Has any book/movie ever received so much free, mostly complimentary, attention in the media? Even Matt Lauer of the Today Show is visiting the main sites used as setting for the book/movie. This attention is a reflection of the postmodern age in which we live. I think the comment by Dr. Andreas Kostenberger in "The Da Vinci Code: A Myth of Christian Origins" well summarizes the issue.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a book about a non-existent code to provide clues to uncover suppressed evidence about a marriage that never took place. But why cover up evidence that does not exist? How does one cover up non-existing evidence? And why cover up evidence about a relationship that never existed in the first place? Such is the “logic” of The Da Vinci Code, and the above non sequiturs already make clear that the conspiracy theory underlying the book has holes so large to accommodate much more than the proverbial Mack truck. So, why has this novel been so wildly successful when its plot inventions add up to some “hefty speeding tickets” for its author, as Amy Bernstein aptly noted?
I think the well-known New Testament scholar Tom Wright has put his finger on the pulse of this issue when he writes that the thesis underlying The Da Vinci Code is part of the mainstream liberal American “myth of Christian origins” that is found at elite educational institutions such as Harvard, moderate Southern Baptist churches, and leading scholarly societies such as the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature alike. According to this “myth of Christian origins,”
Every Christian needs to be informed about issues affecting the faith, and be prepared to provide a defense to those who raise questions concerning our hope (1 Pet. 3:15). While we rarely agree with everything that is on one of our linked pages, we believe that you will find much helpful material in the pages below. Become informed and be able to talk intelligently with your associates and neighbors when they speak about The Da Vinci Code (book or movie).
The Da Vinci Code Movie. Mark Roberts and others at justchristians.com provide 12 pdf pages dealing with the basic issues of the book and movie. Mark also has a good article on the Gnostic document, The Gospel of Judas.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Good response at Apologetics Index. See especially the links to articles.
The Da Vinci Code: of Magdalene, Gnostics, the Goddess and the Grail. Numerous articles.
The Da Vinci Code. Lectures by Darrell L. Bock and others. Video and audio available.
The Da Vinci Challenge. Current material that challenges the accuracy of The DaVinci Code. Includes evangelicals. New in Feb., 2006.
The Da Vinci Outreach. Catholic page devoted to exposing portions of The DaVinci Code, and the upcoming movie (May 19, 2006).
Deciphering "The Da Vinci Code". Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Decoding The Da Vinci Code. Lecture by N. T. Wright on "The Challenge of Historic Christianity to Post-Modern Fantasy" at Seattle Pacific University.
The Da Vinci Code: Is Christianity True? Resources provided by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Download entire book by Andreas J. Kostenberger.
Da Vinci Code Resources at Biblical Foundations. Ministry of Dr. Andreas J. Kostengerger. Articles, video, audio, and PowerPoint files.
The Truth About Da Vinci. Website provided by Westminster Theological Seminary deals with the important basic questions. Be sure to check the excellent Resources. Includes articles, audio/video, promotional materials.
Review of The Da Vinci Code. By Craig Bloomberg, Denver Journal, Vol. 7, 2004.
The Da Vinci Opportunity and The Da Vinci Code FAQ. Website of Mark. D. Roberts. Not very user friendly, but worth the time to examine his dozens of articles on the subject.
The Da Vinci Code. Sermon outline, article, PowerPoint presentation, by my friend Jon W. Quinn
Download the electronic version of Darrell Bock's Breaking the Da Vinci Code book in Libronix format (Logos) for $14.95.
Faith and Thought. Shane Scott has now posted his initial impressions of the movie.
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We have several helpful blogs listed on our Scholarly page. Dr. Ben Witherington informs us that he intends to post a review of The Da Vinci Code movie by late Thursday night. The
Movie Different From Book
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Robert Harkrider has written to recommend Unveiling the Da Vinci Code by Dr. Bo Kirkwood. Dr. Kirwwood is a medical doctor and a elder in a church in the Houston, TX, area. Robert says, "I have read the book and find that [the author] has done an excellent work of research, exposing the errors of research by Dan Brown, and most importantly, he has put into perspective the biblical answers for the truth about the Lord and His church." You might be able to get this book at the Florida College bookstore, or at Religious Supply. Otherwise, order from Amazon. |
Comment by N. T. Wright
In particular, the resurrection of Jesus was central to early Christianity, though you’d never know that, either, from Dan Brown or from the many other writers who perpetrate the modern myth in its various forms....
In particular, this included from the start a strong political critique. Not the tired old left-wing harangue in Christian dress, of course, but a more subtle, more Jewish, more devastating critique:
Jesus is Lord, therefore Caesar isn’t. That is there in Paul. It is there in Matthew, in John, in Revelation. If the canon was written, or read, to curry political favor, it was dramatically unsuccessful. Those who were thrown to the lions were not reading “Thomas” or Q or the “Gospel of Mary.” They were reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the rest, and being sustained thereby in a subversive mode of faith and life which, growing out of apocalyptic Judaism, posed a far greater threat to Roman empire and pagan worldviews than Cynic philosophy or Gnostic spirituality ever could.
Why would Caesar worry about people rearranging their private spiritualities? And when Constantine, faced with half his empire turning Christian, decided to go with the tide, what was the church supposed to do? Protest that it would be more authentic to remain a beleaguered and persecuted minority? Let comfortable Western Christians think about what the church had suffered under Diocletian in the years immediately before Constantine — and what the church is suffering in many parts of the world today — and ask themselves who has compromised, and with what.
Source: These few comments come from N. T. Wright, "Decoding The Da Vinci Code" in Response. Read the entire lecture here.
Photo
of the Louvre Pyramid was made by Ferrell Jenkins at sundown, April 12, 2006.
Page Updated: June 12, 2006
