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A short piece I wrote called “Laugh When You Watch That” has been posted at National Review Online. You can read it here: NationalReview
Mercatornet, an online magazine from Australia, has a special issue dealing with the Da Vinci Code, including some interesting international takes on it. Mercatornet
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dvc blog is back online!
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- Filed under The Da Vinci Code. Created on September 2nd.
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- Filed under The Da Vinci Code. Created on August 23rd.
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- Filed under The Da Vinci Code. Created on August 14th.
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Christians believe that God had a son, Jesus, without compromising His divinity.
Clearly, for 2000 years Christians have believed that having a child is compatible with being divine. I have no reason to believe that Jesus had a child, but I don’t see how having a child would compromise his divinity, so what’s all the fuss about the Da Vinci Code?
Perhaps this can provide background. There’s more to it than the child business actually. Cheers!
http://www.mercatornet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=273
I wonder if Brown got inspired to write a tongue-in-cheek novel after reading Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum. Sometimes, a cryptic piece of paper hidden in the wall is just a laundry list, yet conspiracy-living people will kiil for it…
Jesus, the Son of God, through Whom the world and everything was created, fathering a child with Mary Magdalen would be akin to incest.
But, to Brown, Jesus was not the Son of God, through Whom the world and everything was created, just a rabbi with a girlfriend. So why on earth should we care about his descendants at all and kneel before his wife’s tomb?
I agree with Fr. Wauck, Brown is laughing all the way to the bank, literally at the expense of his gullible readers.
Quixote:
I’m intrigued. Why would Jesus fathering a child with Mary Magdalene be akin to incest?
I found an interesting new Da Vinci Code site. It looks like a ‘Code’ author has dumped his content into a wiki-based site so anyone can go in and edit what’s there or add new content. Seems like interesting idea. The URL is http://secretsbehindthedavincicode.wetpaint.com
I imagine, Maura, that Quixote is referring to our filial relationship with Jesus who is, as God at least, our Father. Jesus does refer to his followers as his “children” quite a bit. That makes Mary Magdalen, in an important and not-merely metaphorical sense, his daughter.
The characters in The Da Vinci Code suggest not only that Jesus had a child but that He was nothing but a mortal man. The denial of his divinity is explicit.
There are really two issues here: what the Gospels tell us about Jesus and Mary Magdalen (ie, nothing about any marriage or even special intimacy; Jesus speaks with Martha, using her first name too, and the Samaritan woman much more than he does with Mary Magdalen); the theological reasons for what we see in the Gospels (i.e., why didn’t Jesus marry).
I think we should be careful about saying “that would be akin to incest”.
It reminds me of a beautiful German Marian Song the line “you, God’s mother and daughter and bride” in it.
Interesting commentary from Sydney. (From http://www.mercatornet.com)
What are Dan Brown’s sources for his claims?
Lets hear it from Judge Patrick Smith: ‚ÄúMr Brown is a fiction writer. As a device to writing fiction he is perfectly entitled to dress up factual scenarios to give an illusion that supports his fiction. He is not… going into deep and detailed research for these factual matters. Indeed as he said in his evidence that would be counterproductive; he wishes to create ‚Äògrey‚Äô areas not black and white. He simply needs therefore a mystery and a series of unanswered questions. He can do that without deep research and that he has done‚Äù (para 348).
Brown shows no familiarity with the Gospels. He does not know the Catholic Church in general nor Opus Dei in particular. His terminology and tone betray ignorance of the subject matter. His official website flaunts a review from the New York Daily News — ‚Äúhis research is impeccable‚Äù — but the New York Daily News is better known for celebrity gossip than historiography. In fact, Brown‚Äôs is not impeccable research. It was largely his wife‚Äôs research on the internet. She left print-outs on his desk as he started typing away at 4 in the morning. She used three sources:
Gnostic writings that are not historical works and are of almost no historical value as regards Jesus and the early Church. They are readily available on the internet.
Feminist works like The Goddess in the Gospels in which Margaret Starbird argues from silences, fleeting references and her own imagination.
Hoax material perpetuated by the pseudo-histories related in The Templar Revelation or Holy Blood, Holy Grail which in turn are grounded on the self-confessed hoax of the Priory of Sion.
From today’s edition of The Guardian (UK):
“Brown’s novel is called a ‘page-turner’, partly because no one capable of reading without moving their lips would wish to linger over his prose”
You can read the rest of the story here:
http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Observer_Film_of_the_week/0,,1779708,00.html
And from the online edition of THE INDEPENDENT (UK) comes this:
“The Da Vinci Code is simply the dullest, most pedantic blockbuster of recent years. Never mind mortification of the flesh, see this and you’ll know what it is to mortify the brain.”
Dear John:
Congratulations for the Blog. I arrive by Opus Dei & Da Vinci Code. They said that your blog is the best on Da Vinci Code blogs.
Dear Fr John
I appreciate concern about current aesthetic standards – just look who won the Eurovision Song Contest! However, I don‚Äôt think bad taste is the major threat to church authority; it‚Äôs not even that people may lend credence to Dan Brown‚Äôs conjecture. The Da Vinci Code says that the bible was not faxed over from heaven (and that the Da Vinci Code was not faxed over from heaven either is rather beside the point). The ‚Äòit ain’t no fax‚Äô message is simple, powerful and ‚Äòsexy‚Äô because it is both evidently true and it goes against everything people were normally taught as children. It makes people question what they had simply learned to take for granted and, to guardians of dogma, this must be Pandora‚Äôs box with the lid off.
