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THE DA VINCI CODE
(This page is currently under construction!)
INTRODUCTION:
THE DA VINCI CODE HAS A LOT OF PEOPLE TALKING
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is an exciting and very popular work of fiction. Though it is a book of fiction, Christians leaders have stepped all over themselves in trying to get the word out that they believe its allegations are false. The problem is that Dan Brown has made several very controversial statements of alleged fact about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, early Christianity and Christian institutions that run counter to Christian orthodoxy. Some are made by Dan Brown at the beginning of the book and then his characters make further controversial allegations. More fuel will be put on the fire in the spring of 2006, when the book comes out in a full screen movie. I have read the book and will try to analyze religious aspects of the book as time goes on.
Success of the book
The Movie
The book was released as a movie on May 19, 2006.
It Has Created Quite a Hubbub, Particularly Among Christians
No book in recent times has generated as much controversy as has The Da Vinci Code. Christians, particularly Catholics, are alleging they are being subjected to unfair prejudice and persecution as a result of the so-called facts in the book.
On April 29, the Associated Press reported that "Monsignor Angelo Amato, the number two official in the Vatican's powerful doctrinal office, has urged Catholics everywhere to boycott the upcoming Tom Hanks film on the basis that it patently 'offended' the Christian faith."
In The Da Vinci Deception (pages 2-3) Tom Allen, president and editor-in-chief of the Catholic Exchange, claims that Dan Brown's main purpose is to "fix in the reader's mind the conviction that 'everything our fathers taught us about Chirst is false'" (emphasis in original) and that The Da Vinci Code
...skillfully taps into what one author has called 'America's last acceptable prejudice' - anti-Catholicism - and it has wooed and intimidated more than 30 million readers with its combination of mysterious puzzles, phony erudition, bogus history, conspiracy-theorizing, and, above all, relentless and deliberate lies about the Catholic Church and the Christian Gospel.
Brown knows exactly what he is doing. He has a deep hostility to the Christian Gospel and to the Catholic Church in particular and fills his novel not merely with mistakes but with malicious lies with one end in view: to attack the Gospel of Jesus Christ and replace it with a resurgent pagan mythos.
Likewise, Paul L. Maier describes the book as "only one of many current attacks on Christianity from a variety of fronts. (Hanegraaff-Maier, The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?, p. 87)
OVERVIEW OF THE NOVEL
The Essential Characters
Jacques Saunière
Jacques Saunière is the curator of the Musée du Louvre in Paris where hangs Da Vinci’s painting “The Mona Lisa”. He is the most important of the five persons murdered in this novel. We learn that he was the grand master of the Priory of Sion and the grandfather of Sophie Neveu. The Priory of Sion is said to possess secrets about early Christianity which, if revealed, would destroy the Christian church. As chapter one begins, he is already dead, although Brown does give us a cursory look at his final moments in his 3-page Prologue, leaving many mysteries for later development. He is a man obsessed with cryptology and his many codes provide much of the suspense of the novel as the characters try to decipher them. There is no doubt in my mind that his last name is based upon the real life Bérenger Saunière, priest of Rennes-le-Château, who is alleged to have discovered secret documents injurious to Christian theology and the Catholic Church in 1891.
Robert Langdon
Robert Langdon is the main character in the book. He is a well-respected professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University. He is in Paris to give a lecture on his work. He was supposed to have met with Jacques Saunière but the meeting never occurred due to the murder of Saunière. The French police entice him to the Louvre ostensibly for his assistance only to later charge him with the crime. His getaway, the relationship between he and Sophie Neveu as they try to decipher various codes and allegations of centuries old Christian secrets provide for a suspenseful and captivating narrative.
Sophie Neveu
Sophie Neveu is a French police cryptographer. We quickly learn that she is the granddaughter of Jacques Saunière although she and her grandfather have been estranged for a number of years. Of course, her interest in and knowledge of cryptology came from her grandfather and she is the perfect person to try to decrypt codes left by her grandfather, although she forces herself into the case. She quickly becomes Langdon’s friend, forcing his getaway and assisting in deciphering the various codes. Is there any connection between Sophie's name and the word "sophism"? Is Dan Brown telling us that he knows his has a clever but flawed argument? No source that I have found suggests this, but I put it out for speculation.
