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Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking

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In "Breaking the Da Vinci Code," New Testament scholar Darrell Bock describes and refutes the "codes" behind "The Da Vinci Code," which could better be understood to be the presuppositions of author Dan Brown, and those who subscribe to his Gnostic view of Christianity.

Sadly, in our day and age, very few Christians, much less the general population, have any knowledge of the literature of the Early Church, except perhaps for the New Testament itself. It is because of this general ignorance that so many seem to readily buy into Dan Brown's "code behind the code."

As I read "The Da Vinci Code" nearly a year ago, I was totally engrossed in the mystery, but as the story progressed, I was increasingly appalled at the "history." As an amateur student of Church history, I couldn't help but wish for a single volume I could recommend to help counteract the erroneous views of Christian development that Brown promotes. "Breaking the Da Vinci Code" is one such volume.

While each "code" could have a scholarly work written about it (and indeed many have been), Bock does a good job of addressing popular misconceptions about Mary Magdalene, whether or not Jesus was married, the Gnostic gospels, the development of the New Testament, and other related issues.

It is significant that this book is endorsed by well respected Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Christian scholars. Personally, as an Orthodox Christian, I found Bock's statements to be, for the most part, thoroughly orthodox (small "o"), in the sense of C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" (another book I would also heartily recommend).

For further reading, I would strongly urge readers to take a look at "Ecclesiastical History" (also published as "Church History"), written by Eusebius in the 4th century. As I stated in my Amazon review of this work, it should be "required reading" for all thinking Christians.

Other Early Church writings should be considered, such as "The Apostolic Fathers," edited by Jack Sparks; or any of the volumes in "Ante-Nicene Fathers" and "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers" set of 38 volumes, edited by Philip Schaff; or many of the volumes in the "Ancient Christian Writers" series from Paulist Press.

I listened to the audio recording of "Breaking the Da Vinci Code," read by Chris Fabry, as I followed along in the book. While Fabry has a clear, pleasant and convincing voice for this work, I noticed that his mispronunciation of the occasional word slightly shifted the meaning of the author's intent. Not a big deal, but worthy of note. An advantage of the book over the recording is the inclusion of a selected bibliography and a helpful, simple glossary.

Darrell Bock is that rarity--a conservative evangelical historian/New Testament scholar who is as irenic as he is thorough. Moreover, he's completely familiar with postmodern approaches to historiography and philosophy--something also rare among evangelical scholars (although, it must be noted, with writers like Kevin Vanhooser coming to the fore, that is increasingly becoming a thing of the past).

All in all, of the many books out there seeking to get at the real truth behind Dan Brown's international blockbuster, The Da Vinci Code, Bock's book is the second best, just edged out by Olson and Miesel's The Da Vinci Hoax. Bock's book is so good because he possesses an extensive knowledge of what is called the New School of New Testament studies, thus properly contextualizing and laying the groundwork for a thorough discussion of The Da Vinci Code. Plus, he seems to take the challenge Brown's book presents to both historical and modern-day Christian understanding very seriously. And because he's so careful in his analysis, his conclusions rest on firm footing.

Bottom line, both books come to basically the same conclusion: There is little or no evidence for the claims to historical accuracy that Dan Brown presents both in The Da Vinci Code and in his subsequent interviews. The plain fact of the matter is that on every front the evidence points in the direction of historic orthodox Christianity and away from Brown's revisionist history. All the sensational claims Brown makes--from the marriage of Mary Magdalene to Jesus, to the superiority of the so-called Gnostic Gospels to the Canonical Gospels, to the idea that the deity of Jesus was a fourth-century construct of the Council of Nicea--are masterfully exposed for the frauds and fabrications they are. When the supposed historical underpinnings of The Da Vinci Code are thus revealed as fanciful, the entire superstructure of the novel comes crashing down, leaving nothing except a diaphanous construct that is almost purely the figment of Dan Brown's fervid, luxuriant imagination.

If you are at all interested in the question of the validity of the historical background to The Da Vinci Code, you owe it to yourself to read this masterful book. After that, you'll probably want to get Olson and Miesel's definitive treatment.

Professor Bock has written a fascinating historical analysis of the early Christian era, focusing on the seven codes found in the best-selling thriller by Dan Brown, The DaVinci Codes.

His explanation of the theological view of the Gnostics is perhaps the most enlightening. The Gnostics were a now-forgotten early Christian group, that postulated the road to Heaven was through intense study, knowledge, and enlightment, which were only achieved by a select group of intellectuals. They also generally viewed Jesus and Christ as two entities, seeing a separation between the Savior and the man.

