The Da Vinci Code

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The Da Vinci Code Faith, Fact or Fiction
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Just in case you havent noticed, a phenomenon
known as the Da Vinci Code has taken the world by
storm.
Released 3 years ago, 40,000,000 million
hardcover copies have been sold with the release
of a paperback version just this past March.
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A major motion picture starring Tom Hanks and
directed by Ron Howard is set to hit theatres on
May 19th.
Many people are expecting that this film will be
the blockbuster that Hollywood has been longing
for.
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What is The Da Vinci Code?
A novel by Dan Brown, whose previous book, Angels
and Demons, introduces the main character, Robert
Langdon.
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What is The Da Vinci Code?
The plot of this book concerns the attempts of
Dr. Robert Langdon, Professor of Religious
Symbology at Harvard University, to solve the
murder of Jacques Saunière, the curator of the
Louvre Museum in Paris, after Saunière's body had
been found inside the Louvre naked with a
cryptic message written on his torso in his own
blood and posed like Leonardo da Vinci's famous
drawing, Vitruvian Man.
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What is The Da Vinci Code?
The plot continues in ways that combine the
detective thriller and conspiracy theory genres
with Saunière's murder being attributed to
powerful forces that wish to preserve ancient
secrets relating to Jesus having been married to
Mary Magdalene and having been the father of
their child. The interpretation of hidden
messages inside Da Vinci's famous works,
including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper,
figure prominently in the solution to the
mystery. The solution itself is found to be
intimately connected with the possible location
of the Holy Grail and to a mysterious society
called the Priory of Sion, as well as to the
Knights Templar. The Catholic organization Opus
Dei also figures prominently in the plot.
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What is The Da Vinci Code?
It transpires that Saunière was in fact the
secret head of the Priory of Sion - an
organisation that was devoted to preserving
certain secrets about the location of the Holy
Grail. The cryptic messages on his body being
his own dying attempts to leave an important
message to his grand-daughter, Sophie Neveu,
who was employed by the French state as a
cryptologist.
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What is The Da Vinci Code?
According to the novel, the secrets of the Holy
Grail, as kept by the Priory of Sion, are as
follows The Holy Grail is not a physical
chalice, but a woman, namely Mary Magdalene, who
helped to carry the bloodline of Christ into the
following ages. Mary Magdalene was of royal
descent (through the Jewish House of Benjamin)
and was the wife of Jesus, of the House of David.
That she was a prostitute was a slander invented
by the Catholic Church to obscure their true
relationship. At the time of the Crucifixion, she
was pregnant. After the Crucifixion, she fled to
Gaul, where she was sheltered by the Jews of
Marseilles. She gave birth to a daughter, named
Sarah. The bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene
became the Merovingian dynasty of France.
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What is The Da Vinci Code?
The French expression for the Holy Grail, San
gréal, actually is a play on Sang réal, which
literally means "royal blood". The Grail relics
consist of the documents that testify to the
bloodline, as well as the actual bones of Mary
Magdalene. Sophie Neveu and her brother are
descendants of the original bloodline of Jesus
and Mary Magdalene (their last name was changed
to hide their ancestry).
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What is The Da Vinci Code?
The existence of the bloodline was the secret
that was contained in the documents discovered by
the Crusaders after they conquered Jerusalem in
1099. The Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar
were organized to keep the secret.
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What are we to make of The Da Vinci Code?
On the one hand, if read (cover to cover -
including the so-called Fact page) as purely a
fictional novel, The Da Vinci Code can be
appreciated as a fast-paced murder mystery a
good summer vacation read.
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What are we to make of The Da Vinci Code?
On the other hand, The Da Vinci Code throws out
so many statements claims concerning the
teachings of Christianity that one can get
confused or misled by its assertions. For
example
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According to The Da Vinci Code
? Jesus is not God he was only a man. ? Jesus
was married to Mary Magdalene. ? She is to be
worshiped as a goddess. ? Jesus got her pregnant,
and the two had a daughter. ? That daughter gave
rise to a prominent family line that is still
present in Europe today. ? The Bible was put
together by a pagan Roman emperor. ? Jesus was
viewed as a man and not as God until the fourth
century, when he was deified by the emperor
Constantine. ? The Gospels have been edited to
support the claims of later Christians.
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According to The Da Vinci Code
? In the original Gospels, Mary Magdalene rather
than Peter was directed to establish the
Church. ? There is a secret society known as the
Priory of Sion that still worships Mary Magdalene
as a goddess and is trying to keep the truth
alive. ? The Catholic Church is aware of all this
and has been fighting for centuries to keep it
suppressed. It often has committed murder to do
so. ? The Catholic Church is willing to and often
has assassinated the descendents of Christ to
keep his bloodline from growing.
