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Information On
the Novel/Movie: The Da Vinci Code
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Introduction:
On the cover of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, are the
words, “a novel.” The Da Vinci Code is essentially a mystery novel.
A murder has been committed and the hero of the book has been falsely
accused. Now this fictional hero and scholar, “Robert Langdon,” must run to
save his life while trying hard to solve a mystery that goes far beyond a
murder. As a mystery novel it is very exciting.
Why would one spend time in writing a refutation of a mystery
novel? Doesn’t everybody realize it is a work of fiction? What is in the
book that has caused so much of an uproar? The primary reason to refute
this book is that some very serious attacks against Christianity are found
within its pages. The fictional characters of the book reveal “facts” which
are supposed to present “…evidence that the New Testament is false
testimony.”[1]
While the story is fictional, the author says at the beginning of his
novel, “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret
rituals in this novel are accurate.”[2] Dan Brown is clearly attempting to spread
his view of world history and world religion through the medium of an
exciting novel.
Dan Brown’s book elevates paganism, attacks Christianity,
perverts history, distorts the facts, and promotes sexual immorality. This
is all very appealing in a world culture that is turning rapidly away from
true Christianity and denominational Christianity. Dan Brown’s, The Da
Vinci Code, feeds and encourages this cultural shifting by painting
Christianity as oppressive and evil while suggesting the reasonable and
rational alternative is paganism.
Some have naively suggested that a novel cannot have much
influence. “Surely people will recognize this as a work of fiction and not
accept the distortions of reality found within.” The problem is that people
are accepting this novel as an accurate portrayal of reality. This book is having
a tremendous impact upon people. Those who have opposed Christianity have
found “new” ammunition to use against unsuspecting Christians. Those
Christians who have not been grounded with the true facts about their faith
are finding themselves beginning to doubt all they have ever believed about
the Bible, Jesus, and God the Father.
At the time of this writing, The Da Vinci Code has been
on the New York Times Best Seller List for more than a year and has sold
over 7 million copies. T.V. specials have addressed the issues raised in
the book, and a movie directed by Ron Howard is in the works. In addition,
travel agents are now designing tours that take fans of the book to many of
the historical sites visited by the heroes of the book. The influence of this
pagan-promoting propaganda is immense. For this reason members of the
church of Christ need to arm themselves with research and information that
inoculates them against this evil and that enables them to answer friends,
co-workers, and family members who may question them about Dan Brown’s
bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code.
Dan Brown Distortion #1: Jesus Was Married:
As we will clearly demonstrate later in this paper, Dan Brown
is promoting a paganism that emphasizes women over men. It is a paganism of
goddess worship and female spiritual leadership. Dan Brown refers to his
view of female led paganism as “the sacred feminine.” This statement is
found in numerous places throughout the book. In fact, a statement found in
the “Acknowledgements” of the book refers to The Da Vinci Code as
“…a novel drawn so heavily on the sacred feminine…”
As a part of his plot to promote the sacred feminine, Mr.
Brown suggests the Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene, that she was married to
Jesus, and that she had a child with Jesus.[3] One of the lead characters in this novel
says, “…it was not Peter to whom Christ gave directions with which to
establish the Christian Church. It was Mary Magdalene.”[4] Mary, a woman, was to establish the church.
This is interesting since Jesus said, in the Scriptures that He would
establish the church (Matthew 16:18 ). Why Mary? She is a woman and the
book wants us to believe that prior to A.D. 325 pagan female-led goddess
worship dominated the worship of mankind.[5]
Was Jesus married? First of all the Bible itself does not tell
us that He was married. Secondly, history has no proof that Jesus was
married. Dan Brown disagrees. He believes there is evidence that Jesus was
married to Mary Magdalene. As evidence he quotes from some of the Gnostic Gospels.