Thank you for the forum.
Religion aside… sent from an English colleague.
“It’s not elegantly written. It’s not thought-provoking nor educationally improving. Sophie Neveu’s convoluted back story gilded the lily somewhat, as did the numerous other extraneous twists; less is more. Brown’s style is unsubtle and often irritating: he seems to randomly divide a sentence into two, rendering the second in italics for inappropriate effect. He also pads out the novel with repeated plot points, flagging and reflagging the direction the story is taking, over-using the same devices and contriving to leave every short chapter on a startling revelatory hook – like a low-brow TV documentary going to a commercial break.”
“The ‚Äòit ain‚Äôt no fax‚Äô message is simple, powerful and ‚Äòsexy‚Äô because it is both evidently true and it goes against everything people were normally taught as children.”
“Evidently true” is perhaps taking it too far. As far as I could make out, there’s no real evidence at all. Besides, it’s fiction.
BBC London:
For all the prestige production values and A-list stars, The Da Vinci Code is practically catatonic. It just lies there on the screen like a $100 million mattress. The script is bad. The acting is bad. Tautou is very, very bad, and clearly uncomfortable. Hanks looks and performs like a lump of dough in a wig.
The plotting, which seemed endearingly silly on the page, is snortingly preposterous on screen: our heroes tumble po-faced from peril to peril with insane regularity. At one point, they get saved by a pigeon. Director Ron Howard relentlessly patronises his audience with CGI flashbacks to The World Of Ancient History, and the whole thing goes on for hours and hours. An extra star is earned by Paul Bettany and Ian McKellen (as the nutty monk and the wealthy fruitcake respectively), who somehow manage to keep the film from lurching completely to a halt.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES FROM THE BIBLE AS IT HAS IMPLICATIONS ON THE WAR AGAINST TERROR/ISLAM and the claim of Israel that god gave them the land. If the child is an infant than the Judeo-Christian version becomes null and void and we are wasting our time and resources i.e. we could save trillions of dollars and create a more peaceful world rather than fighting against Islam the religion of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
The COVENANT with Abraham and his DESCENDANTS is central to islam/chritianity/judaism.
Please note this is not a competition between faiths but an attempt to decipher fact from fiction.
GENESIS 16:16
And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
GENESIS 21:5
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
At Genesis 22 Abraham had only 2 sons others came later. The Quran mentions that it was Ishmael that was sacrificed hence the reference in genesis 22:2 your only son can only mean someone has substituted Ishmael names for Isaac!!
BY DOING SOME KINDERGARTEN ARITHMATIC USING ARABIC NUMBERS (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
NOT ROMAN NUMERALS (I, II, III,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX,X) NB no concept of zero in roman numerals.
100 years old – 86 years old = 14 ADD 3 YEARS FOR ISSAC’S WEANING
THAT WOULD MAKE ISHMAEL 17 YEARS OLD IN GENESIS 21:14-21
BUT IT IS A DESCRIPTION OF AN INFANT.
Carefully read several times the above passage and then tell me the mental picture you get between the mother child interactions what is the age of the child. If the mental picture is that of a 17 year old child being carried on the shoulder of his mother, being physically placed in the bush, crying like a baby, mother having to give him water to drink, than the Islamic viewpoint is null and void.
I have shown the passage of Genesis 21 to my two elder children of good reading ages now and without influencing them asked them what mental picture they got about the age of Ishmael in that passage and they thought he was about 5 years old. I have also tried the same thing with my work colleagues some of whom are qualified with PhD’s and have the ENGLISH language as their mother tongue and they also said they thought Ishmael was 5 years or younger because some of them stated by themselves that there was no verbal interaction between mother and child. i.e. If Ishmael is not of talking age then he must be less than a year old.
GENESIS:21:14 – 21
So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went, and sat down over against him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Let me not look upon the death of the child.” And as she sat over against him, the child lifted up his voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. And God was with the lad, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
AS THE DESCRIPTION OF ISHMAEL IN GENESIS 21:14-21 IS THAT OF AN INFANT IT CAN BE ASSUMED SOMEONE HAS MOVED THIS PASSAGE FROM AN EARLIER PART OF SCRIPTURE!!! AND HAVE GOT THERE KNICKERS IN A TWIST.
For background info on the future religion of mankind see the following websites:
http://www.al-sunnah.com/muhammad_in_the_bible.htm (MUHAMMAD IN THE BIBLE)
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/MB_BQS/default.htm (Quran and Science)
http://www.harunyahya.com/
http://www.barnabas.net/
http://www.answering-christianity.com/ac.htm
http://www.islamicity.com/
http://www.islamonline.net/english/index.shtml
HOLY QURAN CHAPTER 37 verses 101 – 122
101. So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear.
102. Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: “O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: Now see what is thy view!” (The son) said: “O my father! Do as thou art commanded: thou will find me, if Allah so wills one practising Patience and Constancy!”
103. So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah., and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice),
104. We called out to him “O Abraham!
105. “Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!” – thus indeed do We reward those who do right.
106. For this was obviously a trial-
107. And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice:
108. And We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times:
109. “Peace and salutation to Abraham!”
