Is it just me or did this entire weekend blow by quickly? I remember when it was just Friday and all the things I planned on procrastinating on seemed like a Monday away! I was care-free, excited, and completely unmotivated to do jack-shizzle for rizzle my nizzle! Now it's Monday and I'm like "Dude, I thought I had more time!"
Friday was cool. I got to see "The Da Vinci Code". I like how the ticket machine printed the movie as "Da Vinci !" as if they had to make the movie more exciting than it really was...that's what the overhyped marketing was for! The thing that fascinates me about TDVC is the amount of controversy surrounding a book/movie that is purely fiction(I was made aware, however, that the author did claim that the fictionalized storyline was based upon true facts, locations, and relationships. That's what I get for not reading the book!). My question is, "Why is there so much controversy from Church-related groups?" Is it because the someone is throwing questions at the long-held beliefs of the Catholic Church? If I know my history, people have been doing that continuously through out history. To me, this is all a true test of faith.
Faith as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary is as follows:
- Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
- Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
- Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
- often Faith Christianity. The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
- The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.
- A set of principles or beliefs.
Lots of great definitions here. I will pick two to make my point. Let's go with ..1 and ..4. Keep those in the back of your mind for now. Now, let's go for the definition of
truth:
- Conformity to fact or actuality.
- A statement proven to be or accepted as true.
- Sincerity; integrity.
- Fidelity to an original or standard.
a. Reality; actuality.
b. often Truth That which is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence.
We can take any of these definitions but I will choose ..1 and ..2. In this TDVC context,
faith is the acceptance and confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of God and a trusting acceptance of God's will. With that said, if someone lives all the characteristics of their faith, they are now unshakeable from what they believe in. No movie/book/external divergent thought will shake that belief because that person has arrived at the "truth", and that "truth" is universal, i.e., there can only be one truth for any given situation. For example, I believe "love" is a universal truth because when love is truly manifested, we all feel good when we experience it.
The only force that can change faith is the person who holds that faith. And if they make that choice, let them. If one changes their beliefs without self-motivating purposes, then they truly did not have faith in what they believed in. It doesn't negate the "truth" of the object of their former/current faith. It just means that person has essentially found a new truth to pursue and they are still learning and striving to learn the ultimate truth.
That's what perturbs me a bit about these religious groups. Why be so concerned about the portrayals in TDVC if you truly believe in the scripture/teachings? Why try to ban others from being able to read/watch the movie? The answer to me is that it's a reaction of fear they hold and maybe even a sign of a lack of faith.
Based on personal experience, it seems that the Church works more on fear with sprinkles of messages of love and acceptance. However, in practice I've been told I am going to hell more times by clergy than the crazy "Christmas Hell" lady on the Red Line. I am a sinner and must repent for my sins. But, oh, by the way, the only way for me to be forgiven and get in God's good graces is to follow interpretations of the morals of a select set of books detailing lives of many men/women/dieties. No clear instructions are given because that journey is different for each person and if I don't figure out how to acheive this understanding, I will be punished for all eternity. Damn, being put on Earth and living by these rules sure puts a lot of pressure on a person!
I understand how people can also be so quick to take TDVC as truth because of the aforementioned teachings. It's a scapegoat of sorts to allow people to bash the Church instead of trying to understand why the institution has implemented rules and regulations over the years. Also, as I said before, the work is fiction based on some truths. I implore anyone who will see the movie/read the book to do research prior to giving into it whole-heartedly unless, of course, you have faith that it's all true and that the Opus Dei will stop at nothing to make sure word doesn't get out that Jesus threw down with Mary Magdeline
On the converse, I am sure that the same "just believe it" arguement can be said for the Bible. I know that Father O'Reilley most likely won't ask you to go to the library and do research on curcial parts of the Bible prior to you believing the teaches and events as truth.
(Father O'Reilley at the pulpit)"Now, if ya could please go to the library and make sure that the Earth that was given to us by the Almighty Lord was covered with water for 40 days and 40 nights to drown his own creations and a big boat floated 'round carrying 2 of every species on the planet, I'd sure 'ppreciate it, lad."
So, in conclusion, TDVC to me is a good thing. It has made people think and re-evaluate their beliefs and teachings. It's launched a 1000 ships of thoughts, research, and confirmation of popularly held beliefs while cultivating the craving for acheiving the "truth". It also gave me a lot of speak about on the blog! Rock on!
 | Currently listening :
Carmina Burana & Great Classical Marches (Box Set)
By Ludwig van Beethoven
Release date: By 06 December, 2000 |
