WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE “DA VINCI CODE”?

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: II PETER 1:15-21




INTRODUCTION:


1.     A book was published in 2003 entitled, The Da Vinci Code.  The author is a man by the name of Dan Brown.  Since Mr. Brown is not a Christian and since his book is a non-fiction novel, I paid little attention to it and have had absolutely no interest in reading it.

2.     In fact I consider reading such books a waste of time.  Ephesians 5:16 says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” 

3.     A couple of years ago I was out knocking on doors and I met a young man that was very confused.  He had many strange ideas about the Bible and about the Lord Jesus Christ.  I tried to help him but I could tell he was under a very strange delusion.  It was not until later on that I realized he had been repeating to me things that he had read in The Da Vinci Code.  Apparently this young man believed that these writings were factual, but they are not.

4.     The problem with books and movies like The Da Vinci Code is that they weave fact and fiction with such recklessness that the average person assumes all their claims to be factual.

5.     As Dr. Shelton Smith says in his critique, “The cleverness with which the Brown book is done is significant. Any time you take real people, real places and real events from some era of history and reset them into a fictional context, you are going to make it very difficult for the average person to separate fact from fiction. This is exactly what has happened with this book and will happen with the movie version of it.”

6.     The book has now sold more than 40 million copies, indicating that many people have already been deceived and led astray into spiritual darkness and confusion.

7.     Just the other day I read an article on the Internet by Josh McDowell, a popular Christian writer, best known for his book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict.

8.     I was amazed to read that Josh McDowell claims that often he has pastors tell him, “I'm ashamed to say this, but I read The Da Vinci Code, and I really don't know what to believe.”

9.     They should be ashamed!  In fact they should get out of the ministry.

10. One woman e-mailed Josh McDowell and said, “My son has been brought up in a Christian home. He went to a Christian school and is part of a very good evangelical Bible-centered church.”  She said a year and a half ago he read The Da Vinci Code book and he's walked away from his faith, saying, “Mom, I don't know who to turn to anymore for truth” (WND, May 12, 2006).

11. A distraught man sent an email to the Radio Bible Class, explaining that his faith was shattered after reading this book.  He said in his email, “Is the last 25+ years I’ve been a Christian all a lie?  Was Jesus just a man?  Did it all really happen?  Was He married to Mary Magdalene?  Is everything I was raised to believe just made up for the sake of money?  I have to know.  I don’t know where else to turn.  Now I am doubting if there is a heaven, a God, and Jesus. Please, help me!  Please, in God’s name, help me. I’m brokenhearted, confused, and still crying” (THE DA VINCI CODE, SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION).

12. I had no interest in preaching about this book, other than giving out occasional warnings from the pulpit.  But now that the movie is coming out, and it is being promoted with a big, expensive advertising campaign I thought that perhaps it would be helpful to preach a message warning our members about both the movie and the book. 

13. The movie is scheduled to be released into the theatres this week.  Many Christian organizations have been trying to fight it but their efforts have been unsuccessful. 

14. I am not surprised that their efforts have been unsuccessful, and I can suggest several reasons why – lack of prayer, lack of Bible reading, lack of zeal for God, etc. 

15. I wonder how many of these same Christians that are opposed to this film regularly attend prayer meeting.

16. I wonder how many Christians who oppose this film regularly attend Sunday night services at their church.

17. I wonder how many Christians who oppose this film go out soulwinning.   I believe with all my heart that if we get people saved and plugged into a good soulwinning church they will have little interest in nonsensical books and movies like The Da Vinci Code.

18. And if they do happen to read the book they will have enough spiritual discernment to know it is poison (cf. Hebrews 5:11-14). 


I.      THE BOOK ATTACKS THE BASIC TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE

II.   THE BOOK GOES AGAINST HISTORICAL FACTS

III.THE BOOK PROMOTES GNOSTICISM, PAGANISM, AND GROSS IMMORALITY

 

I. THE BOOK ATTACKS THE BIBLE.

1.     All one has to do is read an article about the book and it is evident that Mr. Brown and the Hollywood people who produced the movie do not believe the Bible is the Word of God.