Clearly these Gnostic views are almost unrecognizable to "orthodox" Christians of our era, where salvation is based on belief and forgiveness of sin, and God had one Son who suffered on the cross. However, Brown's characters lean heavily on them.

Professor Bock also delves deeply into the code that says Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a blood line that extends to modern France.

These are not new theories. The French descendants have been talking about this for centuries. Many other books in the last 20 years have expressed this. Even the 1970's musical Jesus Christ Superstar, now endorsed by the Vatican, hints at a relationship beyond that of teacher and apostle. However, Bock analyzes carefully all Biblical and non-Biblical sources and finds no evidence whatsoever that Jesus was married or had descendants. This seems to be the one fact that all Biblical scholars agree upon.

The other DaVinci codes are similarly dissected in great historical perspective, involving every known source, and all are found to be lacking. Dan Brown has written an interesting thriller, but it has no basis in history, as the Vatican is now proclaiming as well.

For example, Brown's characters claim the church is anti-women, when in fact, Jesus included women in his ministry, delivered much revelation to them, and had them observe the crucifixion and the resurrection. Mary Magdalene and the other women were the apostles to the apostles with respect to the resurrection.

The DaVinci codes also claim that the early church fathers rewrote history as late as 400 years after Christ, to suit their purposes. This area seems to be Bock's real specialty, as he quotes many sources to confirm that the four gospels were established and Jesus was the saviour long before any secretive 4th century gathering. He also gives a fascinating account of how the four gospels came to be written and the relationships between their writers and the early Christians and apostles.

There seems to be zero historical basis for one of Brown's characters claiming that the 4 known gospels were selected from 80 potential gospels.

In sum, I recommend that all who want to understand how Christianity evolved, and also enjoy a good popular thriller, take the opportunity to pick up a lesson in history and theology from Professor Bock. I read many parts of this text several times, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The DaVinci Codes are like the Umberto Eco novels in that one needs some outside historical context to really enjoy the work. By the way, Eco has also studied the DaVinci codes and reached the same conclusions as Professor Bock.

In spite of the impression one might get from popular discussions, shooting holes in the scholarship behind "The Da Vinci Code" is not a difficult task. The target is too big. Bock's book is not my favorite, but is near the top of the books I have read on this subject.

THE BOOK'S STRONG POINTS
Bock stays on target. He actually addresses questions that are being asked and doesn't stray as far as others.

Bock is from Dallas Theological Seminary. His foreword was written by Francis J. Moloney from The Catholic University of America (not exactly bunk mates in the dormitory of theology). This shows an attempt to speak from a broad perspective. Although he doesn't exactly pull off the attempt as well as he could.

The book is easy to read.

THE BOOK'S WEAK POINT
It isn't very exciting. After reading the exciting "The Da Vinci Code" this is a little like sitting down for a lecture.

A BETTER BOOK
I think this is probably the best first book one can read on the subject. IF one is intrigued enough to dig a little deeper I suggest "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" by James L. Garlow and Peter Jones. But if you do, read it after this book.

Bock does a very good job in both explanation and simplification of the arguments, so the lay reader could understand this historical revisionism for what it is.

He did good research in a field he is accomplished in, the early church. He also exposes how terms such as secret and conspiracy are misapplied into known , rejected works of the early church and debunks the Nicea conspiracy.

This is a subject that churches should cover prior to the release of the film, so less than biblically literate members will not be caught up in distortions and revisionism. I strongly recommend this readable book for churches to make available to their members.

