DA VINCI CODE


Pasadena Star-News
Historians jump on 'Da Vinci Code'

By Marshall Allen Staff Writer


Saturday, June 12, 2004 - PASADENA -- There is virtually no historical evidence to support the theories breathlessly presented in the novel "The Da Vinci Code,' according to Bible scholars. But the credence many readers give the thriller's assertions including the one about the progeny of Jesus and Mary Magdalene who led a secret society noted for its sacred sexual rites are prompting an unusual amount of interest in church history.

To debunk the book and answer questions about Christianity, Bible scholars are presenting seminars on "The Da Vinci Code' throughout Southern California. A June 3 seminar at St. Joseph's Conference & Evangelization Center in Alhambra had an audience of 240 people, a record for such meetings. At La Canada Presbyterian Church, a recent seminar attracted about 500.

"The Da Vinci Code,' by Dan Brown, has been incredibly successful. Its rapidly paced plot blends elements of art and church history with the mysterious legends of secret societies. It has been on the New York Times best-seller list for 63 weeks and has more than 7.5 million copies in print. A movie is also in the works.

John Thompson, professor of historical theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, said he would dismiss "The Da Vinci Code' as "psuedo-history' except that so many people do not know where the novel ends and the truth begins. "Talking about 'The Da Vinci Code' as a historian is like shooting fish in a barrel,' Thompson said. "Some pages have so many errors you don't know where to start. You get compounded errors. It is wrong in so many layers it leaves one speechless.'

The Rev. Marcos Gonzalez of St. Andrews Catholic Church in Pasadena called the novel a "hodgepodge of early church heresy.' Thus, he is dismayed that people in his congregation are swayed by the book's theories. "Some of the devout, faithful Catholics in our congregation were asking me about it,' Gonzalez said. "I looked at them with disbelief and said, 'You're not really taking this for true, are you?'' Modern Americans know so little about church history and biblical studies that they take the book seriously, he said.

The book's intriguing plot questions the foundational teachings of Christianity. The protagonist, Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of religious symbology, is on a quest to continue the mission of the secret sect, the Priory of Sion, after its guardians have been murdered by Vatican operatives. Langdon asserts that the reliability of the Bible and the authority of the Roman Catholic Church are not what they seem. He tells his love-interest and pupil, cryptologist Sophie Neveu, that the divinity of Jesus was not part of the earliest church history. It was first proclaimed at the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, he claims.

Scholars say it could be considered ridiculous to question the credibility of a work of fiction, but the book is presented as a thoroughly researched novel based on fact. "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate,' says a statement of fact that opens the book. Some readers believe the book's theories.

Chy Lewis, 50, a teacher who also works at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, said she hopes the allegedly suppressed truths in "The Da Vinci Code' are real.
"It would be wonderful to believe, as a Catholic, that there is a living legacy of Jesus rather than just the blind faith one that we live by,' Lewis said. "... I think it's more than likely (Jesus) left a human legacy. And who better than Mary Magdalene to be his wife?' Julie Battaglia of La Canada Flintridge, an avid reader, said she does not believe Jesus was married, but Brown's book is persuasive. She believes the book's assertions "to a degree.'

"I think 'The Da Vinci Code' sort of sparks your imagination for what could be,' she said.

Theology and the Bible are presented as absolute truth, but "it may not have been a completely divinely inspired role,' said Battaglia, an Episcopalian. "There could be some human hands involved in what we take as Gospel-truth now.' Battaglia said she thinks "The Da Vinci Code' confirms what people already want to believe. If they are feeling cynical about organized religion, they will use the book as a basis to discredit religion, especially the Catholic Church, she said, but if a reader has an established faith, the book will be seen as entertaining fiction.

Thompson and his wife, Marianne Meye Thompson, Fuller professor of New Testament Interpretation, spoke at the seminar at La Canada Presbyterian Church. The Thompsons said the audience seemed unhappy with them for questioning the credibility of the book. Marianne Meye Thompson said novel's key assertions such as Jesus' alleged marriage are supported neither by ancient texts nor history. In other instances, Langdon's absolute statements are described as "according to scholars' when they are highly disputed points, she said. And in some places the statements in the book are plain wrong, John Thompson said. The book ignores the fact that the Roman Catholic Church was not an independent institution until A.D. 1054. And John Thompson said the early church did teach the divinity of Jesus long before the Council of Nicea, when 300 bishops gathered to clarify certain points of theology.

The Gospels found in the Bible state that Jesus was divine, Thompson said. And anti-Christian writer Celsus made fun of Christians in A.D. 180 because they claimed Jesus was divine, Thompson said. Another, he said, early church critic, Porphyry, wrote in A.D. 303 that Christians believed in the divinity of Jesus.
"The gods are hostile to you not because you worship the all-powerful god, but because you allege that a being who was born a man and who died on the cross (a death which would bring shame on the lowest of men) was god,' Porphyry wrote.

The Thompsons seemed most baffled by the comment of one member of their audience who said: "Just because all these things aren't written down doesn't mean they didn't happen.' The problem is that readers assume that one person's claims or opinions are as good as anyone else's, John Thompson said.

The Fuller professors are theological conservatives, but liberal scholars also have their doubts about "The Da Vinci Code.' Dennis MacDonald, professor of New Testament at the school of theology at Claremont, said he doesn't believe Mary Magdalene even existed. Lewis, the Vroman's employee who said it is possible that Jesus was married, is nonplussed by scholars who question the historical veracity of her beliefs. There is evidence to support a variety of theories, she said. "When the scholars take it on and try to repudiate it, what they are actually doing is giving it more power,' she said.

-- Marshall Allen can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4461, or by e-mail at marshall.allen@sgvn.com .