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Slide 1:�The Da Vinci Code��The Real Conspiracy Revealed
By Jeff Chacon San Diego Church of Christ
Slide 2:�The Da Vinci Code�
A fictional mystery novel by Dan Brown (2003) Worldwide bestseller Over 60 million copies in print Translated into 44 languages
Slide 3:Barna Research Group�
The Da Vinci Code has been read �cover to cover� by roughly 45 million adults in the U.S. � that�s one out of every five adults (20%). That makes it the most widely read book with a spiritual theme in America other than the Bible.
Slide 4:Barna Research Group�
24% (11 million) adults consider The Da Vinci Code to have been a helpful spiritual document. 2 million adults said that they changed one or more beliefs or religious perspectives because of the book�s content. The Washingon Post: �Read the book and be enlightened.�
Slide 5:�The Da Vinci Code�
Recently turned into a major motion picture with Tom Hanks; directed by Ron Howard Movie trailer: �Seek the Truth� We are led to believe that The Da Vinci Code will reveal to us the truth. Q: But what is the real truth behind The Da Vinci Code?
Slide 6:The fictional conspiracy of the book
The premise of this book is that there is a conspiracy by the Catholic Church to cover up the true story of Jesus.
The title of the book comes from the claim that Leonardo Da Vinci was a member of a secret society (The Priory of Sion) entrusted with the secret truth about Jesus.
The secret of this group is that Jesus had a daughter by Mary Magdalene, named Sarah, and that their family tree extends all the way to the present day � a living royal bloodline.
The sarcophagus containing the bones of Mary Magdalene and ancient documents that tell the true story of her life, according to this secret society, is the true Holy Grail, since Mary�s womb is the metaphorical chalice that bore the royal bloodline of Jesus on earth.
The church, not wanting the truth of Jesus� humanity to be known, has conducted a massive cover up for over 1700 years to conceal this truth from the public.
Quote from The Da Vinci Code ��almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.� (page 255, DVC)
Slide 12:The real conspiracy of the book
But what is the real conspiracy of The Da Vinci Code? Where is author Dan Brown leading us?
If Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child�
And if Jesus was not truly the Son of God, but merely another mortal man like the rest of us�
And if Jesus entrusted the future leadership of the church to Mary Magdalene instead of the Apostle Peter�
And if Jesus and the early church shared the pagan belief that the world is divided into two halves, masculine and feminine, with the feminine half referred to as �the sacred feminine�, and the feminine counterpart to God referred to as �the divine goddess�, who is equally worthy of worship�
And if the Emperor Constantine led the early Church at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. to cover all this up by burning all the so-called �alternative gospels� that supposedly exposed these truths so that the male-dominated clergy would wield more power�
And if �enlightened� people throughout the centuries like Leonardo DaVinci, Botticelli, Sir Isaac Newton and Victor Hugo were a part of a secret society that devoted itself to protecting these truths, giving hints of them in their art and planning one day to make them public so that mankind could be liberated from the destructive effects of male chauvinism in the name of God and enter into a new era of enlightenment where we worship many Gods and Goddesses, or better yet, where don�t need religion at all�
Then obviously we have all been the victims of a massive conspiracy, and it�s time to liberate ourselves from these lies!
We need to liberate ourselves from monotheism and sexism - the worship of only one God � and a male one at that � the God of the Bible!
We need to liberate ourselves from the worship of Jesus as the God the Son!
We need to liberate ourselves from the ignorant belief that the Bible is inspired and authoritative!
And ultimately, we need to liberate ourselves from the tyranny of religion altogether!
Then we can be free to worship several Gods and Goddesses as the Israelites and the early Christian Church supposedly did before this massive cover-up.
We can be free to see Jesus as �just another good teacher� as the early church supposedly did � not as the Son of God.
We can be free to see the Bible as simply a good book, as the early church supposedly did � not as the uniquely inspired and authoritative Word of God.
