Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Catholics Respond to The Da Vinci Code

[NOTE FROM BARB: My friend Matt Pinto sent me the following message. He said I could post ithere....Remember, May 19th everybody goes Over the hedge!]


Dear Friends,

My co-worker Lisa sat with her husband, Tim, at the theatre. They were out on one of their "date nights" to see the new film, Firewall. As the spots for upcoming movie releases began to roll, they were about to be stunned. The preview for The Da Vinci Code came on, and moviegoers were treated to a fast-paced, heart-pumping two minutes of excitement and suspense. The preview, which included scenes of a murder and an Opus Dei "monk" whipping and cutting himself, ended with the phrase, "Seek the Truth."

But what came next was totally unexpected: A rousing applause from perhaps 200 people in the audience. A few people even stood up. I'm not sure about you, but I've never seen anyone stand up and applaud a movie preview.

This is not good news.

An estimated one in three adult Americans have read The Da Vinci Code, according to Outreach Magazine (March/April, 2006). More than 40 million copies have sold in 44 languages. It's been on the New York Times Best Seller List for nearly three years. Untold damage has been done to the faith of millions.

Lindy Lowry, editor of Outreach, conducted "man on the street" interviews outside of a local Barnes & Noble store. Sarah, a 21-year-old college student, responded that she was now confirmed in her belief that Jesus was just a man and that Christians were "full of it." Sarah is not alone. Not long ago, two family members spoke to me within a few weeks of each other about serious concerns and questions they had about the book's claims.

These corrosive seeds have been planted in the minds of millions.

Catholics Must Respond

As always, evangelical Protestants have taken serious steps to respond to the May 19th release of The Da Vinci Code movie. They're running national video conferences, conducting massive mailings to churches, and they've written a dozen books (compared to just a few from Catholics). Yet, The Da Vinci Code is about the Catholic Church! We Catholics need to respond.

This is why I'm writing you about the Da Vinci Outreach initiative (www.DaVinciOutreach.com). A growing coalition of Catholic groups, including Catholic Exchange, Ascension Press, the Catholic League, Human Life International, and others have joined together to respond.

We have prepared free materials to equip you and/or your parish to respond to this major cultural event that is going to slam us in full force in the months ahead. The Da Vinci Code will be the cultural conversation in April, May, and June of this year. You can help your family, friends, and parishioners get prepared-with relative ease.

The DaVinciOutreach.com website features FREE, ready-made resources, including:

  • Parish Action Plan
  • "Homily Helps"
  • Parish Discussion Guides
  • Youth Group Guide
  • Posters, flyers, bulletin announcements
  • Speakers Bureau
  • A Da Vinci "Blog" where you can read comments from leading Catholic commentators.
  • ...and more!

The Perfect "Give-Away" Book


Click Here!

As with A Guide to the Passion, we've created another invaluable resource that is perfect for "giving away" to family, friends, and parishioners.

The Da Vinci Deception features 100 questions and answers on all the major themes, issues, and errors in The Da Vinci Code. And, best of all, you can get them for as little as $2 each, a super-low price for this 130-page book.

To order The Da Vinci Deception, please call 800-376-0520. Steep bulk discounts are available.

Be sure to visit www.DaVinciOutreach.com today to see the many resources available to you, your family, and your parish. We have everything you need to effectively respond to The Da Vinci Code, and defend Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.

Sincerely,

Matthew Pinto
Program Director, Da Vinci Outreach
President, Ascension Press

17 comments:

RC said...

Just a question about the end of the article you've presented...

is it equally important to defend Jesus as it is the Catholic church??

Organizations and Infastructures may rise and fall but the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be praised forever.

--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Glad to see Ascension joining the rest of us Catholics who have been fighting The Da Vinci Code for years. Thank you Amy Welborn and Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel. Thanks for populating www.davincihoax.com with resources.

Anonymous said...

I just want to comment that this book is classified as being FICTIONAL! It is not supposed to be taken as being true or factual.

Anonymous said...

You want to donate money to the anti-christ? Go buy tickets to the Da Vinci Code movie! Will somebody please stand up and lead a campaign to boycott this movie?

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

I'm a believer of christ, but I am a man and I know how man will lust from time to time it's just the nature of man with that said. It might be a theory that Jesus had a bite of the love bug for Mary Magdelene and his followers saw what was transpiring to see the damage that could come from this union, so as time past after the death of christ the lords prayer was presented with twists and plots to keep all praising or lord Jesus crist for ever in tune to be rightious. Please keep in mind this is only a theory and no matter what ever happened back then or after this movie is shown I will always belive and have in my heart Jesus Christ forever.

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