2.     Page 341 of The Da Vinci Code says they have “scientific evidence that the NT is false testimony.”  They have no such evidence but unfortunately many people will be deceived into believing it.

3.     Dr. Shelton Smith, the editor of The Sword of the Lord, wrote a good article in the recent edition of the Sword.  He wrote,Though the book and the movie are both absolutely fictional, its author claims it is historically accurate. In order to perpetrate his thesis, he has to diminish the reliability of the New Testament. Obviously if the Bible be true, his work is quickly relegated to a mish-mash of nonsense.”

4.     Here is typical quote from The Da Vinci Code: “The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven … [it] is a product of man … not God … and it has evolved through countless translations, additions and revisions.  History never had a definitive version of the book…more than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament …Who chose which gospels to include? … The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine” (p.231).

5.     God put the Bible together.  And history certainly has had a “definitive version.”  The Latin Vulgate was the definitive version for over a thousand years, and the Authorized King James Version has been the definitive English version since the Protestant Reformation.

6.     In the apostle Paul’s first epistle to Timothy, he refers to the Gospel of Luke as “Scripture” (I Timothy 5:18 and Luke 10:7).

7.     In his second epistle, the apostle Peter refers to Paul’s letters as “Scripture” (II Peter 3:16).

8.     In II Timothy 3:16, Paul writes, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

9.     The early Christians knew which writings were the inspired Word of God, and they knew which writings were not (e.g., the so-called “Gnostic Gospels”).

10. NT scholar F.F. Bruce put it this way, “The historic Christian belief is that the Holy Spirit, who controlled the writing of the individual books, also controlled their selection and collection, thus continuing to fulfill our Lord’s promise that He would guide His disciples into all truth.  This, however, is something that is to be discerned by spiritual insight, and not by historical research…The NT books did not become authoritative for the Church because they were formally included in a canonical list; on the contrary, the Church included them in her canon because she already regarded them as divinely inspired, recognizing their innate worth and generally apostolic authority, direct or indirect… what these (Church) councils did was not to impose something new upon the Christian communities but codified what was already the general practice of those communities” (The NT Documents, Are They Reliable?, pp. 21, 27).

11.    The Da Vinci Code teaches that the so-called “Gnostic Gospels” are the real Scriptures and the NT we have is not true.  I recall witnessing to a cashier at Modell’s one time and he was fascinated with the Gnostic writings.  If you go online you will find plenty of information on Gnosticism.  It is a false philosophy diametrically opposed to the true Gospel.

12.    The New Bible Dictionary says, “In a Gnostic context, ‘salvation’ is not understood in terms of deliverance from sin, but as a form of existential self-realization.”  This fits right in with the new age, liberalism, etc.

13.    The Da Vinci Code teaches that the early Christians did not believe in the deity of Christ and this teaching was not put forth until the 4th century when it was proclaimed by the Roman emperor Constantine.

14.    The book teaches that the emperor Constantine persuaded the Council of Nicaea to declare Jesus as the Son of God by a vote, and it was “a relatively close vote at that.” 

15.    In reality only two out of more than 300 Christian leaders failed to sign the creed affirming the deity of Christ.  It was hardly a close vote!

16.    More importantly, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is God (cf. John 1:1; 20:24-29; I Tim. 3:16; Hebrews 1:8).  The men who assembled at Nicea were only affirming what all true Christians already believed.  The purpose of the Council of Nicea was to refute the false teachings of a presbyter (elder) named Arius, who denied the deity of Christ.

17.    The Da Vinci Code teaches that our Lord was married to Mary Magdalene, and that they had children together.   In Greek and Roman mythology the gods were married with children, but the Bible is not a myth. 

18.    To teach that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had children one would have to reject the entire New Testament, which is precisely what The Da Vinci Code does.

