Monday, May 22, 2006

Red Herrings off the Starboard Bow

As I continue to muse on The Da Vinci Code I got to thinking about the nature of the gospel. It strikes me that the more we try to defend our faith position, the more we fuel the fire of a supposed cover-up. When you want a conspiracy, you'll find all the evidence you need. It's the "Of course they would say that" approach.
And when it comes to The Da Vinci Code it's not difficult to pick holes in Dan Brown's version of history. His assertions about the power of the church and pattern of decision making bears no real resemblance to the real nature of events. Others more able than I have documented and discussed these things.
So I got to thinking about what should be my response, and that's when it struck me. The gospel is a mystery to be revealed not a secret to be kept. As Christians we are not the possessors of secret knowledge, but the revealers of God's amazing truth.
If there has been a cover-up, if there has been a conspiracy, then it's surely been by the hands of those who don't want this amazing story of God's sacrificial love to get out into the public domain.
I'm going to give this some more thought. Perhaps there's a blockbuster novel in there somewhere involving a small, faithful band of Christ-followers who faithfully through the centuries have kept the truth alive through the worship and preaching and ministry of the church.
Perhaps it's a story that's already been written and is always being rewritten for each new age.
Perhaps you are even involved in writing it.

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