110. Thus indeed do We reward those who do right.
111. For he was one of our believing Servants.
112. And We gave him the good news of Isaac – a prophet,- one of the Righteous.
113. We blessed him and Isaac: but of their progeny are (some) that do right, and (some) that obviously do wrong, to their own souls.
114. Again (of old) We bestowed Our favour on Moses and Aaron,
115. And We delivered them and their people from (their) Great Calamity;
116. And We helped them, so they overcame (their troubles);
117. And We gave them the Book which helps to make things clear;
118. And We guided them to the Straight Way.
119. And We left (this blessing) for them among generations (to come) in later times:
120. “Peace and salutation to Moses and Aaron!”
121. Thus indeed do We reward those who do right.
122. For they were two of our believing Servants.
ISHMAEL IS THE FIRST BORN AND GOOD NEWS OF ISSAC DOES NOT APPEAR UNTIL AFTER THE SACRIFICE?????
THEREFORE THE CLAIM THAT GOD GAVE THE LAND TO ISRAEL IS DESTROYED WITHOUT THE NEED OF ANY WMD’s.
Amazing so Hagar in Genesis 21:14 – 21 was carrying a 17 year old on her one shoulder for maybe 10 – 100 miles (Mrs. Swarzniggar) who later grew up to become an archer, married into an Arab tribe and learned Arabic and went onto have several children. One of the descendants of this CHILD passed on his DNA to Muhammad the illiterate whose religion is now violently spreading by the sword and soon to overtake the whole planet.
How could this happen like you I am also confused.
The oil found in recent history belongs to the west, its unfortunate it is under lands inhabited by Muslims and not only Arabs. Having oil and economic success then to die and go to hell is not my idea of a great nation.
A brief lesson on Islam.
It is the oldest faith on the planet it starts of with Adam and Eve, and continuous through revelations given to Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus (many others too numerous to mention) until its completion under the messenger ship of Muhammad (pbuta). Islam is not an exclusively an Arab faith as there is no scriptural evidence that Muhammad (pbuh) said that he is the founder of Islam. One cannot quote the Quran as it is not the work of Muhammad as he could not read or write in any language including Arabic. Just as Jesus has himself not ever said that he is the founder of Christianity or Moses has not stated that he is the founder of Judaism.
ISIAH 29 verse 12 “And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned”.
Below are verses from the Quran, where GOD/SATAN himself says that the scriptures were changed by the scribes.
Quran Chapter 2 verse 75
75. Can ye (o ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you?- Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it.
Quran Chapter 2 verse 79
79. Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:”This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.
Quran Chapter 4 verse 46
46. Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say: “We hear and we disobey”; and “Hear what is not Heard”; and “Ra’ina”; with a twist of their tongues and a slander to Faith. If only they had said: “What hear and we obey”; and “Do hear”; and “Do look at us”; it would have been better for them, and more proper; but Allah hath cursed them for their Unbelief; and but few of them will believe.
Quran Chapter 2 verse 40 – 83
40. O Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant with Me as I fulfil My Covenant with you, and fear none but Me.
41. And believe in what I reveal, confirming the revelation which is with you, and be not the first to reject Faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price; and fear Me, and Me alone.
42. And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is).
43. And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship).
44. Do ye enjoin right conduct on the people, and forget (To practise it) yourselves, and yet ye study the Scripture? Will ye not understand?
45. Nay, seek ((Allah)’s) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit,-
46. Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord, and that they are to return to Him.
47. Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all other (for My Message).
48. Then guard yourselves against a day when one soul shall not avail another nor shall intercession be accepted for her, nor shall compensation be taken from her, nor shall anyone be helped (from outside).
49. And remember, We delivered you from the people of Pharaoh: They set you hard tasks and punishments, slaughtered your sons and let your women-folk live; therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord.
50. And remember We divided the sea for you and saved you and drowned Pharaoh’s people within your very sight.
51. And remember We appointed forty nights for Moses, and in his absence ye took the calf (for worship), and ye did grievous wrong.
52. Even then We did forgive you; there was a chance for you to be grateful.
53. And remember We gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion (Between right and wrong): There was a chance for you to be guided aright.
54. And remember Moses said to his people: “O my people! Ye have indeed wronged yourselves by your worship of the calf: So turn (in repentance) to your Maker, and slay yourselves (the wrong-doers); that will be better for you in the sight of your Maker.” Then He turned towards you (in forgiveness): For He is Oft- Returning, Most Merciful.
55. And remember ye said: “O Moses! We shall never believe in thee until we see Allah manifestly,” but ye were dazed with thunder and lighting even as ye looked on.
56. Then We raised you up after your death: Ye had the chance to be grateful.
57. And We gave you the shade of clouds and sent down to you Manna and quails, saying: “Eat of the good things We have provided for you:” (But they rebelled); to us they did no harm, but they harmed their own souls.
58. And remember We said: “Enter this town, and eat of the plenty therein as ye wish; but enter the gate with humility, in posture and in words, and We shall forgive you your faults and increase (the portion of) those who do good.”
59. But the transgressors changed the word from that which had been given them; so We sent on the transgressors a plague from heaven, for that they infringed (Our command) repeatedly.
60. And remember Moses prayed for water for his people; We said: “Strike the rock with thy staff.” Then gushed forth therefrom twelve springs. Each group knew its own place for water. So eat and drink of the sustenance provided by Allah, and do no evil nor mischief on the (face of the) earth.
