The Da Vinci Code

Summary of “Facts”

all concept and content copyrighted 2006 by the author, Clark H Smith

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Two separate and unrelated themes converge in The Da Vinci Code—Gnosticism and the quest for the “Holy Grail”. The following points are organized around those two themes. A final grave concern about The Da Vinci code is the author’s allegation that the fictional novel is built upon a foundation of “facts”.

Theme #1: Gnosticism
The heart and soul of The Da Vinci Code (TDC) is rooted in Gnosticism (see p. 234, 253). Gnostic theology / philosophy has no basis in Christianity. The framework of Gnosticism was described Plato’s dialogue, “Timmaeus” (360BC). The Greek mathematician and esoteric, Pythagoras (580 – 500BC), also taught views that were fundamentally Gnostic. Although it has no foundation in Christianity, Gnosticism “borrowed” Christian terms and put Gnostic words in the mouths of 1st Century Christian leaders to give a hope of legitimacy to their peculiar beliefs. (Think about it - When did Judas have time to write his "gospel"?)

The Gnostic writings are not Christian. The Nag Hammadi texts, discovered in Egypt in 1945, contain writings from the late second century to early fourth century (and also contain writings of Plato). The writings are not written by their named authors (Thomas, Philip, Mary, Judas, etc.) who were all long dead at the time the texts were written. The Gnostic “Gospels” (the texts found near Nag Hammadi, Egypt) were written from one hundred to three hundred years AFTER the death of Christ. All the books of the Christian New Testament were written within 60 years of the death of Christ. That means that our New Testament was read and accepted by people who were first hand witnesses to the claims of the NT. If the claims were false, they would never have seen the light of the second century.

There is no first century evidence that indicates that Jesus was married. The Gnostic texts themselves do not claim marriage either – only that Mary was a “companion” (a term not typically descriptive of a physical relationship). Furthermore, TDC (p. 246) claims “any Aramaic scholar will tell you, the word ‘companion’ in those days meant ‘spouse’.” The textual source of ‘companion’ was Greek, not Aramaic, and no scholar of either language argues that the word meant “spouse”. TDC (p. 245) claims the marriage of Jesus and Mary is a matter of historical record, yet no documents throughout history have ever suggested, let alone supported this.

Constantine did not “collate” (TDC p. 231) dictate the contents of the New Testament. He merely contracted the publication of fifty Bibles for new churches he contracted to be built.

Gnostics look backwards at Jesus and claimed that He was not divine, but that a “Christ figure” was acting upon / through Him. The Council of Nicea (325AD) met to discuss the issue of the humanity / divinity of Christ. A small number of sects proposed that Jesus was fully human acting under the influence of God (“there was a time when the Son [Jesus] did not exist”). The council ended in a vote of sorts. TDC (p. 232-233) says the vote was close. In truth, over three hundred church leaders agreed to the Nicene Creed which describes Jesus Christ as “true God from true God”, eternal and co-equal. Two council attendees abstained from signing the creed. Zero voices spoke against the creed. Close? Furthermore, Jesus was identified or referred to as “the Son of God” over 40 times in the New Testament and hundreds more times in early church literature written well before the Council.

Theme #2: Quest for the Holy Grail
There is no biblical basis for a “Holy Grail” – it is never mentioned or hinted.

There is no historical basis for a “Holy Grail”. In 1170, Chretien de Troyes wrote “Perceval”, a poem in which the grail is a jeweled saucer.

The whole issue of the Holy Grail is bogus. If Jesus was not holy (as the Gnostic gospels / Da Vinci Code claim) then... well, end of story - who cares about what he drank out of? There was nothing remarkable about him or his children. Secondly, there was not one hint of the existence of the Holy Grail until a French poet in 1170 write about it in a long, fanciful poem. For eleven hundred years, starting at the death of Christ, no one ever gave thought to the existence of the grail.

Factual Errors
There appear to be more errors in Dan's Brown book than there are correct facts. He gets an A in fiction writing, but an F in history. Even his descriptions of travel around Paris are almost completely flawed. The main support for the premise of the book is the secret proof about Jesus and Mary, zealously guarded, without fail, for a thousand years. The Priory of Sion (an organization which holds the proof of the identity of the Holy Grail - Mary) is proven to be a complete fabrication by a dicredited Frenchman. Pierre Plantard made up the Priory as a hoax to create fame and fortune for himself. Under oath, he recanted of the hoax several times before his death. Take the Priory out of the story and you have nothing – not even a best selling book!

