By Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Andrew C. Skinner,
and Thomas A. Wayment
Editor’s
note: With all the hype about the novel The Da Vinci
Code and the movie that opens tomorrow, some church
members are puzzled about how much of the book that
purports to be fact really is fiction. Rest
assured! As this book, written by LDS scholars, points
out, members of the LDS Church know a lot more about
the Savior than Leonardo Da Vinci ever did. Today’s
Meridian features the book’s introduction, with chapter
1 to run tomorrow. We also include a click-to-buy so
you can purchase the book without leaving your computer.
Introduction
“The Bible represents
a fundamental guidepost for millions of people on the
planet…Those who truly understand their faiths understand
the stories are metaphorical.” (The
Da Vinci Code, p. 342)
Winston Churchill said, “In history
lie all the secrets.” Though he was speaking of statecraft,
his comment is equally applicable to matters of religion.
That is, within the context of faith, history can provide
answers to important religious questions.
In fact, our scriptures are narratives
that are grounded in history and that contain the secrets
to life itself. And our spiritual enlightenment can
often be increased when the scriptures are interpreted
by inspired writers and prophets who go to the past
to explain the mighty deeds of God.
One of the basic questions we
address in this short book is, What truths can we find
in historical novels that are sold in the fiction section
of bookstores but that nevertheless claim to be rooted
in history and based on original sources?
Obviously, based on the sheer
number of dollars spent, members of our society are
often much more interested in getting their history
lessons from novels, television shows, and Hollywood
movies than through the traditional outlet in which
competent historians provide scholarly explorations
of the past. Scholars and academics who have forgotten
the “story” in history are partly responsible for the
lack of interest in and support of their historical
craft because their works are often stilted, unimaginative,
and basically uninteresting.
Exceptions abound, such as David
McCullough’s John Adams (2001) and 1776
(2005). Both efforts prove that historical works can
be meticulously researched, well-written, and also
extremely interesting.
Neither historical novels nor
popular films are inherently inadequate in presenting
history to a wide audience. The outcome is not a case
of good versus bad when these two media outlets choose
to tell a story from the past. The questions all of
us may raise, however, are about the authors’ and screenwriters’
fidelity to original sources and their careful and thoughtful
interpretation of the historical record. Using those
criteria, we have chosen to focus our attention on Dan
Brown’s best-selling book, The Da Vinci Code
(New York: Doubleday, 2003).
The Da Vinci Code is a
fast-paced, suspenseful thriller set amid the landscapes,
museums, and cathedrals of Europe.
The novel takes us initially into
the Musée du Louvre in Paris, where we discover that
one of the curators, Jacques Saunière, has been murdered.
However, before he dies, Saunière is able to leave clues
— not about his death but about a secret that will
shake the very foundation of Christianity and the Catholic
Church. We then are introduced to Sophie Neveu, the
murdered curator’s granddaughter and a cryptologist,
and Robert Langdon, a visiting Harvard professor, both
of whom have been called to the murder scene for various
reasons. The two, who will become romantically involved
along the way, are swept through a long night of murders
and intrigue that continues with a police chase out
of Paris to a wet morning in London.
As the mystery unfolds, they discover,
with the help of Sir Leigh Teabing, British historian
and noted Grail scholar, that the great secret associated
with the murders and intrigue deals with Jesus of Nazareth.
They also discover that Sophie’s grandfather was part
of the group that has been custodians of the explosive
secret for generations — the Priory of Sion. In England,
the identity of the evil “Teacher” who masterminded
the murders committed by an albino monk from Opus Dei
is revealed, and the story reaches its climax.
During the fast-paced race to
the finish, Sophie learns that Jesus was mortal, not
divine; that He was married to Mary Magdalene, who stood
at the cross pregnant; that the earliest gospels, and
therefore the most reliable, are not those found in
the current New Testament; and that the Catholic Church
has attempted through murder, lies, and deceit to hide
these facts from the masses since the earliest times
of its existence.
Sophie and Robert also discover
that the guardians of this great secret (the true identity
of Christ and the role of women in the early Church),
the Priory of Sion, have included such prestigious members
as Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Sir Isaac Newton,
and Victor Hugo, all of whom have possessed and passed
down through the generations this secret knowledge,
as well as the true identity of the Holy Grail.
In particular, Leonardo da Vinci
is said to have left clues in his artwork that if deciphered
could lead someone to the ultimate truth. Sophie and
Robert also learn that this super-secret and powerful
group continued the practices of ancient rituals that
celebrate the sacred feminine — something ruthlessly
suppressed by the Vatican since the time of the pagan
emperor Constantine.