These are books that the early church rejected. They did not pass the tests
applied to books to determine if a book belongs in the Bible. We will deal
with this more when we address Dan Brown’s specific attacks against the
Bible. Suffice it to say for now that early Christians such as Eusebius
clearly recognized the Gnostic Gospels were not from God. Concerning these
writings he said, “…the type of phraseology differs from Apostolic style,
and the opinion and tendency of their contents is widely dissonant from
true orthodoxy and clearly shows that they are forgeries of heretics.”[6]
The Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip are both
mentioned in The Da Vinci Code as books with texts that allude to
the marriage status of Christ. Even in these radical books that were
rejected by the early church there is no direct statement that Jesus Christ
was a married man. But, should those books even be considered as credible
evidence? Eusebius calls them “forgeries of heretics” and concerning these
“gospels” F. W. Mattox writes, “Occasionally references are made to ‘New
Testament’ books not now in use but it should be understood that all such
references are to those ‘apocryphal’ books which were rejected with good
cause by the early churches.”[7]
Apparently desperate for real evidence to back up his foolish
theory, Dan Brown suggests that Leonardo Da Vinci also believed that the
Holy Grail was Mary Magdalene and that she was married to Jesus. As
evidence Dan Brown reveals through the story some clues in Da Vinci’s
famous painting entitled, The Last Supper.”[8] The major clue to Da Vinci’s view is the
feminine character standing next to Jesus. While most accept this as a
feminine painting of John, Brown says it is actually a picture of Mary.
Brown indicates that Da Vinci was trying to tell us something. He was
trying to tell us that Jesus was married to Mary.[9] Thrusting this Holy Grail theory into Da
Vinci’s painting of the last supper requires a lot of imagination. While I
would agree that the figure to which he refers in the painting is rather
feminine, that does not prove Da Vinci didn’t intend to paint John in a
feminine way, nor does it prove that Da Vinci believed in Dan Brown’s Holy
Grail theory.
This is more than just grasping at straws. This is a desperate
attempt to prove an hypothesis for which there is
no proof. Let us suppose for a moment that The Da Vinci Code is
correct in suggesting that Leonardo believed that Jesus was married to
Mary. What would that prove? Da Vinci’s views on life do not prove them to
be fact. Just because someone says something is true does not mean that it
is. Just because a famous artist believed something does not mean he had a
shred of evidence to back it up. In other words, there is nothing in all of
this that even closely resembles an historical fact. However, all of this
does leave us with this clear conclusion. There is no evidence whatsoever
that Jesus was ever married. The facts about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the
Holy Grail will not support Brown’s view of the “sacred feminine.”
Dan Brown Distortion # 2: The Bible Is Not From God:
To further promote his pagan thesis of the “sacred feminine”
author Dan Brown has one of his characters attack the integrity of the
Scriptures. He says, “The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God.
The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds.”[10] The fictional scholar in Brown’s story (Teabing) goes on to explain, “The Bible, as we know it
today, was collated by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.”[11] This is supposedly a part of a plot that
Constantine hatched to come up with a Bible that would destroy pure
paganism and bring about what instead would be “…a kind of hybrid religion
that was acceptable to both parties.”[12]
In addition, it is suggested that Constantine had to come up with this new
Bible to convince people of the deity of Jesus. Brown tells us Constantine
and the Council of Nicea
(A.D. 325) established the doctrine of Jesus’ divinity. The character, Teabing says, “…until that moment in history, Jesus was
viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet…a great and powerful man, but a
man nonetheless. A mortal.” In order to establish this doctrine “ Constantine
commissioned and financed a new Bible, which
omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ’s human traits and embellished
those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed,
gathered up, and burned.”[13]
To address this accusation against the integrity of the
Scriptures we need to talk briefly about how we got the sixty-six books of
the Bible. The sixty-six books of the Bible are referred to as the “Canon.”
Canon is from the Greek word for “a measuring rod, a rule, or a standard.”[14] There are many books outside the accepted
canon which were written about the same time and yet which have been
rejected. Why were these rejected and the 66 included? The answer is
relatively simple. Men needed to examine each of these books in order to
determine which of these books were inspired by God. To do this they
applied certain tests to each book. Those tests included questions such as:
Was the book written by a spokesman for God (apostle, or prophet)? Was the
writer confirmed by miracles? Did the message tell the truth about God as compared
to previous revelations? Does the book have the edifying power of a book
from God? Was it accepted by the people of God to whom it was addressed?[15] When these tests are applied only 66 books pass. These are
the 66 books that make up the canon. These are the 66 books of the Bible.
