Christians should confront errors of 'Da Vinci' head-on

Christians should confronterrors of 'Da Vinci' head-on
EDITOR:
This letter is in reference to an article sent to the editor on May 14, concerning Dan Brown's, & quot;The Da Vinci Code." The writer Marianne Lordi enthusiastically appealed to the Christian community to boycott "The Da Vinci Code" movie and book. While I appreciate Marianne's concern for upholding the truth claims of Christianity, I must disagree with her plea for Christians to bury their heads in the sand by angrily ignoring this movie through boycott.
I do agree that Dan Brown attempts to formulate factual events through this fictional novel (which, in itself, is quite confusing); however, societal and spiritual confusion will continue to escalate if the Christian community refuses to confront heretical doctrines and deceptions concerning the deity of Jesus Christ.
When Christians avoid confronting biblical and spiritual error in our culture, we limit ourselves to a spiritual ghetto -- a closed community of worshippers who cower in our own comfort zones -- which is much more harmful than "The Da Vinci Code's" impact on the masses. Remember, Jesus did not walk away from cultural confrontation. He met confrontation head-on and defeated harmful doctrinal error through the truth of God's holy word.
According to sacred scripture, Jesus never lost a "spiritual battle" of truth; he taught and fashioned truth through gentleness and respect for others as he poured forth powerful and life-transforming words of truth that illuminated souls. Conspiracy theories such as "The Da Vinci Code" have come and gone over the centuries and, yet, Christianity continues to stand and grow simply because spiritual, historical, manuscriptive, and prophetic truths will always quench any lie or fabrication aimed at Christianity.
My suggestion to all those concerned over this ("Da Vinci Code") fictional novel: Become extremely familiar with the true claims of sacred scripture and the deity of Jesus Christ. Doing so will allow you an opportunity to shed much light on biblical facts concerning Jesus and the early church verses the errant pseudo-Christian fabrications in Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code."
ANTHONY ORECCHIO
Bridgeville, Pa.
Get involved to protect kidsfrom dangers of obesity
EDITOR:
Today's children are at risk. It is time to act. The time is now.
What I am talking about is a growing epidemic that has the potential to take years from children's lives and may even leave them with a shorter lifespan than their parents. I'm talking about childhood obesity.
Last week, the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation announced their agreement with Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and the American Beverage Association to limit portion sizes and reduce the number of calories available to children during the school day .
Under these new guidelines, only lower calorie and nutritious beverages will be sold to schools.
I commend this move taken by the American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation. There is a lot of work to be done to protect our children from childhood obesity, but this is a big step in the right direction. And many more steps still need to be taken. Consider these facts:
More than 30 percent of 6- to 19-year-olds are overweight, while 15 percent are obese.
Being obese by the age of 20 can cut up to 20 years off a person's life.
60 percent of overweight children have at least one risk factor for heart disease, such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.
Some other health effects of childhood obesity are sleep apnea, asthma, joint problems and low self-esteem.
If we ignore the problem, we do so at the peril of our children and our future. If we think it is somebody else's problem, we do not understand the medical, social and work-related ramifications it has on our society.
It is time to act. The time is now. The American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation have numerous resources for adults and kids to help you get started. Call 330-965-9230 for more information or visit www.healthiergeneration.org
MOHAMMAD R. SHAYESTEH, PhD, RD, CDE, LD
Board Certified Nutritionist & amp; Diabetes Educator
Boardman