FAITH AND "THE DA VINCI CODE"
By Toney Atkins
Hollywood executives are somewhat shrewd in their efforts to pack movie houses for controversial movies -- particularly if the subject matter is the central character in Christianity, Jesus Christ.
"The Da Vinci Code," a novel that has been on the shelves for more than a decade, is getting new life and a lot of television, radio and church pulpit exposure because it has become a motion picture that presents theories that some churches do not want to discuss or to outright repudiate.
I've neither read the book and don't expect to see the film until it becomes available on DVD, but from what I do know about it, the Hollywood PR machine is working overtime and that machine's operators are likely giddy about all the controversy and free advertising they are getting for what appears to be simply another speculative drama that delves beneath the Biblical interpretations we've been taught in the New Testament about Jesus.
The same type of hoopla raged when "Jesus Christ Superstar" was staged as a rock musical. I recall that friends and I had to wind our way through a sea of protesters holding signs warning that we'd all go to hell if we saw the production at Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, TN. The musical told the story of Christ in a radically different way than it had been shown in the late 1960s and early '70s, but the underlying message and the questions people had in Jesus' time as well as in the present were presented in a manner that some might find disturbing, particularly the implications of Mary Magdalene singing "I Don't Know How To Love Him." Was that implying a close relationship between the two?
The next hellstorm that I recall came when a decades-old novel, "The Last Temptation of Christ," was made into a movie. What outraged the Christian community was the extended dream sequence as Jesus was hanging on the cross in which he saw Himself being led away to a land in which He and Mary married and had children and then, seeing the chaos in the land, having to make a decision as to whether to fulfill his destiny and go back to the cross to die for the sins of humanity. WhenJesus opened his eyes on the cross, He knew the dream had been another Satanic temptation to stop Him from saving the world of sinners.
I was in Florida at the time of that film's release, and the protests came well before anyone had actually seen the film. Ministers packed city and county council meetings, insisting that "The Last Temptation of Christ" be banned from movie houses, not allowing open-minded Christians to see the film for themselves and judge it for what it was. I heard of no one whose faith was damaged by seeing it much later when it finally became available in some video stores.
We all remember the Jewish uproar over Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," because they believed there would be a backlash against the Jewish folks because of the fact shown in the film that a number of Jews indeed wanted Jesus to be crucified. That movie proved to be a big success with the evangelical crowd because it concentrated on the bloody violence of the crucifixion and sex wasn't an issue.
Now comes "The Di Vinci Code," which I understand implies that there is a discovery that Jesus and Mary indeed married and had children, and ministers are scared to death that their congregations' faith is going to be shattered by a work of fiction.
My feeling about the whole uproar follows, and I have read The New Testament several times. So what if Jesus and Mary had a relationship -- even a sexual relationship -- that either purposely wasn't written in the Gospels or was omitted by editors who believed that suggesting that Jesus had natural human feelings were blasphemous. I have been taught throughout life that Jesus was God on earth in human form Who experienced every emotion known to man, who had to battle many temptations to do evil and to turn against the Father. He laughed, He wept, His body bled when lashed and He felt pain until the moment He conquered the cross and death itself. If He didn't have sex, does that mean sex is evil? At least, all of these speculative movies avoid going so far as to emphasize that he mostly hung out with 12 male disciples, and we all know what people today would say about that if Jesus had chosen this time to come.
The outrage needs to be at oneself when a fictional book or movie has the power to hurt your faith in Jesus. We don't know everything He did on earth. We don't know everything He said. We DO know that He was the Son of God who loved His Father and all the people of the world to die for them and give them the promise of an eventual resurrection and eternal life.
If you object to a movie or book, don't see or read it, but then, please don't turn around and pay to see a horror flick about exorcists and demons, because then what do you believe in?
Pray, trust God, keep the faith, nurse it, share with those who believe as you do. Believe in Jesus in the manner that gives you comfort and makes you feel saved. Hold on to it, and I assure you, you will grow strong, using common sense and the knowledge that comes from above.
