Kim Gentes

At the heart of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code is a distrust of organized religion rooted in the historical legacy of violence and pain propagated by the church. Brown uses this truth to validate the fabrication of fictional theories that condemn Christianity as a vast conspiracy developed by centuries of plots and schemes from leaders within the religious organization. At the core of Brown’s novel is brilliant retelling of the heresy of Gnosticism. Quite simply, the DaVinci Code seeks to convince the reader that Jesus is not God and that the Christian church has tried to propagate the Deity of Christ as a myth to hold its power over the people for centuries. Brown’s compendium put forth in DaVinci Code is done so with the hopes to abolish violence and persecution in the name of God. Though a worthy intent in its abolition of violence, its modus operandi actually abolishes God Himself by making Christ a man and God an optional fiction.

To examine the DaVinci Code we must look at its honest statements and articulate them, or we will miss how cleverly Brown conceals his fiction within historical (and painful) truth. Since Brown uses 450 pages to weave his yarn, a thorough response would require at least a quarter of that to flesh out fully. Without that luxury, we will focus on narrowly showing his two positive contributions in the book and a few prime errors, keeping this to a very short review. Let’s begin with what DaVinci Code contributes positively in its pages.

Brown’s disdain of the legacy of violence done in the name of Christianity is not without sympathy, either by myself or thoughtful leaders in Christianity over the years. For this, many would agree with DaVinci Code’s attention to the blight of sin that the Christian church is guilty of in its centuries of existence.  In various times and through various leaders, Christianity has been at the center of a number of deaths and tortures, inquisitions and crusades, all of which should be considered a travesty of the Christian church.  Evidence does not need to be cited for this, as the inquisitions, crusades and deaths of “heretics” (pre and post reformation- John Calvin did this too) are evidence enough of Christian dogma and organizational structure and power gone horribly wrong. DaVinci Code returns to this touchstone a number of times to repeatedly anchor its story to the terrible and vulnerable wound that is the tragedy of Church history.  By doing so, Brown reinforces an emotional receptivity to his layering fiction, which rarely returns to historical or biblical fact.

Further, the Da Vinci Code also points out a mixture of Christian artifact and symbology with pagan and other non-Christian cultural influence. Many of the traditions (Christmas, etc), symbols and some (Platonic) thought were borrowed from pagan foundations. This is true in part, and Brown should not be dismissed when he brings up this point. Brown stretches this truth beyond reality however, and begins to make up his own facts about the Holy Grail, Mary Magdalene and other major characters in the Christ story. That said, Brown is correct that traditions and symbols in Christian history have been mixed with pagan roots. In fact, at times, this was purposeful- such as the intentional assignment of Christmas to replace a current pagan holiday at the same time. This was Christianity expanding throughout the world quickly, and amalgamating somewhat with other cultures in its wake. Brown clearly takes the tact that because this happened in some cases, that it was diabolical and part of his vast conspiracy.  But, in fact, this was a rather random and spurious effort, a simple method in which Christianity tried to reach into current culture to find a point of entry and connection.  I don’t disagree this happened, but I do disagree that it was an effort at a cover up or conspiracy to hide some greater truth. 

After you recognize that both the sin of Church sanctioned violence (and persecution) and the mixture of pagan and Christian influence do appear in some Christian tradition, you have encapsulated nearly all of the redeemable qualities of Brown’s book.  From there, the DaVinci Code leaves a trail of fiction that layers brilliantly into the final lie of Gnosticism.

The prime error presented in Da Vinci Code is done so on page 233, where fictional historian Teabing says about the Council of Nicaea, 

“My dear...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.”[1]

 And he climaxes his glaringly clear premise with “It was all about power”, after giving a mini-treatise stating that the deity of Christ ensured that the Christian church was the singular vessel of salvation to all mankind.

What the DaVinci Code attempts to do is re-introduce the centuries old heresy of Gnosticism. But historical reality tells us that Brown is far too late for this now. Claiming that the Council of Nicea was the first time in which Christ was considered God simply is not historically correct. The divinity of Christ was clearly believed by Christians for literally hundreds of years before the Council. In fact, a strong point of it is made by a opponent of Christianity, Celsus, in his paper “The True Doctrine: A Discourse against the Christians” which was written in approx. 175AD, fully 150 years before Constantine called together the Council of Nicea.

...Celsus made it absolutely clear that Christians of his time believed in and worshiped Jesus Christ- a man- as God.[2]

In this document Celsus (who was fighting in opposition to Christianity) clearly articulates the Christian belief in Jesus as God, and also in a monotheistic view of God- two seemingly in-congruent facts that led to later clarification in the formalization of the doctrine of the Trinity.