And ultimately we can be free from the tyranny of religion altogether so that we can live independently from God! This is the hidden agenda in The Da Vinci Code, the real conspiracy�
Slide 28:Let�s piece this hidden puzzle together as we read excerpts from The Da Vinci Code (DVC) and ask ourselves this question: Where is Dan Brown really leading us? (Note: some of this material appears in the book, but not in the movie.)
Slide 29:Excerpt from DVC
�The point here,� Langdon said, motioning back to the bookshelf, �is that all of these books substantiate the same historical claim.� �That Jesus was a father.� Sophie was still uncertain. �Yes,� Teabing said, �And that Mary Magdalene was the womb that carried his royal lineage. The Priory of Sion, to this day, still worships Mary Magdelene as the Goddess, the Holy Grail, the Rose, and the Divine Mother.� (page 275, DVC)
��At its heart, the quest for the Holy Grail has always been a quest for Magdalene � the wronged Queen, entombed with proof of her family�s rightful claim to power.� (page 278, DVC)
�Teabing spoke more quietly now. �The quest for the Holy Grail is literally the quest to kneel before the bones of Mary Magdalene. A journey to pray at the feet of the outcast one, the lost sacred feminine.� (page 277, DVC)
�Sophie,� Langdon said, �the Priory�s tradition of perpetuating goddess worship is based on a belief that powerful men in the early Christian church �conned� the world by propagating lies that devalued the female and tipped the scales in favor of the masculine� Constantine and his male successors successfully converted the world from matriarchal paganism to patriarchal Christianity by waging a campaign of propaganda that demonized the sacred feminine, obliterating the goddess from modern religion forever (page 133, DVC)��
��we are currently in an epoch of enormous change. The millennium has recently passed, and with it has ended the two-thousand-year-long astrological Age of Pisces � the fish, which is also the sign of Jesus. As any astrological symbologist will tell you, the Piscean ideal believes that man must be told what to do by higher powers because man is incapable of thinking for himself. Hence it has been a time of fervent religion. Now, however, we are entering the age of Aquarius � the water bearer � whose ideals claim that man will learn the truth and be able to think for himself. The ideological shift is enormous, and is occurring right now.� (pages 289-290, DVC)
Slide 34:The real conspiracy
The real conspiracy in The Da Vinci Code is where author Dan Brown is leading his readers. But is this really where we want to go?
Replace religion with humanism and place our trust and confidence in ourselves rather than in God?
Extol the virtues of atheism as the supreme enlightenment and laud nature worship and polytheism as a step in the right direction?
Praise pagan sexual fertility rites as appropriate worship?
Here is the type of �worship� that this book exalts and commends to the reader� Note: in the movie, it is a brief flashback that Sophie (the main female character) has of seeing her grandfather engaged in a pagan sex ritual.
�He (Langdon) explained that although what she saw probably looked like a sex ritual, Hieros Gamos had nothing to do with eroticism. It was a spiritual act. Historically, intercourse was the act through which male and female experienced God. The ancients believed that the male was spiritually incomplete until he had carnal knowledge of the sacred feminine. Physical union with the female remained the sole means through which man could become spiritually complete and ultimately achieve gnosis � knowledge of the divine. Since the days of Isis, sex rites had been considered man�s only bridge from earth to heaven.� (page 335, DVC)
Group sex is a spiritual act? Immorality is how we experience God?
And this is the sole means to becoming spiritually complete and ultimately achieve �gnosis�? (�Gnosis� is the Greek word for �knowledge� from which �the Gnostic Gospels� get their name.) Sex rites are man�s only bridge from earth to heaven?
Slide 42:No wonder the Apostles warned us about the destructive teachings of the Gnostic heretics!
Slide 43:1 Timothy 6:20-21
�Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.�
Slide 44:2 Peter 2:1-3
�But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them�bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.�
Slide 45:Cont.
Even the vulgar way that the fictional male experts (Leigh Teabing and Robert Langdon) tell the fictional female character (Sophie Neveu) about the supposedly hidden secret of Jesus and Mary Magdalene�s relationship (the Holy Grail) exposes the book�s ungodliness � hardly a book to be followed in the moral and spiritual areas it claims expertise: Note: this dialogue is not in the movie script.
