Exposing The Da Vinci Code, Pt.1
1 John 2:22-23,26
You may be asking, “Why does all this matter?” 2 words – “Mass Marketing”. In today’s diverse society and brilliant technology, a lie can spread around the world before you can even tie your shoes! This is certainly true with the slick selling of this book, “The Da Vinci Code”.
The times that we live in are full of people that have departed from the truth and are actively deceptive with truth. More than ever do we need truth detectors that expose the deceivers and distorter for who they are – liars and antichrists!
Attempts to demolish the Christian message are nothing new. But what’s amazing with these times we live in is how much mileage a very small group of scholars, authors and theologians get peddling their new brand of Christianity!
You might say that they are getting great gas mileage from their vehicle of deception!
The newest vehicle that these theological heretics and theological lunatics are traveling in is what I call - “Gospel Replacement”. The traditional gospels in their view can no longer be trusted. So let’s throw out 2000 years of trusted scholarship and depend on the “new gospels” for our understanding of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
This is now being done on a regular basis on college campuses and seminaries across this nation.
A group in the United States called “The Jesus Seminar” is pressing their brand of Christianity on a regular basis every chance they get. They have become the “media’s darling” because it fits with their mostly non-existent theology.
According to the Jesus Seminar and Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John can no longer be trusted as the historical records of Jesus, instead “The Gospel of Thomas” and others now present authentic scholarship for Christianity!
Over the past 40 years much of Christianity has been subject to a diet of mushrooms. If you want mushrooms to grow, you keep them in the dark and feed them garbage. What millions of Christians believe today is the result of having been fed religious garbage in the name of Jesus!
As I speak, “The Da Vinci Code” has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for most of 2004. In this book, we hear of a secret society made up of Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci, Victor Huge and the Opus Dei, a Catholic organization, that have uncovered the centuries old cover up of true Christianity. But on one hand Dan Brown says that his book is just fiction, and like those pesky “pop-up ads” on your computer, on the last page and the last sentence Dan Brown writes, “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.”
In an interview on “Good Morning America” Brown said before millions of viewers, “I began as a skeptic. As I started researching “The Da Vinci Code” I really thought I would disprove a lot of this theory about Mary Magdalene and Holy Blood and all that. I became a believer.”
The Los Angeles Times Book Review said of this book, “…Seriously challenges many traditional Christian beliefs, if not alter them.”
So kind of like Indiana Jones, we’re going on an adventure for truth, a journey that takes us through virtual reality to end up with historical reality.
1. False Code #1: Mary Is Jesus’ Wife.
In This book, she is the secret wife of Jesus and the mother of His children!
On page 244, this book also says that Mary Magdalene is in Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper”. By putting her there Jesus is giving her honor. It’s as if Da Vinci was giving us a clue to this special lady in Jesus life.
So Who Is This Woman? Let’s find out.
a. Mary is one of 7 with this name in the Bible.
In Luke 8:2 we find that she is from the city of Magdela. A small city located near the Sea of Galilee.
b. Mary had a demon cast out of her by Jesus.
Luke 8:1-3
c. Mary was present at the cross.
Matthew 27:55-56
She was there with Jesus mother, John and others.
d. Mary was at the tomb as Jesus was buried.
Matthew 27:61
e. Mary was a witness of the resurrection.
Matthew 28:1
She returned with the other woman to anoint his body but he was raised from the dead already. Then they run back to the apostles and no one believes them. For several reasons, but the most important is the fact that in Jesus day Woman were not allowed to be a witness in a court of law, because they were seen as not reliable!
f. Mary clings to Jesus after He appears to her.
John 20:11-18
Key: This is the only account of Jesus and Mary being alone together.
There was certainly nothing sexual about this encounter. Nor did Jesus treat her any differently than any other women, except his own mother.
This is the entire inventory of Mary Magdalene from the biblical record!
So What About Mary In The Gnostic Gospels?
· The Gospel of Philip.
In this 3rd century writing, there is a famous passage that involves Jesus kissing Mary.
It describes Mary as a “companion” of Jesus and of all the passages, this is the most used to prove their point.
63:32-64:10 “And Mary the companion of […] Mary Magdalene. […loved] her more than all the disciples [and used to] kiss her on her […].
The brackets indicate broken spots in the manuscript because of damage. Talk about a mystery to solve!
2 Things Come To Mind:
> There is too little text to work with.
>In bible days there was a kiss of greeting fellowship) that was give to one another. That fill in could very well be her cheek!
· The Gospel of Mary.
It implies that Jesus showed favoritism to her.