Sir Leigh Teabing (The Teacher)
Sir Leigh Teabing is our main source for the various alleged facts about the origins of Christianity. He is very wealthy, a British Royal Historian, a knight of the realm, friend of Langdon and scholar with a special interest in early Christianity and holy grail allegations. His preoccupation is in locating the Holy Grail. As the book develops we learn that he is also “The Teacher”, the mastermind behind the murder of Saunière and the other last members of the Priory of Sion. Adding multiple interesting twists to the plot, he becomes the person enabling Langdon to escape from the French police, while having been the actual culprit. Robert Price in The Da Vinci Fraud, p. 23, alleges that the name Leigh Teabing is actually a scrambled version of the names of two of the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent – Leigh is quite clear; though not as clear, Teabing may have derived from Baigent.
Silas
Silas is the murderer – the guy that actually pulls the trigger. He is an albino who was rescued from a life of crime and prison by a young Spanish priest named Aringarosa who has become head of Opus Dei by the time of this book. In appreciation, Silas became a Christian and devotee of Opus Dei. He practices corporal mortification through the use of a spiked cilice belt which he wears around his thigh and cuts into his flesh – “Pain is good” when it is for the Lord. Through Bishop Aringarosa he has been put in contact with the Teacher. He kills the four remaining leaders of the Priory of Sion and, incidentally a nun, believing that he is doing the Lord’s work.
Bishop Manuel Aringarosa
Bishop Aringarosa is the head of Opus Dei and the man who rescued Silas from oblivion resulting in Silas’ unending loyalty to him. Six months before the murder of Saunière, the bishop learned that the Pope was going to withdraw his support of Opus Dei. The Teacher somehow found out about this situation and contacted Aringarosa saying that he could deliver an artifact so valuable that Opus Dei would be saved. Thus, the plot to murder the leadership of the Priory of Sion was hatched in hopes of obtaining the secrets held by that society.
Bezu Fache
Bezu Fache is important to the novel, but he is not very important in regard to our analysis of the religious implications of the book. He is captain in the Direction Centrale Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) and is the lead investigator of the death of Saunière. As such he is, also, the authority accusing Robert Langdon of the crime and most of the running the characters do is in response to what Fache does. According to Wikipedia, "Bezu" is not a common French personal name, but "le Bezu" is the name of a castle in Rennes-le-Château with Cathar associations which is the subject of the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
The Essential Plot
The Da Vinci Code is an immensely suspenseful novel that moves extremely fast. As a murder mystery it appears to be very good. I qualify my analysis only because I am not an expert on murder mysteries – fiction or nonfiction.
As noted in Jacques Saunière's biography, the Prologue of the book begins inside the Louvre, in Paris. At 10:46 p.m. we are told that Jacques Saunière, the museum’s renowned curator is being pursued by the albino, Silas, who hopes to learn an important secret that Saunière and three others hold. Later we learn that the four are the highest ranking members of the Priory of Sion, an oganization that holds a secret about Mary Magdalene and the location of the Holy Grail that could destroy Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church. That is the secret that Silas is seeking. Saunière is the head master of the Priory and each has been sworn to give false information if threatened.
Saunière had been able to activate an alarm and separate himself from Silas with a heavy metal gate that traps Saunière inside the Louvre. Yet Silas has a gun and Saunière is within his range. He gives Silas the false information that he is supposed to give if threatened. It then becomes obvious that the other three holders of the secret have already been murdered – Saunière is the last holder of the secret.
Silas, wanting to be the only holder of the secret, then shoots Saunière in the stomach, but Saunière is still alive. Silas tries to shoot him again, but the chamber in his gun is empty. Feeling that Saunière would die anyway, Silas leaves.
Realizing that he has but a few minutes to live, that he is trapped in the Louvre and that he must pass on his secret, Saunière sets up elaborate symbology which includes word, numeric and graphic codes, including him dying in the nude, positioned as Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.
Robert Langdon is called to the Louvre by Bezu Fache ostensibly to obtain information, but in reality, Fache believes Langdon to be the murderer. Sophie Neveu arrives at the Louvre as a French police cryptographer, although we later learn that she has not actually been assigned to the case. What follows is a suspenseful race through Paris and London, ending in Scotland, with Bezu Fache and the DCPJ in hot pursuit of Langdon, Neveu and later Teabing. All the while, they try to decipher codes left behind by Saunière and Da Vinci in his paintings in hopes of obtaining the secrets held by the Priory of Sion.
Silas, thinking that he has the secret, goes to the place where he thinks the secret is, finds nothing, murders the guardian nun and joins the chase. Everyone converges on the estate of Leigh Teabing, because everyone has some connection to him (remember he is British historian, British knight, grail scholar, as well as The Teacher who hatched the murder plot).
It is at Teabing’s estate that we are given a full course in early Christian history according to Teabing and Langdon. In fact, the meat of the book’s religious arguments can be found in pages 230 through 262.
