Of late, books by Dan Brown, including the infamous Da Vinci Code (and you must be a hermit to not have heard of it), have been ubiquitous. Just take a look around and you will find heaps of brown and blue paperbacks spilling over in the bookstores, and working adults and teenagers alike burying their noses into them on the MRT. On more than one occasion, I have even spotted them making their rounds in church on Sundays! Amidst all the controversy that he has stirred up, one thing is for sure, Dan Brown must surely be laughing all the way to the bank…But jokes aside, why should we Christians have a bone to pick with Dan Brown and his thriller which claims that a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene produced a royal bloodline in France? After all, it is but a work of fiction…which typically does not claim truth; just that in his opening page there is a line which reads: “…all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals are accurate.” And when believers and non-believers alike actually are influenced, and even convinced of Brown’s claims in his fiction, there is a pressing need to examine the personal defence of our faith that we have built up to respond to such allegations.
Sure, of course us Christians will vehemently oppose anything that is contrary to the Bible (Da Vinci Code or not) because it is the absolute Truth to us and what we believe to be the divinely inspired Word of God. So the question at the heart of it all is, why should anyone believe the Bible over Dan Brown or any other author or academic that comes along the way in future to challenge its teachings or authenticity?
The Bible claims inerrancy and endurance, down to the “jot” and “tittle” (Matt 5:18). Meaning to say, if we can find one, just one error in the Bible, why should we be convinced the rest of it to be true as well? That is a huge, lofty claim. Just like the claim Jesus made of being God. It is either extremely foolish, or undeniably true.
But since we are looking at the Da Vinci Code, let us pose the same challenge to Brown’s bestseller. For starters, we find that there is not even a need to challenge the religious claims Brown put forth. All we have to do is find one provable error for him to lose credibility, and make the basis of all his claims crumble.
- Error #1: There are 666 panes of glass in the pyramid of the Louvre in Paris.
- Fact: There are 675 diamond-shaped panes and 118 triangular panes
- Error #2: The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950’s.
- Fact: The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947.
- Error #3: The female protagonist, Sophie Neveu, used Leonardo Da Vinci’s canvas painting of “Madonna on the Rocks” to shield herself.
- Fact: “Madonna on the Rocks” is painted on wood.
- Error #4: The Merovingians founded Paris.
- Fact: Paris was originally a village called Lutetia that was expanded into a city by the Romans.
I really could go on and on. As you know, entire books have been written debunking various ‘facts’ and claims on the Da Vinci Code. But you get the picture. This guy has failed to live up to his bold assertion of being accurate.
Similarly, our belief in the Bible has to be holistic. We either believe all of it, or none of it. Not just the bits about Jesus, but also all the facts and data recorded. Besides simply being a manual for religious teaching, the Bible is also very much a historical artefact treasured by scholars through the years because of its overwhelming evidence of a myriad of fulfilled prophecy, its amazing historical, geographical and archaeological accuracy and not forgetting, its supernatural ability to change lives... Were it secular piece of writing and not a religious one, its authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt!
What is one author from a single cultural background, against over forty different authors whose occupations ranged from military general (Joshua) to fisherman (Peter)? Not only that, the Bible was written over a span of approximately 1,500 years in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and composed on the three different continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. Yet, everything was written on the single, unified topic of God’s remarkable salvation plan for mankind through the person of Jesus Christ! Now THAT my friend, is a tough act to follow if you ask me… And most understandably so, if it has to live up to its claim of being the Word of God.
With historical, religious and, artistic errors found in Brown’s book that makes claims that “main aspects are all true”, it is his word against His Word. There is really no need for a big fuss when the hard evidence is laid out.
Probably next to Mel Gibson’s production of the ‘Passion of Christ’, the Da Vinci Code offers us a valuable educational opportunity to clear up misconceptions of unbelievers, and present the Truth as it is stated in the infallible Word of God. Beyond condemning the contents of this blasphemous piece of fiction, we should not give the watching world any excuse to catch us off guard in our ignorance of what we place our belief in. Additionally, we should also grasp these occasions to fan the flames of interest in the person and work of Christ in others.
In response to Brown’s book, there have been no less than ten books that have sprouted out to debunk its claims. On the other hand, avowed atheists who had originally set out to objectively investigate Christ’s claims and the truth of the Bible, end up being utterly convinced of their legitimacy. They include great minds like C.S. Lewis and more recently, the author of “The Case for Christ”, Lee Strobel – former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune. History is littered with examples of such sceptics whose hearts and minds have been won over in their quest for the Truth.
So at the end of the day, should we then in that case give the Da Vinci Code a read? I personally feel that it is ok so long as we do it with the correct mindset, which is to keep ourselves up to date with popular culture so that in being aware of the errors, we can engage friends in meaningful conversation. But my suggestion is, if you do feel the need to read the book for yourself, borrow it and do not further contribute to Dan Brown’s cash cow of inaccuracies on our Redeemer by purchasing his book.
I have given them Your word;
and the world has hated them
because they are not of the world,
just as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them by Your truth.
Your word is truth.
John 17:14, 17
