With this paper I don’t seek to rebut all of the false claims of this book / movie. This was some research that I’ve done over the past month and summarized into one 15 page document. I’ve copied and pasted quite a bit of stuff from various websites (most notably from Campus Crusade’s website www.crusade.org and www.discussdavinci.com as well as from Focus on the Family’s website www.family.org)
I listened to a radio broadcast with Lee Strobel and he encouraged believers to ask their friends “diagnostic questions” before discussing the book. For example you can ask:
- What did you learn about history that surprised you from this book / movie?
- How did this book / movie change your view of Jesus?
This way you can learn and see how much of an impact the book / movie had on the person. Here’s my 9 questions and the answers I’ve come up with.
QUESTION 1: Are the “FACTS” that Dan Brown lists on page 1 of the book actually facts?
ANSWER 1: NO!
The Priory of Sion was NOT founded in
In 1993, Plantard’s name came up in light of a political scandal involving a close friend of then French president Francois Mitternad. Plantard had, in one of his lists of the Priory of Sion, listed Roger-Patrice Pelat as a Grand master. When called before the court to testify, Plantard, under oath, admitted he had made up the whole Priory scheme.
QUESTION 2: Is Jesus God?
"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.” (DVC, p. 233)
"Gospels that described earthly aspects of Jesus' life had to be omitted from the Bible" (DVC, p. 244).
“
ANSWER 2: Is Jesus God? YES!
a) At His trial and under oath, Jesus affirmed that He was the Christ, the Son of God. The Judge and the Jewish court understood His claim and condemned Him to death (Mark 14:61-64, Matthew 26:63-64).
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
"I am," said Jesus. (Mark 14:61-62)
b) Jesus claimed to be one with the Father. His hearers understood His claim to be God (John
"I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."(John 10:30-33)
c) Jesus claimed a unique relationship with God and equality with God. His hearers understood His claim and sought to kill Him (John
d) Jesus claimed eternal existence. His hearers understood His claim and sought to kill him (John
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. (John 8:58, 59)
e) Jesus claimed to be God manifested in the flesh (John 14:8-9).
f) Jesus claimed power reserved only for God. He claimed to forgive sins. His hearers understood that only God could forgive sins (Matthew 9:2, Mark 2:5-12, Luke
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." (Luke 5:20-24)
g) He accepted worship, which was reserved only for God. Jesus Himself stated that worship was for God alone. And He did not rebuke those who worshipped Him (Matthew
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." (Matt 14:32-33)
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."(John 20:27-29)
Then the eleven disciples went to
h) John claimed Jesus was God (John 1:1-4)
i) Paul's understanding as an apostle and leader of the church
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. . . . For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form . . . (
Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us (Tit
QUESTION 3: Did
"
"More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion Matthew, Mark, Luke and John among them . . . " (DVC, p. 231)
"The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great." (DVC, p. 232)
ANSWER 3:
NO! While
The Old Testament had been completed even before the birth of Jesus and much of the New Testament was recognized before
AD 382:
Pope Damasus I, in a letter, listed the New Testament books in their present number and order.
AD 393:
The Council of Hippo affirmed the Canon written by Bishop Athanasius.
AD 397:
The Council of Carthage reaffirmed the Canons of the Old and New Testaments.
In reality, scholars say, the councils listed above merely codified what everyone else had already accepted:
[The Third Council of
F.F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments
(rev. ed.
(for verses on Biblical inspiration see: 2 Timothy
QUESTION 4: What about the Gnostic Gospels?
ANSWER 4:
Gnostic Gospels include:
Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Nazarenes, Gospel of Egyptians, Gospel of Ebionites, Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of James
In the Gospel of Thomas we learn that women can't enter the kingdom of heaven except by being turned into men, for "every woman who will make herself male will enter the
"One particularly troubling theme kept recurring in the [Gnostic] gospels. Mary Magdalene. . . . More specifically, her marriage to Jesus Christ" (DVC, p. 244).