Of course, Bishop Aringarosa hopes to be the one that evenutually ends up with the secret cache of the Prior of Sion, turn it over to the Vatican and thereby save Opus Dei from oblivion. So, as the other characters race madly away from or in pursuit of each other, the bishop is stewing in the background (actually flying around Europe) with a suitcase full of money, ready to purchase the secret cache that he hopes will save his organization.
It is not necessary for this analysis to give away the ending, so I will not.
ALLEGATIONS OF FACT IN THE BOOK
By Dan Brown
Dan Brown begins the book on page 1 (not all books begin on page 1) with a list of three "facts". These are the only allegations in the book itself that can be attributed to Dan Brown himself. Apparently, he has made other allegations of fact on his web site and in public statements. I am not attempting to cover those allegations at this time. All other allegations of "fact" in the book are made by Dan Brown's characters. I think you can argue that Dan Brown should not be held accountable for errors made by his characters as it is a book of fiction. He could have legitimately put false words and facts into his characters' mouths for purposes of carrying out his story. But he is certainly responsible for the allegations he makes in his own name.
Priory of Sion
Allegations:
The Priory of Sion - a European secret society founded in 1099 - is a real organization. In 1975 Paris's Bibliothèque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci.
Analysis:
Evidence is that the Priory of Sion once existed, ceased to exist and, if a Priory of Sion exists today, it is a relatively recent incarnation and does not date back to 1099 as alleged by Dan Brown.
Opus Dei
Allegations:
The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic sect that has been the topic of recent controvercy due to reports of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as "corporal mortification." Opus Dei has just completed construction of a $47 million National Headquarters at 243 Lexinton Avenue in New York City.
Analysis:
Opus Dei exists. You can go to their web site at http://www.opusdei.org/.
The content meta tag that shows up in search engines states: “Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church that helps people seek holiness in their work and ordinary activities.” This tag is written by Opus Dei programmers.
Once on the site, you will be told that “Opus Dei is a Catholic institution founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá. Its mission is to spread the message that work and the circumstances of everyday life are occasions for growing closer to God, for serving others, and for improving society.”
When I first read about corporal mortification, I thought for sure that it was a Dan Brown fiction! Not so! Here is what Opus Dei says about it (Source: http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=16367):
“Mortification helps us resist our natural drive toward personal comfort which so often prevents us from answering the Christian call to love God and serve others for love of God.”
“Some of the celibate members of Opus Dei use the cilice. It's a small, light, metal chain with little prongs worn around the thigh. The cilice is uncomfortable--it's supposed to be--but it does not in any way hinder one's normal activities and there's absolutely no Da Vinci Code gore.”
Brown's depiction of Silas' corporal mortifiction is gory - not as gory as the gore in Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ - but his back and leg are depicted in the book and shown in the movie as being very bloody. It does seem farfetched, however, to imagine that actual Opus Dei members would go through life with blood dripping down their leg and possibly oozing through their clothing.
Artwork, Architecture, Documents & Secret Rituals
Allegations:
All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.
Analysis:
No analysis yet!
By Dan Brown's Characters
Authenticity & Redaction of the Bible
Allegations:
Teabing, p. 231: The Bible is the product of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a difinitive version of the book.
Teabing, p. 231: Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence, perhaps the most enigmatic and inspirational leader the world has ever seen. As the prophesied Messiah, Jesus toppled kings, inspired millions, and founded new philosophies. As a descendent of the lines of King Solomon and King David, Jesus possessed a rightful claim to the throne of the King of the Jews. Understandably, His Life ws recorded by thousands of followers across the land...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.
Teabing, p. 231: The fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
Teabing, p. 234: Because Constantine upgraded Jesus' status almost four centuries after Jesus' death, thousands of documents already existed chronicling His life as a mortal man. To rewrite the history books, Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke. From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history...Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.
Teabing, p. 234: The Dead Sea Scrolls...[and]...the Coptic Scrolls...highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda - to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base
Teabing, p. 235: ...[A]lmost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false. As are the stories about the Holy Grail
Analysis:
It is important to point out from the beginning that we have no book of the New Testament that is an original manuscript. All of the earliest manuscripts available are copies written in Greek, Latin Vulgate, Coptic, syriac, Armenian, Old Georgian, Church Slavonic. The oldest manuscript is believed to be a fragment from the Gospel of John and is believed to date from 120-140 CE. The New Testament did evolve through countless translations, additions, revisions and mistakes in copying.