The Old Testament Canon “…was completed no later than the
second century B.C. and possibly as early as the fourth century B.C.”[16] But what about the New Testament Canon?
Brown’s book suggests that it was not “collated” until the time of Constantine .
Norman Geisler (PhD, Loyola University ) and William
E. Nix (PhD, University of Oklahoma
) write, “Although the church did not give
official recognition to the canon prior to the late fourth century, it is
misleading to say there was no recognition before then. As with the Old
Testament books, there is ample evidence available to confirm that the
inspired books were received immediately as such, circulated, and even
collected.”[17]
As proof that the 27 books of the New Testament were already
considered canonical (from God and belonging in the Bible) consider The Old
Syriac translation that came from a text dating
to the second century. It included all of the 27 books.[18] This is long before Constantine
ever came along. Constantine and the Council of Nicea (325) were not making their own Bible, or
suddenly deciding which books belonged in the Bible. They were simply
recognizing what Christians had already determined. The 27 belonged in the
canon (or the Bible) and all others should be rejected.
Having spoken briefly of how these books became the New
Testament from the standpoint of church recognition let me take a moment to
emphasize the ultimate source of these books. The church did not give us
the 27 books of the New Testament. Many times Catholics will boast that the
Roman Catholic Church gave the world the Bible. Nothing could be further
from the truth. “Canonicity is determined by God. A book is not inspired
because men made it canonical; it is canonical because God inspired it. It
is not the antiquity, authenticity, or religious community that makes a
book canonical or authoritative.”[19] God determined which books went into the
Bible when He inspired those books. Men only had to recognize which books
were inspired and to separate them from all uninspired writings of the
time.
God inspired the writers (John 14:26 ; 16:13 ; Heb. 2:3, 4; Gal. 1:12
; Eph. 3:3, 4; 2 Timothy 3:16 , 17). Christians applied the above-mentioned tests to
the book to see if they were inspired. When the books passed the tests they
were collected and considered a part of God’s canon. Now how did we get the
Bible? Some would suggest that the Bible must have been corrupted in all
the time that has passed since the original manuscripts were written by the
apostles and other inspired men. Brown suggests the same in his book when
one of his characters says the Bible “…has evolved through countless
translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive
version of the book.” In other words, Brown is suggesting there is no way
the Bible we have today can resemble the original manuscripts after so much
time has passed.
The Bible can be and has been accurately transferred from one
generation to another. The Bible itself promised as much (1 Peter 1:23 -25), but can it be proven?
The answer is yes. We can prove the accuracy of the transmission of the Old
Testament by examining the thousands of manuscripts that exist and
comparing them with the Greek translation of the Scriptures called The
Septuagint. We can also cross-reference those copies of the Old Testament
Scriptures with the Dead Sea Scrolls. When we do so we find that these
manuscripts and documents, though separated by centuries, are remarkably
united. In other words they were transferred accurately down through the
centuries.
Now how about the New Testament? Can we be sure of its
accurate transmission through time? Yes! Let us compare the New Testament
to other ancient documents. We have 5,366 New Testament manuscripts that
have survived from the second century and later. “By contrast, most other
books from the ancient world survive in only a few and late manuscript
copies.”[21] Surely this is evidence that God is preserving His word as He
promised. Also, consider another evidence of accurate transmission. “A few
of the New Testament manuscript fragments are very early, dating from the
second century. By contrast, the manuscripts for most other ancient books
date from about a thousand years after their original composition.”[22] The vast number of New Testament
manuscripts preserved and the close proximity with which they come to the
actual time of the originals attest to the amazing preservation of these
books.
In addition we can check the accuracy of the transmission of
the New Testament books by comparing them to the uninspired writings of
early Christians. These early Christians are sometimes referred to as “the
Church Fathers.” In the letters they wrote to fellow Christians we have 36,
289 quotations of New Testament Scripture.[23] The letters of these early Christians date
from the first century through the fourth century.
All of this evidence will lead the honest to come to some
powerful conclusions concerning the Bible. For example, Geisler and Nix
wrote, “No book from antiquity comes to the modern world with greater
evidence for it authenticity than does the Bible.