61. And remember ye said: “O Moses! we cannot endure one kind of food (always); so beseech thy Lord for us to produce for us of what the earth groweth, -its pot-herbs, and cucumbers, Its garlic, lentils, and onions.” He said: “Will ye exchange the better for the worse? Go ye down to any town, and ye shall find what ye want!” They were covered with humiliation and misery; they drew on themselves the wrath of Allah. This because they went on rejecting the Signs of Allah and slaying His Messengers without just cause. This because they rebelled and went on transgressing.
62. Those who believe (in the Qur’an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
63. And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you (The towering height) of Mount (Sinai) : (Saying): “Hold firmly to what We have given you and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein: Perchance ye may fear Allah.”
64. But ye turned back thereafter: Had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of Allah to you, ye had surely been among the lost.
65. And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: “Be ye apes, despised and rejected.”
66. So We made it an example to their own time and to their posterity, and a lesson to those who fear Allah.
67. And remember Moses said to his people: “(Allah) commands that ye sacrifice a heifer.” They said: “Makest thou a laughing-stock of us?” He said: “(Allah) save me from being an ignorant (fool)!”
68. They said: “Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us what (heifer) it is!” He said; “He says: The heifer should be neither too old nor too young, but of middling age. Now do what ye are commanded!”
69. They said: “Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us Her colour.” He said: “He says: A fawn-coloured heifer, pure and rich in tone, the admiration of beholders!”
70. They said: “Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us what she is: To us are all heifers alike: We wish indeed for guidance, if Allah wills.”
71. He said: “He says: A heifer not trained to till the soil or water the fields; sound and without blemish.” They said: “Now hast thou brought the truth.” Then they offered her in sacrifice, but not with good-will.
72. Remember ye slew a man and fell into a dispute among yourselves as to the crime: But Allah was to bring forth what ye did hide.
73. So We said: “Strike the (body) with a piece of the (heifer).” Thus Allah bringeth the dead to life and showeth you His Signs: Perchance ye may understand.
74. Thenceforth were your hearts hardened: They became like a rock and even worse in hardness. For among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth; others there are which when split asunder send forth water; and others which sink for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.
75. Can ye (o ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you?- Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it.
76. Behold! when they meet the men of Faith, they say: “We believe”: But when they meet each other in private, they say: “Shall you tell them what Allah hath revealed to you, that they may engage you in argument about it before your Lord?”- Do ye not understand (their aim)?
77. Know they not that Allah knoweth what they conceal and what they reveal?
78. And there are among them illiterates, who know not the Book, but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture.
79. Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:”This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.
80. And they say: “The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days:” Say: “Have ye taken a promise from Allah, for He never breaks His promise? or is it that ye say of Allah what ye do not know?”
81. Nay, those who seek gain in evil, and are girt round by their sins,- they are companions of the Fire: Therein shall they abide (For ever).
82. But those who have faith and work righteousness, they are companions of the Garden: Therein shall they abide (For ever).
83. And remember We took a covenant from the Children of Israel (to this effect): Worship none but Allah. treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those in need; speak fair to the people; be steadfast in prayer; and practise regular charity. Then did ye turn back, except a few among you, and ye backslide (even now).
Jesus in the Glorious Qur’an
The Qur’an tells us a lot of wonderful things about Jesus. As a result, believers in the Qur’an love Jesus, honour him, and believe in him. In fact, no Muslim can be a Muslim unless he or she believes in Jesus, on whom be peace.
The Qur’an says that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he spoke while he was still only a baby, that he healed the blind and the leper by God’s leave, and that he raised the dead by God’s leave.
What then is the significance of these miracles? First, the virgin birth. God demonstrates his power to create in every way. God created everyone we know from a man and a woman. But how about Adam, on whom be peace? God created him from neither a man nor a woman. And Eve from only a man, but not a woman. And, finally, to complete the picture, God created Jesus from a woman, but not a man.
What about the other miracles? These were to show that Jesus was not acting on his own behalf, but that he was backed by God. The Qur’an specifies that these miracles were performed by God’s leave. This may be compared to the Book of Acts in the Bible, chapter 2, verse 22, where it says that the miracles were done by God to show that he approved of Jesus. Also, note that Jesus himself is recorded in the Gospel of John to have said, “I can do nothing of my own authority” (5:30). The miracles, therefore, were done not by his own authority, but by God’s authority.
What did Jesus teach? The Qur’an tells us that Jesus came to teach the same basic message which was taught by previous prophets from God—that we must shun every false god and worship only the one true God. Jesus taught that he is the servant and messenger of that one true God, the God of Abraham. These Quranic teachings can be compared with the Bible ( Mark 10:18; Matthew 26:39; John 14:28, 17:3, and 20:17) where Jesus teaches that the one he worshipped is the only true God. See also Matthew 12:18; Acts 3:13, and 4:27 where we find that his disciples knew him as Servant of God.
The Qur’an tells us that some of the Israelites rejected Jesus, and conspired to kill him, but Allah (God) rescued Jesus and raised him to Himself. Allah will cause Jesus to descend again, at which time Jesus will confirm his true teachings and everyone will believe in him as he is and as the Qur’an teaches about him.
