A Topical Post On Christianity

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain,
and your faith is also vain.

1 Corinthians 15:14 (King James Version)

Several people asked me why I didn't boycott the Da Vinci Code movie, as requested by a number of Christian churches, including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. There are at least three reasons: first, my sceptical contempt for conspiracy theories; second, my faith rests on different - and secure - grounds, (in biblical language on rock, not on sand); third, I haven't read the book, nor am I planning to, and I wanted to be aware of this cultural phenomenon of our times.

I like to be familiar with enemy ideologies, too:P This one, pretending to shake the foundations of Christianity, is an easy target. The reference to the Council of Nicaea as the starting point of belief in Christ's divinity was the most outrageous statement in the movie, which is also the easiest to refute. Yes, the Council of Nicaea finalized the creed, but the majority of Christians had believed in the human and divine nature of Jesus Christ even while he was a minor prophet from a provincial town in Galilee. He was sentenced to death for blasphemy, ffs. He claimed to be God, which for his Jewish contemporaries is simply impossible to accept. Judaism is emphatically different from pagan religions where 'sons of gods' roam happily the earth having casual sex with god-fearing human maids. When Jews said 'God' they thought of the Creator of heaven and earth, the all-powerful, the eternal. And the concept of a man who claimed he was Son of God was deeply disturbing, for enemies and friends alike.

The movie mentions Christ's crucifixion, and death, as a fact. The death of Christ was disputed for a long time by heretical theologians, even more so than the resurrection. They talked of 'feigned' death, because they didn't doubt the resurrection, and wisely so. The evidence for the 'empty tomb' is overwhelming, for any unbiased historian and psychologist. When Jesus died, he left a group of discouraged men and women who had denounced him. How did they transform into the boldly preaching apostles we see in the Book of Acts in the New Testament? They must have seen something that changed their lives. They refused to believe, at first, some wanted empirical evidence of the senses (Thomas is one of my favorite characters). The very rise of the early church is a miracle, considering the historical facts. The claim that until the fourth century and Constantine the church believed Christ to be only a man is utter and profound BS.

The alleged relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is not startling news. It was hinted at in Jesus Christ Superstar musical, too;) However, the person sitting on the right side of Jesus, depicted in the Last Supper painting by Leonardo, is John. Period. The same one to whom he entrusted the care of his mother. The same one, whom he 'loved' in a more special way than others. Why not fabricate a lovely gay conspiracy theory using the information? Ah, because we need a feminine connection, the pagan one. The symbolism of the womb seems to be an essential ingredient of any cult, and I don't mind, having had two kids:D But hey, Christianity already has a feminine cult. Good guess, it's the other Mary. The mother of Christ. The one called Theotokos in Greek, Bogoroditsa in Bulgarian, and Virgin Mary in English, which does not render the significance of 'Christ's Birth-giver' at all. Alas, I can't write a post without lyrics. It's inevitable:D

Rejoice, you through whom joy shall shine. Rejoice, you the Redemption of the tears of Eve.
Rejoice, Height hard to climb for human thought. Rejoice, Depth hard to explore even for the eyes of Angels.
Rejoice, for you are the Throne of the King. Rejoice, for you sustained the Sustainer of all.
Rejoice, Star that causes the Sun to appear. Rejoice, Womb of the divine Incarnation.
Rejoice, you through whom creation is renewed. Rejoice, you whom the Creator is born a Babe.
From the Orthodox Akathist to Mary (as long as the Bilhana poem)

I'm not going to say anything on the topic of immaculate conception, virgin birth, and the role of Mary in salvation. I just would like to stress that yet another womb in the Christian religion would be a little excessive.

A final thought: if Jesus was 'just a man', and not the Saviour, as purported by the Church, why are his descendants so important? Why not the descendants of any other ancient figure? Descent is central to Judaism, by the way, and Jesus' descent is traced back to king David, and to Adam, for that matter. So Sophie is an heir of Adam, too. Wow. What else can I say...

The next movie I'd like to see, is The Body. Now this is serious challenge. In any case, Antonio Banderas is a joy to look at, which cannot be said of Tom Hanks.