Scholars believe that the earliest book of the New Testament is First Thessalonians by Paul and was probably written in 50 CE. The newest book was written perhaps as late at 150 CE. Of course, there were many gospels and other stories circulating in that time that were not included in the New Testament when the canon was finally decided. Included in the group of excluded books are the approximately 50 books discovered in Egypt in 1947 now known as the Nag Hammadi Library which included many gnostic texts. While all may not be considered gospels, there certainly were over 80 books or texts in circulation at the time the New Testament was finally redacted.
As early as the second century, there was strong support for the four present gospels to be included in the Christian canon as well as other texts presently in the New Testament.
Constantine did order that Christians not be persecuted for their beliefs and he undertook to spread Christianity, but the early Christian church included many individual bishoprics and there was no single authority to ordain any specific canon. Constantine did order Eusibius to produce fifty Bibles for churches he was building in Constantinople, but he did not order which texts to be included in the Bibles.
It is generally considered by many sources that the first list of the 27 books in the New Testament was made by Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria in 367 CE in his 39th festal letter. Remembering that the early Christian church included many individual bishoprics, there was no single authority that could ordain any specific canon. A final official decision about the exact books was not made until centuries later.
Christian apologists will aver that the texts that were included in the New Testament show Jesus very much as a human being - suffering, being hungry, needing to sleep, etc. - whereas the Gnostic texts show him as other worldly - not human - which appears to be correct.
While texts not in agreement with final 27 might have been burned, it is also possible that they simply ceased to be copied and, therefore became lost. It is possible that someone buried the books found in Nag Hammadi in response to the letter by Anathasius in 367 CE, but that is not clear. The Dead Sea Scrolls are not Christian documents and could not have been considered for inclusion in the New Testament. The Dead Sea Scrolls are of interest, however, because Jesus and John the Baptist exhibit characteristics of the Essenes who are believed to have created the Dead Sea Scrolls. An Essene, however, would not have gone out and preached to the multitudes as they were a very reclusive group.
As an atheist, I guess I have to mostly agree with Teabing when he says that almost everything that the church fathers taught about Christ is false.
Religious Writings not Included in the Bible Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! Pagan Origins of Christianity Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! Constantine Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! Council of Nicaea Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! Nature of Jesus Christ Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! Establishment of the Roman Catholic Church & the Vatican Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! Mary Magdalene Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! The Holy Grail & the Sacred Feminine Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! Leonardo Da Vinci & His Art Allegations: Analysis: No analysis yet! SIGNIFICANCE OF CODES IN THE BOOK REACTING TO THE DA VINCI CODE Should freethinkers defend The Da Vinci Code? I say: "NO!" Why should a group of persons who question the very existence of the historical Jesus, step in and defend allegations about him and the movement created around the Jesus or Christ myth?" INSTEAD! we should be ready to point out discrepancies in the myth and why we find it so difficult to believe. We should welcome the possibility that the questions raised might bring a few people to see the incongruities of believing the myth called Christianity. RESOURCES Books About The Da Vinci Code Brown – DaVinci
Ehrman – DaVinci
Hanegraaff/Maier - DaVinci
Price - DaVinci
Shea/Sri - DaVinci
Welborn - DaVinci
DVDs About The Da Vinci Code Grizzly - DaVinci
Highland - DaVinci
History - DaVinci
Illuminated - DaVinci
Books About Christianity Generally Borg – Q
Ehrman – Christianities
Ehrman – PP & MM
Ehrman – Scriptures
Kung – Catholic
Mack – New
Mack – Q
Moynahan – Faith
Pagels – Gnostic
Pagels – Thomas
Pelikan - Bible
Pelikan - Jesus/Mary
Price - Shrinking
Robinson – Nag
Rubenstein - Jesus
Shanks – Christianity/Judaism
Shanks – Israel
Vermes – Scrolls
Teabing, p. 234: Because Constantine upgraded Jesus' status almost four centuries after Jesus' death, thousands of documents already existed chronicling His life as a mortal man. To rewrite the history books, Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke. From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history...Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.
Langdon, p. 234: An interesting note...Anyone who chose the forbidden gospels over Constantine's version was deemed a heretic. The word heretic derives from that moment in history. The Latin word haereticus means 'choice.' Those who 'chose' the original history of Christ were the world's first heretics.
Teabing, p. 234: Fortunately for historians...some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950s hidden in a cave near Qumran in the Judean desert. And, of course, the Coptic Scrolls in 1945 at Nag Hammadi. In addition to telling the true Grail story, these documents speak of Christ's ministry in very human terms. Of course, the Vatican, in keeping with their tradition of misinformation, tried very hard to suppress the release of these scrolls. And why wouldn't they? The scrolls highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda - to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base.