Jesus is the Messiah. He is a word from Allah, and a spirit from Him. He is honoured in this world and in the hereafter, and he is one of those brought nearest to Allah.
Jesus was a man who spoke the truth which he heard from God. This can be compared with the Gospel According to John where Jesus says to the Israelites: “You are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God” (John 8:40).
The Virgin Birth of Jesus
Muslims believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. When the angels announced to Mary (peace be upon her) about Allah’s promise that she will have a son, she was surprised, since she was a virgin. “How can this be?” she thought. She was reminded that it is easy for Allah to create whatever he wills.
She said: My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me? He said: So (it will be). Allah createth what He will. If He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is (Qur’an 3:47).
It is not difficult for Allah to do anything he wants. He can create a child with both human parents or only one. No miracle is beyond His power. After all, He had created Adam (peace be upon him) from neither a man nor a woman. He created the rest of us from both man and woman. What is so hard if Allah decides to create a human being from a woman only? He only commands “Be!” and it occurs.
Some people think that since Jesus, peace be upon him, had no human father then God must be his father. The Qur’an rejects this view. The position of Jesus with Allah is comparable to the position of Adam with Allah. Just because Adam had no human parent does not mean we should call him the Son of God.
Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is. (Qur’an 3:59).
According to the Qur’an, everyone except Allah are His servants.
And they say: the Beneficent hath taken unto Himself a Son. Assuredly ye utter a disastrous thing, whereby almost the heavens are torn, and the earth is split asunder and the mountains fall to ruins, that ye ascribe to the Beneficent a son, when it is not meet for (the Majesty of) the Beneficent that He should chose a son. There is none in the heavens and the earth but cometh unto the Beneficent as a slave. (Qur’an 19:88-93)
The Miracles of Jesus
According to the Qur’an, Jesus, on whom be peace, performed the following miracles by Allah’s leave:
1. Spoke while he was only a baby.
2. Healed those born blind.
3. Healed the lepers.
4. Revived the dead.
5. Breathed life into a bird made of clay.
In the Qur’an Allah quotes Jesus, peace be upon him, as saying:
Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird by Allah’s leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah’s leave. And I announce to you what you eat and what you store up in your houses. Lo! herein verily is a portent for you if you are to be believers.
And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me. Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path. (Qur’an 3: 49-51).
Again, in the Qur’an Allah tells us about the situation on the Day of Judgement:
In the day when Allah gathers together the messengers and says: What was your response (from mankind)? they say: We have no knowledge. Lo! Thou, only Thou art the Knower of Things Hidden.
When Allah says: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My favour unto you and unto your mother; how I strengthened you with the holy Spirit, so that you spoke unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught you the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how you did shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and did blow upon it and it was a bird by My permission, and you did heal him who was born blind and the leper by My permission . . . (Qur’an 5:109-110)
Not all of these miracles are recorded in the canonical gospels, the four gospels contained in the Christian Bible.
The fact that Jesus spoke while he was yet a baby is not written anywhere in the Bible. This should not be surprising, because none of the Gospels can claim to recover every single event in the life of Jesus. Instead, the gospel According to John seeks to emphasize that the events were too many to record.
Similarly, the miracle of breathing life into a bird made of clay is not attested by the Christian Bible. This too should not make us wonder. It is obvious that the writers of the gospels could write down only the tradition that was available to them. Furthermore, they could not write down everything they knew about Jesus for they were writing on papyrus material that were very limited in length.
What is worthy to notice here is that the Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, was honest enough to promulgate this information about Jesus. The religion taught by God through Muhammad would deny the divinity of Jesus. Any human being, therefore, who wished to deny the divinity of Jesus would have tried to belittle Jesus. Since Christians looked upon the miracles of Jesus as a proof of his divinity, we might expect that any human being who tries to deny the divinity of Jesus would not have informed people of miracles not previously known to them. He might have even tried to deny some of the miracles recorded in the canonical gospels. On the other hand, the prophet Muhammad honestly conveyed the message delivered to him from Allah. (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.)
Allah tells us the truth without fear. Human beings trying to win followers tell us only what is conducive to winning us over. They usually withhold information that could lead to opposite conclusions. On the other hand, Allah informs us about the miracles of Jesus even if people use this information to support their prior commitment to the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus. Allah does not need to win worshippers. Those who worship Allah does so for their own good. And those who worship false gods do so to their own detriment.
What Allah emphasizes, though, is that the miracles of Jesus do not prove he was divine. The miracles he performed were a sign, a proof, that he was God’s messenger. He performed them with God’s help and permission. Those who use his miracles as proof of his divinity would choose to forget the following sayings of Jesus:
I can of my own authority do nothing. (John 5:30)
They also forget the declaration of Peter:
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves know. (Acts 2:22 KJV).
These passages suggest that Jesus did not do miracles on his own. These, rather were accomplished by God’s leave. Allah reminds us of this. Jesus also constantly repeated to his audience that the miracles he performed were by God’s leave.
Ms. Larkin’s question is interesting. If God had the Son, why couldn’t the Son have had a son (or daughter)? The analogy may initially appear attractive, but it strikes me as superficial. It seems what we are missing here is a proper understanding of the Trinity, which is the core of the Christian faith really. Christianity is a monotheistic religion. We believe in one God in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. How are we to understand this great mystery?