The Da Vinci Code is the
“rarest of birds,” both a critical and a commercial
success, with tens of millions of copies sold and with
translations in more than forty languages. The book
is also a historic publication. As Harry Potter turned
out to be the book to be read by today’s young people,
The Da Vinci Code has become the must-read
for adults. Its continued availability in hardcover
is the result of its amazing endurance on the New
York Times Best Seller List.
The book’s initial print run of
a mere eighty-five thousand copies has been multiplied
astronomically. Ongoing interest in The Da Vinci
Code has spawned various television specials, popular
museum tours to England and France, countless book reviews,
numerous articles and books by various individuals responding
to the claims put forth in the novel, and a major Hollywood
movie based on the book’s storyline.
The reason for all the excitement
is obviously more than the simple economic bottom line.
The book has been read by tens of millions, exposing
them to a revisionist view of Jesus of Nazareth that
has caught the media’s attention as well as the attention
of committed Christians and scholars.
Surprising to some is the fact
that some of the viewpoints put forth in The Da Vinci
Code were originally outlined by scholars. The novel,
in fact, incorporates many scholarly views, subtly adapted
into its storyline. Ultimately, The Da Vinci Code
demonstrates society’s current intense interest in religious
history and its continuing fascination with a historical
Jesus.
We are not endorsing this immensely
popular book. Neither are we encouraging nor discouraging
anyone’s reading it or seeing the movie. However, the
media attention surrounding the book’s publication and
now its additional life as a major motion picture invites
us to explore the book’s issues in the light of the
New Testament texts, the history of Christianity as
a religion, and the debate over the discoveries and
rediscoveries of a plethora of old texts claiming to
preserve stories related to Jesus, His Church, and the
true gospel of Christ.
What we may forget in the heat
and passion of the historical and theological debate
about the contents of the book and film is the fact
that the book is a work of fiction. In fact, following
the title of the book on the dust jacket and title page
is found the description, “A Novel.” A problem arises
with those words, however, because The Da Vinci Code
qualifies the subtitle, “A Novel,” and dogmatically
and categorically states, “All descriptions of artwork,
architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this
novel are accurate” (The Da Vinci Code, p. 1).
Because of The Da Vinci Code’s
claims to accuracy, the book may be evaluated in the
same rigorous and careful way any other scholarly endeavor
might be examined — that is, scrutinized in light
of the available historical sources and established
evidence.
However, this examination of the
claims made in the novel is not intended to be an exhaustive,
scholarly endeavor. Indeed, in an effort to make our
book more reader-friendly, a minimum of footnotes have
been provided. Those who wish to explore the
subject in more depth are referred to the bibliography
that has been provided.
Clearly, given the number and
vigor of various discussions with individuals on airplanes,
at social events, in university classrooms, and in the
hallways at religious gatherings, we think The Da
Vinci Code raises some important questions that
are worth examining.
Although living in societies that
are influenced by the Judeo-Christian tradition, Christians
today are generally woefully uninformed about the radical
academic forces that are determined to reinterpret the
basic and longstanding traditions about Jesus of Nazareth
and the early Christian movement that declared Him to
be the divine Son of God.
For a long while, the topics discussed
and debated by New Testament scholars in academic conferences
and in scholarly journals and books, which may have
caused the blood of the faithful to “boil,” were reserved
for the academy — behind the closed doors of white
ivory towers. Recently, some of these radical scholars
have been successful in presenting their ideas to an
increasingly larger audience, without using the typical
scholarly jargon that masked their findings and without
the scholarly reviews that usually attend academic publishing.
In this larger audience are lay
consumers who are not typically inclined to ask thoughtful,
penetrating questions about sources or the interpretation
of those sources. And the academic press has been replaced
by a new outlet — the popular media, whose interests
are not always unbiased but rather are driven by ratings
and revenue.
After spending several years responding
to questions raised in popular outlets, the authors
of this book began paying attention to what family,
friends, and students were reading and watching. We
were surprised at the number of programs found on the
History and Discovery television channels and the frequency
of reports in Newsweek, Time, and U.S.
News & World Report about Jesus and the early
Christian Church. Although often visually stimulating
and cleverly presented, many of these programs and reports,
we felt, were profoundly influenced by a fringe of radical
scholars bent on rewriting the past.
In the face of numerous questions
specifically related to The Da Vinci Code’s premises
and assertions, we finally purchased and read our own
copies of this runaway bestseller. Although we recognized
the book’s literary merits and could appreciate the
suspense generated by its intriguing plot, we also instantly
knew that The Da Vinci Code was the latest and
most successful attempt to provide an alternative interpretation
of Jesus of Nazareth and early Christianity. We could
also see that it drew heavily upon the provocative arguments
and conclusions set forth by radical New Testament scholars,
who have dedicated their lives to redefining who Jesus
was and what He did.