19.    The book teaches a vast cover-up of this supposed marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.  One reviewer wrote, “The book is also filled with conspiracy theories. Everyone that ever was attached to a conspiracy is involved, the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians, the Vatican, Opus Dei, the Freemasons, Nazis, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Catholic church . The only group left missing are UFO’s. Maybe they will appear in the sequel” (letusreason.org). 

20.    According to The Da Vinci Code, Mary Magdalene represents the feminine aspect of God, what Dan Brown refers to as “the divine feminine.”  This may appeal to the women’s liberation crowd but it is contrary to the Bible.  But The Da Vinci Code is full of goddess worship and all sorts of pagan nonsense.

21.    The Da Vinci Code teaches that Mary Magdalene is the so-called “Holy Grail.”  The Holy Grail is a medieval legend about the cup from the Last Supper.  No one ever heard of this so-called Holy Grail until the 12th century when it appeared in some of the legends about King Arthur and his kingdom of Camelot.

22. Brown has now altered this legend and claims the Holy Grail is not a cup but Mary Magdalene.

23.    The Da Vinci Code teaches that it was our Lord’s intention for Mary Magdalene to lead the church, not the apostles.  However, our Lord gave the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20) to the apostles, not to Mary Magdalene.

24.    In Acts 15 the church in Jerusalem called for a council to discuss doctrinal disagreements (Acts 15:1, 2).  There is no mention of Mary Magdalene being at this council – just “the apostles and elders” (Acts 15:2).  According to The Da Vinci Code, Mary and her baby fled to Gaul (France) after our Lord’s crucifixion.  He has absolutely no facts to support this claim, though it is the key to his story.

25.    If the Lord were displeased with the Jerusalem council, He would have said so (Acts 15:28; 18:9, 10; 22:17-21; 23:11; Rev. 1:11).

 

II. THE BOOK ATTACKS HISTORICAL FACTS

1.     Referring to Dan Brown and his book, the New York Daily News states “His research is impeccable.”  Once again we are reminded that the Daily News is a tabloid for morons.

2.     Since Brown’s # 1 object of attack is the doctrine of the deity of Christ, let us consider that. In addition to the inspired writers of the Bible, there were many well–known preachers (“Church Fathers”) from the early Christian era (i.e., before the reign of Constantine) who taught that the Lord Jesus Christ was God. 

3.     Their writings are still being published and they are not difficult to find.  These men include Ignatius (writing in AD 105), Clement (150), Justin Martyr (160), Irenaeus (180), Tertullian (200), Novatian (235), Cyprian (250), Methodius (290), Lactantius (304), and Arnobius (305). 

4.     Regarding Constantine, it is true that he was the first Roman emperor to legalize Christianity. However, it is absurd to say that he was the first man to proclaim Jesus God.  The deity of Christ is taught in the NT and was taught by the apostolic church.

5.     Constantine was responsible for the Edict of Milan in 313, which removed penalties for professing Christianity.  Prior to his reign, many Christians were persecuted and martyred.  Constantine also returned confiscated church property.

6.     In AD 325, Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea.  The purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements with a popular preacher by the name of Arius (from where we get the term “Arianism”), who taught that Jesus was not God.  The council of Nicaea decided against the Arians.

7.     It should be stressed that it was not only Constantine who affirmed the deity of Christ, but the majority of men at the council.

8.     While he did many good things for Christians, it is doubtful whether or not he was ever genuinely saved.  For example, Constantine deliberately waited till he was on his deathbed before he was baptized. There is no doubt that the Da Vinci Code theory that Constantine invented the doctrine of the deity of Christ is nonsense.

9.     By the way, in case you were wondering where the name “Da Vinci Code” comes from, Mr. Brown has promoted a secret group called “the Priory of Sion.”  He says that many famous men have supposedly joined this group, including the famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci.

10. However, the so-called “Priory of Sion” was established as a make-believe association by a French con man named Pierre Plantard in 1956!   The whole thing is a hoax. “Priory of Sion” documents allegedly going back as far as 1099 have been proven to be forgeries.  In fact, Plantard was imprisoned in France in 1953 for fraud.

