Gnostic Stuff

By now, most everyone has heard of The DaVinci Code. We have already debated on the difference between what is fact and what is fiction. The question I want to ask is, “Why is the DaVinci Code so popular?”

Around the 2nd century began a heresy called Gnosticism. In large part it focuses, much like The DaVinci Code, on secrets. They say that the Disciples covered up who Jesus really was in their writing of the Gospels. One of the secrets that Gnostics think they have uncovered is the idea that the world is a nasty and dark place and that we must escape it. That is not Biblical Christianity.

As I read the Gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John) I find that they are very much about saving the world and not about escaping it. I see them talking over and over again about the coming New Heaven and New Earth and the availability of those things here and now. The Gospels mark out the way to live in the New Creation Christ has set up with his Death, Resurrection and Ascension. For some reason the message is lost that we are living in the New Creation right now.

I believe The DaVinci Code is so popular because we do not want to believe that the world can be better. Humanity has a deep desire to escape from the hard things of this world. We like to sing the “Gnostic” Hymn, “This Earth is not my home I’m just a passin’ through…” while patting ourselves on the back for how Christian we are. When given a choice between fighting for this world and fleeing from it we usually run away from its problems and our destiny as image bearers for the New Kingdom. That brings me to my real point; the Left Behind Series. Left Behind, with its obsession with secrets, decoding the “end times” and belief that we must escape this world, appears to be a clear indicator about how deep Gnosticism has crept into the Church. Where are some other places you can see its influence? Do you disagree? Why?