�Langdon sighed. �I was hoping you would be kind enough to explain to Ms. Neveu the true nature of the Holy Grail.� Teabing looked stunned. �She doesn�t know?� Langdon shook his head. The smile that grew on Teabing�s face was almost obscene. �Robert, you�ve brought me a virgin?� Langdon winced, glancing at Sophie. �Virgin is the term Grail enthusiasts used to describe anyone who has never heard the true Grail story.� Teabing turned eagerly to Sophie. �How much do you know my dear?� Sophie quickly outlined what Langdon had explained earlier� �That�s all?� Teabing fired Langdon a scandalous look. �Robert, I thought you were a gentleman. You�ve robbed her of the climax!� �I know, I thought perhaps you and I could�� Langdon apparently decided the unseemly metaphor had gone far enough. Teabing already had Sophie locked in his twinkling gaze. �You are a Grail virgin, my dear. And trust me, you will never forget your first time.� (page 248-249, DVC)
Slide 47:This is a book of spiritual enlightenment? This is a book that is more credible than the Bible?
Slide 48:Matthew 7:15-19,20
�Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit� 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.�
Slide 49:But this is not about author Dan Brown� Satan is the real conspirator behind The Da Vinci Code
Slide 50:2 Corinthians 2:11
��in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.�
Slide 51:Satan is a schemer
�scheme� = �a secret plot; a secret and cunning plan, especially one designed to cause damage or harm�. (Encarta Dictionary)
Slide 52:Revelation 12:9
�The great dragon was hurled down�that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.�
Slide 53:Satan is the real conspirator
So, Satan is the real conspirator who is constantly devising clever schemes to lead the world astray.
Slide 54:Satan seduces us to sin
(DVC) �Is it surprising we feel conflicted about sex?� he asked his students. �Our ancient heritage and our very physiologies tell us sex is natural � a cherished route to spiritual fulfillment � and yet modern religion decries it as shameful, teaching us to fear our sexual desire as the hand of the devil.� (page 336, DVC)
Slide 55:Satan�s scheme revealed
According to The Da Vinci Code the reason we feel conflicted about sex is that modern religion has taught us to be ashamed of our sexuality and fear it as from the Devil. But our pagan ancestry and the cravings of our human physiology tell us that sex is �a cherished route to spiritual fulfillment�.
Sex is �a cherished route to spiritual fulfillment�?
Slide 57:Proverbs 7:21-22
�With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. 22 All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose.�
1 John 3:7-8 �Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.�
Slide 59:Satan seduces us to doubt
2 Corinthians 11:3-4 �But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.�
(DVC) �Sophie looked skeptical. �My friends who are devout Christians definitely believe that Christ literally walked on water, literally turned water into wine, and was born of a literal virgin birth.� �My point exactly,� Langdon said. �Religious allegory has become a part of the fabric of reality. And living in that reality helps millions of people cope and be better people.� �But it appears their reality is false.�
Slide 61:Are the accounts of Jesus� miracles merely allegorical and not literally true?
Slide 62:Dr. John Oakes
College professor Dual Phd. in chemistry and physics Written four books, including: �Is There a God? Questions of Science and the Bible� �Reasons for Belief: A Handbook of Christian Evidences.� (from article on �Evidence For Christianity� website) �Everyone knew that Jesus was a worker of miracles. He healed thousands of people. Even his enemies indirectly confirm this.�
Slide 63:The Bible is historically accurate � attested to by eyewitness accounts and written down for us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit�
Slide 64:2 Peter 1:16-21
�We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.�
Do not let Satan seduce you to doubt the Bible. It is the literal, inspired Word of God. (More on this later.)
Slide 66:Decoding The Da Vinci Code
We need to separate fact from fiction. 1 John 4:1 �Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.� The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction. It does not stand the test of historical truth.
