Dan Brown's Conspiracies

Since "Angels and Demons" is in the theaters, I thought I'd re-post this blog of mine from 2006. I had originally posted it on MySpace.

“Those who truly understand their faith, understand the stories are metaphorical.” Robert Langdon in “The Da Vinci Code.”

“Religious allegory has become a part of the fabric of reality. And living in that reality helps millions of people cope and be better people.” Robert Langdon in “The Da Vinci Code.”

The statements above are but two of the idiotic things that issue from the misinformed, pseudo-intellectual mouth of Dan Brown’s character, historian Robert Langdon, in the FICTIONAL book, “The Da Vinci Code.” I don’t know about anyone else reading this, but I don’t believe in a metaphor. I believe in a living, physical God. The apostle Thomas didn’t believe in a metaphor, either. And he didn’t put his hand in the wound of a metaphor. He put his hand in the wound of the resurrected, and very real Jesus Christ.

Just because we don’t see something, doesn’t make it a metaphor. But, to cut unbelievers a break, this is the way they must explain things like true faith. You see, in their pseudo-logical and falsely rational minds, they just can’t believe that anyone would be gullible enough to believe that a man violated the laws of nature and walked on water. Or that a woman had a baby without having had sex. Therefore, they conclude, these things must be metaphors or allegories or stories to represent what we want to believe since we can’t face the harsh reality that we are all nothing but biological entities that live by instincts and then die into nothingness.

Hmm. Actually, the ones that believe in metaphors are those that chase after money, power, fame. These are metaphors, allegories, fables. For they never satisfy. They are ever elusive and never fully obtained. No matter how high a person climbs in wealth, power, or fame, they always want to climb higher. The top of the ladder is truly a metaphor.

But again, I have to cut atheists and agnostics a break because I was once where they are. I used to believe that religion, all religion, and yes, especially Christianity was nothing but a crutch for those who needed something to believe in, who needed a reason for their miserable, pathetic lives. The simple seeking of pleasure and self-centeredness that I had apparently wasn’t enough for some people, so they believed in fables, in a mythical God.

Or, those who had strong faith were those who had troubles in their lives that they just couldn’t explain or wouldn’t take responsibility for, so they “blamed” a supernatural power and clung to the myth that God had everything in control.

That was then, this is now. So, what happened? Did I have one of those experiences? Did tragedy strike and I needed a lifeline to cling to? Did I wake up one day and realize the pointlessness of my life? Sorry, Mr. Atheist, no such deal. The meaninglessness of my previous life only occurred to me after I realized that Jesus Christ was and is real and that He is who He says He is. My selfishness, my living only for myself didn’t drive me to Christ. No, Christ made me realize that’s who I was. There was no reason, other than the Bible is the truth, that I gave my life to Christ. Sorry, Mr. Pseudo-intellectual, but it was through rational, logical thought and study that I came to Christ.

It’s really sad to read a book like “The Da Vinci Code” and realize the world is populated with people like Robert Langdon, so anchored in what they think is reality that anything outside their pseudo-rational thought is simply fable, allegory, myth, or legend.

Our God is a rational God. He is a logical God. And when one studies the Bible and other historical documents, one can only come to this conclusion.

There’s a reason why the conspiracy in “The Da Vinci Code” has never come to light and never held any water. It’s not because the church is all-powerful and has squashed those who supposedly know the truth. No, it’s because The Truth is Jesus Christ and the conspiracy within Dan Brown’s mind is nothing but that, a fictional conspiracy.

Tradition

“Tradition, tradition! Tradition!” Thus sings Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof, one of my favorite musicals.

The Christian church is filled with traditions. Is this a good thing? Let’s take a look at some of the traditions we have and see if there is a Biblical basis for those traditions.

Let’s start with one that is in my church, and that is the invitation. Usually at the end of the service, our pastor as do many pastors in the nation, invite people who may have just realized their need for a Savior to come forward. We then have counselors talk to them and help them with their decision. The person is then presented to the congregation.

Is this Biblical?

In Matthew 10:32 Jesus says, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” This is public confession and an invitation is a way to publicly acknowledge Christ.

Is there any danger in this tradition? No, as long as we realize that there are other places to be saved other than in a church. And that acknowledgement before others can also take other forms. Just telling your family or friends of your decision is acknowledgement before others. And for many churches, it’s not even a membership requirement to walk the aisle, just encouraged.

Okay, here’s an easy one. Doing the Lord’s supper in church. This is definitely Biblical. Luke 22 is one of the Gospel chapters describing the last supper with his disciples. And in it, Christ commands us to remember him by breaking bread and drinking wine (we now use grape juice). And you can see in 1Corinthians 11 that this is an ordinance to be followed. The Bible does not tell us when we should do this or how often, just that we should. Oh, and it doesn’t have to be done in church. You can do the Lord’s supper in your own home.

Now let’s look at some that are a little more controversial as far as their Biblical basis.

Baptism. This is another command. It is the first command that we should follow after confessing Christ.

Acts 2:37-38 says, When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

I’m not going to get into the order of things or the causality of things, that’s a blog for another time, but you can see that baptism is commanded after salvation. The end of Acts chapter 8 shows the same thing. And other places throughout Acts shows that baptism is a command to be followed after salvation.

How are we to be baptized?