Langdon, pp.234-235: And yet...it's important to remember that the modern Church's desire to suppress these documents [Dead Sea & Gnostic texts] comes from a sincere belief in their established view of Christ. The Vatican is made up of deeply pious men who truly believe these contrary documents could only be false testimony.
Teabing, p.235: [Modern clergy believe] these opposing documents [Dead Sea & Gnostic texts] are false testimony. That's understandable. Constantine's Bible has been their truth for ages. Nobody is more indoctrinated than the indoctrinator.
Teabing, p. 232: Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted the sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity. By fusing pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties.
Langdon, p. 232: The vestiges of pagan religion in Christian symbology are undeniable. Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints. Pictograms of Isis nursing her miraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint for our modern images of the Virgin Mary nursing Baby Jesus. And virtually all the elements of the Catholic ritual - the miter, the altar, the doxology, and communion, the act of "God-eating" - were taken directly from earlier pagan mystery religions.
Teabing, p. 232: Nothing in Christianity is original. The pre-Christian God Mithras - called the Son of God and the Light of the World - was born on December 25, died, was buried in a rock tomb; and then resurrected in three days. By the way, December 25 is also the birthday of Osiris, Adonis, and Dionysus. The newborn Krishna was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Even Christianity's weekly holy day was stolen from the pagans.
Langdon, pp. 232-233: Originally...Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan's veneration day of the sun...To this day, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god's weekly tribute - Sunday."
Teabing, p. 233: During this fusion of religions, Constantine needed to strengthen the new Christian tradition, and held a famous ecumenical gathering known as the Council of Nicaea.
Teabing, p. 231: The fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
Teabing, p. 232: He [Constantine] was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed, too weak to protest. In Constantine's day, Rome's official religion was sun worship - the cult of Sol Invictus, or the Invincible Sun - and Constantine was its head priest. Unfortunately for him, a growing religious turmoil was gripping Rome. Three centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christ's followers had multiplied exponentially. Christians and pagans began warring, and the conflict grew to such proportions that it threatened to rend Rome in two. Constantine decided something had to be done. In 325 A.D., he decided to unify Rome under a single religion. Christianity.
Teabing, p. 232: Constantine was very good businessman. He could see that Christianity was on the rise, and he simply backed the winning horse. Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted the sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity. By fusing pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties.
Langdon, pp. 232-233: Originally...Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan's veneration day of the sun...To this day, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god's weekly tribute - Sunday."
Teabing, p. 233: During this fusion of religions, Constantine needed to strengthen the new Christian tradition, and held a famous ecumenical gathering known as the Council of Nicaea.
Teabing, p.233: [E]stablishing Christ's divinity was critical to the further unification of the Roman empire and to the new Vatican power base. By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, an entity whose power was unchallengeable.
Teabing, p. 234: Jesus was indeed a great and powerful man. Constantine's underhanded political maneuvers don't diminish the majesty of Christ's life. Nobody is saying Christ was a fraud, or denying that He walked the earth and inspired millions to better lives. All we are saying is that Constantine took advantage of Christ's substantial influence and importance. And in doing so, he shaped the face of Christianity as we know it today.
Teabing, p. 234: Because Constantine upgraded Jesus' status almost four centuries after Jesus' death, thousands of documents already existed chronicling His life as a mortal man. To rewrite the history books, Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke. From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history...Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.
Langdon, p. 234: An interesting note...Anyone who chose the forbidden gospels over Constantine's version was deemed a heretic. The word heretic derives from that moment in history. The Latin word haereticus means 'choice.' Those who 'chose' the original history of Christ were the world's first heretics.
Teabing, p. 233: During this fusion of religions, Constantine needed to strengthen the new Christian tradition, and held a famous ecumenical gathering known as the Council of Nicaea.
Teabing, p. 233: At this gathering...many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon - the date of Easter, the role of the bishops, the administration of sacraments, and, of course, the divinity of Jesus.
Teabing, p.233: Jesus' establishment as "the Son of God" was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea...A relatively close vote at that.
Teabing, p. 233: At [the Council of Nicaea] many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon - the date of Easter, the role of the bishops, the administration of sacraments, and, of course, the divinity of Jesus...[U]ntil 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."
Teabing, p.233: Jesus' establishment as "the Son of God" was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea...A relatively close vote at that...Nonetheless, establishing Christ's divinity was critical to the further unification of the Roman empire and to the new Vatican power base. By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, an entity whose power was unchallengeable.
