University of Guelph Christian Forum

A Response to
The DaVINCI CODE

A quick reference for my family and friends

In reading the popular novel by Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code, the blur between fact and fiction can be difficult to discern, particularly as it relates to statements about the Bible. This is a brief synopsis to clarify how the Bible came into being and to help those reading The DaVinci Code or watching the soon-to-be released movie distinguish the historical Biblical facts from the fictional elements.

Terminology: The term "Canon" originally comes from the Semitic word qaneh that means "reed or measuring rod". In Greek the work is used to signify "a rule or standard" (Schoville, 1991). The term "Bible" comes from the Greek word biblia meaning books. The origin of the Greek word biblia can be traced to the Phoenician port called Byblos that was famous for shipping the ancient writing material - papyrus. The common use of the word Bible, to signify a unified collection of sacred books, began about AD 400.

The Bible "Canon" is a collection of 66 Old and New Testament books that describe "ancient Israel and the literature of its ethnic and spiritual descendants, the first-century Christians" (Schoville, 1991). As noted by the senior pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, Erwin W. Lutzer, "Christianity is an historical religion, rooted in certain verifiable facts" (Lutzer, 2006). Some of those crucial facts are described here.

The Old Testament Hebrew Canon is divided into 3 sections: (1) The Law or Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Levitus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). Moses is well accepted as author of these 5 books, although these teaching were initially passed down through oral tradition and then transferred to written form. (2) The Prophets (Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi), and (3) The Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Songs of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, I Chronicles, II Chronicles). The Protestant Old Testament is identical to this, while the Roman Catholic Old Testament Canon includes the Apocrypha (Tobit, Judith, I Maccabees, II Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch).

The number of Old Testament books increased as the history of God's dealing with the Jewish people grew (i.e. The Law, The Prophets, Psalms and Other Writings), but not all Jewish religious literature was considered part of the God inspired writings and were excluded from the Canon (e.g. Book of Jashar and the Book of the Wars of the Lord referred to in Joshua 10:13 and Numbers 21:14, respectively). The majority of the 36 original Hebrew Old Testament books were considered canonical as soon as they were written and most of the Jews agreed that the Canon closed ~400 BC with the book of Malachi. A council did meet in Jamnia in AD 90 and discussion of the Old Testament Canon was on the agenda, but they only ratified the books accepted 5 centuries earlier by the Jewish spiritual leaders (Lutzer, 2006).

The Books of the Apocrypha: These were part of the first translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek (i.e. the Septuagint). This version was first used by Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria in ~300 BC and cover relevant material that bridge information between the Old and New Testaments. They include the 7 books listed above, as well as additions made to the Book of Daniel (Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, Song of Three) and additions to the books of Esther and Ezra. Additional apocryphal writings (Book of Jubilles, Book of Enoch, Genesis Apocryphon) have also been found, but are not included in the Septuagint or Catholic Bible. Other books known as the Pseudepigrapha written between 200 BC and AD 200 have been verified as "false writings" largely due to false authorship of ancient biblical characters and are not part of the Canon (Schoville, 1991). Because the books of the apocrypha are numerous and are not part of the Hebrew Canon they were not included in the Protestant Canon. The books of the Apocrypha are not to be confused with the "false writings" or Gnostic gospels described later.

The authenticity and historicity of the New Testament Canon: The books (n=27) included in the New Testament were written within the last half of the first century, well within one generation of those living at the time of Christ. The first criterion for inclusion was apostolicity. In other words they had to be written or sanctioned by an apostle (Lutzer, 2006). Authorship was authenticated and this was crucial since some books were written by those claiming or signing as apostles and that is why the Apostle Paul stated that he signed his letters with his own signature (2 Thes. 3:17). For inclusion in The New Testament books or letters also had to have widespread and continuous acceptance among the early church, many of whom were eyewitnesses to the described events. For example, I John 1:2-3 states, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard". Finally, the books had to demonstrate "conformity to the rule of faith" in that they had to be consistent with the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles (Lutzer, 2006). Consequently, although there were thousands of letters and books written concerning Christ at or after that time they were not considered as valid for inclusion into the Holy Bible. Agreement and compilation of all of the books of the New Testament occurred over time, but no council or Pope dictated what books would be allowed in the Canon, they only ratified what the church had already agreed upon (e.g. Council of Hippo, AD 393 and the Third Council of Carthage, AD 397). This is an important point since Constantine and The Council at Nicaea did not even have canonization of the New Testament on the agenda as was stated in The DaVinci Code (Hanegraaff and Maier, 2006). By the end of the first century about two thirds of the Biblical books were selected for inclusion using the above criteria and were considered divinely inspired scripture as explained in such passages as 2 Peter 1:20-21, "For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit". Other New Testament books including the letters by Peter (I and II) and John (I, II, and III) and the Book of Revelations were added somewhat later after being thoroughly investigated for authorship, having widespread church acceptance, and proven as profitable for teaching and spiritual growth of the followers of Christ.

