Cracking Da Vinci's Code: You've Read the Fiction, Now Read the Facts (Paperback)

by James Garlow (Author), Peter Jones (Author)
Key Phrases: gnostic gospels, great hunt, hieros gamos, The Da Vinci Code, New Testament, Holy Grail (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The controversy grows with every sale of the bestselling novel. Throughout the contemporary fictional storyline of The Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown skillfully weaves "historical" assertions intended to shake the very foundations of Christianity:

• Was Jesus merely human and not divine?
• Did Jesus and Mary Magdalene marry and have children?
• Is there a Holy Grail? If so, what is it and where can it be found?

Cracking Da Vinci's Code is the long-awaited answer to these and other questions that may have troubled you–or readers you know. Authors James L. Garlow and Peter Jones present compelling evidence that Brown's assertions are not only historically inaccurate, but may also contain a hidden agenda.

About the Author

Dr. Peter R. Jones is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (pcanet.org). He holds a B.A. from the University of Wales (UK), an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Harvard Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Peter is a professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary in Escondido, California, and is the author of numerous books, including The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back, Stolen Identity: The Conspiracy to Reinvent Jesus, and co-author of the bestselling Cracking Da Vinci's Code.

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Product Details Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: David C. Cook; 1st Print edition (April 1, 2004) Language: English ISBN-10: 078144165X ISBN-13: 978-0781441650 Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (93 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #638,073 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #13 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( J ) > Jones, James

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
gnostic gospels, great hunt, hieros gamos, sacred feminine, pagan spirituality

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The Da Vinci Code, New Testament, Holy Grail, Mary Magdalene, Old Testament, Robert Langdon, Dan Brown, Divine Arc, Jesus Christ, Gospel of Thomas, Nag Hammadi, Jacques Saunière, Council of Nicaea, Middle Ages, Leigh Teabing, Holy Blood, God Himself, Jesus Seminar, Leonardo da Vinci, Roman Empire, United States, San Diego, Gospel of Philip, Holy Spirit, Women's Studies

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	50% buy the item featured on this page: Cracking Da Vinci's Code: You've Read the Fiction, Now Read the Facts 2.5 out of 5 stars (93) $11.69
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	15% buy Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine 4.2 out of 5 stars (72) $17.99
	12% buy Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking 3.1 out of 5 stars (81) $13.49

