Yes I relize that there already is a blog on this site about the Da Vinci Code but it does not exactly list all the wrong things in the Da Vinci Code. I am going to list all of the false information but first I am going to tell why this book bothers.
There are over 50 million copies of the Da Vinci Code out in print and when I first heard about the Da Vinci Code and what the ideas and theories in it were, I thought of the passage in Revelations and what Jesus said in the bible about false prophets and people that would mislead many away from the truth in the bible. I have studied the book thouroughly and I truly believe that is what this book is doing. Many people today that live in our post modern society do not take time out of their hectic schedule to read the bible and attend church and learn what exactly the bible says. So when they read books like the Da Vinci Code that speaks lies and false information about the bible, people believe it because they themselves don't even know what the bible says. Yes I realize that the book and movie are just cool and action packed but many people do believe the lies and false information that is being presented in this book.
False Information in the Da Vinci Code
1. Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married, had children, and their children became Kings in France.
This is probably one of the most disturbing theories that the book presents. No where in the bible does it say any of this. Dan Brown got this idea from a cult that existed during the 3rd and 4th century. Gnosticsm was the name of the cult and they wrote a group of gospels about the life of Christ that included the Book of Mary Magdalene, the Book of Truth, the Book of Thomas, and a few others. The Catholic Church rejected these books and never put them into print. It says in one of the books that Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene on the .... but the rest of the text is cut off. It doesn't say whether he kissed her on the head, cheek, arm, lips, or what. So Dan Brown assumed that it was on the mouth and since he kissed her on the mouth then they must have had children and since they must have had children then they must have moved to France. Main point- This false knowledge came from the Gnostic Gospels which were found in Egypt in 1946 and dated 200 to 300 years AFTER Jesus's death and these false books were rejected by the Catholic Church and it does not even say the words MARRIAGE, CHILDREN, or FRANCE in these texts at all.
2. In the Da Vinci painting of the Last Supper, Mary Magdalene not John was seated to the right of Jesus.
Dan Brown got the idea that John was really Mary Magdalene because the character in the portrait has long hair and is femine looking. This painting was painted during the Renaissance era and many men dressed in a femine way and wore their hair long. If you look at other portraits of John during the time of Da Vinci, John is portrayed as having long hair and wearing bright colored robes. There are also not any texts indicating that the character in the painting was Mary Magdalene and not John.
3. The Priory of Scion was a secret organization that included Da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and many other famous people and this secret societ kept the secret of Jesus in secret documents.
The Priory of Scion is a real society....that was established in 1957. A French guy established this society because he felt that he was the rightful heir to the throne of France and he eventually took his claim to court. The police went through his home and found the Secret dossier documents that are mentioned in Dan Browns book. These documents talked about the marriage and children of Jesus. The French man later lost his case and he claimed under oath "that the documents were completely false." His false documents also never said anything about Da Vinci or Isaac Newton or any one else.
4. There was a secret vote on the deity of Christ in the early days of the Church and the vote was a "Very close one."
There was a vote in the early days of Church but tt wasn't due to a conspiracy or a secret cover up about christ,it was about the claims that a man had made about the deity of Christ. There is also documented text that said the vote was "close" at all, in fact it was 200 to 2.
5. Mary Magdalene was actually a goddess.
This claim is such hogwash and blasphemy that it makes me very angry that he made this claim. Mary Magdalene was healed of demons by Christ and she worshiped him and even poured incense on him and perfume on Christ. This claim may have come from the Gnostic cult that wrote the Gnostic gospels and existed 200 to 300 years after Christ's death.
This book has been around for about 2 years but the truth of the bible has been around for 2000 years. So before you go and start believing the trash and crap that's in this book, get the facts straight and believe the truth that is the Bible!
Bryan
So is the Davinci Code a work of fiction or non-fiction? I have never read it mainly because it seems a little full of itself. And by itself I meant the author.