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What are we to do with The Da Vinci Code?
Well. avoiding extremes is probably a good idea
Some Christians have, perhaps, gone overboard
in reacting to the book (and film) - condemning
The Da Vinci Code as one of the worst heresies
ever.
On the other hand some Christians have, perhaps
gone under-board - not taking seriously enough
the many false teachings that are contained in
this book and how these teachings can undermine
faith.
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What are we to do with The Da Vinci Code?
Without judging Dan Browns motives or intent, we
will look at the false teaching that The Da Vinci
Code contains.
(As believers we may not be personally challenged
by Browns book, but we have to recognize that
there are others who might be tempted to buy into
what he says.)
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What are we to do with The Da Vinci Code?
We will also recognize that virtually all
scholars of the ancient world, the Bible and
early Church history agree
The assertions made in The Da Vinci Code
(concerning things like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the
Knights Templar and the Priory of Sion) are
simply false. This is just bad science shoddy
historical research at work here.
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What are we to do with The Da Vinci Code?
Some of the issues we will address are
Is Jesus really God or is that a fabrication of
3rd and 4th century Christians?
Can the Gospels (and the rest of the Bible) be
trusted or are there other gospels that deserve
consideration?
Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene and did the
Church try to cover that up?
How can we, as believers, use something like The
Da Vinci Code to further Gods Kingdom?
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How can we, as believers, use something like The
Da Vinci Code to further Gods Kingdom?
Or, another way of asking the question
Why bother?
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Why bother?
Its a tempting question, isnt it? Why bother
spending time or energy arguing against the ideas
advocated in the Da Vinci Code?
Dont we just play into the hands of those who
want to make money off of this?
Isnt this our societys problem instead of ours?
Dont we have better things to do?
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Why bother?
Well consider these words from Jesus
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,
If you abide in my word, you are truly my
disciples, and you will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free. (John 831-32)
Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth,
and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. (John 146)
(Jesus said) When the Spirit of truth comes, he
will guide you into all the truth, for he will
not speak on his own authority, but whatever he
hears he will speak, and he will declare to you
the things that are to come. He will glorify me,
for he will take what is mine and declare it to
you. (John 1613-14)
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Why bother?
Consider these words from the rest of the New
Testament
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the
truth. (Romans 118)
Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in
- who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we
have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us
into slavery - to them we did not yield in
submission even for a moment, so that the truth
of the gospel might be preserved for you.
(Galatians 24-5)
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Why bother?
And then this from Ephesians
And he (Jesus) gave the apostles, the prophets,
the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to
equip the saints for the work of ministry, for
building up the body of Christ, until we all
attain to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ, so that we may no longer be children,
tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about
by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by
craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking
the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way
into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom
the whole body, joined and held together by every
joint with which it is equipped, when each part
is working properly, makes the body grow so that
it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 411-16)
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Why bother?
Because God is in the truth business
God is in the truth business because it is only
the truth that sets us free it is only the truth
that grants us salvation it is only the truth
that matters in the long run.
And people need to know the truth!
They need to know Jesus!
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They need to know Jesus!
They need to know Him the way we do
As Savior!
As King Eternal!
As Good Shepherd!
As the Way to the Father!
As the Lord of All!
As Friend!
As the Truth that sets us free!
As the Son of God!
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They need to know Jesus!
They need to hear from us the truth of who Jesus
is and the truth of what Jesus did. They need to
hear the truth of the Gospel proclaimed. They
need to hear the clear call of Gods love.
And they especially need to hear all this at a
time when the truthfulness and clarity of Gods
Word is called into question by Da Vinci Codes or
Gospels of Judas! They need to have answers to
their questions and they need to hear responses
to their challenges.
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This is a golden opportunity
An opportunity to engage in conversations with
our neighbors, co-workers and classmates about
Jesus - the real Jesus of Scripture!
An opportunity to give witness to the truth as
God has revealed it to us in His Word.
An opportunity to take the tactics of Satan and
turn them against him.
An opportunity to invite people to believe.
An opportunity to further Gods Kingdom!
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Remember what the apostle Peter said?
In your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy,
always being prepared to make a defense to anyone
who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in
you yet do it with gentleness and respect,
having a good conscience, so that, when you are
slandered, those who revile your good behavior in
Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 315-16)
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The Da Vinci Code Faith, Fact or Fiction
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Let this sermon series prepare you to know
speak the truth!
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The world needs to hear it!