Da Vinci Code Questions
Title: Da Vinci Code Questions
Subject: Da Vinci Code
BE READY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DA VINCI CODE
Copyright 2006, by Felix Snipes. Permission granted to reproduce with proper credit and copyright notice)
Most Christians will be asked their opinion about the DA VINCI CODE, which has stayed on the "best sellers list" for many months and will be released as a major motion picture in May. The film is directed by the "wholesome" Ron Howard ("Opie" on the old Andy Griffith TV series) and stars two-time Oscar winner, the "well-loved" Tom Hanks. THE DA VINCI CODE is proclaimed to be the "true" story about Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene, the birth of their baby, the supposed survival of their blood-line today, and the plot by the Catholic Church to hide this information from the public. The book was written by novelist, Dan Brown, who has written that, "All of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact." "Hysterical" would be a better word. This statement is just part of the fiction created to captivate a gullible reader. And I might add, it has succeeded more that even Dan Brown could have imagined. PLEASE REMEMBER, Dear Friend, the book is listed in the "FICTION" section of the NY TIMES best seller list. That should tell us all we need to know. It is a work of fiction disguised as a historical book, and nothing more. Many are fascinated because of the "God shaped void inside of man that can only be filled by Jesus." People are really searching for true meaning in their life. Therefore, the "spiritually-minded" have been interested in the book, in hopes of filling that void in their heart. On the other hand, those who do not want Jesus to be real, think that they have found "historical" proof of Him not being Divine.
Dimitri Severis, gave an interesting commentary when he said, "The whole point of a novel is to create a scenario whereby the reader is addicted to the story and becomes involved with it as well as enjoy it so much that they "advertise" the book through word of mouth. In order to do so, Dan Brown touched on a taboo subject, exaggerating on certain aspects so as to intensify his views and claims through his words."
Frankly, this work of fiction goes far beyond any "skill of writing" or "luck" Brown may have had in creating this book. Based on the results of this book''s influence on people, I believe that his writing was guided by satanic influences. One reason this book has become so popular has to do with the way that the world looks at the Bible and Bible-believing Christians. Frankly, we are not very popular with the unsaved world. This attitude of scorn began with the TV evangelists scandals of several years ago and has been consistently getting worse. This should not surprise us, because the Bible teaches that this will happen in the end days. The unsaved person is open to believing a lie about the Bible because it is in his interest to do so. If the Bible is true then a person living an un-godly life, stands condemned for his life-style.
Brown suggested (actually stated as fact) that Jesus had married Mary Magdalene, and that this is "part of the historical record." In fact this is NOT based on any historical record. This "marriage assumption" is based on a statement in the "gospel of Phillip" which was written 275 years AFTER Christ''s death. This so-called "gospel" was never a part of the Bible and was written for the purpose of advancing the beliefs of a few individuals of that day. The "gospel of Phillip" states that "Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene." Even this false "gospel" does not say that they were married or that they had a child.
By the way, the New Testament, as we know it today, was accepted as the AUTHENTIC WORD OF GOD WELL BEFORE CONSTANTINE. What Constantine did was to simply declare the New Testament to be what was already accepted by the church and certainly ACCEPTED WELL BEFORE THE "GOSPEL OF PHILLIP" WAS WRITTEN. There were NOT "thousands of gospels" floating around as Brown boldly states. THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF COPIES OF THE REAL NEW TESTAMENT, ALL OF WHICH ACCEPTED THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN, TO BE THE WORD OF GOD! The so called "gospels" of Phillip, Judas, Truth, Mary Magdalene, Ruth, Thomas, and others, were written some 150 to 300 years AFTER the life of Christ. Simply because a book has the word "gospel" in its title does NOT mean it is authentic.
One way that we know that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were authentic, has to do with the destruction of Jerusalem which took place in 70 AD. The Jewish Historian Josephus, went into detail about the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in his writings of 74-75 AD. Anything of this importance would have been mentioned in the true Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, IF they were written after that date. Since there is NO mentioning of this fact in the first four books of the New Testament, this is proof enough to me that these are the TRUE GOSPELS, written by the actual Disciples of our Lord BEFORE 70 AD, as were the other books of the New Testament. Thus, the reason for their acceptance as part of the TRUE BIBLE by first century Christians.
Dan Brown goes on to state as fact that Jesus and Mary had moved to France and had a child who became the first of the so-called "Royal Line of French Kings" and that Leonardo de Vinci was part of a secret organization which had tried to preserve this secret in spite of the Church trying to deny it. Evidently, his thinking was that if Jesus had been married, He could not have been Divine. These are NOT "original" ideas. (The French kings had advanced these ideas to foster the belief that they had a "divine" right to rule.) Brown's book is actually a parallel to a pseudo scholarly book published in the 1980's called HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL, which Brown has admitted he read before writing his novel. Possibly, this earlier book did not garner much attention because it was published before the "TV evangelists scandals" when most people still had some respect for Christianity.
