As Christians, we are all at different stages in our Christian life. In his first letter, John addresses Christians in all the stages.

Even the youngest child of God is forgiven on account of Jesus Christ. There is no further qualification than faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. These children are also encouraged to know God as their Father, for this is their right and their joy.

After each referral to the children, the youngest Christians, John then moves to the oldest Christians, those who know the Father and his word. They are those who know the Creator, to one who is from the beginning and are acknowledged for their knowledge.

Finally John refers to those who are young, but strong in the faith. They are reminded not to rely on their own strength, but that their strength is found in Christ through his word, that they might overcome the evil one.

Of course, this only applies to those who have put their faith in Christ and have become children of God.

Learnt some interesting facts about the book The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown this morning at a talk given at Feltham Evangelical Church. Whilst the book itself is a work of fiction, it does tread the line between fact and fiction in the minds of many. It doesn’t help that the book is prefaced with the following

all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

With such a preface, many people will have trouble separating out the fact from the fiction, especially as it uses the names of many non-fictional organisations and documents, with a very fictional twist to them.

This fine line between fact and fiction causes many Christians (and non-Christians) to wonder how much of it is true, especially as the book blatantly questions the Christian view of Jesus Christ as God and Saviour, both fully God and fully man, and also attacks the authorship and validity of the Bible. Instead, it puts forward an age-old heretical Gnostic view of the world, where Jesus is merely a man and that the gnostic writings are more truthful than the New Testament. It becomes even more significant when you realise that if this gnostic view is correct, Christianity as we know it is false.

Initially this might seem to be an interesting challenge, but on inspection, the “facts” the book is based on are very fictional indeed. All of the gnostic writings quoted in the book, which form the very basis of the main plot of the book, are written long after the New Testament was written, yet alone the time of Christ and are almost certainly not what they claim to be. Whilst the New Testament can be shown to be written by eyewitnesses to the events they claim to document, the gnostic writings – the Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene are written so long afterwards, they cannot be what they claim to be, they cannot be eyewitness accounts.

With this linchpin gone, the claim of being based on facts disappears and the whole book can only be really seen as a complete work of fiction, without any basis in fact at all. This is not to say the Da Vinci Code is not a gripping read, many people who’ve read it have thoroughly enjoyed it as a work of fiction. If anything though, once you scratch the surface of its factual basis, you realise how reliable and factual the Bible is compared with other books, both factual and fictional, in this world.

For the curious, there’s an interesting article on Wikipedia about the ‘facts’ of the Da Vinci Code. A more indepth analysis can be found at ‘the truth about Da Vinci‘.

Well, today was the warmest day so far this year! A rather pleasant (when outdoors) 26 degrees celsius. Rather unpleasant indoors without airconditioning though….

Ah well, after surviving a day of scorchio (the Fast Show – thanks Andy), I went along to the polling station to do my civic duty. The only qualm I would have is that some of the candidates on the ballot paper I’d never heard of! The major parties had all stuck bumpf through my letterbox, but some of the others hadn’t made a peep. How do they expect to win votes if the voters have no idea who they are and what they stand for? Tip for next time – give yourself a fighting chance, inform the voters who you are before they vote!

Went down to Salisbury with some friends to meet up with more friends and wander around the city and the surrounding area. We started off in Great Wishford, and went into Salisbury for lunch and a tour of Salisbury Cathedral. I must admit, I’ve never been there but I’d heard so much about the cathedral. Angie was an intermittent guide, although despite her roots, I think she might’ve learnt as much as me about the cathedral. As cathedrals go, it lived up to the hype in my opinion – it was imposing yet graceful, although the warning signs for loose stones didn’t do it any favours. Of course, it’s effectiveness as a pointer to the God to whom its builders dedicated it, is hard to quantify, but I hope that all those who visit it will be caused to consider God.

We spent the afternoon at Moors Valley Park, with me mostly taking photos of my friends attempting the various contraptions dotted around the park!

The evening was spent at Andy’s in Salisbury eating food, playing games and generally catching up with old friends and making new ones.

On the way home, I even managed to get some photos of Stonehenge by dusk. 🙂

A cool day!