The Da Vinci Code is a fiction written by and English writer called
Dan Brown. The fiction has been produced as a film with the same name.
It starts with a murder trial. In the process of discovering the
murderer and his motives, a conspiracy is discovered. Secret groups are
told having conflict interests in revealing a treasure that claimed to
have important secret documents and what is called the Holy Grail. The
writer claimed that revealing these documents will have radical
negative impact on the Christian faith.
In the pages of the fiction, the writer Dan Brown presented the lies as truths, the fiction as reality. He accused Christianity with paganism and doctrines. On the lips of his created characters, Dan Brown attacked the basics of the Christian faith and the Holy Bible. His claims against the Holy Bible, the nature and life of Christ and his mistaken views on women and sexuality are spreading allover the pages of his fiction. All his claims are obviously proven to be against the Holy Bible, the sound doctrine and thousands years of history. When Brown was asked if he was Christian? He answered in a twisted way, saying; maybe not in the most traditional way or sense, but I consider myself a student of many religions. The more I learn, the more questions I have. The spiritual quest will always be a life-long work in progress. He also said that, all religions are fabricated and full of lies, every faith in the world is founded on fabrication, this is the definition of faith-acceptance to what we think its true, and we can never prove it (DVC p. 341). The Da Vinci Code contains a lot of fiction that lacks the historical truth and far from the sound doctrines. However, Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code, doesnt view his work as pure fiction. In an interview by Matt Lauer, Dan Brown was asked how much of the books explanation of history was based on actual events. Dan Brown replied, Absolutely all of it.[1] A similar assertion appears on the books opening page: All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate. (DVC p. 1). With the grace of God, we would like to answer some of the claims raised in Dan browns fiction, The Da Vinci Code. The Lord Jesus Christ said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32, NIV). St. Peter also said, 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. (1 Peter 3:15, NIV).
Briefly and simply, you will find answers to some of Dan Brown claims specially those that are much related to the basics of the Christian faith and life. Many of his claims are on:
1- The Holy Bible
2- Nature of Christ
3- Life of Christ
4- Women and Sexuality
We ask the Lord that this book might be for the blessings.
Chapter 1
The Holy Bible
Dan Brown wrote his fiction based on his unbelief of the Holy Bibles credibility. Loosing the most trustworthy reference for his work, he depended on false ones that lead him away of the truth. His claims against the Holy Bible shall be examined first to make easy of the reader when the other claims shall be examined.
1
"The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven The Bible is a product of man 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 definitive version of the book." (DVC, page 231).
In fact, the Holy Bible is the only book having the handwriting of God by His fingers. The Book of Exodus reveals this truth: When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. (Exodus 31:18, NIV; see also Exodus 34:1-2; Exodus 34: 28).
The Holy Bible is inspired by God and written by the men of God under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There are many evidences for this:
The Spiritual effect of the Holy bible and its usefulness for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness prove its divine origin. Those who followed the teachings of the Holy Bible became saints and each saint is a living Bible. St. Paul said, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17, NIV).
Moreover, the Bible has been translated into more than 850 languages having the same spiritual effect.
The fulfillment of the prophecies points out to its divine origin. For example, it is very noticeable in the Gospel of St. Matthew to find the expression, All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet and similar expressions as in (Matthew 1:22; 2:15; 2:23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 27:35, NIV). Such references to the prophecies of the Old Testament, as being fulfilled exactly in the New Testament, lead to a deep convection of the inspiration of the Holy Bible. It is as St. Peter said, For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21, NIV).
Now we come also to the diversities of the writers in different times and different places as a strong indication of its divine origin. Having all the books of the Bible integrated into one main subject despite all these differences confirms without any doubt that it is the Book of God.
The Bible has been written through 1500 years by more than 40 writers with different cultural background. Some of them were kings as David and Solomon, shepherd as Amos, priest as Zechariah, prophets as Samuel and Isaiah, law maker as Moses, army general as Joshua, fisherman as Peter and John, philosopher as Paul and physician as Luke.
Moreover, the Bible has been written in different places. It was written in Sinai desert, Judea wilderness, the cave of Edlam, the prison of Rome, the island of Patmos, the palaces of Zion, the bank of Babylons rivers and in Jerusalem after its restoration.