Had Jesus actually married, could He have been our Divine Savior? Of course He could! If He had married, it would have been more proof of His "humanity." Writings from the first century church showed that they were more inclined to believe the heresy that Jesus was all Divine and not human at all. Not being familiar with the writings of the early church fathers, Brown claims that "the Divinity of Jesus" was forced upon the Church at Nicaea in the fourth century. Of course we know from the Bible that Jesus was both 100% human and 100% Divine. It is the ONLY way that He could be our Savior!
Brown has a character state that Jesus became "Divine" only when declared so in the Council of Nicaea, "... and by a very narrow vote at that, my Dear." The FACT is that Jesus was accepted as God well before this time. A recent discovery in Israel of the remains of a first century church has an inscription on the floor which calls Jesus, "GOD." Any historian would know that the Council of Nicaea, in 325 AD, was called together by Constantine and Pope Sylvester, for the purpose of answering the heretic Arius, who "claimed" that Jesus was not God. And the vote was NOT narrow ... it was 218 to 2 , RE-AFFIRMING WHAT THE CHURCH HAD BELIEVED ALL ALONG ... THAT JESUS IS DIVINE! Again, Brown tells an outright lie and claims it to be factual!
There was recently a trial in Vinci , Italy , the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, in which the statements from this book were put to test by historians. They concluded that there are hundreds of historical inaccuracies in this book. There are no real scholars who believe neither that Leonardo was a part of any secret organization ... nor that he placed any "hidden" messages in his paintings, as Dan Brown states as fact.
The core of the question is: Did Jesus and Mary Magdalene marry? As with any investigation in every legal court of the world, we should ask the actual firsthand witnesses. Throughout the entire New Testament, written by the Apostles who were with Jesus during His earthly ministry, there is not a single reference to Jesus being married. Though a great deal of the New Testament talks about how married people are to treat each other. However, never is there any comparison of the way Jesus would have shown, by example, the way to treat a mate. There are many comparisons to the way Jesus treated others.
In fact, in 1 Corinthians 9:5 , where the Apostle Paul was defending his own right to marry, he said that he had as much right to have a wife as had "... the other Apostles, the brothers of the Lord (Jesus), and Cephas (Peter)." Had Jesus been married, Paul would not have settled for the argument that the other Apostles were married, but he would have used Jesus, Himself, as an argument that it was OK for Paul to marry.
Dan Brown also states in his work of fiction that Mary was the twelfth Apostle after Judas committed suicide. If that were so, why was Mary Magdalene not with the other Apostles when He appeared to His disciples at the Sea of Galilee ? (John 21) If Mary had indeed been the twelfth Apostle why did the other disciples decide to choose one to take the place of Judas. Acts 1:28 states that Mathias was selected, "... and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles."
Among the other outrageous claims that Brown makes, is that Leonardo da Vinci painted Mary Magdalene into his famous painting of the LAST SUPPER (next to Jesus, painting her instead of John) as a "clue" as to her being the real HOLY GRAIL. His "assumption" is that because John has long hair, he MUST be a "she". For an answer to this let's listen to the words of Leonardo de Vinci, himself, as he wrote about this famous painting, "... each individual should be painted in a certain style according to his station in life and age. A protégé or favorite follower (as John was considered to be) should always ... be portrayed as very youthful, long haired and clean shaven, ''the idea being he has not yet matured enough to find his own way'' (students were also thusly portrayed)." Apparently this typing of individuals to signify their station in life (considered very important information in those days) and their age, was common in that art period. Brown seems to not be familiar enough with art history to know this and that's how he made the error that the figure next to Jesus had to be Mary Magdalene. (from NET ABBEY) Actually, John was the last Apostle to die therefore it is merely an "assumption" that he was the youngest.
So from recorded history, simple realistic logic, AND from the mouths of the Apostles and from Leonardo da Vinci himself we are told that THE DA VINCI CODE is simply a work of fiction . Instead of reading books supposedly ABOUT the Bible, we should spend more time in studying the HOLY BIBLE itself, which is directly from God to us ... then we would not be so easily deceived by the many "false prophets" that are predicted for these end times.
Do NOT be afraid of the book, THE DA VINCI CODE, nor the Movie staring Tom Hanks, which will be released next month. USE this as an opportunity to tell all your friends about the real Jesus . Remember, some may argue with the historicity of these so-called facts, but NO ONE CAN ARGUE WITH YOUR PERSONAL TESTIMONY OF A CHANGED LIFE AS THE RESULT OF YOUR INVITING JESUS INTO YOUR HEART TO BECOME YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR! BOLDLY TELL THEM HOW MUCH JESUS LOVES THEM !
