The Truth about the DaVinci Code (5)...
In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown makes many incorrect assertions about a supposed marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, about Mary Magdalene, about how we got the Bible, and about Jesus' divinity. He thinks these assertions are based on historical documents. In these articles I show that each of his assertions is based on faulty interpretations of those documents and the historical facts they present. For those desiring more explanation I provide more informations from other sources that gives more detailed background information to support my answers.
Dan Brown's Assertions about Jesus' Divinity
Introduction
In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown makes 6 (by my count) assertions about Jesus and His divinity. He asserts that Jesus' followers viewed Him as merely a mortal man, having no divinity. Then in the fourth century, the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great and other power-hungry men ruled that He was divine in order to claim they derived their political and spiritual authority from God.
In this article I address each of his 6 assertions, quoting the actual dialogs in his book and providing the page number where it is found. I also include the chapter number in case the text appears on different page numbers in future editions. Second, I give brief answers to each assertion to show how it is wrong. I know that many people are only seeking a brief answer and will be satisfied. For those desiring more explanation I provide links to other resources that give more detailed background information to support my answers.
Some of the assertions are mixed in with other assertions he makes about how the New Testament was formed. I address those in the article: Assertions About the Bible.
Assertion 1: Jesus is one of the most influential persons in history.
"Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence, perhaps the most enigmatic and inspirational leader the world has ever seen. As the prophesied Messiah, Jesus toppled kings, inspired millions, and founded new philosophies. As a descendant of the lines of King Solomon and King David, Jesus possessed a rightful claim to the throne of the King of the Jews." (Chapter 55, p. 231)
Brief answer
This will be the only assertion Brown makes about Jesus that is correct. Jesus Christ is the pivotal person in the history of the Western World as the abbreviations B.C. and A.D. attest. He is, indeed, the most enigmatic leader the world has ever seen. He claimed and was understood to be divine and human at the same time. Many of his teachings are difficult to fully grasp and even more difficult to know how to obey. He claimed to fulfill the prophesies made in Old Testament times concerning the Jewish Messiah, but He did not fulfill them in the ways the Jews incorrectly expected them to be fulfilled. Jesus didn't personally topple any kings or found new philosophies, but I assume Brown is using a figure of speech to suggest that his followers in succeeding centuries did. The pagan Roman Empire became the Holy Roman Empire. However, rather than a few leaders forcing Christianity on the pagan masses the imperial edict in a lot of ways instituted a government in line with what was already taking place. Sociologist Rodney Stark estimates that Christians made up half of the population of the Roman Empire by 350 BC!1 Christianity was very attractive because of how Christians lived out the teachings of Christ especially through persecutions, plagues and natural disasters. Probably the worst thing that ever did happen to institutional Christianity was that it was merged with governments. The attrocities that came from those unions is one of the reasons why Dan Brown and others want to destroy Christianity. Based on Jesus' teachings I doubt He would have wanted state churches. Think what the world would be like if Christians would simply attempt to live out Jesus' teachings, using only a minimal amount of organization and church government to aid them in that lifestyle? There would still be many enemies of Jesus Christ and His Church, but then the issue would be obedience to Jesus rather than to a church or government. Even so, Brown and many others would still attack the Bible's and Jesus's teachings on a lot of issues including sexuality and women's roles.
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