President Mahinda RajapaksA was justified in banning the book

THE DA VINCI CODE - FACT, FICTION AND RELIGIOUS FRICTION

CARL MULLER COMES DOWN LIKE A TON OF BRICKS ON THE CENSORED MOVIE...

Released in March 2003, Dan Browne’s The Da Vinci Code quickly made The New York Times bestseller list. A year later, it was declared a bestseller in 100 countries, while Doubleday, the publisher, called it “the all-time bestselling adult novel.” The author claims to have given the world a fictional, fact-based conspiracy theory alleging “scientific evidence that the New Testament is false testimony.” [p. 341]. But a “good read” combined with bad history is not something we can stake our lives on. Christians I have discussed the book with, in most cases, were confused. One said, as so many others, “I don’t know where to turn now. I read The Da Vinci Code. It was an interesting book until I got to the part where he is talking about how Christianity began and how it’s all false and that Christianity is basically a lie and stolen from pagan religions. The secret societies, the Holy Grail, the church changing facts, removing parts of the Bible. How true is all this? And so much of it makes sense. There are things that I had heard of before and ignored. But I’ve got to know now! Is the last 30 years I’ve been a Christian all a lie? Did it all really happen? Was Jesus just a man and was he married to Mary Magdalene? Is everything I was raised to believe just made up for the sake of money? I’m beginning to doubt if there is a heaven, a God, and a Jesus.”

Contradicting Christianity

Not what I expected to hear, but re-reading the book, I found that it has a story line that makes it difficult to know where the truth begins and ends. Although it is written as a novel, this conspiratorial murder mystery claims to be based on well-researched historical facts - facts that contradict historical Christianity.
The book begins with the murder of Jacques SauniŠre, curator of the Louvre Museum in Paris. As he is dying, Jacques hears his murderer say, “When you are gone, I will be the only one who knows the truth.”
The truth. In an instant, the curator grasped the true horror of the situation. If I die, the truth will be lost forever. [p.4]

With a bullet lodged in his stomach, the curator is gripped by -A fear far greater than that of his own death. I must pass on the secret...He thought of the generations who had come before them...of the mission with which they had all been entrusted. An unbroken chain of knowledge. Suddenly, now, despite all the precautions ...despite all the fail-safes...Jacques SauniŠre was the only remaining link, the sole guardian of one of the most powerful secrets ever kept. Shivering, he pulled himself to his feet. I must find some way... [p. 5]

While in Paris on business, a Harvard professor, Robert Langdon receives an urgent call. The curator of the Louvre Art Museum has been found murdered. The police are baffled by an encoded massage left by the dead man and written with his own blood. Langdon follows the trail which leads to clues left in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. He is joined by cryptologist Sophie Nevue, SauniŠre’s granddaughter, and together they discover that the dead curator was part of a secret society, the Priory of Sion, whose members included Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Behind the scenes, Opus Dei, a Catholic lay organisation, is plotting to prevent the discovery of an ancient secret, the Holy Grail, kept hidden in the Priory of Sion for centuries. If discovered, it would shake the foundations of the church and the faith it has proclaimed for millennia.
Dan Brown’s plot draws strength from public knowledge of the past and present church scandals and critics have recommended it as a good and provocative read. But many Christians, and especially Roman Catholics are shaken by the book’s alleged exposè‚ of the historic church and its Bible. Since followers of the Christ stake their lives on the Biblical record, The Da Vinci Code touches a nerve when its alleged expert declares:
“The church has two thousand years of experience pressuring those who threaten to unveil its lies. Since the days of Constantine, the church has successfully hidden the truth about Mary Magdalene and Jesus. We should not be surprised now, once again, they have found a way to keep the world in the dark.” [p.407]
From the early days of the Christian church, Gnostics promoted a different view of the Christ. They claimed to have a “secret knowledge” that was necessary to know the truth about God. Regarding the second-century teaching of Gnosticism, The New Bible Dictionary says:
“From the standpoint of traditional Christianity, Gnostic thinking is quite alien. Its mythological setting of redemption leads to a depreciation of the historical events of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Its view of man’s relationship to God leads to a denial of the importance of the person and work of [the] Christ, while in a Gnostic context, “salvation” is not understood in terms of deliverance from sin, but as a form of existential self-realisation.”
Although the Gnostic gospels are 2nd and 3rd century writings, Brown regards them as the “lost books of the Bible” that represent the true picture of Jesus and his teachings. Secret knowledge, goddess worship, and self-deification emerge as an alternative theory to the historic record of the Bible. Early church leaders found consensus in determining whether ancient Christian documents were sacred by asking some basic questions:

* Was it written by an apostle of the Christ or by someone who has direct contact with the apostles?
* Did the writings in question receive wide acceptance as being consistent with the teachings of the Christ and the apostles?
* Did they bear the mark and effect of spiritual power and truth?