17:10-18:21 “And Peter answered and spoke concerning these same things. He questioned them about the Savior: Did He really speak with a woman without our knowledge and not openly? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her (Mary Magdalene) to us?...Then Mary wept and said to Peter, My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think I thought this up myself in my heart? Levi (Matthew) answered and said to Peter, Peter, you have always been hot tempered. Now I see contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That is why He loved her more than us…”
So there you have it! Only 2 texts outside of the Bible indicating a special relationship between the two!
So Was Mary a Prostitute? No!
The Da Vinci Code states on page 254, “This was a secret that the Vatican had tried to bury in the 4th century…in order to defend itself against Magdalene’s power, perpetuated her image as a whore and buried evidence of Christ’s marriage to her, thereby defusing any potential claim that Christ had a surviving bloodline and was a mortal prophet.”
Martin Scorsese’s controversial 1988 film “The Last Temptation of Christ” is one of those perilous movies that use these false gospels to portray un-biblical material to millions.
One scene that had many Christians up in arms depicts Jesus sitting all afternoon in a room outside the bedroom of a Mary Magdalene the prostitute, where he can see and hear her servicing a long line of customers. And it gets even worst later in the film!
Then we have the play that has been viewed in virtually every major media market called “Corpus Christi”. Where Jesus hanging on the cross is having sexual fantasies about Mary Magdalene! Did you know that this play was partly funded by our TAX DOLLARS? NEA is a tax-funded organization spewing this kind of a gospel!
Why don’t these kinds of groups ever defame Mohammad and Buddha? Because Jesus is alive and changing people’s lives! How do you persecute a dead man? You can’t!
And it’s a fulfillment of Psalm 2, “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves and…take counsel together, against the Lord and His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”
Most scholars believe that this incorrect portrait of Mary started with Pope Gregory the Great in 591 A.D.
I’ve heard it said that she was the woman in Luke 7:36-50. The text does not call her by name; this woman could have been an adulteress.
Key: Luke 8:1-3 introduces Mary Magdalene as a new person to the reader. Luke makes no effort to connect her to the woman in chapter 7!
We can solve that mystery and move on!
2. False Code #2: Jesus Was Married With Children.
In The Da Vince Code, Dan Brown tries to convince the reader that Jesus was married and had children that eventually moved to France. And that the church over 200 years tried to cover up this part of Jesus’ life!
A Catholic society called “The Opus Dei” knew the truth of Jesus and fought hard to cover it up.
What is this group about? A 28 yer old priest founded it in 1928. It helps promote holiness among its priest. Criticism comes to Opus Dei because of their intense dedication to the Pope, the bishops and a strict Catholic faith.
You Ask, What Does The Book Base Its Claim On?
a. Not Being Married Would Make Him Un-Jewish.
On page 245, this book implies that Jesus virtually had to be married because He was a Jewish man.
By the 1st Century, there were exceptions to this rule. And we know that Jesus did not follow Jewish protocol in every area. He was serious about his dedication to the Father’s work! Marriage did not add to a man’s Jewishness!
b. As a Rabbi He Would Be Married.
3 Facts Make This A Weak Argument:
· Technically Jesus was not a rabbi and He never referred to Himself as one.
Jesus was not a rabbi in the official role, or in the traditional role. He held no position in the Temple of His day. In fact, the Jewish leaders never thought of Him as one either.
It is true that the Disciples called Him “Rabbi” in Matthew and Mark, but in Luke, he describes Jesus as a “teacher”.
Key: This title is interchangeable with “teacher”.
· His Commitment To The Teaching on Eunuchs.
Mathew 19:10-12
· Essenes Men and Woman lived together in Celibacy.
Archaeological evidence point to the Qumran community at the Dead Sea lived together in celibacy.
Josephus, a famous 1st Century Historian states, “It also deserves our admiration, how much they (Essenes) exceed all other men that addict themselves to virtue, and this in righteousness; and indeed to such a degree, that as it has never appeared among any other man…there are about four thousand men that live in this way, and neither marry wives, nor are desirous…”
What Is Our Best Rebuke?
a. 4 Major Arguments Against This Code:
· Jesus Shows No Affection To Mary at The Cross.
In John 19:26,27, Jesus only mentions his concern for His mother and put her into John’s care.
· There’s No Claim of A Wife At The Resurrection.
After His death, Jesus mentions his brothers, sister and mother – some more than once! Why not His widow?
How does one argue from silence?
· Paul Makes No Mention Of Jesus In 1 Corthinians.
This is probably the best argument against this false code!
1 Corinthians 9:4-6
This passage shows:
a. The church was not ashamed to show that its leaders were married.
b. If Jesus was married, Paul could have used Him as an example.
c. No Other Gnostic Gospel Discuss This Subject As A Fact.
If this was a 250-year-old secret, why not record this cover up in more of these false gospels as a fact for the entire world to know?
