Catholics and Protestants agree on THIS at least??

Question

As far as I have been able to find, Catholics and Protestants both debunk Dan Brown's book "The Da Vinci Code".

I haven't read the book, just so you know, so please give me as much detail as you can about why the book goes against your Catholic or Protestant church doctrines.

BESIDES the "Jesus and Mary were never married" thing, I mean. This is really the only premise of the book I've heard cited as an example of why the book is so flawed.

Surely there must be other reasons??? Other doctrines that the book goes against according to the Catholic and Protestant churches?

Answer 1

It is important to remember that The Da Vinci Code (The DaVinci Code) is entirely fictional. As much as author Dan Brown would like you to believe, The Da Vinci Code has no solid basis historically, Biblically, or theologically. The Da Vinci Code is essentially an attempt to "humanize" Jesus Christ by inventing a story of how His true identity was distorted and hidden for nearly two thousand years. In The Da Vinci Code, Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had children. Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ descendants were the “holy grail” that carries the blood of Christ. The Da Vinci Code states that these facts about Jesus Christ were covered up by the early church in order to protect the idea of Jesus’ divinity. All the Christian books which told of Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene were destroyed. Any evidence of such a relationship was covered up.

Again, The Da Vinci Code is fiction. It has no basis in reality. It is a well-written, entertaining book – but that is it. Dan Brown, the author, is of the persuasion that these ideas about Jesus are true. Since there is no historical, Biblical, or theological basis for his beliefs, Dan Brown presented them in a fictional account. Jesus was not married to Mary Magdalene or anyone else. Jesus did not have any children. Yes, the early church attempted to destroy many “gospels” about Jesus, but they did so because they were almost universally recognized as heretical, not to cover anything up. Even these “gospels” only give hints of a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The church did not cover up the truth about Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene. Rather, the church protected the truth about Jesus being God in the flesh (John 1:1,14).

The Da Vinci Code is in reality an attack on the Person of Jesus Christ. People do not want to believe that Jesus is God, that Jesus is the Savior – so they make up false beliefs about Him in order to create a false Jesus that they can believe in. That is what The Da Vinci Code is all about – presenting a false view of who Jesus Christ truly was…and then explaining why this “truth” has been "hidden" for nearly 2000 years.

Recommended Resource: Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everybody's Asking by Darrell Bock.

Answer 2

I also have not read the book but my wife did. She read it because she knew that a lot of people where she worked were reading it and she wanted to be able to defend the faith against the claims those people would make based on that book.
One of her biggest complaints was that the book was terribly written. She isn't alone in this opinion. Most reviews and discussions I came across came to the same conclusion. Generally, these were people who had no bias for or against the book on religious grounds - it was just a judgment on it as a novel.
It is also historically not viable. And most of his "facts" were stolen wholesale from the works of others (who sued him). And those works that he "borrowed" from were derided by just about everyone as well.
So not only do Catholics and Protestants agree, but so do historians, literary critics, and serious readers. I assume from some comments that I heard when it was all the buzz, that it was readable to a degree if you didn't care too much about the claims made and if you weren't paying much attention to the quality of the writing.
I think the only people the book really appeals to are people who have a grudge against Christianity in general (or the Catholic Church in particular) and people who love any story about vast conspiracies.

†Pax Tecum†

Answer 3

Every theological statement in the book is false.

Every statement about the Bible and which books should be in the Bible is wrong.

For example there was no vote at the Council of Nicea to decide which books belonged in the Bible and which don't belong in the Bible.

Church leaders knew which books were to be included in the Bible 200 years BEFORE the Council at Nicea was called.

There was a vote about accepting the Nicene Creed which clarifies the teaching that Jesus is God. That vote was something like 316 to 2.

Dan Brown clams there was a vote about which books to include and whether Jesus was God and he claims that that vote was close.

Well 316 to 2 is NOT close.

Pastor Art

Answer 4

The Da Vinci Code is filled with lies and half truths about Christianity, the Catholic Church, and even Leonardo Da Vinci.

To find some of the lies and half truths, do a quick search of the Internet or see: http://www.jesusdecoded.com

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

It in my spirit
the spirit bears witness to the things of God
If my spirit says no then it is no

Answer 6

It was a NOVEL! It was meant to be a novel. It wasn't meant to be debunked. It was a novel . . . fiction. Not meant to be true.

Why do people miss that?