11. In 1993, Plantard admitted under oath to a French judge that he had fabricated all the documents relating to the Priory of Sion.  The judge gave him a severe warning but dismissed him as a harmless crank (TDVC, Separating Fact From Fiction).  But who would imagine that a few years later an author would take this man’s fabrications and turn them into a best-selling book and big Hollywood movie?

12. Brown’s book says that to preserve their secret about the true relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, this Priory of Sion group supposedly had Da Vinci place Mary Magdalene in his famous painting, “The Last Supper.”

13. Even some worldly secular magazines have questioned the accuracy of this book.  Here are some questions and answers from Newsweek:

·        Did Leonardo include Mary Magdalene in his “Last Supper”?
Most art scholars say no. The figure reputed to be Mary Magdalene is actually the beloved disciple John, who is usually depicted young and clean-shaven.

·        Were Jesus and Mary M. married?
Although there is no way to prove or disprove this, most experts consider it highly unlikely. Their main argument: there is no mention of it in canonical writings.

·        Was Mary M. a prostitute?
This misperception probably began with a sermon by Pope Gregory the Great in A.D. 591 in which he conflated several figures into one. In 1969 the Vatican officially overruled Gregory.

·        Did Leonardo hide clues about church secrets in his paintings?
Art historians doubt it.

14. The Da Vinci Code claims that the New Testament is the result of a male-dominated church leadership, who invented the Christian religion in order to oppress women and repress goddess-worship. One of the arguments put forth in The Da Vinci Code is that the Christian church has held back women.  However, the opposite is true. The Bible and Christianity have elevated women.

15.    Here is an interesting statement from D. James Kennedy, “Unlike the four Gospels, the Gnostic gospels can be actually degrading to women. The Gospel of Thomas declares that a woman cannot be saved unless God first changes her into a man (the very last verse of Thomas, 114)” (WND, 5/9/06).

16.  I did not know that so I looked it up.  “114. Simon Peter said to them, ‘Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life.’  Jesus said, ‘Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven.’”

 

III. THE BOOK AND MOVIE PROMOTE GNOSTICISM, PAGANISM, AND GROSS IMMORALITY.

1.     One of the themes of the book is the Gnostic teaching that the way to experience God is through sex (the book promotes sex orgies).

2.     “Historically, intercourse was the act through which male and female experienced God. The ancients believed that the male was spiritually incomplete until he had carnal knowledge of the sacred feminine. Physical union with the female remained the sole means through which man could become spiritually complete and ultimately achieve gnosis – knowledge of the divine” (The Da Vinci Code).

3.     The main character in the book (played by actor Tom Hanks in the movie) is “Harvard symbologist” named Robert Langdon.  In the book he says to a woman named Sophie (a cryptologist), “For the early Church, mankind’s use of sex to commune directly with God posed a serious threat to the Catholic power base. It left the Church out of the loop, undermining their self-proclaimed status as the sole conduit to God. For obvious reasons, they worked hard to demonize sex and recast it as a disgusting and sinful act. Other major religions did the same . . .The next time you find yourself with a woman, look in your heart and see if you cannot approach sex as a mystical, spiritual act. Challenge yourself to find that spark of divinity that man can only achieve through union with the sacred feminine.”

4.     The book is promoting ancient paganism, with all of its filthy temple prostitution and sex orgies.  There is no such thing as a “spark of divinity” in fallen man.  

5.     Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

 

CONCLUSION:


1.     Here is an interesting quote from a pastor who is also a history professor and author of 15 books.  His name is Dr. Paul Maier.

2.     “Detailing all the errors, misinterpretations, deceptions, distortions, and outright falsehoods in The Da Vinci Code makes one wonder whether Brown's manuscript ever underwent editorial scrutiny or fact-checking.”

3.     Let us conclude with II Timothy 4:2-4.



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