Bock has written a very fair and balanced treatment of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. He does not exhibit any anger at all toward Brown's book or Brown himself. Bock simply seeks to explain the questionable (at best) history behind The Da Vinci code and make readers of the book understand that it is wonderful fiction and "should be appreciated as such" (a direct quote from Bock's book), but that's all it is, FICTION.
Bock quotes from several first and second century primary sources, most outside of the books that make up the current Bible, to support his contention that there is very little good history to support Brown's claims in his book.
In contrast to many reviewers who have dismissed this book as a "hatchet job" on Brown with a preconcieved idea to dismiss his claims, Bock has no problem with affirming in part a couple of Brown's claims, such as the role of women in the early Church. This is the mark of a fair and balanced historical treatment.
Bock fully explains that many of the "facts" presented as contained in actual historical documents in The DaVinci Code, including some of the gnostic gospels, simply do not support the ideas contained in Brown's book. Basically, even his own "sources" don't even support his arguments. Therefore, many of those arguments, such as the contention that Mary Magdeline's reputation was denegrated as prostitute in order to suppress her real importance to Jesus. The real historical fact is that the ONLY reference to Mary Magdeline as a prostitute was made by a Pope in the fourth century, and this is most likely due to a misreading of the first Bible passages where Mary appears. Bock explains that that passage actually speaks of another Mary as a possible prostitute but that passage introduces Mary Magdeline as a distinct seperate person from the Mary who annointed Jesus feet and was most likely a former prostitute. Mary Magdeline, most likely followed Jesus after he exercised demons from her in one of his many miracles. Mary was a disciple just as the other 12 were disciples. She also served as a "disciple to the disciples" in telling the story of the resurrected Jesus. No more, no less.
Bock also puts the contention that Jesus as a holy Jew "couldn't" have been single in historical context. In fact, many strict holy Jews in the first century were single, based upon their reading of God's instructions to them in the Bible. Bock wonderfully addresses the issue of Jesus divinity and conclusively proves, again using first century sources, some of them outside the Bible, that Jesus was definitely thought of as devine several hundred years before Nicia took place. There was no "vote" on Jesus divinity as Brown's characters contend because that was already a well accepted fact among Christians from the first century forward.
Bock does not specifically address DaVinci's painting because there is no need to. Once Brown's other "codes" are broken, which Bock does with historical precision and impeccable sources, there is no need to address DaVinci's possible role in a secret society. Once the other more important "codes" are broken, it's readily apparent that without the foundation of the book, the details of DaVinci's alleged membership in a secret society (which was in fact founded in the 1960s by a French con-man, it is not an ancient society at all) simply aren't worth addressing because it's apparent by Bock's main argument against the other "codes" that these details on the face of them have no historical basis.
After reading or listening to Bock's very wonderfully sourced treatment of Brown's "history" no one can go away still convinced in The DaVinci Code's "history" only that it is a wonderfully written novel by a wonderfully creative author, unless they specifically choose to remain blind to well researched historical facts.

I am staggered by the inattentiveness of the (below) critics! How many seem to lament the fact that Dr. Bock "failed" to respond adequately to the significance of the Priory of Sion or the Opus Dei sect of Catholicism! Their complaint seems to be that Dr. Bock somehow "neglected" to offer a point by point refutation of every aspect and claim of Brown's woeful attempt at historical fiction.

This in spite of the fact that Dr. Bock never intended his little book to provide such a comprehensive response to Brown's book. Bock's intention (and scope of his study)is clearly stated on page 9 of the introduction:

"Our research for uncovering the validity of these codes will focus on the 325 years immediately following the birth of Christ, for the claims of the novel rise or fall on the basis of things emerging from this period".

Operating with this intention in mind and within this scope of research, Dr. Bock does a splendid job! He argues persuasively for the primacy of the four canonical gospels (being among the earliest records and most lacking in legendary embellishment) over against the gnostic, apocryphal 'gospels' (which are often a hundred years or more removed from the events they are describing).

Considering that Brown's radical thesis depends for its very life on the alleged primacy and superiority of the apocryphal gospels, Bock's demonstration of the intrinsic superiority of the canonical gospels is altogether appropriate.

Especially helpful is Bock's treatment (in the first three chapters)of Mary Magdalene and the discussion of Jesus' marital status. I found it very enlightening to learn that virtually all New Testament scholars today are agreed that Jesus was unmarried (as historic Christianity has maintained).

Bock cites John Dominic Crossan (who, by the way, is not exactly a Christian fundamentalist), who points out that, "there is no evidence that Jesus was married, multiple indications that he was not, and no early texts suggesting wife or children..." (pp 31-32)

Concerning Crossan's conclusion about Jesus' unmarried status, Bock rightly observes, "It is such an unusual situation in the study of Jesus for scholars of all persuasions to agree- when it happens, one should note it" (page 33).

Again, virtually all scholars agree that Jesus remained unmarried throughout his life. So much for his alleged love life with Mary Magdalene and their mutual crumbsnatchers, who allegedly absconded to the South of France! So much for the mystery of Brown's "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and all the mythology it entails! The first three chapters of Bock's work alone are worth the full price of the book, as they thoroughly blast Mr. Brown's thesis to shreds!

