The DaVinci Code

July 24, 2006

Lar,

Those were some good suggestions regarding biographies.  I especially appreciated your willingness to follow in my footsteps by recommending books that you have not yet finished.  Personally, I consider Jeff the master at doing so, but I run a close second.  Although Jeff is by far the best at not merely recommending books that he hasn’t read yet, but recommending books that he hasn’t read with passion–with such passion in fact that if you did not know any better, you would think that he had not only read the work, but immersed himself in it for weeks!  Jeff, if you are reading this, I love every second of those moments!  Of this you can be sure.

Of course, it deserves mention that in this life, we will probably have to practice this to some extent.  We just don’t have all the time in the world to read every book, but we can at least become acquainted with many and thus, be able to give others discerning viewpoints regarding a variety of works in a variety of fields.  At the same time, we should probably be reading more than we do.  Actually, even though this isn’t supposed to be another recommendation post, I would also make mention of a rather new website/ministry called Discerning Reader.  It is filled with some ‘discerning’ book reviews for all sorts of books, with more reviews being added all the time.  I am sure I wouldn’t agree with every detail of every review, but on the whole it is a trustworthy site.  For anyone listening to our online conversation here, it is worth bookmarking and referencing anytime you have a question regarding a book.

joshbook.jpgOk, anyhow, this wasn’t what I set out to talk about as you can see by the title of this post.  The DaVinci Code sensation continues to rush onward in various circles across America.  I have not yet read the book, but it is on my short (and growing longer by the day) reading list.  I’ll get to it within the next couple of years probably.  Well, actually I hope to get to it somewhat soon (and maybe get to see the movie as well).  Anyhow, I read a short work by Josh McDowell during the past few days called

It is only 90 pages of rather easy reading, but it is packed with some great truth.  He sets up the book as a continued conversation between friends, which makes it all the more easy to digest.  Of course, McDowell sets out to shine light on the many (and there are so many!) inconsistencies and I guess it could be said, lies, in the work by Dan Brown.  He does a fine job of doing so.  But what is worth more in my estimation is the way he is able to educate Christians on some basic historical realities that I believe we should all have some sort of grasp of–in particular, how the Scriptures came to be and the strong theological convictions of the early church fathers regarding Christ.  Actually, I suppose it could be said that this little work (and others like it) might serve the church best by pointing us to gain a greater understanding (or basic understanding) of church history.  This is sadly a subject in which most of us are lacking.  And what is worse is that there is an abundance of material at hand!  Of course, such is the case for everything Christian in America.

We should know our Bible history first–that is, the history of redemption as described in the Scriptures.  But the history of the Christian church should be second on the list.  And why not?  God has chosen to reveal Himself in Scripture as the God of history.  And if we know our Bibles well enough, we should be able to see His sovereign hand on the last two thousand years as well.  Studying church history should lead us to a greater and more passionate worship our great God.  It is not a dull intellectual exercise when done rightly.  It is instead an exciting even that should lead us to possess a great love for and delight in our Lord and Savior. I could go one, but that is enough for now.  Give me some of your thoughts brother.

Seeking the behold the God of history with you,

Joe

Posted by Joe | Filed Under Seeking Him 

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