Both the kind and the amount of evidence that supports the fidelity of the
present critical text are greater than for any other book from the ancient
world.”[24] Sir Frederic Kenyon said, “’The Christian can take the whole
Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it
the true Word of God, handed down without essential loss from generation to
generation throughout the centuries.’”[25]
The accurate transmission of the scriptures is evidence that
the Bible is a book like no other. Another evidence that the Bible is from
God is found in its historical accuracy. The Da Vinci Code takes a stab
at the historical accuracy of the Bible by suggesting that historians
cannot “…confirm the authenticity of the Bible.”[26] In answering Brown’s ignorant assertion
let’s look at some quotes from archaeologists and historians. William F.
Albright said, “There can be no doubt that archeology has confirmed the
substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition.”[27] Nelson Glueck
wrote, “It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has
ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings
have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical
statements in the Bible.”[28] Quotations such as these and the historical
and archeological evidence that leads to such statements could fill
volumes. We must conclude from the evidence that the Bible is historically
accurate.
There are so many other evidences of the accuracy of the
Bible, and so many other ways we could prove that the Bible is from God,
however, we don’t have time to address all the evidence. Evidence such as
comes from the accurate prophecy of the Bible, evidence that comes from the
Bible’s indestructibility despite the attempts by many to wipe it off the
planet. Another evidence comes from the unity of the Bible itself. There is
one theme in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation despite the fact the
Bible is made up of 66 different books, written by over 40 different men
(inspired men), over a period of 1500-1600 years. Furthermore the writers
did not have an overall view of the finished product when they wrote. This
in and of itself is evidence that a Being capable of living at least 1500
years was overseeing the project. Clearly Dan Brown makes a big mistake
when he indicates the Bible is from man and not from God.
Dan Brown Distortion #3: The Gnostic Gospels
Picture The True Christ:
The character, Sir Teabing, tells us
“More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet
only a relative few were chosen for inclusion...”[29] Those excluded are referred to as the Gnostic Gospels, and
there weren’t eighty of them.[30] The Da Vinci Code tries to get us to
believe that these rejected gospels tell us the true nature of Jesus.
According to Brown that true nature was human only and not divine. In
addition we are to believe that the Gnostic Gospels represent the true
belief of early Christians. Furthermore, it is stated that the belief that
Jesus was divine was not established until Constantine and the Council of Nicea came up with it in A.D. 325. We have already
addressed to some degree the validity of the Gnostic Gospels. The early
church did not accept them. Referring to these blasphemous books Drs.
Geisler and Nix say,
“During the first few centuries, numerous
books of a fanciful and heretical nature arose that are neither genuine nor
valuable as a whole. Eusebius of Caesarea called these ‘totally absurd and
impious.’ Virtually no orthodox Father, canon, or council considered these
books to be canonical and, so far as the church is concerned, they are
primarily of historical value. These books indicate the heretical teaching
of gnostic, docetic, and ascetic groups, as well
as the exaggerated fancy of religious lore in the early church. At best,
these books were revered by some of the cults and referred to by some of
the orthodox Fathers, but they were never considered canonical by the
mainstream of Christianity.”[31]
The ludicrous nature of these books can be seen in just a few
examples. The Gospel of Thomas paints Jesus as a vindictive little
boy with great power. He becomes angry with one boy and causes the boy to
whither up (Gospel of Thomas 3:2, 3).[32] This same rejected book shows us a Jesus who, when bumped
into by another little boy, causes the boy to immediately fall down and
die.[33] The Gospel of the Ebionites denies
the deity of Christ and promotes the belief that eating meat is wrong.[34] The Gospel of Peter teaches that
Jesus felt no pain when He died on the cross. Many other examples could be
given that show that these books are foolish in nature and do not fit in
with the plain Bible teaching of books accepted as inspired long before
these books ever came along.
Furthermore, it becomes very clear that the early writings of
Paul clearly teach the deity of Christ. This view is in direct conflict
with some of the Gnostic Gospels as well as with Dan Brown’s belief that
the deity of Christ was not established until the days of the Roman Emperor
Constantine. Paul taught that Jesus was the Son of God and as such did
possess the nature of deity (Romans 1:1-4). Paul also made it very clear
that Jesus is the member of the Godhead who created this world (Colossians
1:13 -17).