Slide 67:Decoding The Da Vinci Code
Let�s explore 10 false claims in The Da Vinci Code�
Slide 68:FALSE CLAIM #1
Christianity is simply a compilation of pagan religions
�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. �The newborn Krishna was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Even Christianity�s weekly holy day was stolen from the pagans. �Originally, Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan�s veneration day of the sun.� He paused, grinning. �To this day, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god�s weekly tribute � Sunday.� (page 252, DVC)
Slide 70:Question
Was the idea of Jesus Christ being the Son of God and the Light of the World actually borrowed from a pagan god named Mithras?
Slide 71:Josh McDowell
World-renowned expert in Christian apologetics (proving the truth of Christianity) Was once an �agnostic� who tried to disprove Christianity, but through his research discovered compelling historical evidence that caused him to convert to it instead. Since then, he�s authored over 77 books, including: �Evidence That Demands a Verdict� And �More Than a Carpenter�
Slide 72:Josh McDowell quote
�Specific myths about Mithras� miraculous birth and becoming a �savior god� were modeled after the stories of Jesus and developed after Christianity came to Rome.�
Slide 73:The TRUTH
No wonder the early Church apologist, Justin Martyr (160 A.D.) �referred to the Mithraic meal as a Satanic imitation of the Lord�s supper.� (First Apology, 66)
�With Christianity exploding onto the scene of the Roman Empire, it is evident that other religions adopted certain teachings or practices from Christianity in order to stem the tide of departing adherents and/or to attract Christians to their side.�
And the claim that �Originally, Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan�s veneration day of the sun (DVC)� is equally absurd.
��the Christians have been celebrating their weekly liturgy on Sunday, the first day of the week, since the time of Paul and the other apostles (long before Constantine almost 300 years later).�
Slide 77:Acts 20:7
�On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.�
Slide 78:Justin Martyr quote
The early church father, Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.), confirms that the 2nd Century church continued to meet on Sunday well before the time of Constantine: �And on the day called Sunday there is a gathering together in one place of all those who live in cities or in the country, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read��
In summary, it is a false claim to say that Christianity is a compilation of pagan religions. The truth is that many pagan religions imitated Christianity.
Nobody worshipped Jesus as God before the Roman Emperor, Constantine, made it mandatory. Jesus is simply a mortal man, not the Son of God.
�Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, an entity whose power was unchallengeable. �It was all about power� the early Church literally stole Jesus from his original followers, hijacking His human message, shrouding it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity, and using it to expand their own power.� (page 253, DVC)
(speaking of the Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D.) �My dear,� Teabing declared, �until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet� a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.� �Not the Son of God?� �Right,� Teabing said, �Jesus� establishment as �the Son of God� was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea. ��A relatively close vote at that.� (page 253, DVC)
From the very beginning of Christianity, Jesus was worshipped as the Son of God, some 300 years before Constantine and the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.
Jesus is referred to as �God� at least seven times in the New Testament, and �Lord� as a divine title many other times.
Slide 85:John 1:1, 14, 17-18
�In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God� 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth� 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.�
Slide 86:Reliability of text
This segment of the gospel of John has been discovered and carbon-dated at 175-225 A.D. This is �forensic evidence�, scientific proof if you will, that Jesus was clearly believed to be God at least 100 years before Constantine and the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.
Slide 87:John 20:27-28
�Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!� The Apostle Thomas clearly worshipped Jesus as �God�.
Slide 88:Early Church Fathers
Not only the Apostles, but also many of the most famous 1st and 2nd century church fathers recorded the same belief � long before Constantine and the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.
Slide 89:Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr wrote of Christ, �being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God.� (First Apology, Ch. 63)
Slide 90:Irenaeus
Irenaeus (A.D. 130-200) wrote about Christ, �our Lord, and God, and Saviour, and King.� (Irenaeus, �Against Heresies�, bk. 1, ch. 10)
Slide 91:Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria wrote, �truly most manifest Deity, He that is made equal to the Lord of the universe; because he was his Son.� (Clement of Alexandria, �Exhortation to the Heathen�, ch. 10)
Slide 92:Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch wrote, �For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Ghost.� (Ignatius of Antioch, �Letter to the Smyrneans�, 10)
Slide 93:The early Christians worshipped Jesus as God
Even non-Christian writings from Romans such as Celsus, Pliny and Lucian state that the Christians worshipped Jesus as God.