Among historians (art and otherwise) the artist is referred to as Leonardo, not “Da Vinci”. Da Vinci means “from Vinci”, the town where Leonardo was raised. Even the title of the book is an error! “Just about everything [Dan Brown] says about Leonardo da Vinci is wrong.” Jack Wasserman, retired professor of art, Temple University.

TDC (p. 28) claims the Catholic organization, Opus Dei, is a religious order of monks. In truth, Opus Dei is a layman’s organization, completely lacking the marks of an official order.

TDC (p. 36-37) claims that the five Olympic rings represent (and honor) the five-pointed star of Venus. In truth, the ancient Olympics were held in honor of Zeus and the five rings are a totally new design from 1913.

TDC (p. 46, 160, 250, 256) mangles the words and meaning of “sangreal” to suggest that is implies “royal blood” instead of “holy grail”. In truth, no historian supports this distortion.

TDC (p. 105) claims the obelisk in Saint-Sulpice is “a pagan astronomical device”. In truth, it’s a simple sundial marking the vernal equinox which establishes the date of Easter.

TDC (p. 120) claims that “Mona Lisa” is a play on words referring to Egyptian gods Amon and Isis (the god of fertility and his consort). In truth, Amon was the god of the air, not fertility, and his consort was “Mut”, not Isis. “L’isa” has never been recognized as an alternative spelling of Isis. AND… the painting in question was never called “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo or historically in Italy. It is traditionally referred to as La Gioconda (after the surname of the subject) although Leonardo never named titled the painting.

TDC (p. 124) claims that Constantine “converted the world” to Christianity. In truth, he did not. He issued a decree that Christians no longer could be persecuted, hardly the equivalent of making it the state religion.

TDC (p. 125) claims that the Catholic “Inquisition” brought about the burning of “an astounding five million women”. Astounding indeed! History records the Inquisition found about 50,000 “guilty” (men and women, alike) and the majority of them were not burned at the stake.

TDC (p.125) claims the Catholic church published Malleus Maleficarum (Witches’ Hammer) in an effort to stimulate condemnation of supposed witches. In truth, the Church condemned the book.

TDC (p. 231-234) claims there were thousands of accounts of the life of Christ were written and that the early church considered “more than 80” gospels. In truth, no evidence suggests thousands of biographical accounts. Only a dozen or so “non-canonical” gospels (the so-called Gnostic gospels) are known and they are documented to have been written no sooner than 100 years after the canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) were written.

TDC (p.233) claims that Christians worship on Sunday after the pagan tradition of worshipping the sun god on that day. In truth, Christian’s worship together on “the Lord’s Day”, the day Christ arose from the dead – Sunday (see Acts 20:7).

TDC (p. 248) claims that Mary Magdalene was a descendant of the tribe of Benjamin – a royal line. In truth, there is no biblical or historical evidence at all that supports this lineage. Furthermore, Benjamin is not the “royal” Jewish tribe, Judah is.

TDC (p.234) claims the Essene Dead Sea Scroll documents found at Qumran depict Jesus as human. Impossible. In truth, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain pre-Christian literature and make no reference to Jesus at all.

TDC (p. 236) claims that Mary Magdalene is seated on Jesus’ right in the “The Last Supper”. In truth, Leonardo’s own notes consistently refer to the person as John.

TDC (p. 245-246) claims the texts found at Nag Hammadi represent “the earliest Christian records”. In truth, they do not. The Nag Hammadi texts are at least 100 years (and up to 300 years) newer than the texts of the Christian Bible. TDC (p. 248) claims that the Nag Hammadi texts are “unaltered gospels”. Unaltered and completely irrelevant!

TDC (p. 254) claims the Crusades (1095-1291AD) were conducted to destroy evidence that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had living ancestors in Europe. In truth, no evidence has ever supported that claim.

TDC (p. 257) claims the “fundamental doctrine” of Catholicism is “that of a divine Messiah who did not consort with women or engage in sexual union”. In truth, not only is that not a doctrine of the Catholic church, nothing like it is even close to “fundamental”.

TDC (p. 268) claims that the Age of Pisces, (symbolized by the fish, an image employed by early Christians) – and era of passivity marked by the control by the Catholic Church, is now (about 2000AD) giving way to the Age of Aquarius – an era of self-reliance, free-thinking, and personal peace. In truth, zodiacal astrologers actually indicate the Age of Aquarius will begin about 2600AD.

