Da Vinci Code

The last two Sunday mornings John has preached about the controversy of the "Da Vinci Code" that everybody's talking about. I thought I'd pass on a couple of points that came from these sermons.

First of all, The DaVinci Code is fiction. It's a suspense novel, howbeit a sacrilegious novel. It's not true. The only problem is, Dan Brown claims he believes it is based on fact.

Brown claims that Jesus and Mary Magnalene were married and had children. The truth is, the Bible mentions Mary Magdalene only a few times: (1) Jesus cast seven demons out of her(Mark 16:9). (2) She was present while Jesus was dying on the cross(Matthew 27: 55-56). (3) She was present when Jesus was buried (Matthew 27: 60-61). (4) She went to the tomb early on the first day of the week (Matthew28:1). (5) She told Peter and John about the empty tomb (John 20:1-2). (6) Jesus appeared to her after His resurrection (Mark 16:9) and told her that He had not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17). Mary reported to the disciples what Jesus had said to her (John 20:18). The Bible never hints of any kind of romantic relationship between Jesus and Mary. It doesn't teach that they married and had children. The scriptures present Mary as a devoted follower of Jesus.

Brown claims that Christians worshiped on the Sabbath until emperor Constantine changed it to Sunday. "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." (pp232-233) The truth is, the New Testament church met on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:2; Acts 20:7) If the churches in Corinth and Troas were meeting on Sunday (the first day of the week) back in the middle of the first century, the time of worship could not have been changed by Constantine in the early years of the fourth century as he claims.

Brown claims that the Bible is a product of man...not God. "The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven... The Bible is a 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 definitive version of the book" (p 231) The truth is, the Bible gives a different explanation for its origin. 2 Peter 1:21 says "For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Timothy 3:16 says "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." If Brown's view is correct, the Bible ought to be a mishmash of confusing and contradictory stories. Instead it is a single, unfolding story of sin and redemption.

Even knowing this book is a work of fiction, I still find it upsetting and an attack on the beliefs I find so very important to me. Christians will recognize this for what it is; a book full of lies about Christ and the Bible. In order to minimize the potential damage to people's faith in Christ and in the Bible, look for opportunities to share the TRUTH about Christ and God's word.