.jpg "The DaVinci Code")
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“Ask Anything About the Bible” is our newest blog series. A friend recently presented this question to me.
The Bible, a tome of sixty-six books, is in sync within itself with God’s core purpose.
The popular book and movie of the early 2000s, The DaVinci Code, strongly asserts that many more books should have been included in the Bible but church leaders have wanted writings to confirm their own agenda.
It is not a new concept as the question has been asked as early as Bible times before Christ.
The Bible and The DaVinci Code start with very different premises.
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How Do the Assertions of the DaVinci Code stack up with the Bible?
The Bible, a tome of sixty-six books, is in sync within itself with God’s core purpose.
The popular book and movie of the early 2000s, The DaVinci Code, strongly asserts that many more books should have been included in the Bible but church leaders have wanted writings to confirm their own agenda.
It is not a new concept as the question has been asked as early as Bible times before Christ.
The DaVinci Code vs. the historical Bible
The Bible and The DaVinci Code start with very different premises.
Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code character, the historian Sir Leigh Teabing, says in the book:
“The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book...” The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
The Bible claims all books in it were written by human beings inspired by God to write in their own style the words of God Himself.
Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. 2 Peter 1:20-21 NLT
The DaVinci Code vs. Bible History
1. The DaVinci Code: The book repeatedly says the church through the years has dominated and re-written the Bible to control their belief structure.
Bible History: The Old Testament was a cohesive body of work chosen by holy men hundreds of years before the New Testament. The New Testament was decided by Christians within a couple hundred years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Both Testaments had numerous books debated about for inclusion or exclusion.
Book approval was based on cohesiveness to the rest of the Bible. Synchronization was most important to the Torah, to Jesus’ life and teachings, and that of the Apostles. The process was called Canonization and the final product was called the canon.
2. The DaVinci Code: The book claims the Nicean Council in 325 A.D. narrowly voted that Jesus is God. Before that everyone knew He was only a man. Emperor Constantine considered this an agenda for military dominance so he destroyed these conflicting books.
Bible History: The Nicean Council of 325 A.D. narrowly voted on one aspect of Jesus’ deity. Even Arius, who believed Jesus was created by God the Father and not of the same substance of God the Father, still believed Jesus was holy and divine sent from God. Council attendee records we still have today verify this. Constantine is not recorded to have ordered and carried out a mass destruction of religious books.
3. The DaVinci Code: The book claims that the Bible has been changed continually to suit the church’s agenda.
Bible History: The Bible has changed very little even in the early first and second century there was predominantly agreement. The final the New Testament Canon, and therefore the entire Bible, was considered complete and closed to additions by the end of the 300s A.D.
The rules to copy had strict codes in both the Old Testament and New Testament period and well beyond.
The Qumran scrolls which The DaVinci Code referred to verified miniscule changes in the Old Testament books. The writings found were written in the pre-New Testament period so stories of Jesus were not in those writings.
New Testament handwritten scrolls were in monumental number until the advent of the Guttenberg printing press. They are incredibly accurate comparing one text to the other. Examples of existing mistakes are on par with a number with an extra zero or a misspelling.
4. The DaVinci Code: The book asserts that many gospels were not allowed because Emperor Constantine and the church intentionally silenced them because of conflict with their desire for power and their desired rhetoric.
Bible History: Many extra gospels were scrutinized by early church leaders. Those that did not get added were not added for various reasons.
Some were not in sync with things Jesus and the Apostles taught. A unified message from God was considered important. Gnosticism was a sect in early church history with a lot of writing that was not in sync with the Bible’s view of Jesus (Arian, referred to earlier at the Nicean Council, was a Gnostic).
Some writings were obviously fraudulent. Other gospels showed up in the second and third century claiming to be from eyewitnesses, but were obviously written in a later period.
Some writings provided good background to life in Jesus’ day in the first century but were not considered on par as God’s divine message.
Emperor Constantine had no influence over the Old Testament inclusion. That was decided before the time of Christ. Constantine did initiate the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. for the purpose of a resolution of discord in the church regarding Aryanism. That council did not choose Biblical texts for the Bible. None of those original records and eyewitness writings mention Biblical texts being questioned.
The gamut from many other gods to no God at all
People have come up with their own variation of God since the beginning of the Bible.
In more modern times, people have asked if there even is a God.
Is this God of the Bible a sham or made up to make weak minded people feel good?
Did He really influence human beings to write the Bible?
Throughout the Bible there have been many, many gods, powers, and angels, often in conflict with the one referred to as the Lord God Almighty. These have also dominated ancient lore.
They have gone toe to toe with God in various stories of the Bible. These stories have defined for us that God is much greater is much better than any other powers and deities.
There have always been doubters
The Gospel of John indicated that Jesus said several times there would be doubters. Here is an example.
If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” John 5:46-47 NLT
For many, the journey to understanding the truth and benefits of the Bible has been a process of sincere seeking and serious study of the Bible itself.
Consider spending some time reading the source directly. If you would like to start reading, I would suggest beginning with the Gospel of John, reading in a more modern Bible translation such as the New Living Translation. Consider downloading this free Bible app from Bible.com.
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Previous: What is the Purpose of the Bible
Up next: Bible Stories: In the Bible or fragments pieced together?
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Reflect:
What has influenced you most about your opinion of the Bible? Is it what you watch or read from various sources or have you gone to the Bible itself?
Would you consider reading it for yourself?
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