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Faith Fact or Fiction. In the Da Vinci Code…. “One particularly troubling theme kept recurring in the [Gnostic] gospels. Mary Magdalene… more specifically, her marriage to Jesus Christ”.
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In the Da Vinci Code… “One particularly troubling theme kept recurring in the [Gnostic] gospels. Mary Magdalene… more specifically, her marriage to Jesus Christ” The Gospel of Philip says that “‘the companion of the Savior is Mary Magdalene. Christ loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth…’ As any Aramaic scholar will tell you, the word companion, in those days, literally meant spouse.”
In the Da Vinci Code… “Jesus was a Jew and the social decorum during that time virtually forbid a Jewish male to be unmarried… If Jesus were not married, at least one of the Bible’s gospels would have mentioned it.” “The royal bloodline of Jesus Christ has been chronicled in exhaustive detail by scores of historians.”
Okay… now what’s this all about? In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown asserts that the long suppressed secret of the church is: That Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. That Jesus sired a child by the name of Sarah before his death. That Mary had to flee to France where she and her daughter were protected by Jews. That Mary & Jesus’ bloodline continued through the Merovingian dynasty
Okay… now what’s this all about? In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown asserts that the long suppressed secret of the church is: That the Roman Catholic Church has sought to suppress this ‘truth’ That such groups as the so-called Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar have protected this ‘truth’ And that all this is connected to a vicious plan by the Church to suppress women in general and to eradicate goddess worship
Okay… now what’s this all about? I’m not making this stuff up!
Well… how do we deal with this? • Frankly, the historical errors and fantasies of Dan Brown’s imagination are quite amazing. • His claims are so far-fetched as to be laughable.
For example… None of the Gnostic gospels mention Jesus being married! Absolutely, none! Not even the Gospel of Mary Magdalene! In the Gospel of Philip (which, incidentally, is written in Coptic not Aramaic) the word ‘companion’ means companion - not spouse!
For example… It is an ‘argument from silence’ to say that the Gospels of the Bible should have mentioned that Jesus was NOT married. Quite the opposite is true. If Jesus had been married, it would have been mentioned. And there only four books ever written that agree with Dan Brown’s assertion and none of those books were written by historians!
So… the issue is not the history The issue is the damage and doubt created by such careless, irresponsible & thoughtless claims. Look at it this way… If I yell “Fire!” in a crowded movie theater when there is no fire - people will still panic or at least be concerned. And it will be all so unneccessary because there’s no fire!
So… the issue is not the history Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, has yelled “Fire!” and there is no fire! There is absolutely no basis for anything he claims about Mary Magdalene! And yet, simply by making these outlandish claims, Dan Brown has wreaked unnecessary havoc with peoples’ faith and he has cast the seeds of doubt into the heart of men and women!
And that’s not all! The Da Vinci Code also attacked the Church as being anti-woman and as suppressing the feminine gender in general. Consider this quote from the book: “The power of the female and her ability to produce life was once very sacred, but it posed a threat to the rise of the predominantly male Church, and so the sacred feminine was demonized and called unclean… Woman, once the sacred giver of life, was now the enemy.”
But is that true? Has Christianity made women the enemy? Has Christianity and the Church oppressed women in such a way as to make them second-class citizens?
Yes… sometimes it has Sometimes, the Church - in an official capacity - has suppressed a variety of people. It has suppressed minorities, marginalized people, women and children.
For example… Some Christians have cited incorrect interpretation of Scripture to suppress African-Americans. Some Christians have hidden behind their fanciful understanding of God’s Word to attack people who were different from them.
For example… Crusaders attacked Jews & Muslims Bigots attacked Blacks, Hispanics & Asians Protestants & Catholics have attacked each other Men oppressed women
For example… Christians did this They did this, NOT because they were Christians… But because they were sinners, disobeying God!
Just like we are! The oppression of any race, gender, ethnic or religious group stems from the sin that is inside each of us. And it is wrong!
Here’s an example of how it works Genesis 3:16… “To the woman He (God) said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;in pain you shall bring forth children.Your desire shall be for your husband,and he shall rule over you.’”
Here’s an example of how it works Some people interpret this passage as God giving men the right to dominate women. But is that what’s going on?
Here’s an example of how it works No… what God is describing is the consequence of sin. It is describing how human relationships have now become utterly damaged & warped. And that damage can be seen in how easy it is to oppress others!
Here’s an example of how it works So… in this case, the oppression of women by men (which can be seen across all cultures) is NOT the result of God’s original creative process! It is the consequence of disobedience!
Another this: it’s not a matter of suppressing goddess worship, either Any kind of idol worship is wrong! Male, female idols… it doesn’t matter! The First Commandment is and remains in effect! No other gods!
It’s not a matter of suppressing goddess worship, either So… it is NOT wrong to speak against the teachings and idolatry of false religions. This we MUST do. We must speak the truth in love - even when it makes us look intolerant, racist or bigoted.
It’s not a matter of suppressing goddess worship, either Even when we must speak against the worship of Mary Magdalene as a goddess! Which, by the way, doesn’t really happen no matter what The Da Vinci Code says!
Let’s affirm Jesus’ view of women as witnessed to in OUR Gospels: Jesus received and accepted the DISCIPLESHIP of women “ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.” (Luke 10:38-39)
Our Gospels Jesus received and accepted the WORSHIP of women “Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (John 12:3)
Our Gospels Jesus received and accepted the SERVICE of women Soon afterward he (Jesus) went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. (Luke 8:1-3)
Our Gospels Jesus received and accepted the CONTRIBUTION of women Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus… He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John… Priscilla and Aquila heard him… and explained to him the way of God more accurately (Acts 18:24-26)
Our Gospels Jesus received and accepted the WITNESS of women “Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb… But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.’” (Matthew 28:1-8)
The point Jesus was willing to accept and encourage women as an important and contributing part of His Kingdom. Just as Jesus was willing to accept and encourage all sorts of people from all walks of life to be important and contributing parts of His Kingdom.
The point And so should we! Not… because we feel guilty or because we have some need to fit in with our 21st century culture, world or society!
The point Rather… it’s because this is the way God always intended it to be! Since the creation of the world!
If anything good from The Da Vinci Code can be seen It is in the reminder that we have a long way to go in accepting each other and loving each other within the Family of God! We can also be reminded that each of us stand before God as forgiven people - even forgiven of the sin of oppressing others!
If anything good from The Da Vinci Code can be seen In that forgiveness and by the power of God’s Holy Spirit we can work to become what God created us to be! We can become the kind of people who accept & embrace each other - no matter the race, no matter the color, no matter the ethnicity, and no matter the gender!
The Da Vinci Code may get so many things wrong! But we can get this right! And we will! …with God’s help!
