“The Most Serious Assault Against Christianity” is … The Da Vinci Code?

[Soldier4Christ]

It is no secret that Christianity in the USA, UK and other nations is increasingly under fierce attack in the media, in schools, in the courts and, all too often, even in churches. In a culture that systematically seeks to discredit Christ and His Word, theologian (and Chicago-area pastor) Dr. Erwin Lutzer has made this observation: “The Da Vinci Code is the most serious assault against Christianity that I have ever witnessed.”1

In light of such a bold statement, let us take a closer look at Dan Brown’s immensely popular novel, the soon-to-be-released movie of the same name and their possible impact on the church and culture.
The novel

Although Dan Brown would have us believe that “all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate,”2 The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction, complete with good guys, bad guys and narrow escapes. Its protagonist, Harvard cryptologist Robert Langdon, is a fairly passive character with little complexity. Also, the novel’s plot twists are predictable at best, and the writing, although occasionally quite good, is unmemorable. It is passably entertaining as “popular” fiction,3 but hardly the type of novel that would stand the test of time to become a classic. And yet, The Da Vinci Code has become a worldwide sensation.

The great draw to this otherwise unremarkable novel is its central conspiracy theory, which, very simply put, sees Jesus married to Mary Magdalene. After Jesus’ death, Mary then supposedly fled with their child and became, over time, a symbol of the “sacred feminine” of ancient paganism.

This theory is hardly new to Dan Brown; any serious student of ecclesiastical history will be familiar with this ancient (albeit aberrant) tradition, which has long been held as heresy by Catholics and Protestants alike.4 However, one need only delve (and not even very deeply) into the “historical” basis for this tradition to be convinced that it is, indeed, fiction.

Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln5 make this startling admission concerning their own research:

    We sought only to winnow through [the Gospels] — to locate certain fragments of possible or probable truth … fragments that might attest to a marriage between Jesus and the woman known as the Magdalen. … In order to find them, we realized, we would be obliged to read between lines, fill in certain gaps, account for certain caesuras and ellipses. We would have to deal with omissions, with innuendos, with references that were, at best, oblique. 6

But the assault against Christ and His Word, the Bible, in The Da Vinci Code runs much deeper than the mere rehashing of an ancient conspiracy theory. By planting seeds of doubt in the reader’s mind concerning how the Bible came into existence, the novel—and presumably the movie as well—becomes a direct assault against the authority of Scripture. According to Mr. Brown’s fictional historian, Leigh Teabing,7 the Roman Emperor Constantine picked through the ancient gospels and chose the ones that suited his political agenda, thus creating what we now have as the Bible, while willfully suppressing other, more viable, documents.8 (In reality, the canon of Scripture was not put forth at a church council until after Constantine’s death—the Nicene Council of Constantine’s day was much more concerned with the deity and nature of Christ.) Brown’s “fictional” history lesson is pseudo-academic chicanery that has been repeatedly refuted by historical and biblical scholars.9

Ideally, only the very naïve will be taken in by such assertions made in a work of fiction; the sad truth, however, is that much of the population is already very naïve concerning the Word of God, and worse, many are desperate for an excuse not to believe and obey it.10 For them, the cleverly presented falsehoods in The Da Vinci Code will be all the justification they need to continue to deny the authority of the Bible.

Ironically, it is in this context that many readers will first be introduced to the fascinating topic of the “Fibonacci Sequence and Divine Proportion.” See the sidebar for more about this remarkable evidence that supports creation, not evolution.
The assault

Is Pastor Lutzer, then, correct to label The Da Vinci Code as “the most serious assault against Christianity” of our time? In a sense he has come close to the truth, for the greatest attack against Christianity and Jesus Christ is, and has always been, the purposeful assault against His Word. However, in this war, The Da Vinci Code is only a small cog in a much greater wheel. How many theologians and Christian leaders find themselves up in arms against a mediocre work of fiction, while continuing to teach that God’s Word can’t be trusted in all 66 books, especially Genesis? The Da Vinci Code will someday go quietly out of vogue, while generations of Christians continue down that slippery slope of unbelief that begins with compromise. It is on this battleground that the real war is being waged.

Whether or not a believer chooses (with discretion) to read The Da Vinci Code or watch the upcoming movie, it remains imperative to be informed of all aspects of the assault against the Word of God—whatever form it takes—and to “be prepared to give an answer” (1 Peter 3:15) in order to gently and intelligently overcome any obstacle to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Golden Ratio

The book mentions Leonardo Fibonacci di Pisa, a thirteenth-century mathematician who discovered a series of numbers with a very curious quality.