Copyright 2006, by Felix Snipes. Permission granted to reproduce with proper credit and copyright notice)
Most Christians will be asked their opinion about the DA VINCI CODE, which has stayed on the "best sellers list" for many months and will be released as a major motion picture in May. The film is directed by the "wholesome" Ron Howard ("Opie" on the old Andy Griffith TV series) and stars two-time Oscar winner, the "well-loved" Tom Hanks. THE DA VINCI CODE is proclaimed to be the "true" story about Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene, the birth of their baby, the supposed survival of their blood-line today, and the plot by the Catholic Church to hide this information from the public. The book was written by novelist, Dan Brown, who has written that, "All of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact." "Hysterical" would be a better word. This statement is just part of the fiction created to captivate a gullible reader. And I might add, it has succeeded more that even Dan Brown could have imagined. PLEASE REMEMBER, Dear Friend, the book is listed in the "FICTION" section of the NY TIMES best seller list. That should tell us all we need to know. It is a work of fiction disguised as a historical book, and nothing more. Many are fascinated because of the "God shaped void inside of man that can only be filled by Jesus." People are really searching for true meaning in their life. Therefore, the "spiritually-minded" have been interested in the book, in hopes of filling that void in their heart. On the other hand, those who do not want Jesus to be real, think that they have found "historical" proof of Him not being Divine.
Dimitri Severis, gave an interesting commentary when he said, "The whole point of a novel is to create a scenario whereby the reader is addicted to the story and becomes involved with it as well as enjoy it so much that they "advertise" the book through word of mouth. In order to do so, Dan Brown touched on a taboo subject, exaggerating on certain aspects so as to intensify his views and claims through his words."
Frankly, this work of fiction goes far beyond any "skill of writing" or "luck" Brown may have had in creating this book. Based on the results of this book''s influence on people, I believe that his writing was guided by satanic influences. One reason this book has become so popular has to do with the way that the world looks at the Bible and Bible-believing Christians. Frankly, we are not very popular with the unsaved world. This attitude of scorn began with the TV evangelists scandals of several years ago and has been consistently getting worse. This should not surprise us, because the Bible teaches that this will happen in the end days. The unsaved person is open to believing a lie about the Bible because it is in his interest to do so. If the Bible is true then a person living an un-godly life, stands condemned for his life-style.
Brown suggested (actually stated as fact) that Jesus had married Mary Magdalene, and that this is "part of the historical record." In fact this is NOT based on any historical record. This "marriage assumption" is based on a statement in the "gospel of Phillip" which was written 275 years AFTER Christ''s death. This so-called "gospel" was never a part of the Bible and was written for the purpose of advancing the beliefs of a few individuals of that day. The "gospel of Phillip" states that "Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene." Even this false "gospel" does not say that they were married or that they had a child.
By the way, the New Testament, as we know it today, was accepted as the AUTHENTIC WORD OF GOD WELL BEFORE CONSTANTINE. What Constantine did was to simply declare the New Testament to be what was already accepted by the church and certainly ACCEPTED WELL BEFORE THE "GOSPEL OF PHILLIP" WAS WRITTEN. There were NOT "thousands of gospels" floating around as Brown boldly states. THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF COPIES OF THE REAL NEW TESTAMENT, ALL OF WHICH ACCEPTED THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN, TO BE THE WORD OF GOD! The so called "gospels" of Phillip, Judas, Truth, Mary Magdalene, Ruth, Thomas, and others, were written some 150 to 300 years AFTER the life of Christ. Simply because a book has the word "gospel" in its title does NOT mean it is authentic.
One way that we know that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were authentic, has to do with the destruction of Jerusalem which took place in 70 AD. The Jewish Historian Josephus, went into detail about the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in his writings of 74-75 AD. Anything of this importance would have been mentioned in the true Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, IF they were written after that date. Since there is NO mentioning of this fact in the first four books of the New Testament, this is proof enough to me that these are the TRUE GOSPELS, written by the actual Disciples of our Lord BEFORE 70 AD, as were the other books of the New Testament. Thus, the reason for their acceptance as part of the TRUE BIBLE by first century Christians.
Dan Brown goes on to state as fact that Jesus and Mary had moved to France and had a child who became the first of the so-called "Royal Line of French Kings" and that Leonardo de Vinci was part of a secret organization which had tried to preserve this secret in spite of the Church trying to deny it. Evidently, his thinking was that if Jesus had been married, He could not have been Divine. These are NOT "original" ideas. (The French kings had advanced these ideas to foster the belief that they had a "divine" right to rule.) Brown's book is actually a parallel to a pseudo scholarly book published in the 1980's called HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL, which Brown has admitted he read before writing his novel. Possibly, this earlier book did not garner much attention because it was published before the "TV evangelists scandals" when most people still had some respect for Christianity.
