Da Vinci Code

I was hoping not to post something on this subject until a few years from now, when hopefully the controversy surrounding this book has settled down. However, I understand that some of you may have read it and are probably confused about some of the issues that were raised in the book.

So let me give you my personal thoughts on what the book is all about. These are my personal views, as such, please do not take it as fact, the best thing to do is to do some research on this subject itself.

“The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction” – Dan Brown, Author, Da Vinci Code

I won’t spoil the story for those of you who want to read it, just let me say that the large part of the novel reads like an adventure story similar to that of Indiana Jones. It is not a documentary like many initially thought it was. There is a note at the start of the novel which says that all references to artwork, architecture, documents and secret ritual are real. This is true, but highly misleading in my honest opinion.

However, the book does raise many controversial and valid questions. So let me highlight the most controversial ones as well as the counter-arguments behind it. Let me first explain 2 terms which would make things a little easier to understand.

The 1st is Canon
The books of the Bible officially accepted as Holy Scripture (www.dictionary.com)

The 2nd is Apocrypha.
- The biblical books included in the Vulgate and accepted in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox canon but considered non-canonical by Protestants because they are not part of the Hebrew Scriptures
- Various early Christian writings proposed as additions to the New Testament but rejected by the major canons
- Writings or statements of questionable authorship or authenticity (www.dictionary.com)

The Holy Grail
Supposedly it is the cup (according to legend, see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) which Jesus drank from at the Last Supper and it was supposed to have carried the blood of Jesus when he was pierced in the side. (John 19:34, the piercing is mentioned, but not the cup).

In the book, the Holy Grail is instead Mary Magdalene, whom the author claims is the wife of Jesus. And that they had a daughter together, hence Mary Magdalene "carried the blood of Jesus". In this case, it is the bloodline.

The author doesn't claim this without evidence or support. He cites certain very well known NON-FICTION works in his book that support the idea of Mary being the wife of Jesus. Among them are things like the Gospel of Philip (I think) and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Both of which are well-known apocrypha.

The Gospel of Philip includes a line which seems to imply that Jesus was closer to Mary Magdalene compared to the rest of the disciples. And the Gospel of Mary Magdalene actually hints that there was something more to the relationship between her and Jesus.

What the author omits from the book however is that these 2 books are not canon for 2 important reasons, first, dubious authorship, second, incompleteness. The most complete manuscript of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene is missing a few chapters.

So, whether you choose to believe these non-canonical literature (and therefore say Jesus was married) is not for me to decide. But I believe that they are not canon for a good reason.

The Canon
The author also mentions in the book that a certain Roman Emperor (this was after the persecution, about a hundred years after Jesus was resurrected) gathered many Bible Scholars at a place called Nicea to consolidate the Christian Faith and to answer the challenge of an early Christian scholar who was teaching certain false teachings. This became known as the Council of Nicea. This is fact. This council is similar to the one recorded in Acts 15.

What the author claims is that during the council, this was where the books of the Bible were finally decided upon. In reality this is unknown; maybe one of you can correct me.

The author also claims that during this council, the emperor used his influence to remove any hint of Jesus’ human nature from the Canon. In other word, to make Jesus more Godlike; and hence things about Jesus’ relationship were removed from the Canon. Once again, this is more fiction than fact.

What IS fact is that the Council of Nicea wrote what is known today as the Nicene Creed. The Modern version is at the back of our Methodist Hymnal. The purpose of the Nicene Creed is to pin down the MOST IMPORTANT things about Christianity, namely the Gospel.

The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Old Testament vs The Protestant Old Testament
The author also uses a line in the book that goes something like “The Protestant consider the Roman Catholic Bible to have 7 extra books, whereas the Roman Catholics consider the Protestant Bible to have 7 fewer books” It is basically a rhetoric to ask “So who is correct?” The author also puts it in a very demeaning way (at least to me) to incite controversy between Roman Catholics and Protestants, kind of like each one blaming the other.

The reality is this, how do we account for these 7 books? This is how and this was not mentioned in the book, instead the author gave some other funny reason.

The Catholic Old Testament originated from the Greek translations of the Old Testament, which consisted of 46 books.

The Protestant Old Testament originated from the Hebrew translations (hence is it also called the Hebrew Bible), which consist of 39 books.

Also, the 7 extra books, contain certain teachings which go against the doctrine of the Protestant Church. I am not too clear what these doctrines are, but among them are things like physical interventions by angels etc.

If you were to go to TTC to study divinity, it is a requirement to study these books. I confirmed this with a friend who is a Doctoral candidate at TTC.

Conclusion
In my opinion, Da Vinci Code is a really good book to read. I enjoyed reading it very much, but at the end of the day, the book is a work of FICTION. What the author did was to take pieces of historical fact and write a fictional story in between these pieces of fact. (see www.danbrown.com for more info)

So if you ever read this book, remember this, it is merely a work of fiction, nothing else. And remember, the Bible has withstood the test of time and has proven itself true and hard if not impossible to discredit. The Bible should be the most important book you read, not PDL, or Da Vinci Code or Left Behind etc etc etc.

1 Pet 3:15 – But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Comments are welcome. Once again, this is my personal opinion.