Fibonacci’s sequence begins with zero, then one, then each subsequent number is the sum of the two previous numbers (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.). After the first several numbers, the ratio between any two numbers in the sequence is 1.618 (i.e., the second number is 1.618 times greater than the previous number).

What makes this discovery so significant, and how does it relate to the creation/evolution controversy? The ratio 1.618, known by the ancient Greeks as the Divine Proportion or Golden Ratio, is found virtually everywhere, both in nature and in art, music and architecture. It appears in spirals such as pinecones, pineapples, seashells, horns, sunflowers and many others; it is the ratio between each of our finger bones, arm bones and leg bones. The number of leaves or petals on a plant is often a Fibonacci number; this is why a flower with five petals is more pleasing to the eye than one with four petals.

Our perception of beauty is very often (unconsciously) based on the ratio 1.618. Knowing this, composers and artists—including Leonardo da Vinci—frequently base their works on the Divine Proportion. While many of Brown’s assertions concerning this phenomenon are questionable or outright false,* the ubiquity of the Divine Proportion, or phi, in nature is well documented. It is difficult to imagine a more powerful evidence for design, although Mr. Brown’s fictional characters draw the wrong conclusion.**

* Brown’s assertion, for example, that the ratio of female to male honeybees in “any beehive in the world” is phi; Brown, p. 94.

** “When the ancients discovered PHI, they were certain they had stumbled upon God’s building block for the world, and they worshipped Nature because of that.” Brown, p. 95.

[nChrist]

The Da Vinci Code and other recent assaults against God are really little more than poorly done circus side shows. BUT, it will sell and make lots of money because the devil loves the attempted humiliation of GOD.

It is and will be a sickening obscenity. I know there are many Christians who will fight and attempt to turn this into something positive, but the Name of our Lord and Saviour will be dragged through the mud. Maybe this will wake some Christians up and create some opportunities to witness. It's also true that the opposite of the evil intentions will be achieved in some cases. I obviously don't know, but it's hard to imagine a positive outcome with this garbage and filth.

I'm positive this should be a matter of prayer for every Christian. We can ask God to guide us and lead us into HIS Will. We should all be doing this anyway, but many Christians have been and are on lengthy vacations or they are asleep.

I think this is yet another possible sign of the end of this age of Grace. Regardless, Christians need to wake up, stand up, speak up, and get busy for the LORD. If nothing else, they can at least care for and educate their own families. As a beginning, there are certain words that should never be associated with the Da Vinci Code:

1 - Fact

2 - Truth

3 - Scholarly

4 - Historical

5 - Intellectual

The opposite of these words should be associated with the Da Vinci Code, and millions of people have already paid the devil for this sewage in written form. Millions more will pay for this filth in any media. The sad thing is that many people will believe it's true, including some people who call themselves Christians. Every day should be a time of prayer for Christians.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 139:9-10 NASB  If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

[nChrist]

Baehr Calls Blasphemy, Sexual Immorality Good Reasons to Miss Da Vinci Code

by Mary Rettig
May 4, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A well-known pro-family media critic advises Christians to forego seeing the movie screen adaptation of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code, and he says they should warn others to avoid the film as well.

Dr. Ted Baehr is chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission (CFTC) and publisher of Movieguide, a biweekly journal that reviews and rates films according to their values and family-friendly -- or unfriendly -- content. And when it comes to the kind of content viewers will find if they decide to go see the upcoming theatrical release, The Da Vinci Code (rated PG-13), the Christian movie reviewer says, "There's a lot of good reasons for people not to."

On May 17, two days before the movie's general release, a group of Christian leaders are going to hold a press conference in Washington, DC, to address the issues surrounding the controversial film. Baehr, who will be part of that group, says there is a lot more to The Da Vinci Code's plot than just the assertion that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. That is minor, the critic says, compared to some of the other blasphemous ideas presented in the story.

In the novel and its film adaptation, a Harvard symbologist named Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) teams up with a brilliant French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), to follow clues revealing that the recently murdered curator of the Louvre was involved in an ancient secret society called the Priory of Sion, over which an evil Grand Master presides.

Following clues from the murder scene, Robert and Sophie are caught up in a dangerous mystery as they match wits with an unknown enemy somehow connected with Opus Dei, a clandestine Catholic organization. Opus Dei, according to Brown's story, is believed to have long plotted to seize the Priory's carefully guarded secret -- the secret the "code" supposedly obscures, that Christ was not crucified but instead survived, married, and sired progeny.