If you can imagine a library of 73 books written in such wide span of time with such diversities of time, places and culture and still have the harmony and unity between their pages, it would be only Gods Book, the Holy Bible.
2
The scrolls highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agendato promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base. (DVC, page 234).
Mistakenly and without any historical evidence, Dan Brown claimed that the Bible was compiled in a way to fit a political agenda. This claim reflects the unawareness of the canonizations process of the Bible.
To consider any writing as authentic writing in the New Testament, this writing had to meet three measuring standard. Politics and personal preferences were not of these standards. These standards were set by the early church fathers to block any false writing from being included in the New Testament. These standards are:
1- The writings should be written by one of the disciples or the apostles who was considered as an eye witness to the Lord Jesus Christ and His resurrection. The writings of St. Paul have been accepted as the Lord Jesus appeared to him personally (Acts 22). Moreover, he conferred with the brothers, the leaders of the church about the message he was preaching. He said, I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. (Galatians 2:2, NIV).
2- The writing should be orthodox, not of the heretics, and in harmony with the Hebrew Scriptures and the writings of the apostles of Christ.
3- The writing should be accepted by all the churches that are known in the world at that time. Its acceptance should not be exclusive for special Christian group.
3
"These are photocopies of the Nag Hammadi and Dead Sea scrolls, which I mentioned earlier The earliest Christian records. Troublingly, they do not match up with the gospels in the Bible." (DVC, page 245).
In fact, the Nag Hammadi are more recent than all the books of the New Testament. The so called Nag Hammadi library has been discovered on 1945 near Nag Hammadi in Egypt. The oldest copy of these writings was written after 150 AC. Most of these writings have been written between 200 AC – 300 AC. By the 100 AC, all the New Testament have been compiled, more than 50 years before the oldest copy of Nag Hammadi writings.
These writings of Nag Hammadi are of a group of heretics called the Gnostics and are in contradiction with the accepted writings of the New Testament as well as their conflict with the Hebrew Scriptures.
With regard of Dead Sea scrolls, it is completely wrong to group them with the Christian records as they are manuscripts of Hebrew Scripture.
4
More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusionMatthew, Mark, Luke, and John among them. (DVC, page 231).
In fact, the four gospels were in circulation among the Christian communities and used in worship in the first century. St. Ireneous mentioned them before the oldest copy of Nag Hammadi was written.
Moreover, there are only five of what so called gospels in Nag Hammadi writings, not 80 as Dan Brown claimed. The early church did not accept these writings as they did not with the canonization standards mentioned before.
5
Also rumored to be part of the treasure is the legendary "Q" Documenta manuscript that even the Vatican admits they believe exists. Allegedly, it is a book of Jesus' teachings, possibly written in His own hand." (DVC, page 256).
What Dan Brown called Q document is not a manuscript but a modern book. It was written by some scholars based on a hypothetical theory. They believed that there should be a common source of the teachings of Matthew, Mark and Luke gospels, the synoptic gospels. They called this alleged common source Q from the German word Quelle that means source.
Even, if we suppose the real existence of the alleged manuscript Q, there would not nothing different than what is found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
6
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."
The Canonization of the New Testament books was completed in the first century. This was long before Constantine to become an emperor and the oldest copy of the Gnostic writings to be written, as mentioned before.
If the canonized Gospels was not well known so early, Marcian the heretic would succeed to omit the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John as well as the epistles of Paul from the Bible used in his church, in 140 AC. He failed and the church excommunicated him. The early church fathers, Tertellian and Ireneous exposed Marcians errors.
Constantine commissioned the print of 50 copies of the Bible that was known and accepted before as the canonized Bible, not a new one.
There is no historical evidence of burning the gospels as Dan Brown claimed. What might be burnt are the false writings according to St. Athanasious advice to clean out the churches from these false ones that were circulated secretly between some congregations.
Moreover, not only the canonized Gospels testify strongly to the divinity of Christ but also to His Humanity. St. John said, This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God (1 John 4:2, NIV).
If the testimony to Christs humanity was a valid reason to be omitted from the Bible, the whole Bible would not be there. Dan Brown and his followers should read the New Testament carefully to know how Christs human traits emphasized as well as His divine traits.
[1] Dan Brown, interview by Matt Lauer, The Today Show, NBC, 09 June 2003.