Had Jesus actually married, could He have been our Divine Savior? Of course He could! If He had married, it would have been more proof of His "humanity." Writings from the first century church showed that they were more inclined to believe the heresy that Jesus was all Divine and not human at all. Not being familiar with the writings of the early church fathers, Brown claims that "the Divinity of Jesus" was forced upon the Church at Nicaea in the fourth century. Of course we know from the Bible that Jesus was both 100% human and 100% Divine. It is the ONLY way that He could be our Savior!
Brown has a character state that Jesus became "Divine" only when declared so in the Council of Nicaea, "... and by a very narrow vote at that, my Dear." The FACT is that Jesus was accepted as God well before this time. A recent discovery in Israel of the remains of a first century church has an inscription on the floor which calls Jesus, "GOD." Any historian would know that the Council of Nicaea, in 325 AD, was called together by Constantine and Pope Sylvester, for the purpose of answering the heretic Arius, who "claimed" that Jesus was not God. And the vote was NOT narrow ... it was 218 to 2 , RE-AFFIRMING WHAT THE CHURCH HAD BELIEVED ALL ALONG ... THAT JESUS IS DIVINE! Again, Brown tells an outright lie and claims it to be factual!
There was recently a trial in Vinci , Italy , the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, in which the statements from this book were put to test by historians. They concluded that there are hundreds of historical inaccuracies in this book. There are no real scholars who believe neither that Leonardo was a part of any secret organization ... nor that he placed any "hidden" messages in his paintings, as Dan Brown states as fact.
The core of the question is: Did Jesus and Mary Magdalene marry? As with any investigation in every legal court of the world, we should ask the actual firsthand witnesses. Throughout the entire New Testament, written by the Apostles who were with Jesus during His earthly ministry, there is not a single reference to Jesus being married. Though a great deal of the New Testament talks about how married people are to treat each other. However, never is there any comparison of the way Jesus would have shown, by example, the way to treat a mate. There are many comparisons to the way Jesus treated others.
In fact, in 1 Corinthians 9:5 , where the Apostle Paul was defending his own right to marry, he said that he had as much right to have a wife as had "... the other Apostles, the brothers of the Lord (Jesus), and Cephas (Peter)." Had Jesus been married, Paul would not have settled for the argument that the other Apostles were married, but he would have used Jesus, Himself, as an argument that it was OK for Paul to marry.
Dan Brown also states in his work of fiction that Mary was the twelfth Apostle after Judas committed suicide. If that were so, why was Mary Magdalene not with the other Apostles when He appeared to His disciples at the Sea of Galilee ? (John 21) If Mary had indeed been the twelfth Apostle why did the other disciples decide to choose one to take the place of Judas. Acts 1:28 states that Mathias was selected, "... and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles."
Among the other outrageous claims that Brown makes, is that Leonardo da Vinci painted Mary Magdalene into his famous painting of the LAST SUPPER (next to Jesus, painting her instead of John) as a "clue" as to her being the real HOLY GRAIL. His "assumption" is that because John has long hair, he MUST be a "she". For an answer to this let's listen to the words of Leonardo de Vinci, himself, as he wrote about this famous painting, "... each individual should be painted in a certain style according to his station in life and age. A protégé or favorite follower (as John was considered to be) should always ... be portrayed as very youthful, long haired and clean shaven, ''the idea being he has not yet matured enough to find his own way'' (students were also thusly portrayed)." Apparently this typing of individuals to signify their station in life (considered very important information in those days) and their age, was common in that art period. Brown seems to not be familiar enough with art history to know this and that's how he made the error that the figure next to Jesus had to be Mary Magdalene. (from NET ABBEY) Actually, John was the last Apostle to die therefore it is merely an "assumption" that he was the youngest.
So from recorded history, simple realistic logic, AND from the mouths of the Apostles and from Leonardo da Vinci himself we are told that THE DA VINCI CODE is simply a work of fiction . Instead of reading books supposedly ABOUT the Bible, we should spend more time in studying the HOLY BIBLE itself, which is directly from God to us ... then we would not be so easily deceived by the many "false prophets" that are predicted for these end times.
Do NOT be afraid of the book, THE DA VINCI CODE, nor the Movie staring Tom Hanks, which will be released next month. USE this as an opportunity to tell all your friends about the real Jesus . Remember, some may argue with the historicity of these so-called facts, but NO ONE CAN ARGUE WITH YOUR PERSONAL TESTIMONY OF A CHANGED LIFE AS THE RESULT OF YOUR INVITING JESUS INTO YOUR HEART TO BECOME YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR! BOLDLY TELL THEM HOW MUCH JESUS LOVES THEM !