Love and peace to all!
************************************************************************
Hollywood executives are somewhat shrewd in their efforts to pack movie houses for controversial movies -- particularly if the subject matter is the central character in Christianity, Jesus Christ.
"The Da Vinci Code," a novel that has been on the shelves for more than a decade, is getting new life and a lot of television, radio and church pulpit exposure because it has become a motion picture that presents theories that some churches do not want to discuss or to outright repudiate.
I've neither read the book and don't expect to see the film until it becomes available on DVD, but from what I do know about it, the Hollywood PR machine is working overtime and that machine's operators are likely giddy about all the controversy and free advertising they are getting for what appears to be simply another speculative drama that delves beneath the Biblical interpretations we've been taught in the New Testament about Jesus.
The same type of hoopla raged when "Jesus Christ Superstar" was staged as a rock musical. I recall that friends and I had to wind our way through a sea of protesters holding signs warning that we'd all go to hell if we saw the production at Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, TN. The musical told the story of Christ in a radically different way than it had been shown in the late 1960s and early '70s, but the underlying message and the questions people had in Jesus' time as well as in the present were presented in a manner that some might find disturbing, particularly the implications of Mary Magdalene singing "I Don't Know How To Love Him." Was that implying a close relationship between the two?
The next hellstorm that I recall came when a decades-old novel, "The Last Temptation of Christ," was made into a movie. What outraged the Christian community was the extended dream sequence as Jesus was hanging on the cross in which he saw Himself being led away to a land in which He and Mary married and had children and then, seeing the chaos in the land, having to make a decision as to whether to fulfill his destiny and go back to the cross to die for the sins of humanity. WhenJesus opened his eyes on the cross, He knew the dream had been another Satanic temptation to stop Him from saving the world of sinners.
I was in Florida at the time of that film's release, and the protests came well before anyone had actually seen the film. Ministers packed city and county council meetings, insisting that "The Last Temptation of Christ" be banned from movie houses, not allowing open-minded Christians to see the film for themselves and judge it for what it was. I heard of no one whose faith was damaged by seeing it much later when it finally became available in some video stores.
We all remember the Jewish uproar over Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," because they believed there would be a backlash against the Jewish folks because of the fact shown in the film that a number of Jews indeed wanted Jesus to be crucified. That movie proved to be a big success with the evangelical crowd because it concentrated on the bloody violence of the crucifixion and sex wasn't an issue.
Now comes "The Di Vinci Code," which I understand implies that there is a discovery that Jesus and Mary indeed married and had children, and ministers are scared to death that their congregations' faith is going to be shattered by a work of fiction.
My feeling about the whole uproar follows, and I have read The New Testament several times. So what if Jesus and Mary had a relationship -- even a sexual relationship -- that either purposely wasn't written in the Gospels or was omitted by editors who believed that suggesting that Jesus had natural human feelings were blasphemous. I have been taught throughout life that Jesus was God on earth in human form Who experienced every emotion known to man, who had to battle many temptations to do evil and to turn against the Father. He laughed, He wept, His body bled when lashed and He felt pain until the moment He conquered the cross and death itself. If He didn't have sex, does that mean sex is evil? At least, all of these speculative movies avoid going so far as to emphasize that he mostly hung out with 12 male disciples, and we all know what people today would say about that if Jesus had chosen this time to come.
The outrage needs to be at oneself when a fictional book or movie has the power to hurt your faith in Jesus. We don't know everything He did on earth. We don't know everything He said. We DO know that He was the Son of God who loved His Father and all the people of the world to die for them and give them the promise of an eventual resurrection and eternal life.
If you object to a movie or book, don't see or read it, but then, please don't turn around and pay to see a horror flick about exorcists and demons, because then what do you believe in?