Hand-copied and printed Bibles: Bibles began to be printed in large numbers with the invention of the printing press. Jerome printed the well-known Gutenberg Bible from 1450-1456 as a reproduction of the Latin Vulgate version as derived from the original Hebrew and Greek in the fourth century. The Bible reached the English-speaking world largely through the efforts of William Tyndale who, unfortunately, was hung for this work. Nonetheless, by the late fifteenth century accurately printed copies of the Bible in English were in wide circulation. It is also worth noting the miniscule number of errors that had crept in over the long period of hand copying prior to the development of the printing press. The Hebrew Bible was based on the Masoretic text named after the generations of Jewish scholars in Tiberias who's job it was to faithfully copy the Hebrew text according to a strict set of rules in which the number of verses and consonants were meticulously checked for each book. The word Masoretic comes from the Hebrew word "fence or wall" and implied putting a fence or guard around the Torah. The text was also verified by comparing to several ancient scrolls. The accuracy of this method has been confirmed by archeological discoveries, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Yeminite text (Jeffrey, 1996). For example, the Yeminite and Masoretic texts, separated in their transmission for a thousand years, differed only by 9 of 304,805 Hebrew letters within the Torah and not one of these alternative letters changed the meaning of a single word (Jeffrey, 1996).

The Gnostic Gospels and why they were never included in the canonized Bible:

First and foremost, the Gnostic writings are not eyewitness accounts, but rather were written 150 to 600 years after the death of Jesus Christ, compared to completion of canonical writings in about AD 70. The word Gnostic comes from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge and has the connotation of hidden knowledge. Gnosticism denies the accuracy of the New Testament, does not believe in the resurrection of Christ or his followers, and states that our need is not for forgiveness but rather enlightenment (Lutzer, 2006). Although there are a large number of these Gnostic books some of the more popular include the Book of Philip, the Book of Mary, the Book of Thomas and the Book of Judas. The Book of Philip says, "The companion is Mary of Magdala. Jesus loved her more than his students. He kissed her often on her face, more than all his students". From this and similar passages the Gnostics have come to believe that Jesus was married to Mary. However, it is important to understand that the Book of Philip is dated by scholars around AD 300 and is not an eyewitness account written by the disciple Philip who would have long since died. It also does not definitively state the Jesus was married to Mary. This is sheer conjecture. Likewise, The Book of Mary suggests that Mary had a special relationship with the Lord and was given particular revelations that annoyed the Apostle Peter. Again, this is not an eyewitness account and although each of these books has been thoroughly reviewed by Biblical scholars they were never considered to fit within the criteria for canonization, and their authorship is generally unknown.

It is worth considering that although Jewish rabbis were often married it was not an absolute requirement and Jesus was not part of the traditional rabbinical order. Also, his closest companions, the disciples, never made mention of his marriage. In the Bible, the church of believers is considered the "bride of Christ" (Rev 19:7-9).

Leonardo DaVinci and The Last Supper: The idea put forward by Dan Brown that Mary Magdalene, rather than the Apostle John, is seated at the right hand of Christ is rejected by most scholars (Lutzer, 2006). The painting does portray a rather feminine looking character, but several of the men in the painting have a similar soft appearance. Additionally, other paintings of John held in Florence give him a similar womanly appearance. Without going into more detail about Leonardo DaVinci, it may be most simply put by quoting Jack Wasserman an Art History Professor at Temple University, "Just about everything [Dan Brown] says about Leonardo is wrong" (Reardon, 2004).

It has been stated many times that The DaVinci Code makes for a very interesting fiction, but it is not history. For example, Erwin Lutzer says, "As a novel, it works; as history, it is a house of cards that can be toppled by the slightest breath of truth" (Lutzer, 2006). Dan Brown in The DaVinci Code states that there are thousands of secret documents that disprove the validity of the Bible and Christianity. However, consider the words of Bernard Ramm that state, "No other book but the Bible has been so chopped, sliced, sifted, scrutinized and vilified" (Lutzer, 2006), yet this book remained the backbone of Christianity down through the ages and continues to be the number one best seller year after year. Accordingly, no solid evidence against the authority of the Bible exists. Even renowned Palestinian Archeologist and previous President of The Hebrew Union College, Nelson Glueck, affirmed, " As a matter of fact, however, it may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible" (Glueck, 1959).

The vast majority would agree that the most influential person in all of history is Jesus Christ, but the most important question is, was he who he said he was - God in the flesh? When Jesus said, "I and the Father are one", the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him. Jesus then retorted, "At God's direction I have done many miracles to help the people. For which one are you killing me?" They replied, "Not for any good work, but for blasphemy; you, a mere man, have declared yourself to be God" (John 10:30-33). There is no doubt who Jesus claimed to be, but the bigger question is who do you say he is?

This article presents only the briefest outline of Biblical Canonization and historical accuracy of the scriptures. The references cited below are a rich source of more detailed information on the topic.

References and Source Material:

Donald E. Demaray, Bible Study Source Book, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1964.

Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, New York: Farrar, Staus and Cudahy, 1959.

Hank Hanegraaff and Paul Maier, The DaVinci Code: Fact or Fiction, Tyndale House Publishers, Illinois, 2006. Grant R. Jeffrey, The Signature of God: Astonishing Biblical Discoveries, Frontier Research Publications, Toronto, 1996.

Erwin W Lutzer, The DaVinci Deception: credible answers to questions millions are asking about Jesus, the Bible and The DaVinci Code, Tyndale House Publishers, Illinois, 2006.

Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Thomas Nelson Publisher, Nashville, 1999.

P.R. Reardon, The DaVinci Code, Unscrambled, Chicago Tribune, Feb 5, 2004, Section 5, pg 4.

Thomas N. Ralston, Elements of Divinity, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, New York, 1954.

Keith N. Schoville, Biblical Archaelogy in Focus, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids Michigan, Sixth Edition, 1991. William Smith, A Dictionary of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1979.

www.davincideception.com

Perspectives

FACT VERSUS FICTION: Bible Canonization