Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?

11/14/2004 1

Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?

Bill Petro

your friendly neighborhood historian

www.billpetro.com/davinci

11/14/2004 2

Why is it that…

• Factual…

• Fictional…

11/14/2004 3

So is it that…

• Fact Fiction?

• Fiction Fact?

11/14/2004 4

The Book

• 6 million sold, 40 languages,

upcoming film by Ron Howard

• Popularity: something for everyone

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Westminster Abbey

11/14/2004 6

Musée du Louvre

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The Story

• Murder in front of Mona

• Quest for the Grail

• Blood of Christ

• Person - secret

• Secret society

– Newton, Victor Hugo, Leonardo Da Vinci

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What’s the Big Deal?

• It’s just a book!

• So what are the dangers?

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How we’ll approach it:

• Where is this Presentation located?

• Q: Will we have Q&A?

A: Yes, at the end.

• The Issues we’ll cover

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Issues:

• Who was Leonardo Da Vinci?

• Who was Mary Magdalene?

• Was Jesus married?

• What do we know about the Holy Grail?

• Is there a group known as Opus Dei?

• Was there an ancient Priory of Sion?

• What do we know about Constantine?

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More Issues:

• What happened at the Council of Nicea?

• What is Gnosticism?

• Were other Gnostic/Hidden/Secret Gospels a legitimate expression of Christianity?

• How did we really get the New Testament?

• What were the issues concerning Jesus’ deity?

• …?

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Where is it?

www.billpetro.com/davinci

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Who was Leonardo Da Vinci?

• Artist

• Scientist

• Architect

• Painter

• Sculptor

• Musician

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Even more…

• Anatomist

• Engineer

• Inventor

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• Mona Lisa, La Gioconda

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The Last Supper

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Mary Magdalene

• Who was she?

• Was she married?

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Mary in the “Gospel of Philip”

• Gospel of Philip (post AD 250)“And the companion of the […] Mary Magdalene. […loved]

her more than [all] the disciples [and used to] kiss her [often] on her […].”

– Koinonia

– Not gyne

• Gospel of Philip 63:33-36 “For it is by a kiss that the perfect conceive and give birth. For this reason we all kiss one another. We receive conception from the grace which is in one another.”

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Mary in the “Gospel of Mary Magdala”

• Gospel of Mary Magdala (post AD 100)

– The Debate

Levi: “if the Savior made her worthy, who are you

indeed (Peter) to reject her? Surely the Savior

knows her very well. That is why He loved her more

than us.”

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Something More about Mary?

• Was she a prostitute?

• Book: Holy Blood, Holy Grail

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Fun with Etymology

SANGRIAL

• San greal Sacred (Holy) Grail

• Sang real Royal Blood

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Jesus Married?

• Did a Jewish male need to be married?

• Did a Rabbi need to be married?

• Did he have children?

11/14/2004 23

King Arthur & the Holy Grail

• Arthur at the movies

• The Holy Grail

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The Grail Quest

• What is your Quest?–Odyssey

–Holy Grail

–The One Ring

–Star Wars

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Is there an Opus Dei?

• Yes:

www.opusdei.org

• Their reaction:

http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=7017

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Priory of Sion

• A secret society since 1099?

• A splinter social group founded in 1956?

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Who was Constantine?

• First “Christian” Roman Emperor

• AD 312: Battle of the Milvian Bridge

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What did Constantine do?

• AD 313: Edict of Milan

• AD 315: Arch of Constantine

11/14/2004 29Arch of Constantine, next to Coliseum

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Next time…• Council of Nicea

• Gnosticism

• Gnostic Gospels

• Canon of the New Testament

• Ancient and modern heresies

• Deity of Christ

• …

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Bibliography

• The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? Hank Hanagraph, Paul L MaierZondervanISBN 1-4143-0312-2

• Breaking the Da Vinci Code Darrell L. Bock, PhD.NelsonISBN 0-7852-6046-3

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Bibliography

• The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code

Richard Abanes

Harvest House

ISBN 0-7369-1439-0

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Q&A