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The Three-fold Attack of "The Da Vinci Code"
"so dark the con of Brown"
By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
April 25, 2006
Galatians 1:6-9
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"
Since "The Da Vinci Code" was published in April of 2003, it has sold more than 36,000,000 copies and has been translated into 44 languages. Sony's Columbia Pictures purchased the movie rights for $6,000,000 and on May 19,2006 it will be released as a major motion picture directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks.
There is a lot of concern by pastors, and church leaders concerning this creation of Dan Brown. It is rare for a book or movie to cause such an international uproar from Christians but if it attacks the foundation of Christianity a response by Christians is justified and requires us to defend our faith. We do this not for revenge but to protect the innocent from being led astray by lies. We do this not to attempt to squelch free speech but to protect those Christians who might be hindered in their walk with the Lord by falsehoods and misinformation.
You might ask why a fictional novel should be taken so seriously, after all, its just make-believe? The problem with the presentation and content of "The Da Vinci Code" is that while it is written as fiction, it mixes truth with error to promote a worldview and hidden agenda within the fabric of the novel.
At the beginning of his book, Dan Brown states, "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." (The Da Vinci Code, page 2) The problem with this statement is that it is basically in error as are numerous historical, artistic and religious comments contained in the book and movie. I don't have space to discuss all the errors but if you are interested you can request a list I have compiled by contacting me or research the numerous Christian books and resources that are available.
So in what way does "The Da Vinci Code" attack Christianity? First Dan Brown's book and movie attack the reliability and veracity of scripture. He tries to make the case that Constantine and the Vatican manipulated the content of the Bible to promote their own political agenda for power. He tries to convince readers and moviegoers that the heretical Gnostic gospels found in Nag Hammadi should have been included in our Bible.
The Gnostics were a heretical group who did not believe that Jesus died for the sins of mankind. They believed all physical matter was evil and only the spiritual nature was pure and good. They believed that salvation and fulfillment was found in secret knowledge that only they possessed. The Gnostics wrote numerous documents that promoted their beliefs, copies of which were found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. In an attempt to associate themselves with Christianity they used the names of Jesus' apostles and disciples in the titles and content of their documents so that it could be assumed that these Christian individuals wrote such words.
The problem with all these assertions is that they are totally inaccurate both historically and theologically. Constantine did order the Council of Nicea to meet and verify what the current doctrine was on the nature of Christ, but he did not control their decisions. This council did not decide which books of the Bible were to be approved for inclusion in scripture, despite what Dan Brown says to the contrary. There was unrest in Constantine's empire because Arius, a heretic, was preaching falsely about the nature of Christ. Constantine wanted peace amidst his subjects and therefore encouraged bishops in Christendom to decide what the current doctrine of Christ's nature was among Christians. This was done and 99% of the bishops approved the decision that Christ was believed to be both fully God and fully man by all those who believed in Him as their Savior. Dan Brown states the vote was very, very close but this is in error. The Vatican did not even exist at the time of the Council of Nicea and the land upon which it stands today was a swamp at the time of Constantine.
The Gnostic gospels were written hundreds of years after the death of Christ and doctrinally are way off the mark of basic Christian beliefs. They promote mystical experiences that are against much of what Christ taught in His ministry. The Old Testament was verified and established over a hundred years before Christ was born and the New Testament was written within the first century of Christ's death. There are thousands of texts that have been found to establish the accuracy of the Bible we have today, more than any other ancient document. After extensive examination and comparison, scholars have verified that these manuscripts are 99.5% accurate when compared to the New Testament we use today. The Bible was not a product of political power moves by Constantine or anyone else. It was established by God through His use of men of God to convey God's Word to all those that believe.
A second attack of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" is on the deity of Christ. The book and movie portray Jesus as simply a good man who was used by God to establish a royal bloodline. There is no room in the "Da Vinci Code" for a savior to die for mankind's sin. Dan Brown would have us believe that any references in the Bible to the deity of Christ were placed there purposely by Constantine and the Vatican to establish their own male-biased power base. Dan Brown's faulty and twisted interpretation of history distorts the true nature of Christ. Contrary to the "Da Vinci Code" Jesus was considered both fully human and fully divine in the early history of the church and hundreds of years before the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. More than 250 years before the Council of Nicea Jesus had already been recognized as the "Son of God" in the writings of the New Testament. Paul's letters refer to Jesus as the "Son of God" 17 times. The New Testament as a whole refers to Jesus as "God's Son" more than 100 times.
It was commonly accepted by devout Christians in the first century church as basic to the Christian faith that Jesus was both fully man and fully divine.
Early church fathers over 150 years before the Council of Nicea had written of the accepted belief that Jesus was the "Son of God." Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus are just a few who wrote of such established doctrine.
Jesus came to die for the sins of mankind and through the power of His resurrection redeem and transform us. The true Jesus of the Bible sympathizes and understands our struggles because He was fully human, but also offers us salvation and eternal life because He was also fully God. Jesus' divine nature demonstrates to us both His perfect, pure love as well as His sufficiency to make good on His promises of forgiving our sins and making it possible for us to become children of God.
Finally, the third attack by Dan Brown is on the theology of the Kingdom of God. According to the "Da Vinci Code" Jesus' intention was to build an earthly kingdom centered on his supposed wife, Mary Magdalene. Through this royal bloodline Jesus would establish His church on earth. Mary would rule this kingdom and their children would be the heirs. This would restore the pagan worship of the sacred feminine that Constantine and the Vatican had outlawed. The problem with this assertion is that Dan Brown's history is all wrong, his understanding of pagan religion is flawed, his comprehension of Christianity is almost nonexistent and his agenda for promoting goddess worship is apparent. Jesus' true Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). Jesus came to save us from our sin, redeem us for His own, adopt us as His children and establish a spiritual heavenly Kingdom that would last for all eternity. Jesus never married anyone for any reason because it would have been recorded if He had done so. No marriage of Jesus is recorded in scripture nor by any ancient historians of that time period. His ministry on earth was to serve those in need, both physically and spiritually, fulfill Bible prophecy to verify His mission and endure death on the cross so that He could rise from the grave to demonstrate His power over sin and death. We are heirs to Jesus' heavenly Kingdom (Romans 8:17, Ephesians 3:6, Titus 3:7) and each Christian is a member of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) of this spiritual Kingdom. Jesus' ways are not our ways. They are heavenly and eternal. 1 Corinthians 15:50 emphasizes that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God" and therefore this one verse alone destroys the theories of Dan Brown's royal bloodline of Jesus and Mary.
The techniques Dan Brown uses in his book are intelligent and crafty. He appeals to our interest and desire for secret knowledge that no one else has. He tempts us by offering our flesh an earthly reason to rationalize away our faith in Christ. He challenges us to interpret history, art and scripture according to his understanding or be branded a fool and an ignoramus. His methods should remind us of another being that is crafty, manipulative, deceptive and full of lies. Whether Dan Brown is just out to make lots of money or intentionally has a hidden agenda to lead people spiritually astray doesn't matter the result is the same. Lies and error are no substitute for the stable substance of eternal truth. John 8:32 tells us that we can "know the truth and the truth shall set us free." The "Da Vinci Code" is far from the truth and the contents of the book and movie if believed will only bring bondage and death. We must understand that not only is the "Da Vinci Code" a fictional story, it is full of doctrines that the Deceiver has used to war against our majestic and holy Heavenly Father since his first day of rebellion.
May you seek the truth, know the Lord, feel His love and experience His saving power. Beware false teachers who desire to tickle your listening ears.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
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