Teabing, p. 234: Jesus was indeed a great and powerful man. Constantine's underhanded political maneuvers don't diminish the majesty of Christ's life. Nobody is saying Christ was a fraud, or denying that He walked the earth and inspired millions to better lives.
Teabing, p. 234: The Dead Sea Scrolls...[and]...the Coptic Scrolls speak of Christ's ministry in very human terms.
Teabing, p.233: [E]stablishing Christ's divinity was critical to the further unification of the Roman empire and to the new Vatican power base. By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, an entity whose power was unchallengeable. This not only precluded further pagan challenges to Christianity, but now the followers of Christ were able to redeem themselves only via the established sacred channel - the Roman Catholic Church.
Teabing, p. 233: It was all about power...Christ as Messiah was critical to the functioning of Church and state. Many scholars claim that the early Church literally stole Jesus from His original followers, hijacking His human message, shrouding it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity, and using it to expand their own power.
Teabing, p. 234: Jesus was indeed a great and powerful man. Constantine's underhanded political maneuvers don't diminish the majesty of Christ's life. Nobody is saying Christ was a fraud, or denying that He walked the earth and inspired millions to better lives. All we are saying is that Constantine took advantage of Christ's substantial influence and importance. And in doing so, he shaped the face of Christianity as we know it today.
Teabing, p. 234: Of course, the Vatican, in keeping with their tradition of misinformation, tried very hard to suppress the release of these scrolls [the Dead Sea Scrolls and Coptic (Gnostic) Scrolls]. And why wouldn't they? The scrolls highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda - to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base
Teabing, p. 230: Most people ask me only where it is. I fear that is a question that I may never answer...the far more relevant question is this: What is the Holy Grail?
Teabing, p. 234: The Dead Sea Scrolls...[and]...the Coptic Scrolls...[tell] the true Grail story...
Teabing, p. 235: ...[A]lmost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false. As are the stories about the Holy Grail
On pages 235-236, Teabing and Sophie look at and discuss the Da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper which they refer to as a fresco. He asks her to close her eyes and tell him how many wine glasses there are on the table. She guesses that there is only one - the chalice, the Cup of Christ, The Holy Grail. But she is wrong. When she opens her eyes, there is no chalice, but there are 13 wine glasses. Teabing says that "Da Vinci appears to have forgotten to paint the Cup of Christ." Sophie then asks "Does the fresco tell us what the Grail really is?" Teabing then responds in a whisper: "Not what it is...But rather who it is. The Holy Grail is not a thing. It is, in fact...a person."
In chapter 56, pages 237-239, Teabing and Langdon take on the question of the Holy Grail with Sophie playing questioner. Noting the arrow and plus sign modern symbols for male and female, they explain that the original sign for male was an upside down "V" and the sign for female was a "V". Langdon explains that the "V" represents a chalice.
Then Landon says: The chalice...resembles a cup or vessel, and more important, it resembles the shape of a woman's womb. This symbol communicates femininity, womanhood, and fertility....[L]egend tells us the Holy Grail is a chalice - a cup. But the Grail's description as a chalice is actually an allegory to protect the true nature of the Holy Grail. That is to say, the legend uses the chalice as a metaphor for something far more important.
Langdon continues: The Grail is literally the ancient symbol for womanhood, and the Holy Grail represents the sacred feminine and the goddess, which of course has now been lost, virtually eliminated by the Church. The power of the female and her ability to produce life was once very sacred, but it posed a threat to the rise of the predominantly male Church, and so the sacred feminine was demonized and called unclean. It was man, not God, who created the concept of 'original sin,' whereby Eve tasted of the apple and caused the downfall of the human race. Woman, once the sacred giver of life, was now the enemy.
Teabing then adds: ...[T]his concept of woman as lifebringer was the foundation of ancient religion. Childbirth was mystical and powerful. Sadly, Christian philosophy decided to embezzle the female's creative power by ignoring biological truth and making man the Creator. Genesis tells us that Eve was created from Adam's rib. Woman became an offshoot of man. And a sinful one at that. Genesis was the beginning of the end for the goddess.
Landon then concludes: The Grail...is symbolic of the lost goddess. When Christianity came along, the old pagan religions did not die easily. Legends of chivalric quests for the lost Grail were in fact stories of forbidden quests to find the lost sacred feminine. Knights who claimed to be "searching for the chalice" were speaking in code as a way to protect themselves from a Church that had subjugated women, banished the Goddess, burned nonbelievers, and forbidden the pagan reverence for the sacred feminine.
