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Introduction
Let me start by saying that I enjoyed
reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The story captured my interest
and it was hard to put down the book. It is easy to understand why The
Da Vinci Code has been on the top of the fiction best seller’s
list for a number of months. Why would I write a booklet that is
critical of a good book? The basic reason is that too many people are
treating The Da Vinci Code like a non-fiction instead of a fiction
book. To be more specific, historical fiction is how the author and
many readers treat the book. We can all agree that the characters and
murders are fiction, while the museums, artwork, and historical
characters are real.
Dan Brown starts the book with a page
headed with the word “Fact:” The first section states that
“the Priory of Sion – a European secret society founded in
1099 – is a real organization.” He adds that it is a fact
that Leonardo da Vinci was a member of that secret society. I do not
doubt that this is true. The second section under fact is about Opus
Dei, a Catholic organization that has been viewed as controversial. I
would agree with the author and add that controversial does not make a
group guilty of brainwashing, deception, or evil.
The third section under the word, Fact,
states, “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents,
and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” Please note what
this statement does not say – that the history is accurate or
that his understanding of Christian teaching is defensible. To write a
book about witch doctors sacrificing chickens can be completely true.
It does not mean that the sacrifice accomplishes all that the witch
doctor claims it will. It also does not make the sacrifice morally good
by factually reporting how it happens. My point is that The Da Vinci
Code is a novel with many facts and many distortions.
At the core of The Da Vinci Code is the
idea that there is a historical cover-up by organized Christianity to
silence the secret that Jesus was really married to Mary Magdelene. I
call that pure fiction, and it does not fall under Dan Brown’s
description of “Fact” on the opening page. Much of the book
goes beyond advocating a minority Christian view or a heretical view to
advocating religions outside of Christianity. The religions of Paganism
and Gnosticism are real in their ancient and modern forms and this
paper will discuss these religions as they differ from historical
Christianity. It amazes me that on his web site, Dan Brown still
defines himself as a Christian when the book paints the non-Christians
as enlightened and the Christians as evil or ignorant.
Let me begin by introducing myself. I am
the Pastor of Fort Lee Gospel Church, in Fort Lee, NJ. Because
religious ideas are central to my world, a few people who are not a
part of my congregation told me that I really needed to read The Da
Vinci Code. When I finally read the book and discussed it with others,
I learned that there was great interest in the ideas of the book. Most
of the members of the church that I lead were familiar with the book
through discussions with coworkers or an ABC special on television that
discussed the book. A number of members of our church have read The Da
Vinci Code.
My first thought was that a scholar
should write a response to the historical inaccuracies and weak
religious arguments. Then it struck me that Dan Brown is no professor
of ancient history or religion. He is an English teacher and writer who
did some research and then penned The Da Vinci Code. My formal
theological training and continued study as a minister have made the
religious philosophies of Dan Brown’s novel quite familiar. To
prepare for the Christian ministry I have a four year Bachelor of
Theology and a three year Master of Divinity. A significant portion of
my training was given to study the culture, language, religious
environment, and traditions that led to our Bible. In addition, I had a
number of courses on the history of the church and have taught a class
on Church History over a three year period in our church.
I write this booklet as a pastor and not
as a scholar. I did not take the time to document all my statements
with the latest or best scholarship. My reason for not being more
scholarly is that Dan Brown includes almost 100 pages of religious
statements in his 450 page book that include only general references to
sources and credible research. I have chosen to stay within the
mainstream belief of my field of Christian teaching and history. I am
an evangelical minister within Protestantism but my position is broad
enough to be acceptable to almost all Christians, including Roman
Catholics, with the possible exception of those who believe the Bible
is filled with errors.
It seems to me that ‘the
religion’of The Da Vinci Code is a combination of paganism,
gnosticism and feminism. This religion is communicated through the
mouths of the good guys (and gals) who battle against the lies and
deceptions of the bad guys.
I write this booklet for a number of
reasons. First, I would like to offer correctives to a number of
factual errors of The Da Vinci Code that relate to the teachings of the
Bible, the religions that were practiced in Bible times, and the
history of the church. I hope that this paper would answer questions
that a Christian may have after reading The Da Vinci Code. Most f the
teaching that people receive in church assumes that the Bible is
accurate and reliable, and that our religion is not the creation of
politically powerful men who distorted the truth about the life of
Jesus. The Da Vinci Code raises questions that the church has not been
answering during a typical church service, which does not mean that
there is not convincing arguments in defense of historical Christianity.
In addition to writing to Christians, I
hope that this paper may cause the non-Christian to take a fresh look
at the person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible. It is easy to
embrace a new, untested religious idea that has not stood up to
challenges and logical thought. It has been my experience in speaking
with people who do not believe, that most people reject a Bible they
have scarcely read and a Savior that is misunderstood. I hope that this
paper leads to a pursuit of truth.
I would also note some things that I will
not address in this paper. I am not an art historian. I do not know if
Leonardo da Vinci intended to paint a woman in the Last Supper, or if
he just made the Apostle John look effeminate. I am not certain of Da
Vinci’s religious beliefs and I am not convinced that it is
important. I am no expert on secret societies and what they believe. To
suggest that a secret society that began 1,000 years after the time of
Jesus has new insight of the life of Jesus is ludicrous. Scholars today
have access to more ancient documents than people of the dark ages.
I am not an expert on secret societies
belief systems throughout their history or today. It has been debated
within a number of Christian denominations whether a person can be a
member of a secret society like the “Free Masons” and also
be a church member in good standing. So much Christian writing about
secret societies has been highly speculative and I do not intend to try
to bring a definitive answer to a movement that I know little about. I
do lean toward defining secret societies as non-Christian religions.
I regret that my story line in not as
interesting as The Da Vinci Code. If I had the time and ability, I
should have written the content of this response into a spell binding
story. I could have created heroes who were experts in ancient
language, culture and religion. These heroes would also be deeply
committed followers of the Jesus of the New Testament. They would be
chased by powerful people trying to sell a lie incorporating paganism,
gnosticism, and a hatred of authority. As the heroes narrowly escape
death, they pass on ancient Biblical wisdom to a young woman with a
pure heart. Maybe some day I’ll write that novel.
Next:
Which Gospel of Jesus Can We Trust?
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