Da Vinci Code:
Are You Ready?

Most Christians are either asleep about its effects or not quite concerned about the impact of the best selling novel, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and the upcoming (May 19th) Columbia Pictures movie release, directed by Ron Howard, starring Tom Hanks.

But other Christians are actually excited about all this controversy. Noted Christian apologist Josh McDowell is urging Christians to go to the movie and to read the novel, but only in the context of becoming informed to constructively respond to the inevitable deception stimulated by the book and movie.

Another Christian, Dr. Jim Garlow, co-author with Dr. Peter Jones of a new book, Cracking Da Vinci’s Code, agrees with McDowell that “the release of The Da Vinci Code movie gives the Church a spectacular opportunity that is incredibly rare.” He elaborates that it has been a long time since so many normally disinterested people are suddenly asking questions (or making accusations) about the issues that The Da Vinci Code is raising.

Mark Gauthier, a national director for Campus Crusade for Christ echoes this perspective noting that many people will be going to the movie, have already read the book, and as a result, “This is what people are thinking about. There’s a real desire of people to grapple with serious spiritual issues, not to point fingers.”

Because they see this as a great opportunity to engage, Garlow and Jones are offering to the Church and public The Da Vinci Code Deception DVD with a Leader’s Guide and a four week Da Vinci Code Bible Study (www.grizzlyadams.com) both an adult version and a student version.

Josh McDowell is printing 100,000 copies of The Da Vinci Code – A Quest for Answers and Campus Crusade is printing 500,000 copies of a mini-magazine version as well as a web-based study guide to the film.

The Da Vinci Code has been on the NY Times Bestseller list for over 150 weeks. As of March 13 it was still #3. Random House just released 5 million copies of the paperback version. To emphasize the cultural impact this book is having and how we must “be prepared to give an answer/defense,” be aware that The Da Vinci Code has sold 40 million copies in the 3 years it’s been out!

Other liberal and New Age authors are certainly taking advantage of The Da Vinci Code’s popularity. This week at Barnes & Noble, they have 32 different titles of the same genre or copycats of The Da Vinci Code in the Christian section in prominent display. Books such as The Gnostic Gospels, The Gospel of Thomas, The Holy Grail, The Gospels of Mary, etc. are piggybacking on the popularity of The Da Vinci Code. The liberal media also cannot resist this opportunity, as Dateline, MSNBC, National Geographic, ABC News, etc. are featuring interviews with the authors of The Jesus Papers and proponents of The Gospel of Judas. The effects of this propaganda will be far reaching and long lasting, so we need to mount an effective effort to respond.

What’s the Problem?
For those who have not tuned in to the controversies, the following is a summary of the issues. The Da Vinci Code author, Dan Brown, is a talented writer whose intriguing, clever story has postulated ideas that undermine the essence of Christianity.

Brown positions his book as “historical fiction.” The characters are fictional but the book claims that the “documents, secret rituals, organizations, artwork, architecture depicted all really exist and are accurate.” In national media interviews, Brown claims that when he began his “research” of secret legends refueled by earlier books such as The Holy Blood, and the Holy Grail, he began as a “skeptic.” He thought he would disprove the revisionist stories about the real and suppressed beginning and developments of Christianity, but instead he “became a believer” in those legends.

The controversy surrounds the “fictional-factual” storyline. The following is a brief summary of the storyline: The plot concerns the attempts of Dr. Robert Langdon, a professor of “Religious Symbology” at Harvard who is called upon by a French police detective to come help at a murder scene of a curator at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The victim is found naked with a pentacle design on his stomach made by himself with his own blood, some enigmatic design on the floor, and himself re-creating the position of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Vitruvian Man.

Known only by the readers, the curator was killed by an Opus Dei (a controversial Catholic group) monk who demanded that the curator tell him the location of the “Holy Grail.” The curator passed on the false information to the monk and left the cryptic message before he died.

The clues lead Langdon and a female cryptologist on a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci. They are being chased by French lawmen and matching wits with those in Opus Dei, a clandestine group governed by the Vatican, who are trying to suppress the discovery of the secrets of the Holy Blood, Holy Grail and Bible Code, at any costs.

The “secrets” of the Grail are as follows: The Grail is Mary Magdalene, a royal Jewish descendant and wife of Jesus. At Jesus’ crucifixion, she was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter who became the Merovingian dynasty of France—a royal bloodline. This bloodline documentation and Mary’s remains were discovered by the crusades when they retook Jerusalem in 1099. A sub-group of Opus Dei, the Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar were organized to keep the secret.

Also the secret message in the story is that Jesus was not considered divine until the Emperor Constantine orchestrated the Trinity at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, to quash the elevation of the “cult of the Great Mother” – Mary Magdalene. Brown also connects the Gnostic Dead Sea Scrolls to the storyline indicating that the current books of the Bible were orchestrated and we do not have the correct Canon.

ARC’s Position
We at ARC recognize the value of both positions in the Christian community (those excited about the book and movie and those worried). On the other hand, many Christians, if not most, are not mature in their faith or are actually nominal Christians – not truly converted. The book and movie will be a significant temptation for doubt or even departure from the faith.

Josh McDowell notes that the reason he was motivated to write his responsive book was because parents told him their children had read the novel and as a result, walked away from their faith. With the credibility and bias generated by the liberal mainstream media, the effect of this deception is sure to be magnified. The book and movie will grow even more in popularity. Therefore, parents, pastors, Sunday School teachers, Christian leaders need to be careful to warn their disciples of the deception – especially those immature in their faith.

But on the other hand, we agree that this is an especially timely opportunity to both engage a public whose attention is turned to the issue of the Bible’s trustworthiness, canonicity, the person and work of Jesus, and to engage the Christian community to deepen their understanding of the historical fact of our faith. This is the opportunity to articulately engage an aroused neighbor on the implications of the truthfulness of Christianity.

Take advantage of ARC’s resources. Order our five journals – “The Breath of God” (Inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible), “Do We Have the Right Books” (Canonicity), “Jesus: Legend or Lord” (Pt. 1&2), and “Who Do Men Say That I Am?” We also have a free information packet as well as the 5 recommended books available for you and those who you engage. Prepare your family, church and yourself. Pray for open doors. (top)

Supplemental Guide to The Da Vinci Code (.pdf)