The book is fiction, but it does have a few truths. Ok so I will never admit the bible's complete truth. And don't try to defend its truth by attributing it the catholic church. One truth in the DaVinci Code is when Brown mentions the index of banned books. Now that is not just a fairytale. The Catholic Church used its power to censor certain books thats questioned its power, allowing it to completely regulate ideology. Who shall we trust now? Certainly not Dan Brown or the Catholic Church.
Alex J.
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"Follow not me, but you!" -Friedrich Nietzsche
Aren't there codes in everything you read. I always thought things like this were more urban legendnish. Anyway, interesting post.
http://www.progressiveu.org/pmccorkle
People can find codes in anything.
(Shameless self-promotion)
Check out my Da Vinci post: http://www.progressiveu.org/155339-controversy-and-the-da-vinci-code
(End shameless self-promotion)
It's funny how so many seem to miss the part in the book that said the book was fiction. When you open a book it usually states at the beginning where you can find the book (same page as publisher and copyright date). Notice how it can be found under FICTION. I'm assuming at this point there is no need to define fiction to anyone. Yes?
Come on people. Why don't I see anyone saying anything about Nora Robert's books with supernatural aspects? Or better yet Dan Brown's books (FICTION also) about the government?
What I don't think some people realise is that he WANTS THE BOOK TO SELL. What's the best marketing strategy? Word of mouth. This wouldn't be word of mouth per say but if people are talking/writing about it, people are going to hear/see and people are going to want to know. You keep saying this, that and the other thing is wrong with book, and with so many saying the same, other people are going to take interest to see what's the big deal.
So let it go. It was a good book and it's serving it's purpose; getting him on the best sellers list. Do you think reading this book is really going to make everyone go to church? I sure hope you don't. Let people read what they want, believe what they want. If the book is such a bad thing....stop talking about it. The less you hear about something the less you know unless you look it up yourself right???
I'm sure Mr. Brown appreciates what you and so many others are doing for him though. He doesn't have to pay for this publicity after all.
Well, if there's one good thing about the book, it makes people who don't usually read do. Someone's really gotta overanalyze Angels & Demons now. That'll make our lives complete. It'll put the Catholics in an even worse light, but hey, freedom of speech.
Ok people really need to calm down about this.
IT'S A BOOK. A FICTION BOOK.
If you don't like what it's about, don't read it.
I would also like to point out that you think those things are false because of your religion. Not everyone is the same religion as you.
Just because an assertion supports a religion does not mean that it was made because of the religion nor does it mean that it does not have factual merit because it is associated with a religion. Religion is NOT the opposite of fact.
how do you know that there isn't lost content of the bible out there? this is something that i am not sure about myself. however i do believe that john was sitting beside Jesus at the last supper.
First and foremost this book is a work of fiction. Fiction is only there for entertainment. It is in no way a presentation of fact. So your comment that the information in the book is lies is in part true. All stories are lies, based upon a made up world that exists in the author's head. Stories answer the always-asked-almost-never-answered question "What if?". On the flip side of the coin, what if it's not false? Were you there during the time of Jesus? Do you have a first-hand account? Do you really know anything about something that happened when you weren't there?
What if?
i agree with the previous comment that the work is FICTION. It is found in the fiction section of the bookstore, not the historical or non fiction one. And though the Catholic Church and other very religious people are apparently extremely offended by the book, it is in fact fiction. And let's be honest, everyone loves a good conspiracy theory. But that doesn't mean everyone believes them. If anything I think the debate sparked by this book will leave people more intrigued by the Catholic Church and by the Bible in general than anything else, and as a Catholic who loves the Da Vinci Code, it led me to take a more active role in questioning my faith, which i think is something everyone should do at some point. Following blindly and without any questions is more of an easy way out, in my opinion. Bottom line: I don't see what the fuss is, it's a fun and entertaining book (and movie i guess) that I seriously doubt will keep people from believing in Jesus or the Bible, and if the Catholic Church or Christianity in general feels so threatened by it then maybe they should make their own multi million dollar movie refuting the Da Vinci Code, that'll get people's attention. :)
Alex J. asked an interesting question. who shall we trust? Not dan brown or the catholic church. Let's put our trust in Jesus. How does that sound?
