The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code

Satan is the great deceiver. Volunteers are always eager to advance his cause. One of the most successful tools of his deceit is Dan Brown's book ,The Da Vinci Code which has now sold over 40 million copies and been translated into 40 languages. It has recently been turned into a movie, soon to be released.

The book is a novel about Christ and the early years of Christianity. Like numerous cults of the past it supposedly reveals secret information about the Lord and his church previously unknown to the common folks. Alan Branch has pointed out "Four Big Lies of the Da Vinci Code." They are as follows:

The deity of Christ is a fourth century myth invented by the Roman emperor Constantine and introduced at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. A character in the book is reported saying that prior to that time Jesus was viewed and venerated only as a "mortal prophet." Of course the 27 books of the New Testament, all completed by the end of the first century, repeatedly affirm that Jesus was divine. He was the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1-3;14). Very likely Dan Brown is using this method to spread his personal views about Jesus.
Brown claims that the Gnostic gospels are a dependable source of information about Christ. Over forty of these pseudo gospels have been found. All are forgeries whose authors used the name of some notable biblical figure to deceive their readers and gain a hearing. They were written in the second and third centuries and were known and rejected by early Christians. The Gnostic gospels reflect the beliefs of men enamored by a school of Greek philosophy known as neo-platonism. To sell their heretical ideas to Christians they cast their doctrines in biblical terminology to disguise their pagan intentions. Brown gives great significance to the Gnostic Gospels of Thomas and Philip.
The third of the big lies is that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and fathered a child by her. Interestingly, none of the New Testament writers, none of the early church writers and none of the Gnostic gospels refer to Jesus being married. This is an attempt to reduce Jesus from his revealed role as the god/man to a mere mortal man. It seeks to spice up the story with some passion and romance. He proceeds to say that Jesus really want Mary Magdalene to head his church, but jealous men of the church pushed her out and took control. He says they fabricated the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to substantiate their story. They branded Mary as a prostitute.
The fourth lie is that the early Christians engaged in goddess worship. This lays the foundation for the worship of Mary that later evolved in the church of Rome. Of course there is absolutely not historical evidence to support this assertion.
Biblical illiterates of the media are writing, saying the book is based on historical fact! Nothing could be farther from the truth. The evil impact of this speculative fabrication is seen in polls that have been taken of those who have read it. A Decima Research Poll in Canada found that a third of those who had read the book were convinced that descendants of Jesus were alive on earth today. Here in the USA a Barna Poll found that 53 percent of the readers thought it had helped them grow spiritually.

Is it not amazing that people who rarely read the Bible, who make no effort to understand it, and who tend to reject its message when they do hear it, are so easily beguiled by a book that is filled with will unfounded assertions, and lies. Paul well describes them in II Thess. 2:11-12: "...because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

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