“The Gospel of Philip: And the companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene. Christ loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, “Why do you love her more than all of us?... As any Aramaic scholar will tell you, the word companion, in those days, literally meant spouse.” (DVC, p. 246)
That’s nice, but scholars debate whether the Gospel of Philip was written in Greek or Syrian. The first Gospel of Philip that has been found is dated 4th century and was written in Coptic. So who care’s about Aramaic!! The Gospel of Philip here uses a “Greek loan word” which is “koinonos”. “Koinonos” means “friend / associate” not “spouse”!
OR (from wikipedia)
And the companion of the [...] Mary Magdalene. [...] more than [...] the disciples, [...] kiss her [...] on her [...]. The rest of the disciples [...]. They said to him "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Savior answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her? When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness.
If Jesus was married to her why didn’t he just answer the question “Why do I love her more and kiss her?” by saying, “BECAUSE SHE’S MY WIFE!” (notice the …’s this is because the manuscripts and text is inconclusive as to what the words should be)
“This is from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Sophie had not known a gospel existed in Magdalene’s words. She read the text: And Peter said, “Did the Saviour really speak with a woman without our knowledge? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?” And Levi answered, “Peter, you have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like an adversary. If the Saviour made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Saviour knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us.” (DVC, p. 247)
BUT… Mary Magdalene didn’t write even write this!!!! Brown screws up again!
The Gnostic gospels were written after all other books in the New Testament had been completed. (250-350 AD several hundred years after Christ lived.) They were written to reinterpret the life of Christ and His teachings, based upon Gnostic philosophy. There were never as many as “eighty” as Brown claims on pg 231, and they were never considered for inclusion in the New Testament.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were accepted in the 1st century based upon their authorship and their use in the early Christian centers of
QUESTION 5: What happened at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD that
“Jesus’ establishment as ‘the Son of God’ was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.” “Hold on. You’re saying Jesus’ divinity was the result of a vote?” “A relatively close vote at that”, Teabing added. (DVC, p. 233)
ANSWER 5:
Let's travel back to
A man named Arius, was gaining a wide following by teaching that Christ was not fully God, but a created “god” of sorts. He believed that Christ was more than a man but less than God. He said “there was a time when Christ was not”. Arius was a great communicator, and because he put his doctrinal ideas into musical jingles, his ideas became widely accepted. Although many church bishops declared him a heretic, the disputes nonetheless continued.
More than 300 bishops met at
Affirming the divinity of Jesus, the delegates turned their attention to the question of how he related to the Father. Eusebius the historian presented his view, claiming that Jesus had a nature that was similar to that of God the Father. Present, but not invited to the actual proceedings, was the theologian Athanasius, who believed that even to say that Christ is similar to God the Father is to miss the full biblical teaching about Christ's divinity. His argument that Christ could only be God in the fullest sense if his nature was the same is that of the Father was expressed by his representative, Marcellus, a bishop from
The council agreed, and today we have the famous Nicene Creed. As anyone who has ever quoted the creed knows, Jesus Christ is declared to be “Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made" (italics added). There can be no question that the delegates affirmed that Christ was deity in the fullest sense.
Why should we be interested in this debate? Some critics have been amused that the Council of Nicaea split over one "iota." The difference between the Greek words for similar and same is but one letter of the alphabet: the letter i. Some argue that it's just like theologians to split hairs, arguing over minutiae that have little to do with the real world. How much better to help the poor or get involved in the politics of the day!
In The Da Vinci Code, we read that the doctrine of Christ's deity passed by a "relatively close vote." That is fiction, since only 5 out of more than 300 bishops (the number is actually believed to have been 318) protested the creed. In fact, in the end, only 2 refused to sign it. The outcome was not exactly a cliff-hanger.
Historical works on
20 rulings were issued at
There was a burning of papers at
So at
QUESTION 6. Is the Bible we have today reliable?