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Honestly, I believe that those who are offended by something that goes against what they believe are not as secure in their religion and beliefs as they'd like us to think. Their mindset is threatened, so they lash out in order to try and make themselves feel as though they've got some control and are doing something.
Or they are simply trying to pose arguments that support their side instead of sitting on their butt and taking the blows
How about The Da Vinci Code is just a story? Dan Brown isn't trying to destroy Christianity. People need to learn the difference between fact and fiction.
Honestly, I never really saw why the davinci code caused such a debate. But it seems some people thought it was a work of non-fiction. just to clarify. it is fiction. And to quote tony robinson, "it's like the great works of the romantic period, it's based on enough truth that it creates a fantasy we almost wish was real because it would be mind blowing." Unfortunately, it's not real, and people should remember that.
Hence, Dan brown is not trying to overthrow anyone. He just tried to write a good story. Which he did. though I liked Angels and Demons more
Like what others have already posted: the Da Vinci Code is a work of FICTION. Brown said it himself. There are tons of historical novels about any subject, Christian or not, which have a lot of facts wrong.... but they're FICTION. They're read for enjoyment, not taught as history textbooks.
The problem is that people don't realize theyre picking it up out of the fiction section and not the nonfiction, but i thought it was a pretty good book, interesting story. Angels and Demons was pretty good too, but i still like Da Vinci Code better.
i foudn teh book good even thoguth it was not correct
I didn't even bother to read the passage.
I read the title, and I want to comment that the secret lies in the bible.
And only in the bible.
Da Vinci is just an artist, he's not even mention in the bible.
You just have to read between the lies.
If you're close to God. He will reveal things to you.
Not to force the religion on anybody.
Maybe Dan Brown is Jesus!!!! Or Jesus' long lost brother incarnate. Or maybe HE is the Holy Grail!
Hahaha. He should start a new Christian sect called Brownists. Crazy idea! Oh wait...but isn't that kind of how all the other Christian sects got started? One guy decided he didn't like how things were being taught, so created his own interpretation. Mormons, Baptists, Lutheran...
Have I offended enough Christians yet?
I bet Dan Brown thinks he God now after writing the second best selling novel of all time. I wrote this blog and I still stand by what I said that I believe that many people are still reading this book and seeing the movie and believing it's ideas about the false roots of Christianity; I also believe that many people are reading this book and seeing the movie because of its action and suspense.
I just saw the movie. It's very entertaining. I don't know what all the "Controvercy" is about though? Putting Catholics in bad light? No. The Priests Molesting childeren and the Pope acting like a Nazi toward homosexuals does that.
Hahaha. I definitely agree with you on that one!
"Be absolutely clear about who you are and what you stand for. Refuse to compromise." -Brian Tracy
It just seems like even if you talk about religion in any sort of way in a fictionalized manner, people of religion will get offended. But like I said in a previous blog, since the book is a work of fiction, I don't really see what the problem is.
"Be absolutely clear about who you are and what you stand for. Refuse to compromise." -Brian Tracy
Who the heck is Brian Tracy? Yeah so I still haven't seen the movie and I'm probably not going to, but I heard that it doesn't even follow the book that well and that the ending was completely different.
No Duh moron it's a fiction book it was made of an idea nothing in the book can be proven because even the auther said its all made up. The Bible is stilll right he just wanted top write a book about what iff and nothing more
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It's a [i]movie[/i]. Show me who's claiming it's a documentary, and I'll show you someone who doesn't understand the word [i]movie[/i].
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If a society is willing to give freedom for temporary security, they deserve neither.