Constantine did not �turn Jesus into a deity� in order to give the church more power. That is a false claim. The truth is that Jesus was worshipped as God by the Apostles and the early Christian church since the very beginning of Christianity, and that worship has continued to this day.
Slide 95:1 John 2:22
�Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ��
The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) were personally selected by Constantine in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea, to be included in the Bible because they were the only gospels that emphasized Jesus� divinity and downplayed his humanity.
�Aha!� Teabing burst in with enthusiasm. �The fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.� (page 251, DVC)
�More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion � Matthew, Mark, Luke and John among them.� (page 251, DVC)
�Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ�s human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.� (page 254, DVC)
Dr. Erwin Lutzer, author of �The Da Vinci Deception� says: �Constantine did not decide which books would be in the canon; indeed, the topic of the canon did not even come up at the Council of Nicaea. By that time the early church was reading a canon of books it had determined was the Word of God two hundred years earlier.�
The early church father, Origin, writing 75-100 years before the time of Constantine and the Council of Nicaea, writes, �Nevertheless, among all these we have approved solely what the church has recognized, which is that only the four gospels should be accepted.�
The early church father, Irenaeus, only about 100 years after the four orthodox gospels were written, referred to them in his book, �Against Heresies�, saying that it was fitting that she (the church) should have four pillars. Later on he speaks of them as �the Gospels in quadriform.� (Ch. 3.11.8)
�The four New Testament Gospels were written within 10 to 40 years after Jesus� death and resurrection by those who were either eyewitnesses or gathered the records of eyewitnesses. The historical record makes clear that the early Gospel accounts were accepted very early on in the canon of Scripture.�
Slide 104:Seen Elvis lately?
Dr. Erwin Lutzer writes in �The Da Vinci Deception�: �The �Da Vinci Code�s assertion that Constantine tampered with the Scriptures or excluded certain books is bogus� As fabrications go, �The Da Vinci Code� is right up there with Elvis sightings.�
The Gnostic gospels (referred to as �the Sangreal documents� in the DVC) are written by the early followers of Jesus, and implied to have been written in a similar time frame to the orthodox gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).
�The Sangreal documents simply tell the other side of Christ�s story. �(they are) the Purist Documents � thousands of pages of unaltered, pre-Constantine documents, written by the early followers of Jesus, revering Him as a wholly human teacher and prophet.� (page 277, DVC)
The Gnostic gospels were forgeries � claiming to be written by the apostles, but actually written by imposters over 100 years later.
Slide 108:New Testament scholarNorman Geisler
New Testament scholar Norman Geisler writes, �The Gnostic writings were not written by the apostles, but by men in the second century (and later) pretending to use apostolic authority to advance their own teachings. Today we call this fraud and forgery.�
Slide 109:John McManners�The Oxford History of Christianity�
John McManners writes in �The Oxford History of Christianity� about Gnosticism: �Gnosticism was (and still is) a theosophy (a philosophy based on intuition) with many ingredients. Occultism and oriental mysticism became fused with astrology, magic� They collected sayings of Jesus shaped to fit their own interpretation (as in the Gospel of Thomas)...�
Slide 110:Irenaeus
Irenaeus, (AD 130-200), commenting about how the Gnostics used the Bible in his day, said that it is like taking a beautiful picture of a king and reassembling it to become a picture of a fox. (Dr. Erwin Lutzer, �Jesus, Lover of a Woman�s Soul�)
No wonder the Apostles, the early church fathers, and every serious Bible scholar since, has recognized the Gnostic writings as counterfeit Christianity. And yet, they are the primary sources for Dan Brown�s conspiracy theory.
