The followers of Jesus were imprisoned, tortured and murdered because they claimed they saw Jesus alive after the cross, after the resurrection, and saw him rise to heaven.
But Dan Brown, Ron (Opie Taylor, Richie Cunningham) Howard, Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou have no sensitivity about how much this belief means to their many long-time fans.
And according to a Barna poll, two MILLION of these fans--believers and non, many of them who do not know art history or church history, much less the Bible, have changed their religious beliefs because of Brown's allegedly fictitious claims.
Yes, he says it's fiction, but he told an interviewer that if he were writing this as non-fiction, he would change--nothing. He can't have it both ways. And eternal destinies are at stake.
Page 309: "The early Jewish tradition involved ritualistic sex. In the temple, no less." This is blasphemy.
“The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God” (page 231). But the earliest followers of Christ were committed, self-sacrificing persons, both men and women, who were willing to die because they believed in Christ’s divinity and in His role as Savior. And we will again, if we don't start defending our truth now.
A detailed rebuttal is the book, Breaking the DaVinci Code by Darrel Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary. Speaking in church, recently, Dr. Bock stated that most Christians know very little about early church history or the writings, so they just accept Dan Brown's earnest and erroneous claims that Jesus Christ fathered children and the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei is a murderous sect.
Dr. Bock cited the very liberal Christian scholar Dominic Crossan, often seen on PBS shows "debunking" evangelical Christianity. Crossan said, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it must be a camel." Even a liberal scholar agrees that with all the evidence to the contrary, Dan Brown chose to advance this erroneous theory that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene.
Dr. Bock said since Jesus is all man and all God, that even if Jesus had married, it wouldn't change the power of his salvation. But the truth is, we, the Church, are the Bride of Christ.
Another excellent source is from Josh McDowell who wrote the excellent Evidence that Demands a Verdict and many other great books, and now offers booklets called The Da Vinci Quest for giving away. A carton of 36 is $58 which covers shipping. http://www.josh.org/
He says if we just answer "It's fiction," people will think we're uninformed and in denial or something. It provides answers re art history and early church history, specifics from the novel to impress the skeptic and refute Brown.
The council of Nicea did not determine that Jesus was divine. The church believed that from the very beginning eyewitness reports.
Also, during the Renaissance, when Leonardo painted, it was typical to depict young men students as clean-shaven with long hair, which he did with John the Beloved Disciple seated next to Jesus. Leonardo--and that's his name, Da Vinci is his address--depicted wilderness man John the Baptist the same way. If Leonardo did paint Mary Magdalene next to Jesus instead of John, because Jesus and Mary were allegedly married, then where is the "beloved disciple"? Under the table?
Leonardo never referred to the Mona Lisa by that name. She was called "Lisa...(wife of ) Giocondo," or "La Giaconda" until Leonardo's biographer called her Mona Lisa. It has nothing to do with the masculine and so-called sacred feminine.
The Gospels were not proven wrong by the Dead Sea Scrolls! The DSS did not even refer to the New Testament!
Other so-called gospels were written by the Gnostics who had a pov of their own to promote. The apostle Paul addresses those who were bothered by those presenting "another Gospel," "another Jesus."
When DVC first came out, I read it and returned it for a refund, stating I could not support anyone who said Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married.
It bothered me enough that I bought Breaking the Da Vinci Code.
Later, two summers ago, I had the opportunity to travel with Clan Carmichael in Scotland. We visited Rosslyn Chapel outside of Edinburgh, which happens to be where TDC ends. There is no Star of David on the floor. But in the bookstore of this church, I was appalled to see they sold The Da Vinci Code. That chapel is selling a book that states that the church has lied for 2000 years!
Knowing we would visit Rosslyn, I carried Breaking the Da Vinci Code with me on the trip. When I saw TDC in the bookstore, I went back to the bus to retrieve Bock's book. I wanted to show it to the bookstore manager and ask him to at least sell this one too. But we were on a schedule and the bus had to leave.
"Email them," I was told. Well, that's not the same, but I did so, and heard back--nothing.
In Revelation 3, the Holy Spirit speaks of the Laodicean church which is poor, wretched, miserable, blind and naked--and too blind to know it. Powerless. Vulnerable.
Some teach that Revelation 3 represents not only local congregations, but time periods, and the lukewarm Laodicean church is the last church period before the Second Coming of Christ. Today's church.
(Bill Bright also lamented this poor state of the U.S. church compared to the growing church in the Third World in his book co-authored with Ted Dekker, Blessed Child. )
Dr. Bock urged the church to do what Jesus told Mary Magdalene to do. She was the first person He commissioned to spread the Gospel--a woman, mind you! Like her, we are called to go forth and tell everyone the truth.
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50221 Whose God May We Mock?
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50165 Josh McDowell
Southern Baptists reply: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23206
and http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23291
Catholic Church comments, Tom Hanks defends movie.... http://www.thisislondon.com/til/jsp/modules/Article/print.jsp?itemId=22582687
http://www.davinciandjesus.com/?src=overture Da Vinci and Jesus
Josh McDowell's podcast: http://pcgmedia.org/davincianswers.html
More sources:
Peter Marshall http://www.petermarshallministries.com/commentary.cfm?commentary=55
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50231 British tax rules to provide Sony with 100 million pounds because it was partially shot in the United Kingdom.
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23210 Teabing says in the novel, “The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God” (page 231). But the earliest followers of Christ were committed, self-sacrificing persons, both men and women, who were willing to die because they believed in Christ’s divinity and in His role as Savior.
