Easter Sermon spent attacking Dav Vinci Code

[katty]

(more free PR FOR the Da Vinci Code)

more:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/16/ncode16.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/04/16/ixnewstop.html

Archbishop attacks Da Vinci Code 'obsession'
By Elizabeth Day
(Filed: 16/04/2006)

The Archbishop of Canterbury today attacks society's obsession with books such as The Da Vinci Code which, he says, encourage people to believe that the Christian faith is a series of "conspiracies and cover ups".


The Archbishop of Canterbury
In a strongly worded Easter sermon being delivered in Canterbury Cathedral this morning, Dr Rowan Williams says that there is a tendency to treat Biblical texts "as if they were unconvincing press releases from some official source, whose intention is to conceal the real story". Fascination with "bringing secrets to light", he said, evoked All the President's Men, the 1976 film about the investigative journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, who exposed the Watergate scandal.

"We have become so suspicious of the power of words. . . the first assumption we make is that we're faced with spin of some kind, with an agenda being forced on us. So that the modern response to the proclamation, 'Christ is risen!' is likely to be, 'Ah, but you would say that, wouldn't you? Now, what's the real agenda?' "

[Mythsaje]

1. Feeling a little defensive, are they?

Good.

[purduejake]

2. And who is at fault for this happening?

HMMMMMMM.

[BOSSHOG]

3. May I recommend "The Third Secret" by Steve Berry

I'm sure the archbishop wouldn't like this book either. Its fiction but will very easily explode the heads of "christian conservatives" everywhere. Great read!

[katty]

8. thx, i will check it out

[BOSSHOG]

11. Its really a well crafted book

Murder, mystery, mayhem, Vatican intrique and a whopper of a conclusion.

[katty]

20. great-luv it!

[MindPilot]

4. "the first assumption we make is that we're faced with spin of some kind"

If you hadn't spent the past 2000 years feeding us bullshit, you might have a bit more street cred, hmmm?

[katty]

LOL!

[LiberalVoice]

5. What a pig.

You'd think even the archbishop would be aware of the history of Christianity. Just a bunch of pagan stories rolled up into one nice Jesus sized package.

[rkc3]

6. The reverend at the in-law's church did the same.

of course, the hand out also contained a write up of Christian persecution in Asia - apparently the Hinuds don't know what's good for them.

[LiberalVoice]

7. Its been 2000 years.

When will christians(or anyother religion for that matter) finally realise its not working.

[BOSSHOG]

12. A favorite bumper sticker I saw

over a year ago on an old pick up truck flying south on Interstate 59 in South Mississippi

HE'S BEEN DEAD FOR MORE THAN 2000 YEARS
GET OVER IT

[LiberalVoice]

13. hahaha!

fantastic!

[arcane1]

9. the first assumption we make is that we're faced with spin of some kind

funny, that's how I feel about the Catholic Church

[katty]

10. ditto

[QC]

21. The Archbishop of Canterbury is not Catholic. n/t

[arcane1]

22. but a spinner nonetheless

[QC]

23. Do you actually know anything about Williams,

or are you simply working from the assumption that religious = evil?

[arcane1]

24. you are working on the assumption that I think religion = evil

I just read the article, that was enough

[QC]

25. In other words, you don't know anything about Rowan Williams.

That's what I figured, since you clearly thought he was Catholic.

Anyway, Williams is one of the most progressive church leaders in the world and has been for decades, but let's not allow mere facts to interfere with our fun.

[arcane1]

26. words in my mouth

I said I have the same thoughts re:spin about the Catholic Church, the rest is your assumption

ALL religion = spin

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. Good Friday was dedicated to a subject so dear to Maladict's heart

Gay bashing.

(Vatican City) In marking the Stations of the Cross during Good Friday observances in Rome Pope Benedict XVI called for the "filth" the surrounds society to be cleansed and said the world is in the grip of "a diabolical pride aimed at eliminating the family".

"Lord, we have lost our sense of sin," he said. "Today a slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane apologia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan, a mindless desire for transgression, a dishonest and frivolous freedom, exalting impulsiveness, immorality and selfishness as if they were new heights of sophistication."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221x32484

[phantom power]

15. Easter is supposed to be about hope+love, and they're preaching hate.

I wonder why that is?

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

31. Because, as Gandhi so rightly put it...

...speaking of Christians, "They are so unlike Christ."

[BOSSHOG]

16. Was he referring to all the "christians"

who get divorced or all the "christians" who don't stone to death people who work on Sunday.

Gosh, I spent 24 years in the Navy and never had the opportunity to pick and choose in the UCMJ what passages I could choose to adhere to and those I could ignore.

[jrw14125]

17. *WHO'S* OBSESSED WITH A BOOK?!

Methinks thou dost protest too much...

[yellowcanine]

18. My thoughts also when I saw this. The apologists are yammering so

much about a frigging piece of fiction - historical fiction but still fiction - that one has to wonder about the level of confidence they have in their ability to attract people to the faith.

[tanyev]

19. Golly. Nothing better to talk about on Easter Sunday?

No agenda there, no sir.

[musiclawyer]

27. At our catholic church

on Easter Sunday,we also had a priest badmouthing the "Code" I was just shaking my head along with a lot of other parishioners there. It's a freakin book, fiction at that. If anything the "Code" was multi-textured and had some real positive discussion about the modern church and its potential direction. I wonder if our priest even read the book.

[silverweb]

28. If the shoe fits...

"...the Christian faith is a series of 'conspiracies and cover ups.'"

Just sayin'....

:shrug:

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. The da Vinci code angle was a PR ploy to get media coverage

because relatviely little of the sermon was actually about it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4913634.stm

[katty]

30. Free PR for Da Vinci Code movie--just like other controversial films

[Bridget Burke]

32. And the Pope's Good Friday prayers said NOTHING about....

Gay marriage.

But people would much rather read the headline of a thread & start making witty comments.

Many of them still think the Archbishop of Canterbury is Catholic!

[QC]

33. Hard to read when one's knees are jerking furiously! n/t