Slide 112:The Gnostic Gospels?Let�s be careful where we get our information�
Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married.
�As I said earlier, the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is part of the historical record.� (page 265, DVC)
The speculation that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married or romantically involved at all is a complete fabrication, and certainly not �part of the historical record� as author Dan Brown asserts.
Slide 116:Josh MCDowell
�First and foremost, there is no historical evidence supporting the marriage of Christ and Mary Magdalene, or that they had a child.�
There is a single verse in a Gnostic writing (�The Gospel of Philip� � not written by Philip) that says Jesus kissed Mary. But greeting friends with a holy kiss was common in the Bible (1 Corinthians 16:20 = �Greet one another with a holy kiss�), and had no sexual connotation. But even if that is what this Gnostic gospel writer had in mind, the �Gospel of Philip� is a forged document, written 150-220 years after Christ by an unknown author. So, it�s statement about Jesus isn�t historically accurate, and there is no other historical document to confirm this theory.
Slide 118:Newsweek Magazine
A �Newsweek magazine� article that summarized leading scholars� opinions concluded that the theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were secretly married has no historical basis. (Barbara Kantrowitz and Anne Underwood, �Decoding the Da Vinci Code�, Newsweek, December 8, 2003, pg. 54)
God has a �powerful female equal� named �Shekinah�, and to experience wholeness with this deity, men must have sex with temple prostitutes as a pathway to union with God.
�Early Jews believed that the Holy of Holies in Solomon�s Temple housed not only God but also His powerful female equal, Shekinah. Men seeking spiritual wholeness came to the Temple to visit priestesses � or hierodules � with whom they made love and experienced the divine through physical union. The Jewish tetragrammaton YHWH � the sacred name of God � in fact derived from Jehovah, an androgynous physical union between the masculine Jah and the pre-Hebraic name for Eve, Havah.� (page 336, DVC)
Shekinah? Advocating sex with temple prostitutes? Are you kidding? (No, Dan Brown is not kidding.)
��Shekinah� is �A term referring to the �glory of God�. The idea that this term is paired with the name of God, Yahweh, so that a male (Yahweh) and female (Shekinah) counterpart exists with God, is simple fabrication.�
�Again, it is apparent that Dan Brown�s facts behind his fiction are in many cases exactly opposite of the truth.�
�Yes, there was a problem in Jewish history with temple prostitution, but this was clearly against the Law of Moses, the prophets, and Jewish tradition. It was actually the adoption of Canaanite rituals, which Moses sternly warned them against (Deuteronomy 23:17-18).�
Slide 125:What would Moses say about polytheism and temple prostitution today?!
The Bible is not inspired by God, and the New Testament is historically inaccurate and therefore unreliable.
�The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God.� (page 250, DVC) ��presenting to the world thousands of ancient documents as scientific evidence that the New Testament in false testimony� the New Testament is based on fabrications.� (page 369, DVC)
The Bible is definitely inspired by God, and the New Testament has been proven to be historically accurate and therefore completely reliable.
Slide 129:Dr. John Oakes
�On the inspiration of the Bible, a lot more can be said. The historical accuracy of the Bible is only a tiny fraction of the evidence for biblical inspiration. I will again refer you to my book, and also three others I have written, all available at www.ipibooks.com. My book �From Shadow to Reality� is jam packed with prophetical information which proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the Bible is inspired by God. �Is There a God� is on the evidence from science for inspiration of the Bible. The prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament provide wonderful proof of the inspiration of the Bible. I suggest the article at my web site titled �Prophecies in the Old Testament Predict Events in the Life of Jesus of Nazareth� for details on this topic�
Slide 130:Dr. John Oakes, continued
�In addition, there is the overwhelming evidence supporting the actual, historical resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus was resurrected from the dead, then the entire gospel message is confirmed, and the inspiration of the Bible is strongly supported. I suggest an article at my web site titled �The Resurrection of Jesus� for more information on that. I could go on almost indefinitely. The internal consistency of the Bible, the lack of contradiction, the evidence for the miracles of Jesus, the non-messianic prophecies and so forth�
Slide 131:Dr. John Oakes, continued
�The evidence for the inspiration of the Bible is simply overwhelming--so much so that there is no excuse for not accepting that the Bible is indeed the Word of God.�
�Using the accepted standard for evaluating the textual reliability of ancient texts, the New Testament stands alone. It has no equal. No other book of the ancient world can even approach the reliability of the New Testament.� For further study: see handouts
That the term �heretic� was born at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. and referred to those who �chose the forbidden gospels over Constantine�s version (DVC)�.
