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The Da Vinci Code and Other Reasons Why We
Positively, Absolutely, Without Question Must Make Christian Education
A Priority This Year!
What are we to make of the book that sits atop the NY Times
bestseller list—a roost it’s ruled the past sixteen weeks? Dan
Brown’s, The Da Vinci Code, has generated a buzz, as a recent article
in our local paper indicates. Many of us, including myself, have read
it. I did so at the suggestion of my father-in-law, who said, “You
probably ought to read it to be prepared for the questions it raises.”
I admit Brown’s fiction offers an interesting page turner of
suspense. But its story line wraps itself around some core Christian
beliefs, strangling them with an almost palpable anger that oozes from
Brown’s pen. His story argues that Christ survived the crucifixion and
later married Mary Magdalene and had a family. He has his characters
purport that the political processes of the Church suppressed the real
truth of the secret knowledge of Jesus and Jesus’ life. He suggests
the Gospels we should be reading are not Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John, but those discounted by the early Church, the Gospel of Thomas
being one. Along the way, Brown drops many other supposed facts about
Christian history that are blatantly false.
What are we to make of the most popular book in America? I think we
need to make the most of it in the context of Christian education. In
other words, unless we make the commitment to learn the truth of the
scriptures, God’s Word, and until we have a solid foundation of
Christian history grounding us, we might be carried away by popular
fiction rather than centered in truth. Books such as The Da Vinci Code
compel me to say, “We positively, absolutely, without question must
make Christian education a priority this year.”
Of course, it’s not just popular culture that presents challenges
to the faith. The challenges come from within the Christian community,
too. I read just this week a quote from a Christian leader who said
that in matters of church decisions concerning sexuality, we must
trust “the spirit of God” to lead us.
That sounds nice, and I certainly agree that we need to seek the
Holy Spirit’s guidance in all matters and decisions. But a subtle
danger lurks under that observation. All too often, when Christians
talk about letting the spirit of God move them, it’s an euphemism for
seeking the liberty to do what they—not the Holy Spirit—want to do. So
they justify their decisions by claiming the spirit of God’s
leadership.
What are we to make of such comments from church leaders? I think
we need to make the most of them in the context of Christian
education. In other words, until we understand that the spirit of God
never moves us beyond what the word of God has already revealed, and
unless we search the scriptures for guidance in all the decisions
facing us as people of God, we might be carried away with subjective
whim rather than objective truth.
For these reasons, I was so pleased recently when a team of St.
John folks met to discuss and plan the adult curriculum for Christian
education this year—from classes on Sunday mornings to days and nights
throughout the week. A consensus gripped the dozen participants: We
must make scripture the center of all Christian education. Not that
every course has to be a traditional, verse-by-verse Bible study
(although we will have lots of those!), but that every course will
include an intentional incorporation of biblical material and
revelation in some way.
In the weeks ahead, we will have a feast of adult Christian
education opportunities—from an overview of the Bible to a study of
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians to various book studies to a wellness
and nutrition series from a biblical point of view to Christian
parenting courses to…well, I can’t begin to list them all. Five adult
classes will be offered during Sunday Church School beginning
September 7 and many others will be available during the week,
including several during the “Wednesday Walks with Jesus” gatherings.
Why so much effort toward adult Christian education? The answers
are obvious. Outside and inside the Christian community, we
desperately need to separate fact from fiction, holding to God’s Word
for dear life.
That’s why I say we must positively, absolutely, without question
make Christian education a priority in our lives this year—and always.
In the Word,
Mark
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