'Da Vinci Code' Movie Protested by Lay Catholics, Protestants and Jews

'Da Vinci Code' Movie Protested by Lay Catholics, Protestants and Jews

DETROIT, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of laymen today announced a movement to combat Hollywood's latest assault on the Christian faith by urging "benign neglect" re attending the movie, "The Da Vinci Code," which portrays Jesus as married to Mary Magdalene with a child, said James Leonard Elsman, a Detroit-area lawyer. The release of the movie in the U.S. is Friday, May 19, 2006.

"We at the Laymen Alive Ministries would urge boycott, but that would just increase movie revenues, as it did for 'The Last Temptation of Christ.' The average Christian knows so little of the Bible that they will not be able to discern between Dan Brown's mixing of fiction with truth. However, when it comes to Jesus marrying and fathering babies, it is time to speak up. Jesus was very God and very man. He died on a cruel Cross and was resurrected. He did not exactly lead a sexual family life," summarized Elsman. "Moses and Muhammad were family men, but if a movie showed them eating unclean animals, there would be major protests by Jews and Muslims."

Elsman said laymen in various parts of the U.S. would be available for media comments, to combat what he called "...a heresy... predicted in the Bible, itself (Galatians 1:8)."

"Hey, everyone likes a good fictional story, but Dan Brown and Hollywood have gone too far. They are attacking the Jewish Scriptures, which are the background for the New Testament. Jesus was a Jew. Salvation is strictly from the Jews. No Gentile participated in founding the Scriptures. Many would like to separate Jews and Christians, but such cannot be done," commented Elsman.

Elsman said there were several issues in the "Code" movie that were falsely presented, besides Jesus being married, and he listed examples: the proper Canon or books in the Bible; the fact that the "Gnostic Gospels" were not written until 2-3 centuries after Jesus, whereas the 4-Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) were all written in the First Century; the 4-Gospels never doubted that Jesus was God, whereas the "Code" movie portrayed that such was subject to a vote at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.

"Let's face it, the movie's Director, Ron Howard, told the Los Angeles Times that the movie was '...a work of fiction....' However, there are marginal Christians and possible converts who will be deceived by such an attack. Nobody defends the Christians and Jews today. We intend to," commented Elsman. "We are under attack in many areas of the world, even unto death -- the Darfur region in the Sudan, Europe, China, Muslim nations. The average modern-day churches are part of the Hollywood culture, unfortunately very weak in speaking out. Even the 'feminist scholarship' of the 'Cemeteries' -- I mean Seminaries -- is a mockery of truth."

Elsman is a lay minister, who studied at Harvard Divinity School, and last Christmas went to preach on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem's Manger Square to an audience of Hamas Muslims. At the last Super Bowl in Detroit, he led a protest about "idolatry" in American sports. He has been a Detroit lawyer for over 40 years. He leads a nationwide group of lay preachers called "Laymen Alive Ministries." Elsman concluded, "If we protest this movie, the movie will be forgotten in a few years. Yet, Jesus has survived and flourished for 2000 years with over a billion followers. The Bible says all liars about Jesus will end up in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8)."

A news conference will be held Friday, June 9, at 11:00 a.m. at the Palladium Theatre, Birmingham, Michigan.

For Contact and News Conference: James Elsman, Laymen Alive Ministries, The Business Bldg., 635 Elm St., Birmingham, MI 48009, +1-248-645-0750, Fax: +1-248-645-2234, Cell: +1-248-766-5184, email: elsmanlawfirm@aol.com

Los Angeles contact: Bobby Engel, +1-760-218-0064

Portland & Las Vegas contact: James Webber, +1-503-816-5842

Source: Laymen Alive Ministries

CONTACT: James Elsman, +1-248-645-0750, Fax: +1-248-645-2234, Cell:
+1-248-766-5184, email: elsmanlawfirm@aol.com , Los Angeles contact: Bobby
Engel, +1-760-218-0064, Portland & Las Vegas contact: James Webber,
+1-503-816-5842, all of Laymen Alive Ministries

Web site: http://www.jesuslawyer.com/

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