Since Dan Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code” was published in 2003, over 40 million copies have been sold. The novel has been translated into over 40 languages, and now has been released as a motion picture movie. “The Da Vinci Code” is a mystery novel with an alternative history concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. This suggested substitute history can cause uncertainty about the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ. The author believes the greatest cover up of all time involves the Lord Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.
Concerning the Word of God
One of the main characters in “The Da Vinci Code” affirms, “The Bible is a product of man not of God. Man created it.” This assertion is absolutely an utterly false and an absurd statement. God’s word is not a product of man, neither did man create it. God brought the word of God into existence; the scriptures came into being by the very breath of God. Literally the word inspiration means “God breathed.” The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). God has also preserved His Word (Psalm 12:6,7). Inspiration involves the words, what was written down, and preservation involves what happened to those words. There are positively no lost books of the Bible. This same character quotes the gospel of Philip and the gospel of Mary Magdalene, as evidence of this secret concerning Christ. Have you ever read the so called gospel of Philip? The gospel of Philip states, “Some neither desire to sin nor are able to sin,” and “the world came about through a mistake...He fell short of attaining his desire.” Clearly these words contradict the very word of God. Concerning the gospel of Mary Magdalene there are many pages missing. These so called “gospels” were never considered to be inspired and therefore were never considered to be included in the Bible. Also the novel claims there were 80 gospels to choose from and that only four were used. It also claims we have the Bible only because of Constantine, a Roman emperor.
Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ
One of the characters in the book asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ was only viewed by his followers simply as a mortal prophet, a great and powerful man but only a man, and his establishment as “Son of God” did not occur until the council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. What about the confessions of Peter (Matthew 16:16-18); John (John:1:1); Nathanael (John 1:47-49); Thomas (John 20:28) and Paul (Philippians 2:5-8), which clearly state that the Lord Jesus Christ is God. “The Da Vinci Code” testifies, “The greatest cover up in human history not only was Jesus Christ married but he was a father.” The chalice that bore the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ was Mary Magdalene. This is another completely false account. How does the author arrive at this conclusion? Da Vinci's picture of the Last Supper supposedly has Mary Magdalene in it and the gospel of Philip uses the word “companion.” Since when is a piece of art more important than the inspired Word of God? This same character avows that, “As any Aramaic scholar will tell you, the word companion in those days literally meant spouse.” What the character does not disclose is that the gospel of Philip was not written in Aramaic but in the Coptic language.
“The Da Vinci Code” is a fictitious novel that blatantly attacks the Word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ and has no scriptural basis for its claims. Millions have read the book or will see the movie and they will believe these falsehoods, question the Bible and the deity of Christ; people will believe this “secret” is really truth.
For believers, we are in a spiritual battle and it is more important than ever to read, to know and to study the very Word of God. If you would like to receive a set of free taped messages on “The Da Vinci Code” please contact the church.
Pastor Stewart McClelland
Altoona Bible Church
3017 Union Avenue
Altoona PA 16602
www.altoonabible.org