Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Dick Staub: Staublog - Evangelical Childlike Hysteria & The Da Vinci Code

If you've been thinking about how to respond vis-a-vis the DaVinci Code, Dick Staub has a great commentary today...Here's some choice excerpts:
"The editor's footnote is indicative of deeper problems. 'Editor's note: We are not suggesting that Christians necessarily should watch The Da Vinci Code when it comes to theaters; skipping it is certainly a viable option. We are only suggesting that the Christian community be willing to take part in the overall cultural discussion about the film and the book, rather than take a reactionary approach with noisy protests and organized boycotts—just as we would hope secular culture would take part in the discussion of 'our' movies, like Narnia and The Passion of The Christ.'

The footnote's very tone reveals the 'nanny state' mindset of evangelicals. Can you imagine the New Yorker reminding readers that, 'skipping a movie is a viable option?' These kind of comments make evangelicals seem like babies strapped into a high chair waiting for Dr. Dobson to tell them what to do next.

....An alternative view would say evangelicals are hopelessly conformed to culture, consuming it, marching like lemmings off the cliff, incapable of thinking independently, revealing the truth of Mark Noll's comment 'the scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is so LITTLE of the evangelical mind.'

....

Hans Rookmaaker once said, 'Jesus did not come to make us Christian, he came to make us fully human.' [emphasis added] Whatever else it means, to be fully human would include the ability to reason, to participate in creating culture and to be conversant with other humans about our common condition and cultural environment. "


Read the whole commentary here: Dick Staub: Staublog - Evangelical Childlike Hysteria & The Da Vinci Code

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