Deciphering the Da Vinci Code Index
Preface:
The purpose of this investigation is to determine the accuracy, both historically and theologically, of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, a novel in which controversial views regarding the person of Jesus Christ are expressed and supported. The points made in this book are both significant and relevant to modern culture, as nearly 85% of American society professes to be Christian. In modern Christian churches of all denominations, The Da Vinci Code has cultivated doubt and dissention among believers, many of whom are not well acquainted with the history of the early Christian church. This investigation aims to provide both a summary of that history, and a comparison between it and the early Christian world as portrayed by Dan Brown.
Dan Brown's Claims:
- The person of Jesus Christ is misrepresented by the Church; his first followers believed that he was merely human, possessing no divine or godlike qualities.
- At the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.), Jesus was affirmed as being both God and man by a "relatively close vote".
- The Jesus known by the early Christian church was modified by Emperor Constantine and the Vatican at Nicea, as a conspiracy by the church to "[shroud his message] in an impenetrable cloak of divinity, and [use] it to expand their own power".
- Popular texts in ancient Christendom (the Gnostic gospels) were omitted from the canon of scripture as a part of this conspiracy.
- Jesus was married to Mary of Magdala, but this fact was concealed by his patriarchic disciples.
To examine the validity of these assertions, a knowledge of early Christian doctrine is essential. If the vast majority of the early Church were gnostics, or held different beliefs than those stated in the Nicene Creed (and all Christian creeds thereafter), it is quite possible that Dan Brown's assessment is accurate. However, this quality of the early church must first be known. It is furthermore essential that the origins of the gospels, both Gnostic and canonized, be known. According to Dan Brown, the gospels professed by the Church today materialized at Nicea, while the "secret" gospels from which he takes his facts were present shortly after the death of Christ.
Outline:
Introduction
- What The Da Vinci Code means.
Part One: The Gnostic Gospels
- Our source of information on the Gnostics.
Part Two: The Gnostic Jesus
- How the Gnostics understood Christ.
Part Three: Gnosticism and Brown's Claims
- The Da Vinci Code's constistency with Gnostic belief.
Part Four: The Christian Writings.
- What the earliest sources of Christian teaching are.
Part Five: The Council of Nicea.
- How the proceedings in 325 A.D. fit with Brown's assertions.
Part Six: Mary Magdalene and Jesus
- The role Mary, and women in general, play in Brown's mythology.
It is the aim of this investigation to provide objective, unbiased analysis of Dan Brown's claims which bases its theses solely off of history, theology, and different schools of Christian and Gnostic thought. Through this it will be possible to determine the validity of his statements, as well as what the points raised in The Da Vinci Code may mean for Christians in the future.
Index:
Introduction: What The Da Vinci Code Means
Part One: The Gnostic Gospels
Part Two: The Gnostic Jesus
Part Three: Gnosticism and Brown's Claims
Additional Parts are Currently Being Composed and Will Be Published Soon.
Bibliography - Work in Progress
Gnosticism and Dan Brown - Online Discussion Forum
Expect More Updates Soon. Modifications may be made to this format.
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