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93 Reviews 5 star:  (22) 4 star:  (13) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:  (10) 1 star:  (45)           Average Customer Review 2.5 out of 5 stars (93 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 29 of 35 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Denominational bias strikes again, August 18, 2004 By  David "Truth Seeker" - See all my reviews While reading this book if found it very poorly put together. The book is written by two authors with very few clues as to what was written by whom. Occasionally one of their first names will appear in parenthesis, but there is little clear delineation who wrote what. To simplify I'll just refer to them as he. Each chapter is prefaced by a progressive symbol of half a circle which he refers to as the Divine Arc next to a full circle which he doesn't refer to at all. Near the end of the book he gives a weak explanation of his symbolism, which is within a few pages of writing about paganism in which he devaluates the importance of symbols in religion. At the beginning of each chapter he has a "after school special" type drama for a couple of pages. He also repeats the points he wants to make twice at the beginning of each chapter. I found this annoying chapter after chapter. Though the "after school special" is supposed to be a college age drama, it is written so poorly I suspect that most college age people will gloss over it quickly. The body of the book is written trying to defend traditional Christianity from the evil of feminine paganism. His references to Da Vinci are actually very few. He presents the theory that Dan Brown is not writing a novel based on "secret hints" that can be found in Da Vinci's work, but that Mr. Brown is actually hoping to seduce our youth into ancient paganism. Paganism is generally pictured by modern people as hedonistic tribal affairs with lots of drinking, sex, and dancing in a circle around a fire. He tries to give an objective description of paganism but fails to point out that it is a very ancient and noble religion that predated Christianity, and probably Judaism. He doesn't mention that Aristotle and Plato were pagans. He puts comments about Da Vinci in column sidebars in each chapter. That means you have to stop reading the body of the chapter to read about Da Vinci. It makes for very choppy reading. Though he apparently intends the book to be used as a study guide, he leaves out an index. This makes it very difficult to look back for previous references. I see this as a very irresponsible deletion. As far as the body writing itself, it is apparent that it was written very quickly and with little overview. He misguides the reader into thinking he knows the true facts about history, however checking his footnotes reveals that "facts" should be substituted with "opinions". It leads me to believe that he is "proof-texting" history (the art of only choosing what reinforces your case) to build his case. The subtitle of this book is very misleading in that very little in ancient history can be proved now. Most "facts" from that period are still really theories. He really has it in for the Gnostics, and writes about them as though he went back in a time machine to observe them. It's apparent that his views are shaded by his religious background, and not really an objective historical observation. This is typical of denominational based authors. He takes some very risky shots at Hillary Clinton connecting her with Jean Houston implying that Hillary will be trying to bring the "sacred feminine" into the White House in the future. His source is a Time article about the book. It's ironic that he didn't mention Nancy Reagan and her astrologer. He views the "sacred feminine" as a threat to Christianity in general, however the Roman Catholics have revered "the Virgin Mary" for centuries. The main "mystery" of the Brown book is that Mary Magdalene had a closer relationship with Jesus than Christians are comfortable with. Da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper shows the apostles and Jesus lined up behind the table. Dan Brown points out that the person to Jesus' right (a position of great honor in Jewish tradition) is actually Mary Magdalene. Garlow (or Jones) points out that Da Vinci had specific notes about the painting and that the person to Jesus' right is an apostle. I've looked at pictures, posters, JPEG's, and the foldout that's in their book. Sorry guys, "the dude looks like a lady." It's of little importance to me what little pranks Da Vinci put into his art. Most brilliant creative minds play with their work. The Mona Lisa may be a disguised self-portrait of Da Vinci, a prank. It doesn't have to represent a diabolical subversive plot. It did make a very interesting novel. The Mason's have always been secretive, but the biggest secret is probably how much alcohol they consume each meeting. Garlow (or Jones) does make one very offensive reference to Da Vinci's mirror writing. "Da Vinci didn't do this in order to hide information or as part of some trickery or deceit; rather, he may have had some form of dyslexia or other difficulty with perception." This statement alone causes me to really doubt this man (men's) intelligence. First, he's claiming he can read a genus's mind. Second, Da Vinci's writing was too neat to be a dyslexic's work. His comment reflects his own hidden agenda to ridicule his opposition with "made up" facts. He obviously can't out think them. My recommendation: Read "The Da Vinci Code" if you haven't already. It's a well-written book, and though it has snippets of little known history, its purpose is fiction. My recommendation on "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" is pass, and wait for the sequel "Cracking-Cracking Da Vinci's Code." And in ending the beginning of the book has a recommendation from our favorite facts man Tim LaHaye glorifying the book and accusing Dan Brown of "outright lies." This from a man who co-authored a series has made over 60 million dollars by fictionalizing Revelations. (Shouldn't the church be calling that series heresy?