Besides the story's more obvious blasphemies, Baehr notes, are other issues that he feels make the movie unfit for Christian audiences. "One of the problems," he explains, "is that The Da Vinci Code's main point is leading up to Sophie discovering that the Grand Master's invitation into eternal life is a sexual ceremony where he's surrounded in the basement with his cohorts in the cult of the Priory, having sex with the temple prostitute."

The CFTC chairman says he has heard some prominent Christians tell other believers to go see The Da Vinci Code because they can use the storyline of the film as a springboard to tell people the truth about Christ. But God's Word tells believers to look upon the good, the true, and the lovely, the Christian film reviewer points out. They are not told to look upon the evil, sexual ceremonies that are contained in the upcoming Tom Hanks movie, he insists.

"In Ezekiel, God tells us to be a 'watchman on the wall,'" Baehr continues, "and he says if you know that somebody is going to make a mistake, you tell them not to." Christians should avoid the movie based on Brown's novel, he contends, "because the book is just chock full of occultism, Rosicrucianism, Masonic Satanism, et cetera -- I mean, we have a lot of material on all the satanic material, all the sexual material, all the pornographic material."

The Movieguide publisher says a conscientious, thinking Christian "would be hard pressed to argue that people should indulge in this, because it's going to be engraved on people's minds." He urges believers to ignore anyone advising them to "invite the devil through dialog."

At the May 17 press conference, Baehr adds, the Christian leaders involved will provide some telling information about who funded this controversial, anti-Christian film. He believes this revelation and other facts about The Da Vinci Code will raise many Christians' concerns and further show why believers should not spend one dime on the movie.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.

http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion04410.shtml

Additional information on ChristiansUnite.com is available on the Internet at http://www.christiansunite.com/
Copyright © 2003 ChristiansUnite.com. All rights reserved.

(My Note:  The more I hear and read about this, the more I know this is little more than open sewage.)

[Pilgrim]

Actually, I believe the greatest attack against the Church takes place from within not from without such as the “The Da Vinci Code”. It is the wolves who enter not sparing the flock that I am concerned about.

Act 20:28 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.”

Paul warned the saints for three years night and day with tears in his eyes over this threat. I am afraid the Church is filled with these wolves today. According to 2 Peter and Jude these wolves come in by stealth and are so intertwined with the true saints that they partake without fear in the most intimate parts of our gathering.

2Pe 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction...

2Pe 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;”

Jud 1:4 “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ....

Jud 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;”

Even babes in Christ can easily discern “The Da Vinci Code” a mile away. It is those who are feasting with us without fear in the most intimate parts of our meetings that concern me. It is the spy within the Church, not the troublemakers on the outside who will be the more serious threat. The bigger the Church the bigger the threat.

Pilgrim

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen Pilgrim. I agree with that. There are many wolves in the churches today.

[Chaplain Bob]

There have been many films made in recent years that attempt to discredit Jesus Christ and His followers and none of them have done as much damage as some Christians who "major in minors" like protesting a film based on a fictional book.  While "The DaVinci Code" made seem to put the Roman Catholic Church in a bad light it is not an attack on Christianity.  And the more controversy Christians create about it the more people will buy tickets.  As a former theatre owner I can tell you the protest is only helping the boxoffice.

[nChrist]

Hello Chaplain Bob,

I certainly understand your thoughts. It's also true that we never know what the result of our objections will be. In this case, the Book Da Vinci Code did do a lot of damage, caused a lot of doubt for seekers of Christ, and was blasphemy to JESUS CHRIST.

So, I'll have to stand against it. I'll stand against anything that blasphemes JESUS CHRIST. I would connect this to everything else that Christians stand against in many ways. Example: filth on television, filth taught in our public schools, filth in public or school libraries, etc., etc., etc. It doesn't take a lot of time. In fact it might only be seconds in signing petitions, sending emails, etc.

Over a period of time, Christians have been gradually desensitized to immorality everywhere, in every mode and media. During the same time period, groups like the ACLU have tried to shove GOD completely out of public view and shut Christians up. The overall result of the last 50 years is unbelievable. The rights of Christians are being taken away, and courts are even trying to order how our children will be taught filth. Standing up and speaking up has resulted in a significant number of victories, but we realize that we won't win the war. BUT, JESUS CHRIST will win the war and crush the devil at HIS appointed time.

