So what's the harm in that, you might ask? In today's society, especially in the West, most people including (especially) Christians don't know their own history and can be easily mis-led.
For example, I recently heard a Professor of New Testament Theology talking about his first year students. On the first day of class on the New Testament, they come in to the classroom with their textbooks and notebooks. Their textbooks are New Testaments; the Professor introduces himself and the class and says; "Let's get started. Will everyone please turn to the book of Hezekiah.” Most (8 or 9 out of 10) of the students are instantly and frantically flipping through the pages of their New Testaments trying to find the book of Hezekiah. I don't say this to belittle anyone, but if people planning on a life in the ministry don't know that there is no such book, then it is definitely a barometer on the lack of education of our times.
In light of this book and the subsequent movie many (including me) think that there is a danger for both Christians and others to be even more misled than ever before.So what are some of the claims the book makes? I won't get too in depth here, but if you really want to know more about it you should visit our website The Reality Check, go to the Commentary section and look for the article "The DaVinci Code Hype" that will be appearing shortly. However, some of the claims that he (the author) makes throughout the book are nothing short of historical revisionism. Things like, the Bible is full of sexual rituals, secret societies, condones mistreatment of women, goddess worship, Jesus never claimed to be God, and so on...It brings together Gnosticism, the Legend of the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar, the Merovingian Bloodline myth and some interesting mathematical and art related clue dropping and unraveling.
Gnosticism is the belief that there is some sort of secret knowledge that brings us to a point of Salvation. Something we know that others don't that is the key. Secret rites and rituals, information, experience, understanding are the things that keep us safe. It has already infiltrated our society in things like "Knowledge is Power", "The more you know", and "It's not who you know, but what you know." Secret societies like, Free Masons and others are still prevalent today. Education is important, but not God, today Science has become the religion of the masses.
The Legend of the Holy Grail has many forms; the most well know of which is portrayed in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" with Sean Connery and Harrison Ford. But the truth is that there is nothing to tell us that the Holy Grail exists and if it does nothing to tell us what it actually is. In some versions its a rock cut from the stone that was rolled away from Jesus' tomb, in another it's a piece of the shroud that was wrapped around Jesus in the tomb, in yet another it is the spear tip that pierced the side of Christ, and finally of course the cup of the Last Supper which also is purported to have caught the blood of Christ as it poured from his side while on the Cross.
The Grail Legend goes hand in hand with the Knights Templar. Supposedly, according to Brown, they are integral to the whole thing. History says that the Knights Templar were finished after Phillip confiscated their lands and wealth and had them falsely accused of blasphemy and made them confess under threat of torture. As a side note, this all happened on Friday October 13th 1307, and is the reason that we think of Friday the 13th as an unlucky day. This order historically is thought to have ended at the death of Jacques DeMolay, the head of the order, and he has since had a youth branch of Free Masonry named after him. There is evidence that the Knights Templar did continue after the death of DeMolay and went to Scotland. They are alleged to still exist and to guard the secret (gnosticism) of the Holy Grail.
The Merovingian Bloodline has to do with the alleged 'fact' that Jesus didn't actually die on the cross, but only swooned and was nursed back to health. Subsequently they story of the resurrection was made to keep him safe and he ended up marrying Mary Magdalene and they had children. To make a long story short, that bloodline is the supposed bloodline that makes the royalty of the crown heads of France.
Mix this all together and you get The DaVinci Code. He takes some real myths and historical organizations mixed with hypothetical and outlandish allegations, throws in a ton of falsified 'facts' and covers it all up and publishes under the fiction category. The problem is this, it can be convincing to many who don't get into the details of history, which is most of the Western world! Thus possibly giving Christianity a black eye.
Did I peak your interest yet? Hope so. Want to know more? Watch the website for the article "The DaVinci Code Hype" and if you want to, feel free to go to the forum and start a thread or comment on one that exists. Go to the movie and have fun, the book is entertaining, and with Tom Hanks in the starring role, I'm sure the movie will be as well. But remember, it's fiction designed to be entertaining and no matter how much of it is set in the real locations and using some real names it's fiction not history and definitely NOT TRUTH.