--a word Garlow/Jones like to use.) 18 of 21 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Da Vinci Code Responses, May 6, 2006 By  Roger N. Overton (Orange, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Christian apologists have been quick to respond to the historical inaccuracies taught in The Da Vinci Code. However, few have done much work on one of its central themes, "the sacred feminine," which is deeply rooted in a pagan worldview. Pastor James Garlow and Dr. Peter Jones co-authored Cracking Da Vinci's Code to respond to the historical errors of Dan Brown's novel, as well as its paganism. Garlow and Jones begin with a chapter explaining why they wrote their book. "Cracking Da Vinci's Code is for you if you have stopped to ponder Brown's `code' woven into his novel. It is for you if you are now questioning all you have learned about Jesus. We are writing for you if you are now saying, `I once thought of Jesus as the Son of God, but I guess I was wrong. He is simply a man after all.' For your sake, and His, we feel we must respond." (23) The first issue addressed is Brown's characterization of sex and the Christian view of it. Garlow points out that, "Sex is God's idea, and second to salvation, it's the best idea He ever shared with us." (51) The authors go on to discuss the "sacred feminine," Jesus, historical revisionism, the canon of scripture, the Gnostic gospels, secret knowledge, and pagan symbols. The conclude by showing that, "Under the guise of a novel, The Da Vinci Code is an ideological call to arms." According to them, it is a call to embrace pagan monism. They ultimately present to the reader a choice between paganism and Biblical theism. At the beginning of each chapter is a brief narrative about their own fictional character, Carrie Williams. Carrie is a practical agnostic who is attracted to the claims of The Da Vinci Code, but she's turned off by her extremely pagan roommate. In the middle of the book is a foldout color insert of The Last Supper, explaining its history and the figures in it. In the back is a reader's guide with four to five questions for each chapter to help facilitate reflection and discussion, as well as a spread of others books for further reading. Cracking Da Vinci's Code covers a wide range of issues, but hones in on the most important- the underlying worldview of pagan monism. The authors carefully explain each point and argument, showing the weaknesses of Brown's claims and worldview. The narrative about Carrie reminds us that the issues being dealt with are of practical and eternal importance. By the end of the book, James Garlow and Peter Jones have offered an excellent exposition of The Da Vinci Code as well as a clear and compelling case for the truth of biblical Christianity. 36 of 45 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars A Christian Defense, May 4, 2004 By A Customer This book does not deal at all with Brown's Da Vinci Code in any way that would be appreciated by non-fundamentalist types. First of all, it is cheesy, insipid, tasteless, and really offensoive in its little fictional vignettes about a girl confused by Brown's book. It's so gratuitously anti-secular (anti-gay, I might add) and way-over-the-top hokey. Second, it's blatantly a Christian defense-and that's about it. All these authors say is, bottom line, believe that Christianity is true-don't thnk any other way. This is not too bad, except that the way they try to prove it is so narrow in their appeal to mostly the Bible. Third, they really do not deal a lot at all with Da Vinci, his art, the Priory of Sion, and related issues (like the Knights Templar). You don't get the facts about these these or even any resources to help you look up stuff yourself. Making a buck. That's what this one is about, at least in my opinion. Check out the other books at amazon on this subject. Some are better than others. All seem to be better than this one (based on available reviews only). I'm going to order "Breaking the Da Vinci Code" (Bock) and "The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code" (Abanes). And FYI to all readers, I'm a Cat'lic (so maybe I'll pick up Kellmeyer, too, not sure).		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Cracking Dan Brown's Code Garlow and Jones are Christian historians and clergy who really put the hurts to Dan Brown's conjectures, hypothesis, and poor research. Read more Published 4 months ago by john purcell 1.0 out of 5 stars Go to church-- you'll learn more I bought this book hoping for a Christian perspective on the Christian-themed The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. Read more Published on January 19, 2007 by J. Meyer 1.0 out of 5 stars Bitterly Disappointing Response This book is an excellent affirmation of Christian values that must be read by anyone who didn't realize that "The Da Vinci Code" was a work of fiction. Read more Published on January 4, 2007 by A. Krause 1.0 out of 5 stars Let's act like we have something to hide! What does it mean when someone gets excessively-defensive? It doesn't express that they have peace or comfort with themselves. Read more Published on November 28, 2006 by Travis Truax 4.0 out of 5 stars Countering the "Da Vinci Code" Anti-Christian Bigotry Garlow and Jones soundly refute the charge that the church was and is antisex. But then again, this is an age-old trumped-up charge, going back to ancient pagan Rome, and still... Read more Published on June 27, 2006 by Jan Peczkis 5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource and A Must Read If You're "Not Sure" Highly recommended, very easy to read, yet well-researched. The chapters are subdivided mostly into three sections describing the major historical/theological... Read more Published on June 15, 2006 by Frank A. Spaccarotella 2.0 out of 5 stars About as Biased as Dan Brown A neighbor gave me this book to read. I have read the DaVinci Code and I thought it was good fiction mixed with some fact. Read more Published on June 3, 2006 by DaveO 2.0 out of 5 stars Facts and dogmas are not opposites I'm not Catholic, but I was interested in learning about any evidence disproves the theories set forth in The DaVinci Code,so that I would understand their opposition to the book... Read more Published on June 2, 2006 by Mr. Hansen 3.0 out of 5 stars A Basis With No Depth When THE DA VINCI CODE became such a massive bestseller and people started believing the fanciful claims of the novel as fact (largely because of a disclaimer that Brown uses at... Read more Published on May 27, 2006 by tvtv3 2.0 out of 5 stars The spokesman for the Church This book is merely a hundred something pages long and yet 99% of what the two authors said are in defense of the traditional church doctrine. Read more Published on May 25, 2006 by Aramaki Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: David C. Cook; 1st Print edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078144165X
• ISBN-13: 978-0781441650
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #638,073 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