Matthew 3 implies full body immersion, as John was baptizing people, including Christ Himself, in the river. But that’s not the important aspect of baptism. The important part is that baptism must FOLLOW salvation. And salvation is a conscious decision on our part. Therefore, baby baptism is not Biblical. And not only is it not Biblical, it is dangerous.

Why? Because if a person grows up thinking that they are saved because they were baptized as a child and never commits their life to Christ, they are in danger of going to hell when they die. Baby baptism can lull someone into a false sense of salvation.

One final thing about baptism. It does not save a person. Again, baptism is an act we are to do AFTER salvation. It is an act of obedience. It does not save a person. It could be argued, as seen in Acts 2, that one does not receive the Holy Spirit until they are baptized, but that’s still not the same as salvation. Luke 23:40-43 is our evidence that baptism is not necessary for salvation.

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The thief on the cross was not baptized, but Jesus says he will join Him in paradise after they die. Baptism does not save.

What about baby dedication? This is different that baby baptism. And this is Biblical.

Exodus 13:2 says, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal.”

Baby dedication extends this to not only the firstborn male, but every child. As parents, we should vow to raise up our children in the Lord.

Proverb 22:6 - Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

What about speaking in tongues? This one has been twisted and corrupted over the ages. One thing to remember about speaking in tongues, there should always be an interpreter as well. See 1Corinthians 12,13, and 14. The other thing to beware of with speaking in tongues is that no where in the Bible does it say that as proof of salvation, you will speak in tongues. Paul calls this a spiritual gift and each of us has different spiritual gifts. Acts 2 is often misinterpreted. Here, tongues is actually languages. There are people from all over the world visiting Jerusalem and the disciples are given the power by the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel of Christ in the languages of all the people visiting. This is a one-time event. Personally, I believe many missionaries that go to foreign lands have the gift of tongues (or languages) as they are able to pick up the language of the people group they work with quickly.

I’m sure there are many other traditions we could discuss. The important thing to remember about any tradition, whether based on Biblical principles or not, is that tradition cannot take the place of a relationship with Christ. We must guard against doing things of tradition and checking them off of our to-do list. Even going to church can become this way.

The last tradition I’d like to mention is singing songs of worship. This is definitely Biblically based – the Psalms are songs – but again, we must guard against thinking this is THE way we worship God. Everything we do should be an act of worship to God. Singing songs is just one small thing we do. And again, guard against this just being something you do on Sunday morning. Think about the words your singing and make it a true time of worship.

Tradition is good, but a living, dynamic relationship with Christ is better. Think of Jesus as a friend. Do you just tick things off a list for your friends?

In John 15:13-15, Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

Don’t let tradition replace relationship.

Christian Hypocrites

Dictionary.com has an interesting definition of a hypocrite: a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

I find the last part of this definition particularly interesting as it actually describes every Christian who ever lived with the exception of Christ Himself.

That’s right, according to this definition, everyone who claims to be a Christian is a hypocrite.

Why do I say that?

The definition states “especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.” And the Bible says in Romans 3:23 – All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Even the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:18 – 20 - I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

And if Paul struggled to do the right thing and to avoid doing the wrong thing, then the rest of us are in trouble.

And the world, those that are not Christians, love to call us hypocrites. And in the sense they mean (the definition above), they are actually right. We profess to follow Christ. We want to follow Christ. We want to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” as Matthew 5:48 says, but we’re not. We fail, time and time again. We do the wrong thing. We say the wrong thing. We mess up. We don’t have to, but we do (that’s a blog for another time). In short, we are hypocrites, since we profess one thing and do another.

But let’s look at God's definition of a hypocrite.

In the first instance, Christ uses hypocrite as someone who judges others for the same thing they are guilty of themselves.

Matthew 7:1-5 says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Again, this passage is a subject for an entire other blog, but in short, when we look down upon other Christians for stuff they do wrong, this is pride and arrogance, and true Christian hypocrisy. We mess up. Our brothers and sisters in Christ mess up. We should not exalt ourselves above others and judge them for their actions.

Romans 2:1 sums it up: You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

The next use of hypocrite we’ll look at is in Matthew 6, versus 2, 5, and 16. They say:

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Here Christ is saying that a hypocrite is someone that does the things God tells us to do, tithe, pray, and fast, not because we love God, but because we want to appear righteous in front of other people. Again, this boils down to arrogance and pride. We are being hypocritical when we do something supposedly for God, but then claim the glory for ourselves.

Matthew 23 also shows Jesus using the term “hypocrite” as He accuses the Pharisees of being hypocrites because on the outside they appear to be righteous and doing the things of God, but their hearts are dark and, like the above examples, are trying to glorify themselves.

Matthew 23:25 says, Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

This is the person who is more concerned with their outward appearance to other people than their heart toward God.

The last type of hypocrite I’d like to suggest is one that is covered by Matthew 7 and Matthew 23. This is the Christian who is quick to recognize sin in others but will not admit their own iniquity. This is the person who always justifies their own actions, even when those actions are wrong. It is the Christian that may be confessing to God, but will not confess or apologize to others when they have done wrong. It is the Christian more concerned about how they appear to other people than how they appear to God and will go to great lengths to protect their reputation.

James 5:16 says, Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

To me, this last type of Christian is the worst. More than likely, we will mess up. And when we do, we need to confess to God and ask for His forgiveness. But, when we mess up and it affects someone else, we should also confess to that person, apologize, and ask for their forgiveness.

Matthew 5:23-24 - Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

We should not approach God until we’ve settled things with each other.