From the countless questions from
our friends and associates, we know The Da Vinci
Code has generated a lot of interest among Latter-day
Saints. Interestingly, we came to discover also that
Christians in general (who are divided on some essential
issues about church authority and the divine nature
of Christ) are typically united in their praise of The
Da Vinci Code. What seemed obvious to us is that
helpful responses to the fundamental questions raised
in the book needed to be provided.
For some readers, The Da Vinci
Code freed them from conventional rules and values
because the book provided an attack on the establishment
and the traditional claims of –Christianity — claims
that constitute the “good news,” or the gospel of Christ.
It also challenged attitudes about women and priesthood,
Church authority, and divine miracles, especially the
Atonement and the Resurrection.
Click to Buy
In
an effort to help clarify the issues involved, we, including
our colleague Eric D. Huntsman, initially participated
in a recorded discussion entitled “What Da Vinci Didn’t
Know: LDS Perspectives on the Code,” released through
Deseret Book (2004). None of us imagined at the time
that we would follow up with a book about The Da
Vinci Code. However, after a flood of interesting
and passionate conversations, letters, e-mails, and
telephone calls in response to our CD, each of us began
to think about how we might respond more completely
to some of the important issues raised by The Da
Vinci Code.
Proposals for the publication
of a book were independently submitted to Deseret Book,
without any of the present authors being aware of what
the others had done. Deseret Book’s Cory Maxwell contacted
us to ask if we would be willing to work together on
one project that would further the discussion. With
a tight deadline, we agreed to do so, and we outlined
a book that we thought would address the important issues
raised by The Da Vinci Code.
In light of the continued commercial
success of the hardback edition of The Da Vinci Code,
the release of a “Special Illustrated Edition” (2004),
a two-million-copy paperback edition (2006), and
a Hollywood movie based on the book (2006), our decision
was most likely a fortuitous one.
Actually, our real interest is
focused on neither Dan Brown’s novel nor Ron Howard’s
film. Although they provide the basis of our discussion,
they are simply a springboard to reconsider, once again,
the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The popularity
of the book and movie also affords us an opportunity
to discuss the events that followed Jesus’ suffering,
death, and resurrection — events that profoundly impacted
Western culture and society when a written canon was
finally compiled that provides the basis for Christians’
beliefs about Jesus of Nazareth.
Based on our observations during
the past several years, three themes or topics from
The Da Vinci Code seem to have captured the attention
of a number of Latter-day Saints.
First, the book is anti-Catholic
and unfairly, in many instances, characterizes the history,
beliefs, and practices of the Catholic Church, past
and present. Some Latter-day Saints, like our Protestant
neighbors, have been influenced negatively in their
attitudes toward Rome, the papacy, and the Catholic
Church because of the dominant Protestant culture. American
prejudice against the largest Christian denomination
in the world began during the colonial period of our
history — transported from Europe where the conflict
between Protestantism and Catholicism was particularly
intense.
Second, the book describes secret
texts and an elaborate conspiracy to hide the content
of those texts from the masses. Some Latter-day Saints,
because of the remarkable stories of the coming forth
of the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham, have
been eager to accept accounts that, in their minds and
without careful investigation, seem to validate our
Church’s claims of additional scripture. Like other
Americans, some LDS readers have been willing to accept
at face value the conspiracy theories about almost anything
involving textual cover-ups — again without careful
and thoughtful review.
Finally, the book’s main secret
revolves around marriage — in this case the presumed
marriage of Jesus of Nazareth and Mary of Magdala (known
as Mary Magdalene). Our interest in the subject derives
from our Church’s focus on marriage as a most important
and sacred practice. Additionally, even though not an
official doctrine of the Church, some Latter-day Saints
have speculated that Jesus may have been married to
fulfill all righteousness (see Genesis 2:24).
Many Latter-day Saints who are
intrigued by this novel seemingly forget that the Jesus
who is finally revealed at the end of The Da Vinci
Code is not the Jesus of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John. He is not the Messiah; He is not the Son of God;
and He is not the divine Redeemer of the world. At best,
The Da Vinci Code’s Jesus was a wise man, maybe
even a prophet, but He is not the suffering, dying Savior
of the world who was miraculously raised from death
by God on the first day of the week.
As noted above, the focus in this
book, What Da Vinci Didn’t Know, is not on Dan
Brown’s book itself as much as on some of the important
questions raised in The Da Vinci Code. Therefore,
we hope our book will be helpful to those who have read
Dan Brown’s novel or seen Ron Howard’s film as well
as to those who have neither read the book nor seen
the film.
Ultimately, we see our efforts
as part of a much larger dialogue with family members,
friends, neighbors, and other people about Jesus and
the scriptures. The resulting discussion, we strongly
feel, will prove that faithful and thoughtful Latter-day
Saints have something to contribute to a world searching
for answers to important questions in these challenging
times, as reflected in Timothy’s prophecy:
