Decoding The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown's 2003 historical novel The Da Vinci Code provided some food for thought... or was it just gooyie gum with an odd taste? Take a bite!

Long before Brown put pen to paper the concept of Jesus having been (happily) married and "moving on" (to southern France - in Brown's scenarios) much was written about the life of Jesus after the crucifixion. From the second century onward almost 5 000 pieces of manuscripts have been found - mostly discovered during the 20th century - that beckoned to be included in the New Testament. Since none of the original New Testament gospels have as yet been discovered (only copies and copies of copies exist) we continue to be entertained by the many views in the many debates surrounding the fascinating life of Jesus.

Cracking the code
Described by New York Times as a "riddle-filled - code-breaking - exhilaratingly brainy thriller - " The Times described it as "littered with misconceptions - howlers and location descriptions straight out of tourist guide books." The Da Vinci Code garnered effusive - even ebullient - praise from numerous reviewers. The Library Journal raved - "This masterpiece should be mandatory reading"; the Chicago Tribune marveled that the book contained "several doctorates’ worth of fascinating history and learned speculation"; Salon magazine described the novel as "an ingenious mixture of paranoid thriller - art history lesson - chase story - religious symbology lecture and anti-clerical screed." Carl E. Olson and Sandra Miesel tries to crack the code in this Planet Envoy article

Was Jesus married?

What do we know about Mary Magdalene? The idea that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus is not attested in the Gospels. Eleven passages in the NT address who Mary Magdalene was: She was a beneficiary of exorcism. She was present at Jesus’ crucifixion and was there when Jesus was laid in the tomb. She was present when it was discovered that the tomb was empty. She was further the beneficiary of one of the first appearances of the Lord after His resurrection. It is also unusual that she is identified as Mary of Magdala - because most names of women in the Bible are tied to mates to whom they are related. She is not connected to anyone. If she were married, she would have been so identified... according to Jim Eckman in Issues in Perspective

December - 25th
The Da Vinci Code - on page 232: claims: "Nothing in Christianity is original. The pre-Christian god Mithras - called the Son of God and the Light of the World - was born on December 25 - died - was buried in a rock tomb - and then resurrected in three days. By the way - December 25 was also the birthday of Osiris - Adonis - and Dionysus. The newborn Krishna was presented with gold - frankincense - and myrrh." Read on at aboutbibleprophecy

Why the 'Lost Gospels' Lost Out
"Serapion of Antioch (a bishop from 190 to 211) - who let some of his flock read the Gospel of Peter in church - until he read the book himself. He concluded that it had a heretical Christology - teachings about Jesus that did not conform to other ancient apostolic documents." Ben Witherington III decodes The Da Vinci Code

While code and decoding books race up the book sale rankings - the world's best-selling book - which also happens to be the book most stolen from libraries - have ranked number 1 with such consistency that it is not even mentioned in sales lists anymore: The Bible

The Gnostic texts were written after the books of Matthew (about 65 to 100) - Mark (about 40 to 75) - Luke (about 60 to 80) - and John (about 90) - Richard Abanes

Here - I will give the "other side of the story" that may suggest an entirely different explanation for the "Holbein Code - " and how it may very well mesh with the so-called "Da Vinci Code." The True Identity of Fulcanelli and The Da Vinci Code by Laura Knight-Jadczyk

The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs - according to Bart Ehrman - author of Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew.

Interesting and unusual facts about the Council of Nicaea

The Gnostic Gospels: Are They Authentic?
by Douglas Groothuis

Dan Brown official site

Bible facts