�An interesting note,� Langdon added. �Anyone who chose the forbidden gospels over Constantine�s version was deemed a heretic. The word heretic derives from that moment in history.� (page 254, DVC)
�The term, �heresy� actually dates back several centuries prior to Constantine� It was not Constantine who branded the Gnostic beliefs as heretical; it was the apostles themselves.�
Slide 136:2 Peter 2:1
�But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them�bringing swift destruction on themselves.�
Author Dan Brown asserts that Christianity demonized Mary Magdalene in order to suppress her influence.
Amy Welborn, in her USA Today article, �5 Biggest Flaws in Da Vinci�, points out that �Mary Magdalene is a saint. In every Gospel, she (Mary Magdelene) is cited as the first person to find the empty tomb. She was the second-most revered saint of the Middle Ages, after Mary, Jesus� mother. That�s an odd way to demonize.�
Ironically, the Gnostic �Gospel of Thomas�, one of Dan Brown�s primary sources for his allegation of sexism in the orthodox gospels, has passages in it that thoroughly demean women.
Slide 140:From �The Gospel of Thomas�
(supposedly quoting Peter) �Let Mary go away from us, because women are not worthy of life.� Then Jesus allegedly tells Peter that he will make Mary male so that she may enter the kingdom of heaven. Not much of a battle cry for women�s rights, and yet the �Gospel of Thomas� is one of the primary sources for Dan Brown�s feminist agenda.
That the secret society known as the �Priory of Sion� actually existed in medieval times and had the noble task of protecting the bloodline of Christ.
Slide 142:Excerpts from DVC
�The Priory of Sion � a European secret society founded in 1099 � is a real organization� The modern Priory of Sion has a momentous duty� they must nurture and protect the bloodline of Christ (page 279).�
The modern �Priory of Sion� was created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard. All documents �proving a bloodline� and a list of historical Priory members (such as Leonardo Da Vinci) were proven to be forged by a French court of law.
Slide 144:Excerpt from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia on The Da Vinci Code
��In 2005, UK TV personality Tony Robinson edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of Dan Brown� �The Real Da Vinci Code�, shown on British TV Channel 4. The programme featured lengthy interviews with many of the main protagonists cited by Brown as �absolute fact� in the Da Vinci Code�
Slide 145:Excerpt from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia on The Da Vinci Code, continued
�Arnaud de Sede, son of Gerrard de Sede, stated categorically that his father and Plantard had made up the existence of the Priory de Sion, the cornerstone of the Jesus bloodline theory � to quote Arnaud de Sede in the programme, �frankly it was piffle�� Detailed analysis of many other claims in the Da Vinci Code in the programme showed them to be unverifiable or unhistorical.�
�Brown�s �Priory of Sion� was really a creation of forged documents� The most important strand in the central plot of �The Da Vinci Code�, then, is a total hoax.�
Slide 147:Seek the real TRUTH
1 John 5:19-21 �We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true�even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.�
Verse 19 = ��the whole world is under the control of the evil one.� Satan is the real conspirator�
Verse 20 = ��Jesus Christ. He is the true God�� Jesus is the true God�
Verse 21 = �Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.� An �idol� is anything worshipped that is not the one, true God. Worship the one, true God of the Bible�
Slide 151:�The Da Vinci Code��The Real Conspiracy Revealed

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