The DaVinci Code is a work of fiction, the introduction admits this. Despite this admission I've heard stories of people that regard it as truth. Sometimes we desire the truth so deeply that we don't see it in front of us and start looking for it in secrets. Sort of like looking for the car keys. Dan Browns book is not a new story. You can read almost every one of his "facts" (and some not mentioned) in the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail written in 1983. Despite this, can you imagine what would happen if Dan Brown had written a book of fiction claiming all of Islam was a sham because Mohammed was actually a false prophet who liked to consort with prostitutes?
Organizing boycotts via media campaigns is counter-productive and will likely yield the opposite results. I think The WatchWORD BIBLE group (http://www.seetheword.com/) has a better idea. They are using the increased interest in Bible history as an opportunity to educate people to the biblical truth.
I think Christian leaders have largely dropped the ball on this. If you do a Google search trying to find Christian refutations to the claims of Dan Brown they are largely not existent. The volume of information available from "experts" trying to validate it, however, is quite large. You can, of course, purchase a book from a Christian author that will tell you all you need to know, but that is an asinine approach. The DaVinci Code is extremely appealing to teenagers who are not going to read those books. If church pastors are educating their flocks they are not publishing their papers. This information MUST be on the net where people can find it.
Here's my disclaimer. I'm not seminary educated, but I've studied scripture and theology for nearly ten years. Below I'm providing a rebuttal to many of the claims of The DaVinci Code but it is not exhaustive. Below the rebuttal is a list of sources. I don't think more than one or two people will ever read this, but in the event that someone finds it and decides to leave a comment, please visit the sources first and provide a rational response. If you feel that one of the sources is not credible or is inaccruate please give evidence and provide your own source.
-=REBUTTAL=-
The claim that the church murdered 5 million women is not true. During this regrettable event the church targeted both men and women whom it thought worshiped Satan. It is thought that no more than 100,00 men and women were put to death during the Inquisition.
Prior to 325 constant warfare between Christians and pagans did not exist. In fact, Christian persecution was significant during that period.
The crusades were more about land ownership and political power than theological doctrine.
Dan Brown dismisses the earliest written texts for much later Gnostic novels that are largely incomplete and unreliable. The line from the Gospel of Philip that is used by Dan Brown as evidence actually reads: “And the companion of the…Mary Magdalene…her more than…the disciples…kiss her…on her…” (Philip 63:33-36). You can see that significant portions are missing. It is likely that the kiss depicted here is a fellowship kiss as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 16. Dan Brown also claims that the Gospel of Philip was written in Aramaic, but it was actually written in Coptic therefore "companion" means "companion" not spouse or wife.
The Gnostic gospels do not present a positive feminist view. The Gospel of Thomas says, "Simon Peter said to them, 'Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life.' Jesus said, 'Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven.'"
The claim is made that it was unthinkable for Rabbi's to be unmarried in the time of Jesus. Though it was uncommon, it was not unthinkable or unheard of.
The demonizing of sex by the church I think is a bit exaggerated and not biblically sound. After God created Adam and Eve he commanded them to have sex and fill the earth with offspring. Imagine that, a man having to be told to have sex. In Corinthians Paul tells us that men should not deny their wives conjugal rights and women should not deny their husbands conjugal rights.
The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) were discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1947 not 1950 and date from 250 B.C. to A.D. 100. The DSS cannot be considered gospels because they are strictly Jewish texts regarding various Jewish groups, rituals, and ideas and make no reference to Jesus. The earliest Christian writings are those found in the Holy Bible.
The Council of Nicea did not invent the deity of Jesus, they simply made it a universal belief. Reference in the Bible to Jesus in divine terms can be found in several places.
Early Christian did believe Jesus was the Son of God. Paul makes several references to Jesus as Christ. Matthew 16:16 and Galatians 4:4 are other examples.
Constantine didn't invent the Bible. It's writings existed 150 years before Constantine.
Mithras was never referred to as the Son of God. Mithras was an eternal pagan god therefore he could not have died, been buried, and resurrected.
Christmas was never intended to be a celebration of the birth of Christ. It was a celebration intended to counter the pagan festival of Saturnalia.
If you keep Jesus in the Jewish context of His life, environment, and teachings it is not possible for Him to be a pagan or witch. It would have been noticed by all around Him and He would have been forgotten to time.
There is no credible evidence that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married.
Christians worshiped on Sunday long before Constantine. Sunday was an honored day because Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday. When the disciples preached to the Jews they had to do so on Saturday because that is the day that Jews go to Synagogue.
There is no evidence that the Prieure du Sion existed before May 7, 1956 and it apparently ceased to exist around 1984. French officials consider it the creation of a con artist named Pierre Plantard who died in 2000. It was first a civic organization who's mythology and secret society was created in the 1960's when secret societies were still popular. The ancient documents about the organization purportedly found in the Paris Bibliotheque Nationale in 1975 were actually placed there by Plantard in 1967 and were forged by his co-conspirator Philippe de Chérisey who died in 1985. Incidentally, it was around the time of Philippe's death that the Prieure ceased to exist. James A. Beverley of Charisma Magazine writes, "Both de Chérisey and Plantard admitted the hoax before their deaths. In fact, Plantard was forced to admit his fraud before Judge Thierry Jean-Pierre in a French court case in September 1993." The names on the list of Grand Masters for the Prieure came from purported leaders of other secret societies and was frequently changed so suit various conspiracy theories. Therefore Leonardo de Vinci could not have been one of it's Grand Masters. At one point Plantard claimed he was a descendant of Jesus and therefore proper heir to the French throne.
There are no documents chronicling the days of Mary and Sarah Magdalene in France in the years after the death of Jesus. Or that she is the true Holy Grail and thus a validator of Goddess worship, which scripture specifically states is evil. Jesus would in no way have taught Goddess worship.
The disciple next to Jesus in The Last Supper is John. You cannot find a credible source that will state otherwise.
There is no evidence that the Knights Templar ever protected the bones of Mary Magdalene.
There was no smear campaign against Mary Magdalene. In fact she is considered a saint and her Feast Day is July 22. She was mistaken by Pope Gregory I in AD 591 as the prostitute mentioned in Luke 7:36-50.
The pyramid at the Louvre has 673 panes of glass not 666.
There is no evidence that early Christians participated in sex rituals or that it was part of Temple worship to have sex with a priestess. In fact, the word "priestess" doesn't even appear in the Old Testament.
-=SOURCES=-
Desoto Sun Herald
Thomas Knickerbockercolumn
http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive4/042906/tp14de14.htm?date=042906&story=tp14de14.htm
The WatchWORD BIBLE
See The Word response to the DaVinci Code
http://www.seetheword.com/
Culture Wars Book Review
Reviewed by Anne Barbeau Gardiner
http://www.culturewars.com/2004/DaVinci.html
ChristianityToday.com
Decoding The Da Vinci Code
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/special/davincicode.html
Citizen Magazine
Best-Selling Lies - The Da Vinci Code
by Matt Kaufman
http://www.family.org/cforum/citizenmag/departments/a0032629.cfm
Contender Ministries
THE DA VINCI CODE - FICTION BASED ON FICTION
by Jennifer Rast
http://www.contenderministries.org/discrepancies/davincicode.php
About.com
http://altreligion.about.com/library/davinci/bl_davincicode6.htm
Charisma Magazine
http://www.charismamag.com/display.php?id=12860
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