Breaking the Da Vinci Code

Scripture Text: 2 Peter 1: 16 -18 / 1 John 4: 1- 4

Introduction To “Breaking The Da Vinci Code”

The movie “The Da Vinci code” has just been released in cinemas across the island based on the best seller “The Da Vinci Code” written by Dan Brown. Why is this film causing such a stir in the Christian Community at large? If the Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction, why are the people taking its claims so seriously?

What Is The Da Vinci Code About?

It is a thriller story involving a renowned Harvard symbologist who is summoned to the Louvre Museum to examine a series of cryptic symbols relating to the Da Vinci artwork. In decrypting the code, he uncovers that the Catholic Church has alleged to conspire and hide the “truth” about Jesus Christ and are willing to stop at nothing, including murder.

The Question Is: Why Should We Be Concerned About The Novel Or For That Matter The Movie?

Although the novel is a work of fiction, it claims to be meticulously researched and it goes to great lengths to convey the impression that it is based on fact. The writer has a ‘fact’ page at the front of the book that underscores the claim of factuality. The problem is that many of the ideas that the book provides are anything but factual.

Controversial Claims made by Dan Brown

A The Bible was collated by the paganistic Roman Emperor, Constantine. Therefore, the writings that contain Jesus’ human traits known as the Gnostic Gospels were suppressed by Constantine to cover-up the real life identity of Jesus for political reasons.

B Jesus Christ was actually only a mere man. But He was elevated to a ‘divine’ position as a result of a vote held in 325 A.D at the council of Nicaea – a convention of bishops.

C Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and they had children who intermarried with the French royal line.

As Christians – how should we respond to the novel or the movie? We should ponder on these three questions:-

A Where did the Bible come from?

B Did Emperor Constantine collate the Bible and rewrite the history of the church with regard to the Person of Jesus Christ?

C Is the New Testament reliable?

Application

A If the Apostles knew that what they believed in Jesus Christ was a lie, would they have been willing to lay down their lives to die for their belief?

B How well do we know the Bible to be able to defend God’s truth and confront the lies against the Scriptures?

Let us turn to the Bible and consider it in the light of Dan Brown’s controversial statements.

Deception #1: Jesus was only a mere man and not God at all

The Da Vinci Code states that Jesus was only a great and powerful man.

1. Evidence from fulfillment of Old Testament Prophesies
The idea of Jesus Christ being truly God was not invented by Emperor Constantine. It is a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies of the coming Messiah to redeem the world, This has been foretold by the Old Testament prophets hundreds of years before the actual event happened. (Isaiah 7:14) (Matt: 1:22-23)

2. Evidence from claims made by Jesus Christ himself
Christ’s divinity is stressed repeatedly in the New Testament, some of which are found in verses , John 5:18; Ex 3:14; John 8:58; John 20:28; and Phil 2:6

3. Evidence from claims made by eye witnesses
a) Testimony by the apostle Paul (Col 1:15-20).
Saul the persecutor of the early church who became Paul the Apostle testified to the fact.

b)Testimony by the Apostle and eye witnesses
The Gospels and Epistles were actual accounts written by either immediate Apostles or assisted by a writer penning the spoken accounts by an eye witness of the life of Christ. He was also seen by five hundred followers.

4. Testimonies by the early church fathers
The early church in the first two centuries was filled with a host of martyrs who died for their belief in Christ.

Application

a) Athanasius made a strong argument in his debate to defend the deity of Christ that only God can save. No creature can save another. Jesus is God, therefore only He can save. If He were less than God, He would not be able to save humankind. Because Jesus saves, He must be God.

Deception #2: Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene?

Dan Brown’s claim that Jesus was married was derived from its myth from the Gnostic Gospel of Philip. It refers to a verse where Jesus is alleged to have kissed Mary Magdalene and had aroused jealousy of the male disciples. This verse does not say that Jesus was married. Dan Brown draws his own conclusion from the reading, The Theological Seminary states that most scholars have long believed that Jesus was single. No early text we possess, either biblical or extra-biblical indicates the presence of a wife. Whenever texts mention Jesus’ family, they refer to his mother, brothers and sisters but never to a wife. Furthermore, there is no hint that He was widowed.

Application

We need to ask ourselves if we can trust the Gnostic Gospels in which Dan Brown makes all his references to in his book. These gospels were written 100 to 200 years after the life of Jesus Christ and were lacking in connection to the testimonies of the immediate apostles and eye-witnesses. By contrast, the New Testament has stood the test of scholarly research.

The Greek scholar Aristotle has set three guidelines for trustworthiness of the documents:-

a) Was the person an eye witness to the event he recorded?
b) How many copies of the record do we have and how close are they to the event they describe?
c) Are there other sources outside the document that corroborate the document’s claims?

Our Response - Warning

What should be our response? In 1 Timothy 4:1-2 and 1 Tim 4:16 Timothy warns us that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of the devil. He asks them to take heed of the doctrines they have been taught. Hence, we need to study the word and remain firm in our faith.

Prayer Response

Dear Lord, thank you for making us realize that we need to know your word – to study and meditate on it, so that we would be firmly grounded on the faith and will not be swayed by any other doctrine. Help us to focus on you and on the truth that you have taught us. Help us to be bold to make a stand for Christ. Amen

Devotional based on message by Rev Vincent Goh