All that Paul wrote came before A.D. 63/64 when he was beheaded at the
command of Emperor Nero. This is much earlier than those books that denied
the deity of Christ. This proves the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus
existed long before Constantine
.
The writings of John clearly address the errors of the
Gnostics. His Gospel account emphasizes very strongly the deity of Christ,
which the Gnostics rejected. Consider John 1:1-14; and John 8:58 as but two of many passages
in the Gospel of John which refute the Gnostic heresy. John’s epistles
address the Gnostic error by emphasizing those things that we do know (1
John 1:1-4), and by referring to the Gnostics as “antichrist (1 John 2:18 , 22; 4:3; 2
John 1:7).” Clearly the early church rejected the false claims of the
Gnostics and their Gnostic Gospels. In addition we cannot doubt the fact
that the doctrine of the deity of Jesus existed prior to The Council of Nicea.
While on the subject of The Council of Nicea,
let’s address for a moment the vote mentioned in Dan Brown’s book. The
Da Vinci Code suggests the vote on whether or not to include the deity
of Christ in it statement of doctrine was a close
one. Brown suggests the notion that Jesus was divine barely passed by a
council vote. First of all, such councils do not determine the truth of the
matter. God’s word does. But even beyond this Mr. Brown once again shows a
great disregard for truth and fact. The vote was not a close vote. The
council voted 316 to 2 in favor of included a statement affirming the deity
of Christ. [35] We also need to understand, as had already been pointed out,
the early church already believed in the deity of Christ. The Council of Nicea and Constantine were only reaffirming what was
already believed. Dan Brown couldn’t be more wrong when he asserts
Constantine and that council came up with the doctrine of Christ’s
divinity.
Let’s give one more evidence of the early churches’ belief in
the deity of Christ. We can look to early, uninspired writings of
Christians to see that they believed in the deity of Christ decades and
even centuries before the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. In their
book, Cracking the Da Vinci Code, James Garlow
( Ph.D Drew
University ) and
Peter Jones (Ph.D Princeton Theological Seminary)
list the following quotes from early Christians:[36]
Ignatius: “God Himself was manifested in human form (A.D.
105).”
Justin Martyr: “The Father of the universe has a Son. And
He...is even God (A.D. 160).”
Irenaeus: “He is God, for the name Emmanuel indicates this
(A.D. 180).”
Tertullian: “...Christ our God (A.D. 200).
Origen: “No one should be offended that the Savior is also
God... (A.D. 225).”
Novation: “...He is not only man, but God also... (A.D. 235).”
Cyprian: “Jesus Christ, our Lord and God (A.D. 250).”
Many of the Gnostic Gospels do in fact attack the divinity of
Jesus and make Him no more than a man. The idea that those gospels
represent the true thinking of early Christians is absolutely false. There
is no evidence to support the view that followers of Jesus believed Him
human (only) until after A.D. 325. Dan Brown is wrong. The Gnostic Gospels
do not portray the true Jesus Christ.
Dan Brown Distortion #4: Paganism Is A
Better Way:
That the Da Vinci
Code promotes paganism and attacks Christianity is a fact that cannot be
denied. The hero of the story, Robert Langdon, is working on a manuscript
“...about the iconography of goddess-worship the concept of female sanctity
and the art and symbols associated with it.”[37] The murdered curator of the Louvre Museum in Paris is pictured
as a wonderful person who died as a martyr for the cause of paganism. It is
said of this character that he had a “...personal passion for relics
relating to fertility, goddess cults, Wicca, and the sacred feminine...”[38] In fact, the thesis of the book might be summed up in
the following statement by one of the major characters: “The Priory
believes that Constantine and his male
successors successfully converted the world from matriarchal paganism to
patriarchal Christianity by waging a campaign of propaganda that demonized
the sacred feminine, obliterating the goddess from modern religion
forever.”[39]
There are at least two issues that ought to be examined in
regard to Mr. Brown’s view of paganism. First of all, The Da Vinci Code
suggests paganism and goddess worship elevated women while Christianity
brought women down.