Pray, trust God, keep the faith, nurse it, share with those who believe as you do. Believe in Jesus in the manner that gives you comfort and makes you feel saved. Hold on to it, and I assure you, you will grow strong, using common sense and the knowledge that comes from above.
Love and peace to all!
************************************************************************
Sunday, May 07, 2006
THE MEDICATION-ALCOHOL DILEMMA
By Toney Atkins
In an earlier posting, headlined "Addictions," I opined about medication issues as related to the much-reported "confession" and "apology" by Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy in announcing that he was checking into a facility to get help for his addiction to painkillers. Not wanting to harp on the issue, I simply want to be a bit redundant in elaborating and opining on the previous writing.
The medications he said that he took before driving, allegedly not even remembering getting out of bed and operating the vehicle, were Ambien and something for his stomach, neither of which have anything to do with killing pain, according to doctors and medical reference information. Whatever the case, he obviously needs help if he has been mixing medications without researching potential side effects from the combinations. He says he was not drinking alcohol at the time of his car crash, and even if he wasn't, that definitely draws attention to the public about examining the issue of prescribed drugs combined with alcohol.
My experience has been that if medications are taken as directed -- and the majority advise NOT to combine them with alcoholic beverages -- they work as they are intended to do. For example, I've chided acquaintances about drinking a lot while taking antibiotics for whatever condition requires them. For one thing, experience and research has shown me that the antibiotics do no good if combined with alcohol, and some people wonder why they don't get well.
A number of medications can be addictive if taken for long periods of time. However, many people need certain medications in order to do their jobs and to maintain a quality of life. An example here is something such as Alprazolam for panic attacks. If taken as prescribed, I don't see a major addiction problem, especially if a physician will take time to wean the person off the medication (and that includes something like Zoloft, a good medication for depression) -- and IF the health problem is resolved. Ambien, a sleep aid, did not present a withdrawal problem when I was without it for a while, although I suffer from a sometimes serious sleep disorder possibly caused by post-traumatic stress after being mugged and kicked in the face and head many, many times about a decade ago (but that's a separate and unrelated story in itself).
Information about these and other medications (including those for pain and muscle relaxation) are usually provided by the doctor or pharmacist and should be read carefully, particularly by drinkers who don't (or can't) stop with just one alcoholic beverage. The individual can avoid potentially dangerous side effects simply by knowing about the medication and following the instructions.
Most don't see it as such, but that beer, wine or stronger beverages are drugs themselves, therein the danger of combining them with any other kind of drug. Taking aspirin while drinking booze and burn the stomach. Taking Tylenol-type drugs in combination with alcohol can impact the liver and even cause coma or death.
On the issue of alcohol by itself, we all know that addiction as the disease of alcoholism. Symptoms can be frequently having to have a beer or other drink when arising from bed, many more drinks during the day and evening and before going to sleep. Alone, such an addiction can result in mental and general health problems. (I'm not speaking of an average drinker who does not rely on alcohol for confidence to get through the day, to relieve a hangover from the night before or as an aid to try to sleep.) Controlled drinking is fine, as long as the person is not getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, operating potentially dangerous equipment or drinking too much too drown sorrows or to attempt an escape from personal problems. When the alcohol controls the person, that's when there can be all kinds of problems. That person can get treatment at facilities and get support from such fine groups as Alcoholics Anonymous.
This is not written to appear that I'm "holier than thou." In some of the instances mentioned above, I've been there or I've dealt with many people who have -- and I've done a lot of research. This is not meant to be preaching. It's intended to be informational. I had to learn about a lot of things the hard way -- and then I learned to educate myself as much as possible, with the prayer that something I write can help even just one person.
People have real and painful issues that require medication and even regular treatment by a physician. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We all just need to be in control of what we need and not allow it to control us.
Don't just trust what I write here, though. Do some research from reliable sources on your own. It's your health.
IMPORTANT POSTSCRIPT: Do NOT abruptly stop taking any prescribed medication before consulting your physician. Doing such could have very serious health repercussions.
