Shedding Light On The Da Vinci Code’s Fiction
Steve Sellers, Campus Crusade for Christ

More than 40 million copies of The Da Vinci Code novel have sold worldwide, and “The Da Vinci Code” movie will reach an estimated 30 million viewers in the United States alone. Dan Brown’s story has certainly captured a large audience.

Part of the appeal of The Da Vinci Code is its claim that the story is based on historical facts. As the author states, “The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction. While the book’s characters and their actions are obviously not real, the artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals depicted in this novel all exist.”

This leaves readers (and very soon movie audiences) with intriguing questions about The Da Vinci Code. “Could all of this be true?” “Could Jesus really have lived a life different than the one the Bible tells us about?”

Adding to the intrigue is the story’s allegation that the Church has been actively working to hide a two-thousand-year-old secret. The idea, of course, is that a large religious institution has been withholding the “truth” from the rest of the world and now their cover has been blown. Sony Pictures, recognizing the appeal of the conspiracy aspect of the narrative, has even gone so far as to market “The Da Vinci Code” movie with the theme “Seek the Truth.”

What Dan Brown’s story offers, however, is something very far from the Truth. The Da Vinci Code directly challenges many essential Christian beliefs, claiming the Bible is unreliable; the resurrection of Jesus is mere mythology; Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and they had a child; descendants of Jesus are still alive today; and a secret society guards this “truth” about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and their descendants.

Claims of this magnitude certainly need solid evidence to support them, something not found in The Da Vinci Code. As a matter of fact, historical evidence serves to refute these claims. For example, Dr. Bart Ehrman at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill states, “Not a single one of our ancient sources indicates that Jesus was married, let alone married to Mary Magdalene.”

Despite the fact that The Da Vinci Code belongs squarely in the category of fiction, there is a very real danger that with millions of people either reading the book or viewing the movie, many will accept the story’s theories about Jesus as truth. Skeptics are already using these conspiracy theories to support their arguments that the Christian faith is founded on mere myth.

Campus Crusade for Christ is right now working to ensure that people know the real Truth about Jesus Christ. As part of these efforts, Josh McDowell (author of the apologetics classics More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict) has completed a new book entitled The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers. Written in an easy-to-understand yet carefully researched format, this book follows the dialogue of a group of three fictitious college students as they investigate the claims put forth in “The Da Vinci Code” and put them to the test of real scholarly research. The conclusion is clear, “The Da Vinci Code” and its assorted claims about the Christian church really are fiction, and the real evidence shows that Christ is the Son of God.

While Josh McDowell’s book is researched enough to persuade even the greatest skeptics, it is very accessible to teens, college students, and adults alike. This book also includes a powerful Gospel presentation to help people find the Truth that will truly set them free. If you would like to learn more about how you can help place Josh’s book into the hands of seekers across the nation, as well as how to receive your own copy, please visit: www.davincitruth.org