None of the Gnostic gospels measure up to the New Testament standard of reliable documents. Instead of being consistent with the earliest and mot reliable eyewitness accounts, and instead of resting on the foundations of the Jewish scriptures, the Gnostic gospels reflect a world-view that is foreign to both Old and New Testaments.
And yet, there are so many I know who are taking “The Da Vinci Code” seriously. On its title page, Brown claims:
“All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.”
In addition, he offers a lengthy list of acknowledgements that leave the impression that all of these prestigious sources and institutions collaborated with him in his research. Since so much of the complex plot and theme development are dependent on Brown’s claim of legitimate research into real people, times and places, it’s easy for the reader to assume that the backbone of the book is credible because the heroes of the novel are “seekers of truth”, they seem to be leading us to higher ground, as when a Harvard professor says:
“I’m a historian. I’m opposed to the destruction of documents, and I would love to see religious scholars have more information to ponder the exceptional life of Jesus [the ] Christ.” [p. 342].
On closer look, however, the book’s alleged factual basis does not stand up. In his book The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code Richard Abanes writes:
Most critics would acknowledge that Brown has the right to say whatever he wants to say. What is problematic, however, is the way that he, his publisher, and the media have been presenting The Da Vinci Code as a fact-based exposè‚ wherein the characters reveal truths long hidden from, or, at the very least ignored by, the general public.” [p.9]
This observation is important because Brown has repeatedly insisted that his novel is based on fact. During an interview, he said:
“One of the many qualities that makes The Da Vinci Code unique is the factual nature of the story. All the history, artwork, ancient documents and secret rituals in the novel are accurate - as are the hidden codes revealed in some of Da Vinci’s most famous paintings.”
This is what makes the book so misleading. It claims to be an accurate portrayal of history, but it is a clever mix of fact and fiction! Then are we to accept it as historical fiction and leave it at that? Oh no! Historical fiction is a genre of literature in which imaginary characters live within the realistic boundaries of known facts. In her work, Using Historical Fiction in the History Classroom [Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute], Sarah K. Herz writes:
“The author of historical fiction must blend historical facts with imagination and creative style to master his art. He must be a master of the past so as to portray accurately, ideas, attitudes, tendencies and themes and weave his story - accurate in all its details - into the thematic materials...Historians and novelists often differ in their points of view about the historical novel and its purpose. However, both agree that the writer of historical fiction must not distort past reality; the writer must not manipulate historical facts to make the novel more interesting or exciting.”
By this definition, The Da Vinci Code would need to develop its plot with historical integrity. When challenged on his facts, the author cannot rightfully say, “It’s only a novel.” This only places his readers in a schizophrenic world of fact and fiction. What he has done is write an “alternative history” without giving his readers the ability to see where his facts begin and end. Literary scholars may see the difference, but how many others will?

Crooked history

Let’s see how this crooked history of the book plays out with elements that are alleged to be factual. There are claims about the Holy Grail, the Priory of Sion, and the Knights Templar. Are they historically true? The book claims that the legendary Holy Grail is not the chalice used at the Last Supper. Instead, Brown uses his “experts” to suggest that the real Holy Grail is a person - Mary Magdalene - who carried the bloodline of Jesus by having his child. The book also treats as fact the existence of a secret society called the Priory of Sion which, for centuries, has kept the secret of Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene who, according to this bestselling novel, represents the feminine aspect of God [the divine feminine] loved by Jesus but denied by the church for hundreds of years.
The Knights Templar are also included as protectors of the secret, but were all but wiped out by the church. Shall we now subject these “facts” to a reality check? The Holy Grail is a medieval legend about the cup of the Last Supper. The first appearance of the term was in 1170, in Percival - a romantic writing about the legend of King Arthur and the kingdom of Camelot. Brown altered the legend and used it to advance fictional claims about Jesus and Mary. The Priory of Sion does have its basis in fact, but not in the sense that Brown portrays it. The title has been used three different times.
At first, it was a monastic order founded in Jerusalem in 1100 and absorbed by the Jesuits in 1617. The second and third Priories of Sion were under Pierre Plantard [1920 - 2000] - an anti-Semitic Frenchman who was jailed in 1953 for fraud. In 1954, Plantard formed a group called the Priory of Sion to help those in need of low-cost housing. Then, in the 1960’s and ‘70’s he created a series of forged documents to prove the existence of a bloodline descending from Jesus and Mary Magdalene through the kings of France to himself and claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne. He and his associates called themselves the Priory of Sion and send copies of these forged documents to libraries all over France as well as to the National Library. In 1993 however, Plantard admitted under oath to a French judge that he had fabricated all the documents. The judge gave him a severe warning and dismissed him as a harmless crank. Readers will find all this in detail if they log on to www.priory-of-sion.com