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." -- The Serenity Prayer.
*****
MORE RAMBLINGS AT http://toneyatkins.blogspot.com/
In an earlier posting, headlined "Addictions," I opined about medication issues as related to the much-reported "confession" and "apology" by Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy in announcing that he was checking into a facility to get help for his addiction to painkillers. Not wanting to harp on the issue, I simply want to be a bit redundant in elaborating and opining on the previous writing.
The medications he said that he took before driving, allegedly not even remembering getting out of bed and operating the vehicle, were Ambien and something for his stomach, neither of which have anything to do with killing pain, according to doctors and medical reference information. Whatever the case, he obviously needs help if he has been mixing medications without researching potential side effects from the combinations. He says he was not drinking alcohol at the time of his car crash, and even if he wasn't, that definitely draws attention to the public about examining the issue of prescribed drugs combined with alcohol.
My experience has been that if medications are taken as directed -- and the majority advise NOT to combine them with alcoholic beverages -- they work as they are intended to do. For example, I've chided acquaintances about drinking a lot while taking antibiotics for whatever condition requires them. For one thing, experience and research has shown me that the antibiotics do no good if combined with alcohol, and some people wonder why they don't get well.
A number of medications can be addictive if taken for long periods of time. However, many people need certain medications in order to do their jobs and to maintain a quality of life. An example here is something such as Alprazolam for panic attacks. If taken as prescribed, I don't see a major addiction problem, especially if a physician will take time to wean the person off the medication (and that includes something like Zoloft, a good medication for depression) -- and IF the health problem is resolved. Ambien, a sleep aid, did not present a withdrawal problem when I was without it for a while, although I suffer from a sometimes serious sleep disorder possibly caused by post-traumatic stress after being mugged and kicked in the face and head many, many times about a decade ago (but that's a separate and unrelated story in itself).
Information about these and other medications (including those for pain and muscle relaxation) are usually provided by the doctor or pharmacist and should be read carefully, particularly by drinkers who don't (or can't) stop with just one alcoholic beverage. The individual can avoid potentially dangerous side effects simply by knowing about the medication and following the instructions.
Most don't see it as such, but that beer, wine or stronger beverages are drugs themselves, therein the danger of combining them with any other kind of drug. Taking aspirin while drinking booze and burn the stomach. Taking Tylenol-type drugs in combination with alcohol can impact the liver and even cause coma or death.
On the issue of alcohol by itself, we all know that addiction as the disease of alcoholism. Symptoms can be frequently having to have a beer or other drink when arising from bed, many more drinks during the day and evening and before going to sleep. Alone, such an addiction can result in mental and general health problems. (I'm not speaking of an average drinker who does not rely on alcohol for confidence to get through the day, to relieve a hangover from the night before or as an aid to try to sleep.) Controlled drinking is fine, as long as the person is not getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, operating potentially dangerous equipment or drinking too much too drown sorrows or to attempt an escape from personal problems. When the alcohol controls the person, that's when there can be all kinds of problems. That person can get treatment at facilities and get support from such fine groups as Alcoholics Anonymous.
This is not written to appear that I'm "holier than thou." In some of the instances mentioned above, I've been there or I've dealt with many people who have -- and I've done a lot of research. This is not meant to be preaching. It's intended to be informational. I had to learn about a lot of things the hard way -- and then I learned to educate myself as much as possible, with the prayer that something I write can help even just one person.
People have real and painful issues that require medication and even regular treatment by a physician. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We all just need to be in control of what we need and not allow it to control us.
Don't just trust what I write here, though. Do some research from reliable sources on your own. It's your health.
IMPORTANT POSTSCRIPT: Do NOT abruptly stop taking any prescribed medication before consulting your physician. Doing such could have very serious health repercussions.
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." -- The Serenity Prayer.
*****
MORE RAMBLINGS AT http://toneyatkins.blogspot.com/