More importantly, early Christians would have been shocked to have heard stories that they believed that Jesus was anything less than God come in the flesh, since the vast amount of first century persecution came about from the Jews, whose chief complaint about Jesus was that He and his followers claimed he was God. This is clear in John’s gospel in chapter ten, where he records the Jews speaking with Jesus:

but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"

"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."[3]

The central reason Jesus was killed, according to the Jews who killed him, was his claim to divinity. Ironically, this claim is what ultimately made his resurrection possible.  Jesus could certainly die due to his humanity, but would not stay dead, due to his divinity.  People then, as now (in Dan Brown’s case), could not bring together the dichotomous thoughts of God and man in one person.  Though clearly expressed in Christ and the disciples teachings (visa vi the New Testament), they would require later explanation from many great leaders up to, and including the Council of Nicea, which was the last major discussion of this point, and that only in the face of arguments from the dissenting Arius. 

The DaVinci Code also follows the path of the Gnostics in his clear articulation of the “Priory of Scion” and the Knights Templar.  While using actual historical organizations, his rendering of them is on Hollywood scale creating fictitious constructs by giving fresh life to the age old claims of gnosticism which revolve around “secret knowledge” that supposedly can enable the “true believer” to finally ascend beyond the confines of material, earthly understanding and have understanding and communion with the divine.  The secret society in Brown’s book also holds amazing knowledge (in the form of dozens of cryptic secrets, again supposedly kept hidden by conspiring church leaders) that will “unlock” truth to all people, including knowledge of Mary Magdalene as Jesus secret wife, Jesus as only a man, a secret lineage of Jesus children, and even the ability to commune with God through the sexual act at the point of climax (a time at which the “gnosis” becomes clear).

Each of these points are clearly references back to ancient gnosticism, though reclaimed in Brown’s fiction writing as “hidden facts” that humanity has been kept from. On page 244 characters Teabing and Sophie discuss the character of Mary Magdalene:

“Unfortunately for the early editors, one of particularly troubling earthly theme kept recurring in the gospels. Mary Magdalene... More specifically, her marriage to Jesus Christ.... It’s a matter of historical record.”[4]

Since the gospels clearly detail Mary Magdalene and her role in the time of Jesus, and the veracity of the gospel records are as historically verified as any documents of that age, this claim is blatantly untrue.  No such fact about Mary Magdalene being Jesus wife is ever brought up in the New Testament, in the early church documents or even by those who were heretical challengers then or later in history (of whom it would have advantaged them to believe). For example, Arius and others would have well been eager to agree with such information to prove that Jesus was not God, yet this is never mentioned by any of the Gnostic heretics.

Another incredulous discussion in the book is Teabing again railing against fact when he talks about the canonization of the Scriptures and how the gospels were chosen:

“The fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great...”

“He was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed, too weak to protest.”[5]

While Constantine was not baptized until nearly dead, he certainly did hold to many Christian practices during his life.  His conversion to Christianity, according to the historian Eusebius, dramatically altered his life and moved him to all but make Christianity the new religion of the empire. Not arguing that he was without mixed motives in his reign, Constantine did preside over the Council of Nicea, which was the final meeting in which the books of the Bible were canonized. However, the books had largely been determined by three hundred years of use and scrutiny in which the gospel list, and the New Testament candidates were all but sure. Only a few books (not the gospels) were still regarded as being in some conjecture: the John’s book of “Revelation of Jesus Christ”, the book of James (both of which were determined to be added in), a book called the Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistle of Clement and others (which did not make it in).  The influence of Constantine on the finalized list of canonized books at the council is debatable, but his influence on the options considered by the council is clear- he did not predetermine those, they were brought to the council in a relatively unchanged state since nearly 150AD.  No other major gospel records (complete stories of Jesus life) were even considered by the time of the Council of Nicea. Constantine did not choose the books of the gospels as the DaVinci code story claims.

In short, the Da Vinci Code is a clever fiction that revives the heresy of Gnosticism on two major fronts. It reclaims that Jesus was not the one and only God come in the flesh and that true ascension to God is only possible via secret information.  Brown’s book is a sad testament in a way, for while an exhaustive and deep research of the feminine deity in history, iconic symbology and gnostic writings were put into play to help him populate the details that fill his story, he plays fast and loose with proper application of those details by ignoring the context and meaning of many and thus attempting to rewrite history in this fictional yarn.  The normal purpose of using history at all is to build clarity to a truthful overarching story.  In Brown’s case, he abuses the power of history and historical fact by purposefully misinterpreting them to create a new narrative that is in every way the category in which his book is found: fiction.

Product Link on Amazon: Da Vinci Code

Review by Kim Gentes

[1]Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (New York, NY:Random House Inc, 2003), Pg 233

[2]Roger E. Olson, The Story of Christian Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), Pg 34

[3]John the Apostle, Gospel of John, Holy Bible/NIV , John 10:32-33

[4]Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (New York, NY:Random House Inc, 2003), Pg 244

[5]Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (New York, NY:Random House Inc, 2003), Pg 231 & 232