Not as portrayed

The Knights Templar are also based in history but not as Brown portrays them. They were founded in 1118 as a military religious order but they did not become wealthy by discovering the secret of the Holy Grail. Brown bolsters the significance of the Priory of Sion by claiming a little-known connection to Leonardo Da Vinci and Isaac Newton, but he bases these assertions on Plantard’s fabricated documents called Les Dossiers Secrets d’Henri Lobineau. Brown uses these as legitimate documents. In the light of all this, other “factual” claims of Brown’s book also need to be carefully looked at.
And what of Opus Dei? Early in the book, a “tortured soul” by the name of Silas is introduced as the faithful assassin doing the “work of the Lord.” Silas turns out to be a member of Opus Dei, complete with spiked belt for self-mortification and a willingness to murder all enemies of the secret society. Brown begins his book by stating:
The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic sect that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as ‘corporal mortification’.
Here again, the book alleges to have uncovered “secrets” about the church. The truth is that the real Opus Dei is a Roman Catholic lay organisation that emphasises piety and good works. Its founder, Josemaria Escriva was born in Babastros, Spain in 1902, and created Opus Dei, or Work of God to empower lay people instead of focusing on the spirituality of the clergy. The characteristics of Opus Dei are self-denial and sacrificial good works within the context of the Roman Catholic Church, but it is portrayed by Brown as existing solely to protect the documents of the Priory of Sion pertaining to the secret relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
Brown also claims that -
Powerful men in the early Christian church ‘conned’ the world by propagating lies that devalued the female and tipped the scales in favour of the masculine...Constantine and his male successors converted the world from matriarchal paganism to patriarchal Christianity by waging a campaign of propaganda that demonised the sacred feminine. [p. 124]

Women

It is public knowledge that followers of the Christ have not always treated women with the love and respect that Jesus himself showed the women who followed him. Yet, the truth is that the persecuted groups listed by Brown were not specifically targeted because of their gender. The Inquisition targeted men and women - priests, nuns, artists, transients, and political enemies among others. To the extent that Brown is right about the Church’s devaluation of women, it is correct to say that followers of Jesus missed the spirit of their own scriptures and their leader. For 2000 years, the Bible has urged the renouncing of the fertility cults and goddess worship of pagan religions, but it has also urged its readers to reject the patriarchal culture that treats women as servile, as sexual objects, or as property. Jesus’ treatment of women and the apostle Paul’s teaching [in Ephesians, 5:25] that men should love their wives as Jesus loved the church, has brought about a change and the church has raised the status of women from “legal property” to what St. Peter [1. Peter 1:7] said of their relationship as “co-heirs in [the] Christ.”
The New Testament portrait of Mary Magdalene is in sharp contrast to Brown’s vision of her. According to the gospel of Mark, Jesus delivered her from seven demons [16:9]. Grateful for being freed, she became a follower who, along with many others, provided financial support to Jesus and his disciples. [Luke 8:1-3]. She was also the first to see Jesus after his resurrection [John 20:11-18]. The New Testament gives us a picture of Jesus and Mary that is honourable and above reproach. Their relationship is consistent with that of a woman who, along with the others, followed a man who could heal withered legs, turn water into wine, heal the lepers, walk on water and raise the dead. There is no hint of any romantic involvement. Also, the New Testament gives indirect evidence that he never got married. In 1 Corinthians 9:5, Paul asks, “Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?” Wouldn’t Paul have included Jesus’ name if he were married? But no evidence seems to convince Brown, who has one of his main characters claim:
“Almost everything our fathers taught us about [the] Christ is false.” [p. 235]
In the context of a novel, such a statement could reflect “freedom of speech” and rotten speech at that. Darryl Bock, research professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary says in his book, Breaking the Da Vinci Code [p.41]
Most scholars have long believed that Jesus was single...No early Christian text we possess, either Biblical or extrabiblical, indicates the presence of a wife during his ministry, his crucifixion, or after his resurrection.
Bock then gives three arguments against Brown’s claim that Jesus and Mary were married:
1. Mary Magdalene was never tied to any male when she was named - [Matthew 27:55-56; Mark 15:40-41; Luke 8:2; and John 19:25].
2. A ministers right to marry was cited without reference to Jesus [1 Corinthians 9:4-6]
3. Jesus showed no special concern for Mary Magdalene at the cross [John 19:25-27]

But I have met with the argument that even though the Bible gives us compelling reason to conclude that Jesus and Mary never married, why should those claims be trusted over the claims of the Gnostic gospels and The Da Vinci Code. Let me remind that the trustworthiness of any document depends on its ability to stand up under time-tested criteria.
Long before the invention of the printing press, Aristotle used well-reasoned criteria for recognizing the trustworthiness of an ancient document and listed three guidelines:
1. Was the person an eyewitness to the event he recorded?
2. How many copies of the record do we have and how close are they to the event they describe?
3. Are there other sources outside the document that corroborate the document’s claims?
To this day, historians follow these guidelines and they remain the foundation of the science of textual criticism. The Gnostic gospels reflect Gnostic doctrines and there is no record of witnesses. Also, they were written some 200 years after the life of Jesus. It was, I could say, an “anything goes” effort! And this is just what The Da Vinci Code is - another “anything goes” exercise that has put millions in the author’s pocket!
In the New Testament, Timothy warns about the deceiving spirits and the doctrines of demons. Dan Brown has distorted fact, referenced writings of well-known enemies of the church, made unproven claims of “genealogical documents” that have never been found. It’s a sad thing, actually - because the truth about Jesus is more amazing than any fiction he can ever write...and far more believable!