"The Christian Scriptures 'evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions.' (DVC, p. 231)
"Fortunately for historians . . . some of the gospels that
ANSWER 6
Here's the manuscript evidence supporting a few of the world's best-documented works of ancient history:
| AUTHOR | COMPOSED IN | EARLIEST MANUSCRIPT | GAP | NUMBER OF MANUSCRIPTS |
| Caesar | 100-44 B.C. | A.D. 900 | 1,000 years | 10 |
| Demosthenes | 383-322 B.C. | A.D. 1100 | 1,300 years | 200 |
| Aristotle | 384-322 B.C. | A.D. 1100 | 1,400 years | 49 |
| Aristophanes | 450-385 B.C. | A.D. 900 | 1,200 years | 10 |
Many of these are critically important to historians. Caesar's Gallic Wars, for instance, is the only source for much of what we know about ancient
The world's second-best documented ancient book is Homer's The Iliad. It was written about 900 B.C.; the oldest manuscript is dated about 500 B.C., separating it from the original by 400 years, and we have 643 manuscripts.
The best-documented ancient book of them all, though, is the New Testament. We have more than 24,000 manuscripts of the New Testament; the oldest, part of the Gospel of John, is conservatively dated at A.D. 125 — only 35 years after the original.
"Countless translations" is excessive hyperbole and vague generalization. Without a specific charge of what was translated, added or revised, it is impossible to respond to this point specifically. However, consider the following points:
Translation issues for the Bible are not different from translation issues for any other document, and cause no more difficulty. The quote implies that there is some great confusion over translation that is cause for concern.
It is true that there are issues to discuss in terms of translating the Bible from ancient Hebrew and Greek to any modern language. This is a natural function of all translation processes and in no way detracts from offering a "definitive," reasonable account of what was originally written.
In fact, the means of transmission of the ancient texts, the voluminous quantity of manuscript copies, the science of textual criticism and the art of translation ensure that any reputable modern translation of the Bible is an accurate rendering of the original text. This subject has been covered so comprehensively and so well by so many scholars that Brown's misrepresentation of the facts is inexcusable.
According to Dr. Paul L. Maier, professor of ancient history at
The
“[The Dead Sea Scrolls], in addition to telling the true Grail story, these documents speak of Christ’s ministry in very human terms”. (DVC, p. 234)
GET SERIOUS!!! The Dead Sea Scrolls only contained Old Testament books etc and nothing about Jesus! They do support the accuracy of the copying of the Old Testament manuscripts though. And no the
QUESTION 7: Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene?
"The marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is part of the historical record" (DVC, p. 245).
". . . [O]ne particularly troubling earthly theme kept recurring in the [Gnostic] gospels. Mary Magdalene. . . . More specifically, her marriage to Jesus Christ." (DVC, p. 244)
“Because Jesus was a Jew and the social decorum during that time virtually forbid a Jewish man to be unmarried.” (DVC, p. 245)
ANSWER 7
There is a total absence of support for this claim in either Scripture or early church traditions.
John Martin of the Renaissance Society of America told News-Press.com, “I think the idea that Leonardo da Vinci had secret information passed down for 40 generations that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child is entertaining, but it is not history”
Neither the apocryphal gospels nor the Gnostic gospels refer to a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
In 1 Corinthians 9:5, Paul defended his right to have a wife (even though he was unmarried). He cites as support the other apostles, the Lord's brothers and Peter. If Christ had been married, Paul would most assuredly have cited Him as conclusive support for being accompanied by a wife.
Take Da Vinci's allegation that Jesus must have been married and had children. It's based on the notion that singleness was unthinkable for a Jewish man, especially a rabbi. But singleness wasn't unheard of among Jewish men. Moreover, in the first century, there were many rabbis and Jewish teachers who were not married. It was not required that they marry. In fact, there is quite a bit of evidence that there were many rabbis who weren't married.
QUESTION 8: What about the Mona Lisa, Last Supper and other paintings?
ANSWER 8:
“Everything I know about how pictures were used to communicate indicates that the theory is absurd,” J.V. Field, president of the Leonardo da Vinci Society and historian of art at the
It was common in Da Vinci’s time to paint young men with feminine characteristics. The Last Supper Painting also only includes 13 men (the 12 disciples + Jesus). If Mary were in the picture one of the disciples would be missing.
QUESTION 9: Is this claim true:
“Early Jews believe that the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s
ANSWER 9:
NO
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