I think the key point is that Christ is not only the Son of God, He is God Himself. He is not merely a human being with some degree of divinity or a few supernatural powers. The entirety of divinity is contained within the Son, as it is also within the Father and the Spirit. For the three have perfect unity. “The Father has through generation given to the only-begotten Son everything that belongs to the Father, except being Father…Everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship.” (Council of Florence).
We speak of the three persons of the Trinity as “consubstantial,” that is, of the same essence or nature. They are distinct from one another only in their relationship to each other. Christ is “eternally begotten of the Father, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father.” (Nicene Creed). Christ has neither beginning nor end.
It strikes me as highly illogical that Christ as such would have had a child with St. Mary Magdalen. What would the child be? Half god? Would the “99th generation” claimants be 1/(2^99) god? To suggest this is to attempt to warp Christianity into some sort of polytheism similar to the ancient Greek or Roman pagan religions. (Besides of course that nothing in history, as recorded in Scripture and other reliable ancient sources, suggests this.)
The beauty of Christianity is that God so loved us human beings that He Himself, wishing to commune with us, actually became one of us as Jesus Christ, and furthermore deigned to experience the greatest of human suffering. I find this much more exciting than any novel, movie, or conspiracy theory.
Fr. John,
I have to say that I am very impressed with your defense of Opus Dei. I myself came from an Opus Dei background– I spent eight years in one of their high schools here in Manila. Anyway I just started a blog, and here is something i wrote about the Work if you wan’t to read it: http://tantumdicverbo.blogspot.com/2006/05/most-vilified-group.html
Regarding the movie. I saw it on opening day here, and I have ti say it was the dullest film I’ve seen in years. It was like having to endure a lobotomy without the anesthesia. Tom Hanks was especially dull, and several moments intended to be ‘serious’ only drew laughter and snickering from the crowd. It was literally a bloated mess. Whoever quipped about the mortification of the brain is right on the money.
See this film only if you have insomnia
By the way, has anyone read a book, a spanish book, called “Supermercado de las Sectas” (Sect Supermarket). It’s a cartoonish style. In this book, the athor exposes shameful facts about many of the sects we know today.
Guess which sect appears in the first chapter?
But don’t worry, it won’t become a movie.
You´re right New World Order, it won´t become a movie because it will be too hackneyed, dull and obviously false to be a success.
After DVC, people are getting hungrier for good movies, based more on ingenuity than on an over-excited imagination!
“See this film only if you have insomnia.”
Thanks for the tip, tantumdicverbo.
‘Millions’ flock to Da Vinci Code
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5003044.stm)
The Da Vinci Code phenomenon seems to be a threat to the authority of film reviewers also, or there is an insomnia pandemic…
This just in from Reuters. Muslims defend Christ.
KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Islamist parties will hold nationwide demonstrations against “The Da Vinci Code” later this week, to protest the film’s “offensive” alternative take on the story of Jesus Christ, an opposition lawmaker said on Monday. (…)
“The film is offensive toward a holy figure dear to all religions,” Liaquat Balouch, deputy secretary-general of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, the main Islamist political alliance, told Reuters.
“Guess which sect appears in the first chapter?”
No one will ever guess!
Nice.
The New Yorker’s Anthony Lane offered these comments.
“Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, except at Columbia Pictures, where the power lunches won‚Äôt even be half-started. The Catholic Church has nothing to fear from this film. It is not just tripe. It is self-evident, spirit-lowering tripe that could not conceivably cause a single member of the flock to turn aside from the faith. Meanwhile, art historians can sleep easy once more, while fans of the book, which has finally been exposed for the pompous fraud that it is, will be shaken from their trance. In fact, the sole beneficiaries of the entire fiasco will be members of Opus Dei, some of whom practice mortification of the flesh. From now on, such penance will be simple‚Äîno lashings, no spiked cuff around the thigh. Just the price of a movie ticket, and two and a half hours of pain.”
Incorrect, Nokia. It won’t become a movie beacause of it’s style, it is not a novel.
It lists a lot of facts about the Opus Dei sect, it’s members and it’s founder. It also talks about other sects such as the sect of Moon, scientology, maitreya followers, hare kishnas, etc.
It is a must read for everyone that is interested in knowing facts about these sects. It’s writing style is based on cartoons, giving it a light tone, easy for everyone to understand.
If it is not in your list of forbidden books, perhaps you should give it a try.
“list of forbidden books”? ha, ha, ha, New World Order you¬¥re very funny! I wish there was such a list to save me reading lots of crap on bookshelves. You send me the book and if I have the time I¬¥ll take a look, but it¬¥s very likely that I might not even bother. You know why? There¬¥s already a wrong premise: you say the book lists “a lot of facts about the Opus Dei sect”. Hmmm. First, judging from your glee, those so-called “facts” are not positive, therefore the book will be another collection of “bull#‚Ǩ@E”, if you will excuse my expression.; secondly, Opus Dei is not a “sect”. I know. Besides, we¬¥re not going to go into the semantics of “sects” and to try to point out what I think you already know.
“It lists a lot of facts about the Opus Dei sect, it‚Äôs members and it‚Äôs founder. It also talks about other sects such as the sect of Moon, scientology, maitreya followers, hare kishnas, etc.”
What kind of facts does it list? I’m curious but not curious enough to get the book you’re talking about. The moonies, scientologists, etc. aren’t sects either. I’m afraid I don’t follow you, sorry.
