Torch, Summer 2006

The story has an aura of intellectual acceptability because of historic locations, the references to works of art, and the often untranslated French and Latin. Brown makes it appear that Leonardo da Vinci hid the secret of Jesus’ relationship to Mary Magdalene in his art and highlighted the sacred feminine character of the early church in his other works. For example, in The Last Supper we are told the figure to the right of Jesus is not the Apostle John, but rather Mary Magdalene. The character in The Da Vinci Code explaining this interpretation goes to great lengths to point out that the person in the painting has such feminine characteristics that it could be no one else. What he forgot to explain is that Jesus is at the table with His 12 disciples. Which disciple is missing? The fact that the character looks feminine is not unusual for artists of the Italian Renaissance such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Cellini. Notice Leonardo’s painting St. John the Baptist , and you’ll see another example of this technique, which was also present in many artist’s works of the day. But what about the specific claims made by the book? There are far too many to discuss in this brief article, so let me focus on three key elements of the conspiracy: Jesus Christ, the early church, and the New Testament. W ho W as J esus ? The historic and biblical understanding of Jesus does not fare well in The Da Vinci Code. Two major challenges are made: Jesus was only raised to the status of deity by the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 and that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a daughter. The Da Vinci Code states, “Jesus’ establishment as the ‘Son of God’ was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicea ... [and it was] a relatively close vote at that” (p. 233). The character goes on to say, “Until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet … a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity” (p. 233). The truth of the matter is, of course, the New Testament proclaims unequivocally that Jesus Christ is indeed God incarnate. He is called “God” numerous times in the New Testament (Titus 2:13; Romans 9:5; John 1:1; etc.), and His role as Creator is matter-of-factly stated (Col. 1:16). Jesus clearly takes on the prerogatives of God when He forgives sin (Mark 2:1-12), describes His role as the apocalyptic Judge of all (John 5:25, 29), and confirms His identity with God (John 10:30). 8 TORCH / Summer 2006