To support his contention, Brown uses the Roman Catholic
Church as an example of chauvinistic behavior. Concerning the Catholic
group Opus Dei it is said, “...their views on women were medieval at best.”[40] The author of The Da Vinci Code also
cites the Roman Catholic’s persecution of “...free thinking women.”[41] Allegedly these “free-thinking” women were
cast as witches who were to be tortured and killed. Among those “free
thinking” women Dan Brown includes “female scholars...nature lovers, herb
gatherers, and any women ‘especially attuned to the natural world.’”[42]
While the validity of many of Dan Brown’s claims concerning
the Catholic Church are suspect, we fully recognize the historical fact
that the Roman Catholic Church has been guilty of some very unchristian
behavior in the past. One has but to consider the crusades and the
inquisition to know this to be true. However, a clear distinction should be
made between Roman Catholicism and true Christianity. True Christianity is
that which follows the New Testament pattern and which rejects all other
standards of authority (2 Timothy 3:16 , 17). Roman Catholicism is a
perversion and a corruption of the real thing. One has but to compare the
doctrines and practices of Catholicism with New Testament Christian
practice to know this to be true. Consequently we conclude that any attacks
made against the Roman Catholic Church are not attacks against true
Christianity.
True Christianity elevated women to a level they had not known
before Christ. For example, it is the New Testament which says, “Husbands,
likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as
to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life,
that your prayers may not be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).” In essence God has
said that He will not even listen to a man’s prayers if that man does not
treat his wife respectfully. In addition the Bible teaches husbands to love
their wives so much that they would be willing to die for them, and to love
their wives as they do their own bodies (Ephesians 5:25-33). Granted the
Bible gives man the spiritual headship of the home (Ephesians 5:22 ), but
different roles, and higher authority does not equate to greater value in
the eyes of God. To illustrate this point we will look at Paul’s comments
in 1 Corinthians 11:3. “But I want you to know that the head of every man
is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” God
the Father has authority over the Son. Does this make the Son any less
valuable? Does this make his role of lesser importance? What about the
authority the husband has over the wife. Does this make him any more
valuable to God than her? Absolutely not! Is he of more value in the home
than she? No! By giving men and women different roles God did not indicate
one was of greater value than the other. The pilot of an F-18 is no more
valuable than the crew chief of that airplane. Without the crew chief the
pilot can’t fly. Without the wife, the home is crippled significantly.
The same is true with regard to the church. While the Bible
does give man the spiritual headship of the church (1 Timothy 2, 3), the
woman is considered of equal value in the church (Galatians 3:26 -29). Man has a role and the
woman has a role. Both roles are vital. True Christianity has elevated
women by teaching that they are of equal value with men.
Christianity has also elevated women from being viewed as
property and sex objects to being viewed as valued human beings whom God
loves. The Bible encourages Christians to control themselves sexually
(Galatians 5:19 -23).
The lust and lewdness of the pagans is replaced by love and self-discipline
in true Christianity (Galatians 5:22 , 23). The New Testament provides
for a life-long, loving, and nourishing relationship to be the basis for
any sexual activity between men and women (Hebrews 13:4). That committed
and protective relationship is called “marriage.” Sex outside of this pure
institution is not only dirty, but is dangerous. How many women have been
hurt physically, emotionally, and spiritually by men who simply want to use
them for their bodies? Further evidence of the Bible’s goal to elevate
women above sex objects is found in the following statement made by Jesus
Christ Himself: “...whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already
committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28).” Jesus does not
want His followers to view women as physical toys for the foolish and
irresponsible fantasies of lustful men. Mr. Brown’s book suggests the early
church, “...worked hard to demonize sex and recast it as a disgusting and
sinful act.”[43] He hasn’t read the Bible he attacks. The Bible
pictures sex as a pure and wonderful relationship designed for both the
procreation and the pleasure of man, but only when that relationship exists
in the stable and loving environment of marriage (Hebrews 13:4).