I think that the word “bullshit” depends on the point of view of the person.
To Nokia, “Da Vinci Code” and “Supermercado de las Sectas” qualifies as “bullshit”, but to others, “The Way” will qualify as “bullshit”. It depends.
And yes, Opus Dei is protrayed as a sect. It talks about their blind obedience and all their businesses in Spain and how many member of Opus Dei rise to positions of power, to build up more power for the sect itself. It also talks about the agressive recruiting techniques of Opus Dei.
Politics and power, gained through blind obedience of their followers.
Well, what I wanted to show you, it’s that it is not Dan Brown who is responsible for Opus Dei’s bad reputation. It’s Opus Dei’s fault. ODAN has been around for quite a while, as well as this book and many others.
I think that the main cause of Opus Dei’s bad reputation comes from the testimonies of ex-members and their bad experiences in the sect. A lot of testimonies in ODAN and other websites.
Where can I buy that book?
I heard that Dumbass Central just got about 30000 copies the other day; oh, you’d better hurry, they’re running out. Nice name by the way. Reveals alot about yourself and your insecurities.
Great! Can I borrow your membership card because I think that only members can go to Dumbass Central.
I think you guys scared NWO away. Like the name, “Dark Achilles.”
In case anyone’s interested in this, I discovered another site yesterday that’s at http://www.opusdeiblogs.org.
Okay, NWO, let me see if I can address some of the issues you raise. Look, I´m assuming you raise them so we can talk about them right? I don´t suppose it´s just to bandy about labels just to be aggressive. I don´t think so.
Good, I´ve given you a leeway, now I ask that you give me too. Why? Because what I´m going to tell you is the truth (I give you my word). It is possible that you will refuse to believe it, perhaps because of where you´re coming from, perhaps because of ODAN and perhaps because of past experiences of which you do not speak but I sense exist… In any case, I ask that you believe me because what I tell you is the truth and I don´t joke with my honour.
A sect can be defined in various ways, but one definition that is general is that it is a small religious or political group that has broken off from its larger parent, characterised by marked disagreements or differences of beliefs with the larger body from which it came. A sect is generally believed to have some kind of continous tension with its surrounding society, which it somehow blames for impurity of doctrine. This tension would then usually be accompanied by “strong arm” tactics to defend its belief. In the execution of its intentions, the difference between a sect and a cult blurrs out.
A poor definition probably, but would suffice for my purpose.
On the other hand, I came across this definition of a sect on the internet by Pfeffer Leo, which says “…if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps ‘the’ religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult.” Though meant to be humorous, it does contain some truth relevant to us now.
Opus Dei is not a sect, neither by the most accepted definitions nor by the facts on the ground. Many people who do not know Opus Dei consider it “secret” by the mere fact that they were ignorant about its existence. Even when they know it exists, as they remain ignorant about many of its activities, especially of the intentions guiding their actions, their suspicions of secrecy increases, and there they seem to find confirmation.
Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church. Despite what Mr. Brown says, it is not a ´church´ within a Church; it is not separate from the Catholic Church, for whom it exists, nor does it use any unlawful or sinful means to try to achieve its aims. But what are these aims that Opus Dei would even go to any lengths to achieve? None. None, because, even those aims which foster the aim of the Catholic Church, for which Opus Dei exists, are only carried out based on the freedom of all parties involved, but especially to please God. People often forget that Opus Dei members are the first to be conscious of the need for God´s approval for their actions and hence would try never to do anything that would offend God.
NWO says “It talks about their blind obedience and all their businesses in Spain and how many member of Opus Dei rise to positions of power, to build up more power for the sect itself. It also talks about the agressive recruiting techniques of Opus Dei.”
The above quote is another example of ignorance about Opus Dei. Education requires humility and an openness to the possibilities that there are things I do not know. Opus Dei has no businesses in Spain! Yes, Opus Dei has no businesses in Spain nor anywhere else for that matter. The same people who cry freedom, freedom, would deny the individual faithful of Opus Dei (which is not the same as the Institution) the right to own businesses as any ordinary citizen would.
If there are members of Opus Dei who rise to “positions of power”, the only person to blame would be the society that trust the competence of such persons so much as to let them rise! If there are members of Opus Dei, professionals in their different fields, who can rise to “positions of power” and thus from there exercise their rights to develop society, and they then fail to “rise”, what an accounting of their “wasted talents” they would then have to give to God.
But we forget the thousands and thousands of members of Opus Dei who are only rising to “positions of power” in the eyes of God, the power to convert the small, tiny, unseen things of everyday into prayer for love of God. Bring your microscope lower to the ground and so you will appreciate the majority down there…
“Aggressive recruiting techniques of Opus Dei”. First of all this is not correct and it would be a contradiction in terms. Who would you be recruiting for if you employ aggression, which in itself implies lack of respect for freedom, to “coerce” someone to respond to a call from God? God would not be pleased. But then again, if a member of Opus Dei is happy with his call from God, it would be quite selfish and inconsistent not to want the same for his friends. How did you get to attend the schools you attended? Random sampling? I doubt it. I rather think that someone you knew recommended them to you, right? How did you make the friends you have? They all fell down from heaven? I doubt it. There were circumstances already close to you that made later circumstances possible… and so on.