Teabing then alleges that the Holy Grail was an actual person. Further he says: And not just any person...A woman who carried with her a secret so powerful that, if revealed, it threatened to devastate the very foundation of Christianity!
Teabing, p. 230: ...Leonardo was one of the keepers of the secret of the Holy Grail. And he hid clues in his art.
Teabing, p. 231: Leonardo's feelings about the Bible relate directly to the Holy Grail. In fact, Da Vinci painted the true Grail...
On pages 235-236, Teabing and Sophie look at and discuss the Da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper which they refer to as a fresco. He asks her to close her eyes and tell him how many wine glasses there are on the table. She guesses that there is only one - the chalice, the Cup of Christ, The Holy Grail. But she is wrong. When she opens her eyes, there is no chalice, but there are 13 wine glasses. Teabing says that "Da Vinci appears to have forgotten to paint the Cup of Christ." Sophie then asks "Does the fresco tell us what the Grail really is?" Teabing then responds in a whisper: "Not what it is...But rather who it is. The Holy Grail is not a thing. It is, in fact...a person."
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – Fictional novel based on theories about the nature of Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus. It is an exciting novel. One mystery is solved, but the book only offers theories about about Mary (sorry, if that gives part of the conclusion away); copyright in 2003 by the author; published by Doubleday.
Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code by Bart Ehrman – This book provides a scholarly analysis of the allegations of fact in The Da Vinci Code; Ehrman is the author of multiple books related to the early Christian Church and the alleged life of Jesus; he is the chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; copyright and published in 2006 by Oxford Univeersity Press.
The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? by Hank Hanegraaff and Paul L. Maier – Christian response to The Da Vinci Code; Maier sets out what he believes to be inaccuracies; Hanagraaff sets out what he believes to be the "truths" of Christianity; Hanagraaff broadcasts regularly on Christian radio as the Bible Answer Man; copyright in 2004 by the authors; published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
The Da Vinci Fraud: Whe the Truth is Stranger Than Fiction by Robert M. Price – Price is a New Testament scholar and member of the Jesus Seminar; while exposing errors in The Da Vinci Code, he maintains that the truth is more fastinating than Brown's false allegations; copyrighted in 2005 by the author; published by Prometheus Books.
The Da Vinci Deception by Mark Shea, Edward Sri & the editors of Catholic Exchange – Catholic response to The Da Vinci Code; the book is set out as 100 questions and answers in 17 topical chapters; copyright and published in 2006 by Ascension Press.
de-coding Da Vinci by Amy Welborn - The author is a columnist and book reviewer for Our Sunday Visitor, which bills itself as "Your Source for Discovering the Riches of the Catholic Faith"; the book is in defense of Christianity and Catholicism; copyright and published in 2004 by Our Sunday Vistor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
Breaking the Da Vinci Code - Analytical review of The Da Vinci Code, though definitely critical of the book and a clearly from a Christian apologetic standpoint; its credits say the DVD is based on the following books: (1) The Da Vinci Deception by Dr. Erwin Lutzer; (2) Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Dr. Darrel Bock and (3) Cracking the Da Vinci Code by Drs. James Garlow and Peter Jones; other Christian apologists are featured in the movie and in additional features; produced by Grizzly Adams Productions in 2005.
Exposing the Da Vinci Code - Narrated by Dr. Stephan K. Munsey, co-pastor of the Family Christian Center in Munster, Indiana, this DVD is definitely a Christian apologetics film with interviews with many well known Christian apologists; it concludes with a cry that The Da Vinci code is part of a widespread effort to discredit Christianity and a statement of confidence in Christianity; it is a Highland Entertainmant movie probably produced in 2005.
Beyond the Da Vinci Code - Scholarly look at The Da Vinci Code with interviews of Richard Leigh (Holy Blood, Holy Grail) and several Biblical scholars; produced by the History Channel in 2005.
Origins of the Da Vinci Code - This DVD covers the origins of the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, but it then takes a turn into mysteries not directly relevant to the The Da Vinci Code; it describes how Henry Lincoln first learned of Bérenger Saunière, the mysteries of Rennes-le-Château and a code in a book entitled le trésor maudit; most of the DVD covers mysteries related to the placement of religious buildings and the like in the area of Rennes-le-Château and the Danish island of Bornholm; in addition to Lincoln, the DVD features Erling Haagensen; a production by Illuminated World Ltd. in 2005.
The Lost Gospel Q edited by Marcus Borg and others – Scholars believe that a gospel of the sayings of Jesus existed prior to the writing of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke; it has disappeared; this book is an attempt to recreate the gospel; translation and footnotes copyright by Mark Powelson and Ray Riegert; published by Seastone, an imprint of Ulysses Press.