On the other hand, pagans belittle women by making them little
more than sex objects to be lusted after. Paganism encourages fornication,
and adultery. The Da Vinci Code speaks of a sexual rite that the
murdered curator had participated in. Men and women moved around a circle
while the curator had intercourse with a woman in the middle of that
circle. The grand-daughter of the curator sees this act and flees. She
breaks off her relationship with him in disgust. Later she is told, “What
you saw was not about sex, it was about spirituality. The Hieros Gamos ritual is not a
perversion. It’s a deeply sacrosanct ceremony.”[44] The book also teaches that men may
communicate with deity and “...achieve gnosis - knowledge of the
divine” through the physical union with women.[45] The hero of the story tells the male college students in his
class, “The next time you find yourself with a woman, look in your heart
and see if you cannot approach sex as a mystical, spiritual act. Challenge
yourself to find that spark of divinity that man can only achieve through
sexual union with the sacred feminine.”[46] Free sex is promoted by suggesting it is
something spiritual or religious. We could sum up Robert Langdon’s teaching
in this way; “You college boys have physical unions with women all you want
as you long as you remember it is something spiritual.” This simply gives
men one more opportunity to view women as little more than objects for
their personal pleasure. This does not elevate women!
When we look at the pagan practices of the ancients we realize
that paganism does not elevate women. While it is true that some pagans
worshipped female deities, it also true that their worship of such
goddesses was very perverse and belittling to women. For example, it is a
well-established historical fact, “That the ancients had a temple dedicated
to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty (Roman equivalent,
Venus), which was populated with over 1,000 prostitutes whose services were
used in ‘worship.’”[47] Tell me how women can elevate themselves by selling their
bodies in a religious act of “worship!” Paganism is the true enemy of
women’s rights. Christianity is the true champion of women’s real rights.
Dan Brown could not have missed the mark any further!
A second issue to be raised in view of The Da Vinci Code’s promotion
of paganism over Christianity centers around what Dan Brown refers to as a
“life out of balance.”[48] Brown’s distorted view suggests paganism,
and in particular goddess worship, helped to balance life out. The idea he
promotes is that Constantine and the Catholic Church put women down, thereby
throwing the world out of balance. He then says this has resulted in wars
and “...disrespect for Mother Earth.”[49]This
is a total distortion of truth. Did the world not have any wars before the
4th century A.D.? Was there no violence in existence prior to
the reign of Constantine ?
Was there no war between Babylon and the
Medes and Persians? Are all the things we know about Alexander the Great’s
Macedonian army and the violent way in which it conquered the Persians
false? NO! Of course these facts are not false. The reality is that Dan
Brown’s premise is simply foolish and ridiculous.
Not only does Mr. Brown ignore historical fact in suggesting
the world was better off under paganism, but he once again shows his
failure to understand true Christianity. True New Testament Christianity
does not call for violence. Our battle and our weapons are spiritual
(Ephesians 6:10 -20).
Our message is one of love (Ephesians 4:15 ). Our gospel is one of hope
(Romans 1:16 ).
True Christianity will not throw the world out of balance and thrust it
into violence. True Christianity, if applied, would have the very opposite
effect.
Conclusion:
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is an outright attempt to turn people away from
Christianity and toward paganism. In so doing Dan Brown belittles the
Christ, the Bible, and Christians. Also, Dan Brown’s propaganda promotes
the practice of fornication as long as it is in the name of worshipping
“the divine feminine.” His message is resonating in the hearts of the
perverse and creating shockwaves among those who once trusted the Bible. It
is a bitter, immoral, and dangerous message, but it is not new. His attacks
simply involve old lies thrown into a modern package.
Does Dan Brown really believe these things or is he simply
writing fiction for us to accept as nothing more than entertainment? When
interviewed on ABC’s 20/20, Dan Brown said, “I began as a skeptic. As I
started researching The Da Vinci Code I really thought I would
disprove a lot of this theory about Mary Magdalene and holy blood and all
of that. I became a believer.”[50] Dan Brown actually believes in the
fictional fantasies of his bestselling novel. James spoke of some who
deceive their own hearts (James 1:26 ). Apparently Dan Brown has
deceived himself with his own distortions and lies. How sad it is that many
others are also being deceived by this book. ABC’s Elizabeth Vargas said, “Some of the
claims the book makes are not credible.”[51] When
all of the facts are in it becomes very clear that most of the
claims the book makes are not credible.