“Politics and power, gained through blind obedience of their followers.” Again this is not true as you can already infer. “Blind obedience” just makes me laugh. Trust me with a personal example, it would take a Behemoth to make me obey anyone “blindly”.
I could go on, but I´m tired. You have made me write my longest post yet and I hope it´s my last. I need a smoke!
There are many books that do this explanation better than I can ever hope to. The best I can recommend for now is the one by John Allen titled “Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church”. You can find it on the website of Random House, same fellows who published Dan Brown. They have a synopsis here: http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385514491
For Nokia, New World Order, OpusDeiSucks and anyone else interested in actual testimony about Opus Dei by members, former members, parents of members, clergy, etc., you can read what they have to say here.
This site just went up April 29, 2006, so it’s not ‘outdated’ or old news. It’s worth a look if we’re going to discuss this topic well.
http://www.opusdeiblogs.org
Wow! This is a great site!
It certainly is. Nice to have so much info in one place. Only discovered it yesterday because a friend emailed the link to me.
I hear you Michelle, I hear you
Oh, I meant this blog PLUS the other one above, too… http://www.opusdeiblogs.org Good to have so much info at the touch of a mouse; we really have no excuse not to know what’s what (about the Church and other things).
I meant http://www.opusdeiblogs.org too. There are some more “personal testimonies” on the website http://www.opusdei.org.
This site ain’t bad either.
Mr Nokia.
May I remind you that I did not wrote “Supermercado de las Sectas”, just quote it.
But of course, you are welcome to debunk it anytime you like.
My point was not to pretend that it is true, just to inform you that Opus Dei already had bad reputation.
Anyway, it will be interesting to know how much of this other book is true. Perhaps Mr Wauck will be kind enough to inform us if it is true that Opus Dei has businesses in Spain, like banks and construction companies, as this book says.
Mr Nokia said it’s a lie, do you agree with him?
Nokia is perfectly correct. Opus Dei doesn’t have business, banks and construction companies in Spain or anywhere else. The whole notion is based on a confusion between Opus Dei and its members. Obviously, most members of Opus Dei are lay people living and working in ordinary jobs. Some of them, I suppose, own businesses of one sort or another. This does not mean, however, that Opus Dei owns or runs or “has” the business in question. That would be like saying that every business run by a Catholic somehow belongs to the Vatican. And, just to be clear, Opus Dei never tells its members how to run their businesses.
The only civil institutions that are, in some sense, under the control of Opus Dei are hospitals, schools and things of that sort. There are a lot of these, both in Spain and around world, and their purpose is not to make money.
“My point was not to pretend that it is true, just to inform you that Opus Dei already had bad reputation.”
Well, a ‘bad rep’ is one thing. Reality is another. I don’t think we want to confuse the two, especially as bad reps are terribly easy to come by. All you need is one piece of gossip, true or not, and there it goes. Reality’s better any day.
To Mr Nokia:
Twice, you have incorrectly assumed that I had bad and traumatic experiences with religion or Opus Dei.
You are incorrect.
Why? Because you failed. The sect did not get me. Yes, my college math teacher, a spanish guy, was a member of the sect. He was a numerary. But teaching math was not his main concern, he was recruiting people for the sect. Most of my classmates, the smart ones mostly, said that more than one time, this man had insisted them on joining Opus Dei. Fortunately, no one got trapped.
I have a lot of friends whose fathers belong to the sect. Not a single one of them is happy. Their fathers are ultraconservative and of course, they want them to join the sect. Many of them are even scared of the sect.
One time, I recall that a friend was complaining about his girlfriend’s family intention of making him join the sect. I told him “do not worry, I recently read a book called ‘Da Vinci Code’ and I read that it will become a movie. It will be a success and most people will then have a very bad image of Opus Dei so their grip on our society will losen”. For once, I thank God that I was correct.
No Mr Nokia, I did not joined the sect, and surely I won’t. And believe me, I will make sure that any person I know and I care about, with rational thinking of course, will be persuaded not to join the sect.
I did not had bad experiences, but the bad experiences of other persons are good enough to make me act againt this “lame saint” (or “Draconian devil”), Escriva. Yes, I agree that many people have good experiences in the sect. But bad experiences count as well. There are many other christian denominations whose members do not have bad experiences. This is were all this persons belong, in a place where they can worship their god(s) and no one will mess with them.
Call them “cafeteria catholics” (as Aringarosa and other rude persons call them) or any other name you like, but at least they will be allowed to keep their dignity.
Now Mr Nokia, I hope you are satisfied. You wanted me to talk about myself, and I did. I am not an atheist, Mr Nokia, and I do not worship Dan Brown nor approve all his theories, but I praise that he has helped people notice that there is more than meets the eye regarding many religions and sects.
Good bye Mr Nokia.
Goodbye NWO… alas your presumptions are many!
Just a word. Please have more respect for Saint Josemaria. He is a saint of the Catholic Church whether or not one chooses to admit it. No hard feelings, but he does deserve the simple respect owed to anyone else.
Comment somewhere above: “Yes, my college math teacher, a spanish guy, was a member of the sect. He was a numerary.”
Not everyone has had your experience, of course. I know two fellows who’ve graduated from Opus Dei schools and it’s helped them become who they are… tomorrow they’re being ordained as Catholic priests. Not bad, not bad at all.
So as they say, to each his own.
star wars galaxy names…
great blog, keep it comming….
carmen electra