Gossip and Conspiracy Theory

I heard the other day that there was a big fight between Denise and Heather over Richie. One of them called the other and... I also heard that Jessica and Nick were getting back together. And that Jessica's sister had a nose job! And that...

BTW, did you hear that the reason gas prices are so high is that George Bush and Dick Cheney are in a secret society and Saudi royalty is in this group. And that Bush will make millions off oil prices when he leaves office. And...

Today it seems that anything but news is news. Gossip reigns. Conspiracy rules. All we need is a tease, and we'll hold captive the audience that tunes in. Which is important, because that is what pays the bills. Without an audience, Viagra adds wouldn't pay our bills. Without that much sought after 20-40 year old demographic, no adds, and no multi-million dollar contract for Katie Couric.

And if we make it up, or only share part of the story, well an apology later will suffice. Time is of the essence. Truth? When convenient.

National Geographic's presentation of the Gospel of Judas is an example of this. So is The DaVinci Code. Both offer salacious tidbits of tantalizing conjecture. Jesus was married? He had children? Of course, which explains why the Catholic Church has been so secretive over these many centuries. Jesus and Judas had a secret pact? Yep, and to seal the deal, Judas only needed to hang himself. It doesn't matter that there is no evidence, we want a story, we want controversy. Gossip and conspiracy - we'll keep watching day after day.

Until the next story takes us away. For example, I heard Brad and Angelina are having twins...conjoined...and that she's a virgin...and he's Jesus' great, great, great, great, etc......great....grandson. I mean he's got blonde hair and blue eyes just like Jesus does......

Stay tuned...

DaVinci Code - Who Cares?

I read The DaVinci Code very shortly after it was published. Even while reading it, I thought it would be a great movie. For any book to take hold of you as it did, suspense building on every turn of the page, was destined for the big screen.

Well, about 60 million copies of the book have been sold, and the movie is soon to be released. It will be huge. Ignoring the cry of far-right Christians to boycott the movie, just the fact that 60 million people bought the book - passing it along to unknown millions more - ensures the movie will be a smash. And while I will not be going to see the movie, I think that's OK.

As a Christian, I'm not so much upset by the book - as a work of fiction. I'm more upset with organizations like NBC News, who interviews everyone directly or indirectly associated with the film, - director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, author Michael Baigent (of Holy Blood, Holy Grail fame) - but does so with softball questions, fawning appreciation for the movie, and doesn't really investigate the accuracy of the book or movie. Or the National Geographic Society, a humanist organization that presents a television production (The Gospel of Judas) under the guise of a new discovery, when in reality it was simply a.)a grab for money (timed to coincide with the upcoming release of the movie), and b.)an attempt to discredit Christianity.

But, more than that, I'm upset with my fellow Christians. Most that are threatening to boycott the movie don't even know where the book is fictional, what the uproar is about, where the sources quoted come from and when they were written, etc. They hear the word "gospel" and think that anything called a gospel must be true. After all, they trust the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - why wouldn't the gospels of Mary, Judas, Thomas and others be equally valid? They've spent no time investigating the historicity of those documents, don't realize that they were written hundreds of years after the credited authors were dead, etc.

At the core, they're upset that their beliefs are being questioned, which is silly. There was an article on the FoxNews website that touched on just this. Father Jonathan Morris said, "Dan Brown is capable of passing fiction for fact because Christians don't know their faith what and why they believe. That's not Mr. Brown's fault." ( http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,194665,00.html )

I couldn't agree more. I'm relatively new to my faith. As such, I am often asked to address another person's question, or defend my beliefs. Often, I'm at a loss for an answer. To me, this is no big deal. I simply spend some time investigating and researching the issue, and formulate an answer based on the evidence. The process helps me strengthen my beliefs. It helps me better prepare the reason I have faith - that Jesus willingly died so that my many transgressions would be forgiven and I'd be able to live with him eternally (see 1 Peter 3:15 - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20peter%203&version=31 )

Dan Brown has done a great service for Christianity, if Christians simply pause, get past their emotional reactions and prepare to share their reason for the faith they have.

Curious to know your thoughts...