by Greg Tidwell

Following in the wake of our consumer economy, most religious groups adapt their message to the whims of popular culture. The Bible, in contrast, presents itself as a message from God calling us to adapt our lives to God's will. While man-made religion is an extension of human desire, designed to affirm, the Bible is the word of God, challenging us to change. The difference between these two paths can be seen in the differing purposes of a projector and a flashlight.

A projector casts an image with the purpose of fooling your senses into believing something is present which really is not. However engaging the image may be on the screen, it really isn't present. A flashlight, in contrast, exists to reveal reality through illumination. When I go hiking through the woods, can you imagine how useless my flashlight would be if, instead of revealing the truth about the path ahead, it projected a fanciful image of whatever I chose to see at that moment. A projector is appropriate for entertainment, as it is dealing with fantasy. A flashlight is appropriate for illumination, for it reveals reality.

God, in His grace, has provided illumination through Scripture. "Your word is a lamp to my feet," the Psalmist writes, "and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105, ESV) The Bible does not exist to titillate our flights of fancy, but to inform and direct us in truth. Popular religion, being a mere projection of human desires, cannot bring spiritual truth to light. Spiritual illumination only comes from seeing what God has revealed in Scripture.

by Greg Tidwell

Dan Brown's best-seller, The Da Vinci Code is delightful as a novel. His compelling plot and quick vignettes move along effortlessly in a story cast upon a backdrop of Western History. The cultural allusions which punctuate the narrative provide intellectual stimulation without overburdening the story with unwelcome sophistication.

Heretical Fiction

For Christians, however, The Da Vinci Code presents a real challenge, in spite of its literary merits. Brown casts his story as historical fiction, based on the Gnostic Gospels, early heretical writings unearthed over the past century. Using these Gnostic texts as a starting-point, Brown claims that Jesus wed Mary Magdalene and had children by her who were hidden away in France, the early church leaders keeping these details under wraps because they would discourage worship of Jesus as God.

According to the novel, this truth about Jesus has been preserved by an underground movement called "The Priory of Sion". Many great figures of ancient and modern history, ranging from Leonardo da Vinci to Walt Disney, were allegedly members, placing symbolic clues concerning the truth about Jesus in works of art ranging from medieval cathedrals to modern cartoons.

Brown's popularity is largely due to his skillful presentation of feminist themes. He depicts Mary Magdalene as a woman slandered by the early church leaders as a prostitute, but who was actually married to Jesus, bore his children, and served as a leader in the early church. She is put forward as validation of the feminist claims that women have been repressed and dominated by the authority of men throughout history.

Perhaps for Christians the most disturbing assertion of the book is that Emperor Constantine maneuvered the editing of biblical texts to fabricate the doctrine of Christ's divinity at the Council of Nicea in 325. "Until that moment in history, according to the novel, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet ... a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless." (p.233)

Art versus Truth

The skill with which Brown weaves his tale is what makes The Da Vinci Code so dangerous. Undiscerning readers may well become so drawn into the intrigue of the narrative that they forget to critically consider what is being put forward as historical fact. Tragically, our society since the 1960s has tended to embrace anything that positions itself as an attack on the status quo. The Da Vinci Code plays into this liberal bias.

For Christians, The Da Vinci Code represents the best example of a movement which is threatening the church on many fronts, the confusion between that which is emotionally compelling and that which is actually true. Much deviant theology is presented today in music, drama, and literature. This approach is at the heart of narrative preaching, which has largely eclipsed the presentation of Scripture in many pulpits. Packaging error artistically in an appeal to the emotions, heretics are able to get their lies into the hearts and minds of people with little resistance.

To be faithful to God, Christians must learn to look beyond the emotional appeal of the packaging. We must develop the strength of character to look beyond the superficial and ask the central question, What has God told us in His word? As God's children, we must stand firmly in God's truth.

by Greg Tidwell

"Cheshire Cat," asked Alice, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don"t much care where." said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

The Cheshire Cat had a point. All paths are meaningless if you have no place to go. This basic observation highlights the difference between the Christian way of life and the way pursued by the secular world. God's people are following a different path because they seek a different destination.

Too often, however, we discuss the differences between the Lord's church and the world in terms of the paths chosen rather than in terms of the destination desired. Looking merely at the path, most will choose to go the way of the world. The secular path is broad and easy. The way of the Lord, in contrast, is narrow and challenging. Looking merely at the path, the broad and easy way seems very appealing. Of course, the problem with the easy way is that it ends in destruction (Matt. 7:13,14).

In the Lord's church we must stay focused on the destination and choose the path that will get us there. We believe that God has called us to be His people, to walk in His way, and to live with Him forever. Knowing the path that leads to an eternal home with God, we choose the narrow way. Not because it is more convenient, but because it will get us where we want to go.

by Greg Tidwell

"But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life" (Jude 1:20,21 ESV).

Growing in faith is a daily blessing for each child of God. Jude, in this passage, provides three insights which help us in this process:

First, we need to remember that faith is, at its base, a spiritual experience. Through faith we come to know the Lord in baptism and receive the gift which is the Holy Spirit. Our further growth in the faith comes as the Spirit bears His fruit in our lives.

Second, Jude reminds us that all that we are and all we can attain as Christians is made possible by the love of God. It was God's love that sent His Son into the world as our Savior, and it is the assurance of His love that keeps us day by day.

Third, as children of God, our faith grows as we consider the future which awaits us. God's mercy is not only something we received in the past; it is a blessing for today and a promise for the future. Eternal life with God in heaven is a reality which guides us, building our faith and strengthening us to face whatever may come in life.

The spiritual reality of God's work, appropriated into our lives, provides all that we need to grow into the men and women of faith God has called us to be.

by Greg Tidwell

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well (James 2:8).

In a style reminiscent of the Sermon on the Mount and of the Old Testament wisdom literature, the Epistle of James distills great practical truths into plain and straightforward statements.

The principle quoted from the Law of Moses "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18), is denoted as "the royal law". Some modern theorists have attempted to use this primacy of love to set aside other commands recorded in Scripture.

The rule of love stands above the other commandments, however, not in the sense of setting the others aside but in the sense of encompassing the other commandments. As the apostle Paul explains:

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:8-10).

The Bible provides many commands to explain and clarify what sort of life we ought to live in response to the love of God. These commands are not in contrast to the way of love, they are the embodiment of God's love directing our lives.

Much trendy religion paints the Christian message in terms of self-indulgent gratification. Nothing could be further from the truth. Love, as commanded in Scripture, is always self-denying, never self-affirming. Love is described in terms of what the one who loves must not do. The way of love is the way of the cross - a focus on serving others, not on being served.