ignatious & the davinci code

yeah for being inspired to deeper thought! now, if i could only understand it. ;)

i absolutely love to study apologetics and early Christianity. years ago, i spent a lot of time buried in books trying to devour as much information as i possibly could. i did the same with other subjects like politics and social justice, holistic medicine, and sustainability. after forsaking all my possessions and previous ideals to travel with the brothers and sisters (a nomadic church group in the u.s.), i really felt like my brain just short-circuited. i had gained so much understanding that i just didn't know how to process it all. i wrote about this in my very first blog here. ask me questions on these subjects that i love, but unless i have had a recent run-in w/that particular topic, i probably won't be able to recall the answer. start talking about them, and i'll follow you easily. it starts coming back as soon as i re-immerse myself, but it is often quite frustrating.

have i mentioned john, my greek orthodox friend before? we have been talking online for a while now and i really enjoy our conversations. lately, it's not very often that i meet other "young" people - i'll be 30 this year! :) - who enjoy talking about apologetics and early Christianity. he has encouraged me to begin studying and reading again, but i just haven't felt i had the time. the other day he suggested reading ignatious, whose letters are short and much faster to get through.

i tried taking his advice and found the writings of ignatious online yesterday. i started by reading the introduction placed by the website and never got past that. as i read about all the debate behind trying to prove which letters are truly authentic and in which form they are actually authentic, i quickly fell back into mental exhaustion. this is something i would love to tackle one day, but i suppose it will have to wait until i can devote more hours to studying. even now i sigh at the thought of trying to remember and understand how it is we have come to feel we can trust the history and writings of our faith. there are many opinions worthy of considering, and many that are not.

for instance, i was recently having a conversation with someone about all the silliness surrounding the davinci code. it is clear to me that this is a work of fiction not even slightly troubling to my faith. i have no reason to boycott the movie and draw more attention to it.
there is a story in the Bible of a time when the disciples were before a court, charged with heresy and disrupting the public. one smart man stood up and said that they should let the disciples go. if what they were preaching was heresy, it would prove itself wrong and fall apart quickly. if it was truly of God, who were they to condemn it? i feel the same way about this movie. why make such a big deal? speak the Truth simply and plainly. it will defend itself. God cannot be overcome by hollywood.