CRACKING THE DA VINCI CODE

1
CRACKING THE DA VINCI CODE
2
The Perfect Storm . . .
3

• The Plot
• Jacques Saunière is murdered in the Louvre.
• His niece, Sophie Neveu (New Wisdom), and Robert
  Langdon, Professor of Religious Symbology,
  unravel two mysteries simultaneously
• 1) Who killed Jacques Saunière, and why?
• 2) The identity and location of the Holy Grail.

4

• The Holy Grail
• 1) Mary Magdalene who was the chalice that
  carried the offspring of Jesus.
• 2) Historical documents that prove that Jesus was
  actually married to Mary Magdalene and that they
  had children together.
• 3) The identity of Jesus heirs, up to the
  present day.

5

• History of Christianity as presented in The Da
  Vinci Code
• Constantine and the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325)
• Invented the divinity of Christ.
• Commissioned and financed our current Bible.

6
(No Transcript)
7

• History of Christianity as portrayed in The
  Da Vinci Code
• Constantine and the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325)
• Invented the divinity of Christ.
• Commissioned and financed our current Bible.
• Mary Magdalene took the children of Jesus to
  Europe where they eventually established the 6th
  century Merovingian Dynasty.
• After the 11th century, all these secret truths,
  coupled with the worship of the divine feminine,
  were passed down through secret societies.
• The Knights Templar and Priory of Sion
• Leonardo Da Vinci was Grand Master of the Priory
  of Sion from 1511-1519.
• ThroughoutCatholic Church tried to eradicate.

8
(No Transcript)
9
CRACKING THE DA VINCI CODE
10
(No Transcript)
11

• Cracking the Code Question 1
• Did a secret society, or an association of secret
  societies, keep pagan goddess worship alive and
  protect the secret knowledge of Jesus wife and
  children throughout the Middle Ages?
• Along the way did they provide esoteric clues to
  what they were doing?
• Was Leonardo Da Vinci a Grand Master of one of
  the societies?

12

• NO
• No medieval secret societies propagating
• Paganism
• Witchcraft
• Druidism, etc.
• No Rosicrucianism or Freemasonry before the 17th
  century
• No Priory of Sion
• Les Dossiers Secrets were forged by Pierre
  Plantard in the 1960s

13
Leonardo Da Vinci 1452-1519
14

• The Last Supper (Milan)

15

• Detail of John
• The Last Supper
• (Milan)

16

• Saint John the Baptist
• (Louvre)

17

• Virgin of the Rocks
• (Louvre)

18

• Historiographical Problems
• Coincidence Becomes Connection
• when you take a conspiracy approach to history

19

• Historiographical Problems
• Coincidence Becomes Connection

One must synthesize . . . it is not sufficient
to confine oneself exclusively to facts.
20

• Historiographical Problems
• Coincidence Becomes Connection

synchronicities that cannot be ignored
21

• The connection changes the perspective
• Umberto Eco, Foucaults Pendulum

22

• The connection changes the perspective

23

• The connection changes the perspective

24

• Conspiracy theories are attractive
• they offer
• secret knowledge.
• believable explanations to historical events.
• And they are virtually impossible to disprove.

25

• Historiographical Problems
• Coincidence Becomes Connection
• Similarity Becomes Equivalence
• Biases Color Conclusions

26

• Cracking the Code Question 2
• Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene?
• Did early Christians revere Mary Magdalene as the
  representation of the sacred feminine?
• Was Orthodoxy a patriarchal power grab?
• Was the memory of Mary smeared by the church in
  order to discredit those who worshipped her?

27

• Mary Magdalene, Jesuss marriage, and the sacred
  feminine?

No mention of Jesus being married to Mary in the
orthodox or the Gnostic gospels
All Jewish men were not married.
Christianity was firmly rooted in JudaismNo
goddesses!
28

• Cracking the Code Question 3

Did the Emperor Constantine Falsely
convert? Invent the divinity of
Jesus? Rewrite the Bible? Destroy scores
of authentic gospels?
29

• The Da Vinci Code, pp 231-234
• Jesus was a historical figure of staggering
  influence, perhaps the most enigmatic and
  inspirational leader the world has ever seen. As
  the prophesied Messiah, Jesus toppled kings,
  inspired millions, and founded new philosophies.
  . . . Understandably, His life was recorded by
  thousands of followers across the land (231).

