Is The DaVinci Code for Real?by Brother Dave
The DaVinci Code is a well written novel by an obviously gifted writer, Dan Brown, released in 2003. It is a fascinating story that begins as an investigation into a mysterious murder and then mushrooms into the discovery of apparent conspiracies involving ancient secret societies and the Roman Catholic Church. The author weaves actual historical facts tainted by “creative” additions into the plot of his novel. This gives it the feel of an accurate historical expose. Many readers of this novel (and viewers of the movie) walk away with the distinct impression they have now been “educated” on the unreliability of the Christian faith. Let there be no mistake, the ultimate agenda of The DaVinci Code story is to undermine the very foundations of the Christian faith. You need to know what the truth is! The truth is very simple: The DaVinci Code is a fictional work. The author is upfront in clearly admitting this in the book. But, you ask, doesn’t the book reveal little know historical facts? Absolutely, but the author has had to embellish (i.e. twist) these historical realities so they would appear to undermine solid Christian truth. The author would defend himself by saying he was merely exercising his “artistic license.” I would say he was intentionally attempting to deceive people into rejecting the absolute reliability of the written word of God, especially the Gospels. The dishonesty and deception attempted by the author is clearly evident in his complete failure to adequately disclose the far more impressive evidence that supports the complete reliability of God’s written word, the Bible, including the basic truths of Jesus’ sinless (and unmarried) life, His divinity and His miraculous resurrection from the grave. The fact that the author is doing this intentionally is evidenced by the fact that he nowhere attempts to disclose to the reader when he shifts from the "grain of truth" in the historical fact his characters are discussing to the exaggeration and ridiculous conclusions which ultimately follow. The average reader (or movie viewer), unsophisticated in Biblical knowledge or church history, is easily deceived (or at least confused) by the ultimate proposition of this story---Christianity is a fraud; perpetrated by unscrupulous men for their own advantage.
Christianity is Not a Fraud—
The truth is Mr. Brown intentionally attempts to distort history by taking an actual historical fact and then embellishing it with pure fiction. This is done without disclosing to the reader (or viewer) the difference between what is fact and what is fiction. The reader then incorrectly assumes the fictional addition is all actual historical fact. This practice is not just dishonest, it is sinister. Remember, we are talking about God’s truth which has eternal consequences. God’s truth is not a subject that can be distorted for profit or entertainment purposes without consequence. Here is just one example of how Mr. Brown misrepresents historical fact: The Priory of Sion is an actual organization founded about a half century ago. It is a small Catholic splinter social organization. The Sangreal documents are actual documents that represent a hoax (or fraud) by Pierre Plantard, a known forger. These documents were proven to be a fraud back in the 1990s. In The DaVinci Code, Brown cites these fraudulent documents as “proof” that the Priory of Sion was established back in the year 1099 and included such notable members as Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo DaVinci. The book fails to alert the reader to the fraudulent nature of this information. Remember, this is just one example. There are many other deceptive portrayals of history in the book not mentioned here.
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