May/June 2006 - The Da Vinci Code
Download the special double-issue of Abundant Life focusing on the Da Vinci Code in pdf format.
The Movie Designed to Destroy Your Faith
Mark Roberts
The Da Vinci Code (TDVC) is the movie based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel of the same name. First published in March 2003, it rocketed to the top of best-seller lists everywhere. What exactly is the book and movie all about? TDVC begins with a Harvard professor of religious symbols, Robert Langdon (in the movie Tom Hanks), being awakened in the middle of the night in Paris to help police with a murder at the famous museum, the Louvre. Upon arriving at the crime scene, Langdon finds that the victim, the Louvre’s curator, has left a series of coded messages about an important secret. He also finds that he is the chief suspect in the murder. Joined by the curator’s grand-daughter, Sophie Neveu, who is also a cryptologist for the French police, they flee the museum and begin solving the clues to find out who and what is behind the murder.
Blatant Errors in TDVC
Rusty Miller and Mark Roberts
This page contains a list of some of the more blatant historical mistakes to be found in The Da Vinci Code. We will list the claim from the book (page numbers refer to the hardback version) in bold, followed by the truth. The point should be clear. If Brown cannot be trusted with simple historical facts, why should we trust him on important biblical matters?
Quick Answers to the Da Vinci Code
Mark Roberts
Dan Browns The Da Vinci Code (TDVC) introduces complex issues and raises serious questions about Christianity. It takes some time to work through it all, but here is a quick summary of what you need to know and why you shouldnt believe TDVC.
The Code's Dangerous Agenda
Randy Hohf
Why has Dan Browns mega-bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, an admittedly fictional work, generated such concern among Christian leaders, apologists and authors? Several books and hundreds of articles have been written to refute a work that is nothing more than make-believe entertainment. So what is all the fuss about? Believe it or not, this work of fiction may prove to be the most serious and influential attack against the Christian faith in modern times. The unprecedented popularity of TDVC (over 40 million sold) and its bold claims to the historical accuracy of the details around which the fictional story is written combine to make its blatant assault on the Bible and the Christian faith especially disturbing.
Scholars Attack TDVC
What did you think of "The Da Vinci Code"? I liked The Da Vinci Code as a work of fiction. But the thing that troubled me is that the fiction is allegedly based on historical fact. Dan Brown begins the book by laying out what he calls historical facts, and he includes the statement that all descriptions of art, architecture, sacred rituals, and documents are factual. The difficulty I had reading through "The Da Vinci Code" with that in mind was that most of the descriptions of ancient documents, in fact, are not factual — theyre part of his fiction. But people reading the book arent equipped to separate the fact from the fiction.
Who Are the Gnostics
Ethan Longhenry
In recent years a strong interest has arisen in "alternative" religions, and Gnosticism has received interest as an "alternative" to "orthodox Christianity". The recent success of Dan Browns novel The Da Vinci Code has popularized this trend. The book speaks of "over eighty gospels" that were not chosen to be a part of the Bible (Brown, p. 231).
The Formation of the New Testament
Steve Patton
Dan Brown's theory about the formation of the Bible is expressed in The Da Vinci Code by the fictional character Leigh Teabing. an authority on the ancient documents in question. He argues the New Testament record is unreliable saying there was an alternate account of Jesus that was expunged by the church in the 4th century. The remaining documents were doctored by Constantine and powerful bishops in the 4th century to redefine Christ and His teaching and these are the books included in the canon set by the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. How did the New Testament come into being? What evidence do we have that the New Testament books were accepted by early Christians?
Is the New Testament Reliable?
Jarrod Drawbaugh
Regarding the Bible, The Da Vinci Code claims " … it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book." (TDVC, 231) From this claim and others within the book, we see that Dan Brown would have us believe that the Bible is not Gods word, is not historically accurate, is not factually true, and the original message has been lost and corrupted over time.
Does the Bible Oppress Women?
Rusty Miller
Is the Bible misogynistic? That is, does the Bible (and particularly, the New Testament) suppress women?
That is certainly a key accusation that Dan Brown makes in The Da Vinci Code. Putting his argument succinctly, after the death of Jesus, two parties arose against each other. One, the "Mary" party, viewed Jesus as a great teacher, but not divine, and worshiped a female goddess as well as a male god. The other, the "Peter" party, supported the idea of a divine Jesus, and suppressed, not only the worship of the female goddess, but also women in general. With the help of Roman Emperor Constantine, the "Peter" party won out, and the teachings and writings of the "Mary" party were suppressed.
Is Jesus Divine?
Mark Roberts
The Da Vinci Code alleges that Jesus is not deity, having received that "honor" only as the result of a voting scheme that took place nearly three hundred years after He lived. Christians maintain that Jesus is deity, and this is true because of who He is, not because He did well at the polls. How can we know Jesus is really divine?