30

• Constantine was a lifelong pagan who was
  baptized on his deathbed, too weak to protest. .
  . . Unfortunately for him, a growing religious
  turmoil was gripping Rome. Three centuries after
  the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christs
  followers had multiplied exponentially.
  Christians and pagans began warring, and the
  conflict grew to such proportions that it
  threatened to rend Rome in two. Constantine
  decided something had to be done. In 325 a.d., he
  decided to unify Rome under a single religion.
  Christianity. . . . Constantine was a very good
  businessman. He could see that Christianity was
  on the rise, and he simply backed the winning
  horse (232).

31

• Constantine called the Council of Nicaea where
  many aspects of Christianity were debated and
  voted onthe date of Easter, the role of bishops,
  the administration of the sacraments, and, of
  course, the divinity of Jesus. . . . 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. .
  . . Jesus establishment as the Son of God was
  officially proposed and voted on by the Council
  of Nicaea (233).

32

• Because Constantine upgraded Jesus status
  almost four centuries after Jesus death,
  thousands of documents already existed
  chronicling His life as a mortal man. To rewrite
  the history books, Constantine knew he would need
  a bold stroke. From this sprang the most profound
  moment in Christian history. . . . Constantine
  commissioned and financed a new Bible, which
  omitted those gospels that spoke of Christs
  human traits and embellished those gospels that
  made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were
  outlawed, gathered up, and burned (234).

33

• Fortunately for historians, some of the gospels
  that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed
  to survive. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in
  the 1950s hidden in a cave near Qumran in the
  Judean desert. And, of course, the Coptic Scrolls
  in 1945 at Nag Hammadi. In addition to telling
  the true Grail story, these documents speak of
  Christs ministry in very human terms. Of course
  the Vatican, in keeping with their tradition of
  misinformation, tried very hard to suppress the
  release of these scrolls. And why wouldnt they?
  The scrolls highlight glaring historical
  discrepancies and fabrications, clearly
  confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and
  edited by men who possessed a political agendato
  promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and
  use his influence to solidify their own power
  base (234).

34

• The Conversion of Constantine (AD 312)
• No reason to believe it wasnt authentic.
• Perceived by Christians at the time as a miracle.
• The Council of Nicaea (AD 325)
• No one was arguing that Jesus was simply a
  mortal prophet.
• Debated how Christ was divine . . . not whether.
• Belief in the deity of Christ, and attempts to
  explain it theologically, go back to the 1st and
  2nd centuries (e.g. Ignatius of Antioch and
  Tertullian).

35

• Gnosticism and Gnostic Gospels
• DualisticHigh unknowable God who didnt create
  the evil physical world. Many spiritual
  emanations between God and creation.
• Salvation by realizing (having the
  knowledgegnosis) that one is essentially divine
  and releasing the divine spark within to escape
  this evil physical world and reunite with the
  spirit world.

36

• Gnosticism and Gnostic Gospels
• Nag Hammadi Library 13 codices (books) found in
  a jar near the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi in
  1945
• Contains 45 different Coptic textssome Christian
  some not.
• Includes Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Philip,
  Gospel of Truth, Apocalypse of James, Acts of
  Peter and the Twelve Apostles, etc.

37
(No Transcript)
38

• Gnosticism and Gnostic Gospels

A majority position?
More reliable than the NT?
Full of info about Jesus being married to
Mary?
More focused on Jesus humanity?
Less patriarchalmore egalitarian?
39

• Formation of the Canon
• Canona rule or standardThe list of
  authoritative Christian texts.
• The Muratorian Canon (written c. 180, not 325!)
• Generally standardized by the end of the 2nd
  century.
• Finalized at a council in Rome in 382.

40

• Formation of the Canon
• On what basis?
• Apostolicity (close association with the
  apostles).
• Texts of widely recognized value.
• Orthodoxy.
• Not the work of one man or one committee!

41

• Conclusions
• We have a strong foundation.
• We need to listen to our culture.
• Be ready to share our understanding of Jesus.
• But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone
  who asks you to give the reason for the hope that
  you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
  . . .
• 1 Peter 315