TDC (p.309) claims the Catholic Church demonized sexuality because is allowed people to commune directly with God and therefore undermined the church. In truth, no evidence shows that the Church ever “demonized sexuality”.

TDC (p. 309) claims YHWH “derived from Jehovah, an adrogenous physical union between the masculine Jah and the pre-Hebraic name for Eve.” In truth, YHWH is the ancient expression for the Jewish deity, has nothing to do with “Eve”, and pre-dates the term “Jehovah” by three to four thousand years!

TDC (p. 309) claims that Jews believed God lived in the Temple’s Holy of Holies along with his consort “Shekinah”. In truth, the Jews believed no such thing – ever!

TDC (p.316) claims that the ancient Knights Templar worship Baphomet, the horned fertility god (often represented by the pentagram – inverted five-pointed star in a circle) and were persecuted for doing so. In truth, no evidence suggest that Templars worshipped Baphomet. The horned, man-goat image is an invention of 20th Century pagans.

TDC (p.435-436) claims that the two great pillars of Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland are replicas of two main pillars in Solomon’s Temple, “the most duplicated architectural structures in history”. In truth, that would be difficult to accomplish - Solomon’s temple was destroyed in 586BC!

TDC (p. 106 / 432-433) claims that the first “prime meridian” (0o longitude line) passed through Saint-Sulpice in Paris and Rosslynn Chapel in Scotland. In truth, it passes through neither. Nor is Saint-Sulpice built upon ancient Roman / pagan ruins (TDC p. 54, 107) – a claim which the church has had vigorously refute to duped tourists. Furthermore, the seminary near Saint-Sulpice is for priests, not nuns (TDC p. 88). In the church itself, there are no pews (TDC p. 89, 104) and there is no choir balcony (TDC p. 90). Finally, TDC (p. 434) claims that foot traffic at Rosslyn Chapel has worn a hexagram on the floor. Can’t happen, pews block any such pattern of movement in the chapel.

TDC (p. 21) claims that the glass pyramid outside the Louvre is composed of (symbolically charged) 666 panes of glass. In truth, the pyramid contains (symbolically insignificant) panes of glass.

TDC (p. 309) claims “salvation” for men comes in the moment of sexual climax - “a split second entirely devoid of thought”. The male mind goes blank and supposedly God is glimpsed—Nirvana. For women, the ability “to produce life from her womb made her sacred.” Hardly equal opportunity salvation! Unbelief is one thing. “Unthinking” is another.

In spite of all of TDC’s celebration of “the sacred feminine”, the Gnostic gospel of Thomas concludes with this: “Simon Peter said to him, ‘Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life.’ Jesus said, ‘I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.’” Gospel of Thomas (114) (Gnostic / Nag Hammadi text)

Summary
The Christian New Testament is proven authentic because the people who knew the truth died for what they believed in. If Jesus was just a good teacher, a rabbi with a wife and kids, who’s going to be crucified upside down (as Peter was) because he wouldn't denounce Jesus as Lord of All? All the apostles were martyred. Thousands of FIRST CENTURY Christians were martyred because they believe Jesus to be Lord of All. If he wasn't, they would know - they were there!

WHY?
Why would Dan Brown write a novel based on “facts” when so many of the facts are wrong or unsupported? Why would Dan Brown write a novel whose over-arching tone is accusatory and condemning toward the Catholic Church (and Christianity in general).

These are difficult questions to answer; only God can judge the human heart. A question that gets us closer to the truth is “Why has The Da Vinci Code become a run-away best-seller?”.

For two thousand years, Christianity has voiced an amazing offer. For everyone who realizes they have not (and cannot) live perfect lives and are distant from God, God offers fellowship through His Son, Jesus the Messiah. That offer is accepted by merely believing in God, His Son, and the offer. Accepting the offer also means agreeing that God’s wisdom for our lives is important; that it is necessary to live in a way that pleases God. That’s where a lot of people get turned off. They want all of God’s blessing, but none of his expectations. The themes of The Da Vinci Code and more particularly, the Gnostic writings, are extremely popular because they diminish God to a bumbling fool and propose salvation though self-directed efforts. Many people want fellowship with God, not everyone wants the accountability that goes along with it.

It’s your turn! If you have questions, would like more information, or just want to talk about what’s going on with The Da Vinci Code and the Bible, I’d like to hear from you.

Email the author, Clark Smith, at anamazingoffer_at_yahoo.com. Clark is a pastor at Heartland Christian Fellowship in Overland Park, Kansas.

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