminianism, on the other hand, maintains that God predestined, but not in an absolute sense. Rather, He looked into the future to see who would pick him and then He chose them. Jesus died for all peoples’ sins who have ever lived and ever will live, not just the Christians. Each person is the one who decides if he wants to be saved or not. And finally, it is possible to lose your salvation.

Basically, Calvinism is known by an acronym: T.U.L.I.P.

Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement (also known as Particular Atonement)
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints (also known as Once Saved Always Saved)

Total Depravity:
Sin has affected all parts of man. The heart, emotions, will, mind, and body are all affected by sin. We are completely sinful. We are not as sinful as we could be, but we are completely affected by sin. The doctrine of Total Depravity is derived from scriptures that reveal human character: Man’s heart is evil (Mark 7:21-23) and sick (Jer. 17:9). Man is a slave of sin (Rom. 6:20). He does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12). He cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). He is at enmity with God (Eph. 2:15). And, is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3). The Calvinist asks the question, “In light of the scriptures that declare man’s true nature as being utterly lost and incapable, how is it possible for anyone to choose or desire God?” The answer is, “He cannot. Therefore God must predestine.” Calvinism also maintains that because of our fallen nature we are born again not by our own will but God’s will (John 1:12-13); God grants that we believe (Phil. 1:29); faith is the work of God (John 6:28-29); God appoints people to believe (Acts 13:48); and God predestines (Eph. 1:1-11; Rom. 8:29

Unconditional Election:
God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will (Eph. 1:4-8; Rom. 9:11) without any consideration of merit within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him. Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not (Rom. 9:15, 21).
Limited Atonement:
Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for ‘many’; John 10:11, 15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him, not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ, not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion where he would bore the sins of many (not all).

Irresistible Grace: When God calls his elect into salvation, they cannot resist. God offers to all people the gospel message. This is called the external call. But to the elect, God extends an internal call and it cannot be resisted. This call is by the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts and minds of the elect to bring them to repentance and regeneration whereby they willingly and freely come to God. Some of the verses used in support of this teaching are Romans 9:16 where it says that “it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy”; Philippians 2:12-13 where God is said to be the one working salvation in the individual; John 6:28-29 where faith is declared to be the work of God; Acts 13:48 where God appoints people to believe; and John 1:12-13 where being born again is not by man’s will, but by God’s.

Perseverance of the Saints:
You cannot lose your salvation. Because the Father has elected, the Son has redeemed, and the Holy Spirit has applied salvation, those thus saved are eternally secure. They are eternally secure in Christ. Some of the verses for this position are John 10:27-28 where Jesus said His sheep will never perish; John 6:47 where salvation is described as everlasting life; Romans 8:1 where it is said we have passed out of judgment; 1 Corinthians 10:13 where God promises to never let us be tempted beyond what we can handle; and Phil. 1:6 where God is the one being faithful to perfect us until the day of Jesus’ return.

(These five categories do not comprise Calvinism in totality. They simply represent some of its main points.) 

Don’t even dare tell me that I’m promoting the heresy of this book, all I’m saying is just because I read this book or watch the movie I’m not gonna lose my faith given by GOD for HE is the sustainer of my faith!! AMEN!