It might be true that objections by Christians to the blasphemy in the Da Vinci code will make them more money. I simply don't know, but at least we made the clear statement that we don't like the name of our LORD and SAVIOUR blasphemed. Some protests and boycotts do work and some don't, but we at least didn't remain silent. Many Christians did remain silent in the 50 years that resulted in some ugly and evil conditions that will be very difficult for Christian parents to deal with. Some might say that the same things would have happened if Christians had stood up and spoke up for the entire 50 years. That's possible, but we at least would not have been "calling evil good" with our silence.

Regardless, this is an evil and ugly world that we live in. Christians have a tremendous challenge in trying to raise their children in the things of the LORD. It's a reality that Christians will lose some of their own children to the devil, even with their best Biblical efforts to raise their children in the LORD.

Christians will see and experience many failures, but that won't be an excuse to quit trying. We should fight a good fight, run a good race, and finish our course until we either die or JESUS comes to take us home.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Revelation 1:7-8 NASB  BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

[Chaplain Bob]

So, I'll have to stand against it. I'll stand against anything that blasphemes JESUS CHRIST.

Given what the Bible has predicted we can expect nothing less in these last days.  IMO Jesus is perfectly capable of defending His own reputation. 

[Soldier4Christ]

Given what the Bible has predicted we can expect nothing less in these last days.  IMO Jesus is perfectly capable of defending His own reputation. 

Yes indeed he is but does that mean that we are not to do so also.

[Chaplain Bob]

Yes indeed he is but does that mean that we are not to do so also.

Not when it accomplishes the opposite of what we want.  We should use it as a launching pad for sharing the Gospel.

[Soldier4Christ]

Yes we are indeed told to preach the Gospel. A part of preaching the Gospel is to preach the perfect sacrifice that Jesus was for us all. To not stand up and declare that Jesus was and is perfect is to fail in this aspect.

[Soldier4Christ]

brothers and sisters,

Something to think about in regards to this discussion. If you were to see someone that was blindfolded being led to the edge of a precipe would you sit silent and not say a word while you watched them go over the edge?

[nChrist]

Given what the Bible has predicted we can expect nothing less in these last days.  IMO Jesus is perfectly capable of defending His own reputation. 

Hello Chaplain Bob,

JESUS CHRIST is able to do all things without us, and HE'S able to do it millions of times better. BUT, GOD chooses to work in and through us. Each Christian will decide and hopefully do what they feel led to do. I feel led to speak against it, but I will also use any opportunity I'm given to witness.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Romans 8:28 NASB  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

[Shammu]

Given what the Bible has predicted we can expect nothing less in these last days.

Yes I will agree with you, we can expect worst to come.

IMO Jesus is perfectly capable of defending His own reputation.

Yes Jesus is perfectly capable of defending His own reputation. Yet the Bible says........

2 Corinthians 4:4-6 For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God.  5 For what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves [merely] as your servants (slaves) for Jesus' sake.   6 For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

[Kelly4Jesus]

We had a sermon today on the Davinci Code, and how we can use their "fiction-called fact" to show true fact in our Bible. Gnostics have written many things, and I have read some today, in curiosity of what they have called "fact"--right down to the supposed scriptures of Eve and Mary Magdalene. I am not impressed, for I know the truth--The Bible. I will fall for no other argument. Jesus is the only truth, the only life and the only way.

With all this controversy, some of those bringing up these supposed Gospels, should look at fact as to when things were written. Our New testment was first published and appeared, only 50 yrs after the birth of Christ. The New Testament begins at 50-100AD. The complete new testament was published in 325AD.

The other books, ironically don't appear until 400-1400 years after the birth of Christ. For Example, the book, lliad had 643 copies. The New Testament--5366! Herodotus, 8 copies, Tacticus, 20 copies, and so on. This alone should show truth, but it will be contradicted by non believers--much to their dismay when Jesus does come back to take His children home!

I have no problem with believing that Mary Magdalene was an important part of Jesus' life, as were all the other women that are mentioned in the bible that followed Him and helped spread the word. As for her being the HOLY GRAIL, as the Davinci Code says, is proposterous! To say that Jesus was only a teacher and not Divine is Blasphemous by every nature of the word!

As Hollywood expands in their claim to riches by making such controversial movies that put Christianity down, I do believe that they will have to answer for these things, when our Savior comes back. I do not believe they will be pleased.

The more we give outbursts to these movies, the less chance we have to witness the TRUTH about Jesus. If we stop these movies from being shown by protesting, we make ourselves out as if we are trying to hide the 'truth as they tell it' from being exposed as falsehood. Let this movie be one way where you can approach a nonbeliever or seeker, and tell them the TRUTH about Jesus, and the TRUE book of Christianity today--the Bible!

I am going to hide now, in the event I have blunt objects thrown my way

God Bless!