The Da Vinci Deception [Paperback]

Ted Sri; Mark Shea; Editors of the Catholic Exchange (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2006

Why has The Da Vinci Code sold tens of millions of copies worldwide? Is the book’s phenomenal success due to its compelling characters, thrilling plot points, or impeccable research? No. The Da Vinci Code has become an international hit because of its lurid prose and its sensationalistic—even blasphemous—claims regarding the “true” history of Christianity. In the end, it is nothing more than a thinly veiled assault on the person of Jesus Christ and His Church. Millions of people, who are not experts in history, art, theology, or archeology, are being led astray by The Da Vinci Code’s fraudulent assertions and invented history. On May 19th, The DaVinci Code will be released as a major motion picture. Film critics have predicted it will be one of the year’s biggest blockbusters. The Da Vinci Deception is a powerful antidote to the spiritual poison found in The DaVinci Code. This easy-to-read, question-and-answer book tackles the key errors in this devastating cultural phenomenon. It is the perfect giveaway to family, friends, parishioners, and anyone that may be in danger of having their faith in Christ and His Church eroded by the mockery of Truth that is The Da Vinci Code.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The DaVinci Code is the the old saying that if you’re going to tell a lie make it big. -- Tom Allen, President & Editor-in-Chief, CatholicExchange.com

About the Author

Mark Shea is Senior Content Editor of Catholic Exchange, and co-author of Catholic Scripture Study. He is the author of numerous best-selling books including Making Senses Out of Scripture, By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition and This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence.

Mark frequently appears on T.V. and radio, and is the beloved host of what may be the most popular Catholic blog on the Internet, Catholic and Enjoying It.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Ascension Press (February 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932927646
• ISBN-13: 978-1932927641
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,549,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Facts and Logic overturn fictional "history", April 3, 2006

By 

D. Ferrell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Da Vinci Deception (Paperback)

With all due respect to previous reviewers who may have glanced at this book,Opus Dei is NOT a monastic order and has zero monks.

Dead Sea Scrolls are Jewish and make zero reference to Jesus OR Xty. There was NO Vatican in the "early centuries of Xty." not until 12th century, a fact explained concisely with precision in Deception Q+A format. Easy to check and a quick read. Just the simple fact that the Church venerates (not worships) the Blessed Virgin Mary completely displaces all DVC claims that the Church suppressed women.Myth after manufactured,conjured misleading 'facts' are dispelled.Another key fact recalls that the earliest Christians DID believe Jesus was divine, 250 years before Nicea! There are no rabbits appearing from Brown's hat just $$$$ into his hat. A brief look(as this book aptly explains) at the New Testament itself mentions Jesus as God's Son over 100 times and early Christian writers Ignatius,Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Tertullian as well.Christ's humanity is very clear in the Gospels not the Gnostic writings, but the New Testament. Christ bleeds real blood, cries tears at the death of his friend Lazarus,desires to share Passover with his friends,the Apostles and so on. Great for subway,bus,doctor appointment waiting room times. Best book for the price and info. This book exposes countless deceptions and provides the facts without clutter.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A simple yet deep delving into the fact and fiction behind Brown's work., April 20, 2006

By 

Justin M. West - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Da Vinci Deception (Paperback)

This is not "is not, is too" writing, as one reviewer has allueded.

Here's a snippit to show this:

_________

QUESTION: But the Da Vinci Code says the bible evolved though countless additions and revisions. After all, there weren't printing presses or copy machines in the ancient world. How do we know that the New Testament we have today is an accurate representation of the original NT?

ANSWER: Let's compare the NT manuscript traditions to the second best attested work of antiquity: The Iliad, the ancient Greek epic by Homer. Homer wrote The Iliad around 800 BC, but we have no original manuscript of the work. Or modern day editions of this classical work are based on manuscripts that date from long after Homer's lifetime. Of the approzimately 650 extant manuscripts of The Iliad, the oldest dates from around AD 200 to 300 - about 1000 years after Homer's lifetime! Nevertheless, most scholars recognize that these very late copies of The Iliad are reliable representations of Homer's original work, even through they date from more than a millenium after Homer himself.

The New Testament has a much stonger manuscript tradition than The Iliad. First, there are many more ancient manuscripts of the New Testament: we have well over 5000 manuscript copies of the New Testament in whole or in part. Second, these manuscripts are much closer in date to the originals. The New Testament was written within the first century AD, and we have copies of some of those New Testament writings within just a few decades after they were composed.

We have fragments and major portions of individual New Testament books dating from the second and thrid centuries, AD, and we ahve bond copies of the entire NT from the 4th and 5th centuries. So there are only 200 to 300 years between the copies and their original manuscripts. But with the very reliable Iliad, there's a 1000 year gap between Homer and the earliest extant copies of the work. Therefore the NT has a much stonger manuscript history than any other work of the ancient world.

QUESTION: Okay. But how do we know these NT manuscripts faithfully represnent the original texts?

ANSWER: Because when you place those 5000 or so existing NT manuscripts side by side, they match up almost perfectly. It's importaint to note that these manuscripts were copied by many different people, from various parts of the world, at different times. Yet scholars have shown how these 5000 copies are 99.5% a match with each other on all major points. There may be some minor variations in terms of spelling or word order or vocabulary, but nothing that changes the sense of a particular verse or passage - nothing affecting matters of doctrine or morals.

This remarkably low rate of variation between the thousands of NT manuscripts should not surprise us. Remember the early Chritains who passed on the Scriptures were copying the sacred texts they used fo rteachign, praying and worship. Indeed, they believed they were copying the very Word of God Himself. These manuscripts were copied with great care and reverence. In sum, the NT is the most relyable text we have from antiquity...

If the New Testament is not trustworthy, then no writings from the ancient world can be considered relyable - not Cicero, not Homer, not Plato, not Caesar. If we can't trust the NT manuscripts, then all university history and classics departments across the country should be shut down because they have no relyable documents from which to teach!

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Buy this book. It's one of the best I've seen on this matter.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, May 2, 2006

By 

Thomas T. Verga (Staunton, VA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Da Vinci Deception (Paperback)

I own and have read several similar books by both Catholics and Protestants.

This is one of the best. It uses a Q and A format to present Brown's errors and then uses legitimate scholarly sources to refute them.

The book is a very easy read but provides enough "meat" so that you are not bored.

The authors do not talk down to you and they don't overwhelm you with information.

They also do a great job of providing you with their sources so that you can verify what they have told you. This is something that is severly lacking in Brown's book, His charectors are are always referring to experts that are unnamed.

The reason I gave this 5 stars was that 5 was the most I could give.