Dr. Bock is a first-rate New Testament scholar, and highly regarded within his field of specialty (by both liberal and conservative scholars alike). Dan Brown, some would argue, is a first-rate novelist (I won't disagree). However, at the end of the day, let's respect each man for his respective field of expertise.

Perhaps Bock's work isn't the suspense-filled "page turner" that Brown's is (as Bock is not a novelist), but neither is Brown's work the carefully researched, scholarly composition that Bock has produced (as Brown is not a Jesus scholar).

What, exactly, are you looking for......FACT or FICTION?? If it's the latter, quite clearly Dr. Bock is not your cup of tea! Nevertheless, he has accomplished what he set out to accomplish! Make no mistake.

I just saw Darrell Bock this week as he shared some of this information in a radio broadcast regarding The Da Vinci Code. A rare blend of grace and scholarly wit, Darrell precisely targets the key Christian information conflicting in the novel. This book will be especially useful for those seeking quotes from the ancient sources that prove the truthfulness behind church history and Christianity.

The book's only weakness is that its actual dialogue with the text of The Da Vinci Code is limited. Like some of the other Christian-related Da Vinci Code titles, he spends the vast majority of his time demonstrating the weaknesses of the controversial topics rather than picking the specific points of the novel that reveal the controversies.

In the end, I've found it one of the better reads in this area. Having researched this topic heavily (see my The Da Vinci Code Controversy book), I can definitely recommend this as an added tool in defending Christianity in response to Da Vinci Code issues.

It is interesting to note the approaches to rebutting the historical claims of Dan Brown that he used as the basis for his popular novel The Da Vinci Code. While the initial challenges to Brown came from the Evangelical camp, too many of these efforts, perhaps following the "proof text" methodology common in much of their apologetical work, have concentrated on the minutiae of Brown's asides into art and history while ignoring the more profound questions of the theological implications of his rewriting of the Christian story. While a laundry list of Brown's many historical faux pas make for amusing reading, it leaves the syncretistic presuppositions prevalent in his thesis untouched.

Daniel Bock's Breaking the Da Vinci Code is a marvelous exception to this pattern. By not being lured into secondary matters, he manages in a somewhat short treatment to get at the heart of Brown's claims about the New Testament canon and the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Focusing on key themes within Brown's presuppositions, Bock performs a thorough deconstruction of Brown's ideas and shows the underlying premises to be completely without merit. Brown's distorted view of Jewish ideas of marraige and celibacy, his use of later discredited Gnostic texts while discounting the canonical Gospels written centuries earlier, and his complete misreading even of his own evidence (e.g., the Gnostic texts give no evidence of Jesus ever being married) all are placed under scrutiny and Brown's entire intellectual edifice crumbles into dust.

Those looking for a point by point refutatation of Brown's claims will have to look elsewhere. However, such efforts serve to attack the facade of Brown's views while leaving the underlying structure intact. Bock has largely ignored the externals and went straight to the heart of the controversy. For this reason, Breaking the Da Vinci Code stands as the greatest response from the Protestant side and is an essential read on the topic.

With over 40 million copies sold into 44 languages (as of May 2006), the Brown blockbuster has certainly made an impact. And the May 2006 film version simply adds to the book's success. But the book is as controversial as it is popular.

Indeed, while the book is a work of fiction, Brown claims it is based on fact. And given the importance of the subject matter - who Jesus was, what he taught, and how the church presented that - if his book is in fact riddled with errors and misinformation, then it deserves closer inspection.

And that has happened. There have been a number of good critiques of The Da Vinci Code written by both Catholics and Protestants. Over a dozen book-length treatments come to mind. One of the earliest, and best, Protestant treatments is this book.

Darrell Bock is a leading New Testament scholar and is well qualified to address this topic. He has written extensively elsewhere on some of the issues raised by Dan Brown. Thus this volume is a first-rate assessment of the many theological and historical errors found in Brown's best-seller.

Meaty chapters cover the key points of controversy: Did Jesus marry and have a child? Just who was Mary Magdalene? Are the Gnostic gospels on a par with the four canonical gospels? Did the early church suppress certain truths and writings about Jesus? Was the divinity of Jesus a later church construct?

These and related questions are carefully answered by Bock. The nearly 200 pages of argument found here make a solid case that Brown has got it wrong big time. Moreover, Bock demonstrates that the central claims of Christianity remain trustwothy.

Everyone who has read Brown should also read Bock. The falsehoods and foolishness of Brown are more than adequately dealt with by the intelligent and irenic pen of Bock. Five stars.