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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easily the best Evangelical expose of the Da Vinci Code, March 6, 2005
Of the countless rebuttals of the Da Vinci Code, this is by far the best one for a Christian audience. (For medievalists and later, Sharan Newman's is the best, but unlike this book, her grasp of theology is a little shaky...) It is written in a measured tone - no wild denunciations here - and shows conclusively that Brown's understanding of the early Christian church, and of theology, are pure rubbish. But as well as telling us the truth about Gnosticism, Mary Magdalene and other key things, Witherington shows us the deep theological agenda behind not just the Da Vinci Code itself, but all the other works in that genre. It is therefore a challenging book for any Christian to read, one that makes us think about our own world view and why we believe what we do. Make sure you read this book, and that everyone in your Sunday School class does too - it will be essential reading for when the Da Vinci movie comes out, and a first class apologetics/evangelistic tool for your non-Christian friends who will be flocking to see it. Make sure you and your pastor know Witherington's book. Christopher Catherwood, Cambridge UK and Richmond VA historian (author of CHRISTIANS MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE [Zondervan, 2003] and CHURCHILL'S FOLLY: HOW WINSTON CHURCHILL CREATED MODERN IRAQ [Carroll and Graf: hardcover 2004 and paperback 2005])
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aliens are Coming!, April 12, 2005
In a culture that is swarmed with media it becoming increasingly hard for people to discern fact from fiction. A couple decades ago the War of the Worlds aired over the radio. This little flick was an hour long narrative of aliens conquering the world. Soon enough people all over the US tuned in to the story after the "this is a fiction" disclaimer. Hundreds of 911 calls were made during the War of the Worlds broadcast because many civilians actually thought that aliens were taking over the world. Although, it is not always to this extreme, fact and fiction are becoming meshed together into one big boiling pot of mass media. The Da Vinci Code written by Dan Brown is a historical fiction for the current popular audience. As expected there are many people that ignored the "historical fiction" disclaimer and began to believe all of the parts of the novel. Ben Witherington III composed The Gospel Code in response to the Da Vinci Code.
An entire History Channel special was dedicated to proving the facts behind the Da Vinci Code. During this broadcast the only source and reference used was Browns book. Browns book gained believers just like any other top selling story with media coverage. Witherington responds to Browns novel with a scientific but dummed down examination of Brown's "truths." Witherington targets the same audience as Brown with an aggressive style. Brown alludes to Timothy 4:3-4 when he says that people are believing things when they are "beyond belief." On page 12 he clearly states the book's agenda as "a wake up call to those who have not been noticing the sign of the times." He is extremely credible and informative as he reasons his way through the fallacies in Brown's novel. As the professor in my speech class would say Witherington uses "inductive" or sign "reasoning" for many points throughout the book. An example of this reasoning is when Witherington challenges the validity of Thomas's work as a Gospel. Witherington shows that Thomas doesn't have any eyewitness events on Jesus' life. He also says that Thomas writes in a non-Jewish style which brings him further away from a gospel. Thomas also says that you can find God from within relying on your own experiences, while Jesus wants us to learn on revelation rather than experience. Other than the persuasive style, Witherington uses emotional appeal to convince the audience. On page 81 Witherington tells the reader that part of the Nag Hammadi documents were thrown into the fire by the discoverer's mother! Most males can identify with the fear of loosing their baseball card, marble, or collection of treasures to the wrath of their mother.
Another way Witherington increased my liking for this book was through the intro and first chapter. He was very straightforward and blunt with his main points. He states seven basic errors that Brown makes in his novel. The seven errors are: the cannons were not the earliest gospels; Jesus was not proclaimed divine until the Councel at Nicacea; Emperor Constantine forced the cannons in and Gnostic gospels out of the church; Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene; the Dead Sea scrolls and Nag Hammadi documents are the earliest Christian documents; Jesus had offspring and this would defile the beliefs of the church. He lists all seven of them right away and then analyzes them in the proceeding chapters. As a biblical scholar and historian he has a knowledge of the issues that are brought up in the Da Vinci Code. Every main point that he had was sufficiently supported with concrete evidence. This book could have been a long and boring scientific novel but as he stated at the bottom of page 12; he wanted to avoid cluttering the book with text numbers so it would be easier to understand by the reader.
I feel that I have been completely informed on the Gnostic gospels, the issue of Christ's relationship, and the churches view on Christ and marriage. Although the chance will not arise every day I feel that I am well equipped to explain to a Brown believer that Witherington's points are correct. Those who read the Da Vinci Code should be exposed to Witherington's The Gospel Code because he puts Browns novel in its place... the fiction section.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A time worthy book..., July 28, 2004
Seldom has a book had as much impact on society, particularly a fiction one, as the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. In the year and a half since it burst onto the bestseller lists, people who never thought much about Jesus have begun talking about Him and some who have thought about Him have changed their views. Those who remain faithful are often challenged at the water cooler to explain where in the Bible the Mrs. Jesus section is, or some such thing, and need something more than being able to say that is untrue because it's what they believe. To fill this gap, a host of books debunking the "Magdalene Files" have emerged, but this one stands ahead of the others.
**** While most are thin volumes that address superficial difficulties, The Gospel Code digs in deeper, exploring the root of the problem that has more branches than just Da Vinci. After reading this, you will know about the gnostic heresies, the alleged "lost books of the Bible," and have a good grounding in early church history. For that alone, even if you never read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, or DaVinci Code, etc., this is a time worthy book. ****
Reviewed by Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.
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