Responding to The DaVinci Code

1
Responding to The DaVinci Code

• St. Peters Catholic Church
• North St. Paul, MN
• 17 May 2006

2
Preliminaries

• Who is Dan Brown?
• What is The DaVinci Code (2003)?
• What other books has Brown written?
• What about the facts in the frontispiece of the
  novel?
• The Priory of Sion
• Opus Dei
• Descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents,
  and secret rituals

3
Browns Sources

• Michael Baigent anagram of Teabing, Richard
  Leigh, and Henry Lincoln Holy Blood, Holy Grail
  (1982)
• Margaret Starbird The Woman with the Alabaster
  Jar (1993)
• Lynn Picknett and Clyde Pierce The Templar
  Revelation (1998)

4
Characters in the Novel

• Robert Langdon Harvard religious symbologist
• Sophie Neveu agent of the cryptology department,
  granddaughter of Jacques Saunière, curator at the
  Louvre
• Leigh Teabing British Royal Historian
• Silas Opus Dei monk

5
Leonardo Da Vinci

• Leonardo (1452-1519) architect, musician,
  anatomist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, painter
  17, 4 unfinished
• The Vitruvian Man (1492)
• The Mona Lisa anagram of Amon/Isis? (1503-1506)
• The Last Supper (1498, refectory of S. Maria
  della Grazie, Milan)

6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
The Grail Myth

• Joseph of Arimathea took the cup Christ used at
  the Last Supper and caught some of his blood with
  it as he hung from the Cross.
• Joseph eventually took the cup to England and hid
  it.
• San Greal Holy Grail / Sang Real Royal Blood,
  but this is not correct French which would be
  Sang Royal

15
The Knights Templar

• Founded in 1118 CE to help the newly re-conquered
  Christian Holy Land maintain its defenses against
  Muslim forces seeking to retake it.
• Philip IV (the Fair) sought financial aid from
  the Templars they refused
• Philip demands that Boniface VIII excommunicate
  the Templars he refuses, so Philip sends
  mercenaries to Rome Boniface dies from his rough
  treatment.

16

• Benedict XI lifted Philips excommunication for
  his treatment of Boniface, but did not
  rehabilitate Philips agent Benedict suddenly
  dies.
• Clement V moves the papacy to Avignon he orders
  investigations which find almost no Templars
  guilty of heresy outside of France Philip
  executes 54 Templars

17
Documents about Jesus

• Canonical events / oral preaching / written
  records
• Mark (c. 65-80 CE)
• Q document / Sayings Gospel (c. 40-80 CE)
• Matthew (c. 80-100 CE)
• Luke-Acts (c. 80-130 CE)
• John (c. 90-120 CE)

18

• Non-canonical
• Gospel of Thomas (c. 50 140 CE) 2nd C Greek
  fragments at Oxyrhynchus / c. 340 CE Coptic
  translation at Nag Hammadi 114 Sayings
• Gospel of Peter (c. 70 160 CE) 8th C parchment
  codex found in monks grave at Akhmim in Upper
  Egypt in 1886 CE / 2nd-3rd C fragment found at
  Oxyrhynchus / document first mentioned by
  Serapion of Antioch in 190 CE
• Gospel of Mary (c. 120 180 CE) two 3rd
  fragments (P. Rylands 463 and P. Oxyrhynchus
  3525) published in 1938 and 1983 / longer 5th C
  Coptic translation (Berolinensis Gnosticus
  8052,1) published in 1955
• Gospel of Judas (c. 130 170 CE) Codex Tchacos
  go to National Geographic website

19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21

• Gospel of Philip (c. 180 250 CE) Valentianian
  Gnostic anthology, originally written in Greek,
  now only preserved in a Coptic translation
• http//www.earlychristianwritings.com

22
Canon of Scripture

• Establishing the NT Canon
• Athanasius of Alexandria list for reading at
  Mass (367 CE)
• Council of Hippo (393 CE)
• Council of Carthage (397 CE)
• Criteria used in establishing the NT Canon
• Apostolic Tradition (apostle/co-worker)
• Catholicity/Universality
• Orthodoxy
• Used in the Liturgy

23
Mary of Magdala as Jesus Wife

• Luke 81-3 Follower of Jesus who had seven
  demons cast out of her provided (with other
  women) for Jesus bands needs traveled with
  them in their ministry
• Matthew 2756 Witness to Jesus crucifixion
• Matthew 2761 Present at Jesus burial
• Mark 161 Mary with other women go to anoint
  Jesus body with spices on Easter Sunday

24

• Luke 241-10 Receives proclamation of the
  Resurrection among women who tell the apostles
  of their experience
• John 2011-18 Encounters the risen Lord
  personally becomes apostle to the apostles
• Luke 736-50 NOT the same as the unnamed sinful
  woman who anoints Jesus feet (first yoked by
  Gregory the Great in 591 CE)

25

• No evidence of Jesus married to Mary of Magdala
• No mention of Jesus being married (although
  father, mother, kin are mentioned)
• No mention of Mary as gyne (wife) of Jesus
  (unlike Mary of Clopas or Johanna of Chuza)
• Gospel of Philip
• Mary is called koinonos not gyne
• And the companion of the Mary Magdalene
  loved her more than all the disciples, and used
  to kiss her on

26
Conclusion One page of Chapter 55

• The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of
  God.
• The Bible has evolved through countless
  translations, additions, and revisions.
• History has never had a definitive version of
  the book.
• Jesus toppled kings, inspired millions, and
  founded new philosophies.

27

• Jesus life was recorded by thousands of
  followers across the land.
• More than eighty gospels were considered for the
  New Testament.
• The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by
  the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.