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06/11/2006 1
Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?
Bill Petro
your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com/davinci
06/11/2006 2
The Book
• 40 M hardback/6 M paperback sold,
• 44 languages
• Film by Ron Howard
• Popularity: something for everyone
06/11/2006 4
Westminster Abbey
06/11/2006 5
Musée du Louvre
06/11/2006 6
“…Everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false”
-British Royal Historian, Sir Leigh Teabing
The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
06/11/2006 7
The Story
• Murder in front of Mona
• Quest for the Grail
• Blood of Christ
• Person - secret
• Secret society
– Newton, Victor Hugo, Leonardo Da Vinci
06/11/2006 8
What’s the Big Deal?
• It’s just a book!
• So what are the dangers?
06/11/2006 9
Issues:• Who was Mary Magdalene?• Was Jesus married?• Is there a group known as Opus Dei?• Was there an ancient Priory of Sion?• What do we know about Constantine?• What happened at the Council of Nicea?• Were other Gnostic/Hidden/Secret Gospels a
legitimate expression of Christianity?• What is Gnosticism?
06/11/2006 10
Mary Magdalene
• Who was she?
• Was she married?
06/11/2006 11
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.”
06/11/2006 12
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.”
06/11/2006 13
Jesus Married?
• Did a Jewish male need to be married?
• Did a Rabbi need to be married?
• Did he have children?
06/11/2006 14
Is there an Opus Dei?
• Yes:
www.opusdei.org
• Their reaction:
http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=7017
06/11/2006 15
Priory of Sion
• A secret society since 1099?
• A splinter social group founded in 1956?
06/11/2006 16
Who was Constantine?
• First “Christian”
Roman Emperor
• AD 312: Battle of the
Milvian Bridge
06/11/2006 17
In this sign, Conquer
06/11/2006 18
What did Constantine do?
• AD 313: Edict of Milan
• AD 315: Arch of Constantine
• AD 325: Council of Nicaea
06/11/2006 19Arch of Constantine, next to Coliseum
06/11/2006 20
Council of
Nicea
• 318 Bishops
• 7 weeks
• 84 issues
06/11/2006 21
Eusebius: on Nicaea• When all the bishops had entered the place
appointed for their session, the sides of which were filled by a great number of seats, each took his place, and awaited in silence the arrival of the Emperor… He appeared as a messenger from God, covered with gold and precious stones - a magnificent figure, tall and slender, and full of grace and majesty. To his majesty he united a great modesty and devout humility, so that he kept his eyes reverently bent upon the golden seat which had been prepared for him when the bishops gave him the signal to do so.
06/11/2006 22
06/11/2006 23
Arianism
“There was a time when Christ was not”
06/11/2006 24
Similar vs. Same
• HOMOI-OUSIAS – similar
• HOMO-OUSIAS – same
• One “iota”
06/11/2006 25
Nicaean Creed• “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things
visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousion) with the Father. By whom all things were made, both which be in heaven and in earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down [from heaven] and was incarnate and was made man. He suffered and the third day he rose again, and ascended into heaven. And he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead. And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost… And whosoever shall say that there was a time when the Son of God was not, or that before he was begotten he was not, or that he was made of things that were not, or that he is of a different substance or essence [from the Father] or that he is a creature, or subject to change or conversion--all that so say, the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes them.
06/11/2006 26
Were other (Gnostic) Gospels a legitimate expression of
Christianity?
• Where were they discovered?
• Were they suppressed in the 4th century?
• Can they help us understand Jesus?
06/11/2006 27
Nag Hammadi
Nag Hammadi
06/11/2006 28
Constantine “paid” for Bibles
• Financed scribes to copy 50 copies of
the Bible for use in Constantinople
• Constantine burned writings of Arius
• Eusebius’ list
06/11/2006 29
“Other” Gospels
• Nag Hammadi Library, James M. Robinson• The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels• Lost Scriptures, Bart D. Ehrman• The Other Gospels, Ron Cameron• The Gospel of Mary Magdalene,
Jean-Yves Leloup• The Infancy Gospels of James and Thomas,
Ronald F. Hock
06/11/2006 30
“Value” of other Gospels
• Writings of Apostolic Fathers & Post-Apostolic Fathers
(late 1st, early 2nd Centuries)
• Popular third-class literary entertainment
(2nd and 3rd Centuries)
• Heretical books, especially of a Gnostic nature
(2nd – 4th Centuries)
06/11/2006 31
Dates of Gospels
• Mark: AD 40 – 65
• Luke: AD 60 – 85
• Matthew: AD 70 – 90
• John: AD 86 – 100
06/11/2006 32
New Testament Canon
• Rule, “Ruler” = list
• Clement, Bishop of Rome – AD 90
• Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch – AD 115
• Polycarp – AD 155
• Origen – AD 230
• Officially confirmed in its present and final form by the 3rd Council of Carthage in AD 397
06/11/2006 33
“Canon” timeline
Iran
eus
180
100 200 300 400
“4 Gospels”
Mar
kL
uke
Mat
thew
John
325
Nic
ea
393
397
Car
thag
eH
ippo
40 60 70 86
Ath
anas
ius
NT: 27 books
367
203
Ori
gen
Againstothers
33
06/11/2006 34
NT vs. Antiquities
• Gallic Wars 10 BC 58 AD 900
• Livy 20 AD 17 AD 300
• Tacitus 12 AD 100 AD 1000
• Thucydides 8 BC 400 AD 900
• NT 5,600 AD 100 AD 140
Copies Written Earliest copy
06/11/2006 35
Why a Canon?
• Dealing with Heresy – Doctrine
• Reading in Churches – Devotion
• Surrendering to Authorities – Persecution
06/11/2006 36
Tests:
• Apostolicity: Had been written by an apostle or specifically approved by the apostles.
• Acceptance: A history of continuous and widespread approval amongst Christians
• Conformity: to the Old Testament scriptures and Apostles’ rule of faith.
06/11/2006 37
How:
• Letters from apostles were written and received in churches, copied and circulated
• Growing group of books were recognized as inspired Scripture
• By end of 1st century all 27 NT books were written and received by the churches
06/11/2006 38
Then:
• A generation after the Apostolic Age, every book of the NT had been cited as authoritative by a Church Father
• Debates continued into the 4th century, until Athanasius’ Easter letter in AD 367
• Ratified by the Council of Hippo - AD 393,3rd Council of Carthage - AD 397
06/11/2006 39
What was Gnosticism?• Gnosis
• Platonic, Neoplatonism
• Dualism
• Aeons, Archons, Sophia, Demiurge
• Christ
• Spark of divinity
• Guide into Truth and Light
06/11/2006 40
Promise of Modern Gnosticism• Secret knowledge
• Salvation without change
• Irrelevance of morality
• God is within you
• …Everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false
06/11/2006 41
A Question…
06/11/2006 42
DaVinci Code
Discussion
06/11/2006 43
Postmodernism• Postmodernism redefines how we do evangelism• Postmodernism asserts we exist in a reality we have
constructed• Postmodernism asserts that any one narrative used as
meta-narrative is oppressive• We live in a time when there is no ultimate value:
– There are many paths to the same destination– All faiths are interchangeable– “What works for me” is more important than some eternal
value
06/11/2006 44
Primary longings of Postmoderns
• Authenticity
• Community
• Lack of dogmatism
• Cynicism
• They respond best to a passionately lived out faith!
06/11/2006 45
How to build the bridge• Be intentional about looking for relationships
• Ask questions
• Focus on common interests (DaVinci?)
• Our stories are important
06/11/2006 51
Q&A
