Jesus & The Da Vinci Code

Use the site menu to explore a range of pages and Youtube videos responding to 'The Da Vinci Code'

The Church has suppressed the true story of the human Jesus who was married to Mary Magdalene. In its place it has given us the false story of Jesus the Son of God. As one of the characters in 'The Da Vinci Code' says: 'Almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.' This male-dominated story has been responsible for all the conflict and bloodshed in the world for the past two thousand years. This will only be put right when the Church's story is dismissed, and masculine and feminine are brought back into mystical balance and unity.

But the secret of Mary and Jesus's bloodline has never been completely lost. It is the truth that lies behind the legends of the Holy Grail. It has been hinted at in works of art, such as Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Last Supper.' It has been preserved in secret Gospels that have recently come to light again, and through a cache of documents from the Temple in Jerusalem. These were found by a group of knights in the Middle Ages, and subsequently protected by a secret society. At the right time, this society will come forward and make the secret public. When they do, it will mean the end of Christianity as we know it – and a good thing too.

This is the back story to The Da Vinci Code. And author Dan Brown says that this back story is historically true. The book begins with a page headed 'Facts,' which says that

All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.

When Brown was interviewed on NBC's Today Show, Matt Lauer asked him 'How much of this is based on reality?' Brown replied,

Absolutely all of it. Obviously Robert Langdon is fictional, but all of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies – all of that is historical fact.

And on the ABC News Special, Dan Brown said that he himself believes this back story.

'The Da Vinci Code' is important because it's so big; because of what its back story says about Jesus and Mary; and because Dan Brown says that the back story is true, not just part of the fiction. But is he telling the truth? These web pages and Youtube videos from 'Facing the Challenge' explore the facts behind Dan Brown's fiction.

These pages and videos include contributions from Dr Stephen Dray, an expert in gender issues in early Christianity. Read two (fairly detailed and technical) articles by Dr. Dray:

• Women in Church History: an Examination of pre-Reformation Convictions and Practice. (First published in 'Evangel' Spring 2003)
• The Problem of the Historical Context of Scripture. (First published in 'Evangel' Autumn 2002)