Lost Christianities by Bart D. Ehrman – This book examines early Christianity diversity and the means by which early orthodoxy and the New Testament canon developed from it and won out; copyright in 2003 by Oxford University Press which is the publisher.
Peter, Paul & Mary Magdelene by Bart D. Ehrman – Ehrman examines in detail three of the most important early followers of Jesus Christ. What do the scriptures tell us? What are the legends? what is the truth? Ehrman tries to answer those questions; copyright in 2006 by Oxford University Press which is the publisher.
Lost Scriptures by Bart D. Ehrman – This is a companion to Ehrman's Lost Chrisitianities, the book contains the text of over three dozen documents not included in the New Testament; each document is preceded by introductory comments from the author; copyright in 2003 by Oxford University Press which is the publisher.
The Catholic Church, A Short History by Hans Kung – In little more than 200 pages Kung gives a brief history of the Catholic Church from the beginnings of Christianity up to today and whether the Catholic Church will be able to survive in the world of the future; copyright 2001 and 2003 by the author; published by the Modern Library.
Who Wrote the New Testament? By Burton L. Mack – Mack exposes the Gospels as fictional mythologies created by different communities for various purposes and are only distantly related to the actual historical Jesus; copyright 1995 by the author; published by HarperSanFrancisco, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.
The Lost Gospel, The Book of Q & Christian Origins by Burton L. Mack – Some New Testament scholars believe that a gospel antedated the gospels in the New Testament, was included in the present gospels and then lost; this book examines the issues; copyright in 1993 by the author; published by HarperSanFrancisco, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.
The Faith, A History of Christianity by Brian Moynahan – This is a substantial history of Christianity (more than 700 pages) from the very beginnings to the beginning of the 21st century; copyright in 2002 by the author; published in 2002 by Doubleday.
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels – This book discusses the books of early Christian Sects; the books were found in Egypt in 1945 and include writings not included in the Christian Bible and contrary to many of those books; copyright in 1979 by the author; publisher: Vintage Books, division of Random House.
Beyond Belief – The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels – The Gospel of Thomas is a Gnostic gospel which competed with the Gospel of John; John was included in the Bible; Thomas was not; copyright in 2001 by the author; publisher: Vintage Books, division of Random House.
Whose Bible Is It? by Jaroslav Pelikan – Pelikan studies how the Bible evolved from its earliest incarnation as oral tradition to its modern existence in several different configurations and a multitude of languages; copyright 2005 by the author; published in 2005 by Viking Penguin.
Jesus Through the Centuries & Mary Through the Centuries by Jaroslav Pelikan – This is two books in one published by the History Book Club; Pelikan studies the effect that both Jesus and Mary had on culture throughout history; Jesus Through the Centuries was copyrighted in 1985 by Yale University and Mary Through the Ages as copyrighted by Yale University in 1996; the book was published in 2005 by the History Book Club by arrangement with Yale University Press.
The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, by Robert M. Price – A detailed and skeptical look at the reliability of the New Testament gospels, comparing those gospels with the scripture of the Old Testament and with other mythologies; copyrighted in 2005 by the author; published by Prometheus Books.
The Nag Hammadi Library edited by James M. Robinson – A complete translation of the Gnostic documents found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945; each document is introduced and translated by a different scholar; copyright in 1978 and 1988 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands; published in 1990 by HarperSanFrancisco, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.
When Jesus Became God by Richard E. Rubenstein – It was in the fourth century of the common era that Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire; during the same period Christians fought ferociously over the nature of Jesus; this book examines that struggles that eventually lead to the dominance of Christianity and the philosophy expressed in the Nicene Creed; copyright in 1999 by the author; published by Harcourt.
Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism, A Parallel History of Their Origins and Early Development edited by Hershel Shanks – Both Christianity and rabbinic Judaism developed side by side in ancient Israel; this book contains writings of several scholars describing the parallel history of the two religions; copyright 1992 by the Biblical Archeology Society; published by the Society.
Ancient Israel, From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple (revised and expanded), edited by Hershel Shanks – A collection of writings covering the time period noted in the title by various authors; copyright in 1999 by the Biblical Archeology Society; co-published by the Society and Prentice Hall.
The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes – Translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, believed to have been left by the Essene community, a Jewish sect, in the caves of Qumran in present-day Israel before and during the time of Jesus; copyright by the author several times from 1962 thru 1997; published by Penguin Books.