The true church of Christ will not sit
idly by and let the pagans blaspheme God. We will put on our spiritual
armor and go into spiritual battle against all forces of evil. We will
“...have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
expose them (Ephesians 5:11
).” Remember David’s reaction to the blasphemy of the pagan
giant Goliath? David said, “...who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that
he should defy the armies of the living God (1 Samuel 17:26 )?” David then proceeded to slay
the giant. When paganism blasphemes God, the armies of God must arise to
defend their cause. We rise to the spiritual challenge to fight a very
real, spiritual battle. It is the age old battle of paganism versus
Christianity.
Let me pose a few questions before we close. Who shall win
this battle for the minds of men and women? Will paganism eventually
triumph over Christianity, or will the opposite be true. Is this the Age of
Aquarius in which paganism makes its comeback and Christianity suffers a
bitter end? While we must admit that paganism is growing in strength we
must realize that ultimately and finally God is in control. God will win.
Paganism will go down to hell with its satanic creator. The book of
Revelation promises Christians this final victory. Truth will survive.
Christians will win. Whose side are you on?
Bibliography:
The Holy Bible, New
King James Version, Copyright 1996, Broadman
& Holman Publishers.
The Da Vinci Code,
by Dan Brown, Doubleday , New York , copyright
2003
Cracking the Da
Vinci Code by James Garlow & Peter Jones,
Victor Publishing, Colorado Springs
, copyright 2004
A General
Introduction to the Bible, by Norman L Geisler & William E. Nix, Moody
Press, Chicago, copyright 1986
The Eternal Kingdom : A History of the Church of Christ , by F.W.
Mattox, Gospel Light Publishing Company, Delight, Copyright 1961
Radio Interview with
Paul Myer, author of The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction.
ABC’s 20/20 Monday
Night Special Edition, Jesus, Da Vinci, and Mary Magdalene, reporter
Elizabeth Vargos, 2004
The First
Corinthians Epistle: An Introduction, by Bert Thompson as found in Studies
in 1 Corinthians, edited by Dub McClish, Valid Publications, copyright 1982
[1] The Da Vinci Code,
page 341
[2] Ibid, p. 1
[3] The Da Vinci Code, p.
235ff.
[4] Ibid, p. 248
[5] Ibid, p. 232
[6] The Eternal Kingdom , p. 106
[7] Ibid
[8] The Da Vinci Code, p.
245
[9] The Da Vinci Code, p.
245
[10] Ibid, p. 231
[11] Ibid
[12] Ibid, p. 232
[13] Ibid, p. 234
[14] A General
Introduction to the Bible, p. 203/04
[15] A General
Introduction to the Bible, pp. 223-231
[16] Ibid, p. 237
[17] Ibid, p. 282
[18] Ibid, p. 292
[19] Ibid, p. 221
[20] The Da Vinci Code,
p. 231
[21] A General
Introduction to the Bible, p. 382
[22] Ibid, p. 383
[23] Ibid, p. 431
[24] Ibid, p. 603
[25] A General
Introduction to the Bible, p. 382
[26] The Da Vinci Code,
p. 256
[27] A General
Introduction to the Bible, p. 195
[28] Ibid
[29] The Da Vinci Code,
p. 231
[30] A General
Introduction to the Bible, p. 302
[31] A General
Introduction to the Bible, p. 301
[32] Ibid, p. 302
[33] Ibid
[34] Ibid
[35] Cracking Da Vinici’s Code, p. 95
[36] Ibid, p. 94
[37] The Da Vinci Code,
p. 23
[38] Ibid
[39] Ibid, p. 124
[40] The Da Vinci Code,
p. 41
[41] Ibid, p. 125
[42] Ibid
[43] The Da Vinci Code,
p. 309
[44] The Da Vinci Code,
p. 309
[45] Ibid, pp. 308, 309
[46] Ibid, p. 310
[47] Studies in 1
Corinthians, p. 17
[48] The Da Vinci Code, pp. 125, 126
[49] Ibid
[50] ABC’s 20/20 - 2004
[51] ABC’s 20/20 Special Edition, The Da Vinci Code and Mary
Magdalene, 2004
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