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  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( J ) > Jones, James

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Denominational bias strikes again, August 18, 2004

By	David "Truth Seeker" - See all my reviews

While reading this book if found it very poorly put together. The book is written by two authors with very few clues as to what was written by whom. Occasionally one of their first names will appear in parenthesis, but there is little clear delineation who wrote what. To simplify I'll just refer to them as he. Each chapter is prefaced by a progressive symbol of half a circle which he refers to as the Divine Arc next to a full circle which he doesn't refer to at all. Near the end of the book he gives a weak explanation of his symbolism, which is within a few pages of writing about paganism in which he devaluates the importance of symbols in religion. At the beginning of each chapter he has a "after school special" type drama for a couple of pages. He also repeats the points he wants to make twice at the beginning of each chapter. I found this annoying chapter after chapter. Though the "after school special" is supposed to be a college age drama, it is written so poorly I suspect that most college age people will gloss over it quickly.

The body of the book is written trying to defend traditional Christianity from the evil of feminine paganism. His references to Da Vinci are actually very few. He presents the theory that Dan Brown is not writing a novel based on "secret hints" that can be found in Da Vinci's work, but that Mr. Brown is actually hoping to seduce our youth into ancient paganism. Paganism is generally pictured by modern people as hedonistic tribal affairs with lots of drinking, sex, and dancing in a circle around a fire. He tries to give an objective description of paganism but fails to point out that it is a very ancient and noble religion that predated Christianity, and probably Judaism. He doesn't mention that Aristotle and Plato were pagans. He puts comments about Da Vinci in column sidebars in each chapter. That means you have to stop reading the body of the chapter to read about Da Vinci. It makes for very choppy reading.

Though he apparently intends the book to be used as a study guide, he leaves out an index. This makes it very difficult to look back for previous references. I see this as a very irresponsible deletion. As far as the body writing itself, it is apparent that it was written very quickly and with little overview. He misguides the reader into thinking he knows the true facts about history, however checking his footnotes reveals that "facts" should be substituted with "opinions". It leads me to believe that he is "proof-texting" history (the art of only choosing what reinforces your case) to build his case. The subtitle of this book is very misleading in that very little in ancient history can be proved now. Most "facts" from that period are still really theories. He really has it in for the Gnostics, and writes about them as though he went back in a time machine to observe them. It's apparent that his views are shaded by his religious background, and not really an objective historical observation. This is typical of denominational based authors.

He takes some very risky shots at Hillary Clinton connecting her with Jean Houston implying that Hillary will be trying to bring the "sacred feminine" into the White House in the future. His source is a Time article about the book. It's ironic that he didn't mention Nancy Reagan and her astrologer. He views the "sacred feminine" as a threat to Christianity in general, however the Roman Catholics have revered "the Virgin Mary" for centuries. The main "mystery" of the Brown book is that Mary Magdalene had a closer relationship with Jesus than Christians are comfortable with. Da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper shows the apostles and Jesus lined up behind the table. Dan Brown points out that the person to Jesus' right (a position of great honor in Jewish tradition) is actually Mary Magdalene. Garlow (or Jones) points out that Da Vinci had specific notes about the painting and that the person to Jesus' right is an apostle. I've looked at pictures, posters, JPEG's, and the foldout that's in their book. Sorry guys, "the dude looks like a lady."

It's of little importance to me what little pranks Da Vinci put into his art. Most brilliant creative minds play with their work. The Mona Lisa may be a disguised self-portrait of Da Vinci, a prank. It doesn't have to represent a diabolical subversive plot. It did make a very interesting novel. The Mason's have always been secretive, but the biggest secret is probably how much alcohol they consume each meeting.

Garlow (or Jones) does make one very offensive reference to Da Vinci's mirror writing.
"Da Vinci didn't do this in order to hide information or as part of some trickery or deceit; rather, he may have had some form of dyslexia or other difficulty with perception."
This statement alone causes me to really doubt this man (men's) intelligence. First, he's claiming he can read a genus's mind. Second, Da Vinci's writing was too neat to be a dyslexic's work. His comment reflects his own hidden agenda to ridicule his opposition with "made up" facts. He obviously can't out think them.

My recommendation: Read "The Da Vinci Code" if you haven't already. It's a well-written book, and though it has snippets of little known history, its purpose is fiction. My recommendation on "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" is pass, and wait for the sequel "Cracking-Cracking Da Vinci's Code."

And in ending the beginning of the book has a recommendation from our favorite facts man Tim LaHaye glorifying the book and accusing Dan Brown of "outright lies." This from a man who co-authored a series has made over 60 million dollars by fictionalizing Revelations. (Shouldn't the church be calling that series heresy?--a word Garlow/Jones like to use.)

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Da Vinci Code Responses, May 6, 2006

By	Roger N. Overton (Orange, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Christian apologists have been quick to respond to the historical inaccuracies taught in The Da Vinci Code. However, few have done much work on one of its central themes, "the sacred feminine," which is deeply rooted in a pagan worldview. Pastor James Garlow and Dr. Peter Jones co-authored Cracking Da Vinci's Code to respond to the historical errors of Dan Brown's novel, as well as its paganism.

Garlow and Jones begin with a chapter explaining why they wrote their book. "Cracking Da Vinci's Code is for you if you have stopped to ponder Brown's `code' woven into his novel. It is for you if you are now questioning all you have learned about Jesus. We are writing for you if you are now saying, `I once thought of Jesus as the Son of God, but I guess I was wrong. He is simply a man after all.' For your sake, and His, we feel we must respond." (23)

The first issue addressed is Brown's characterization of sex and the Christian view of it. Garlow points out that, "Sex is God's idea, and second to salvation, it's the best idea He ever shared with us." (51) The authors go on to discuss the "sacred feminine," Jesus, historical revisionism, the canon of scripture, the Gnostic gospels, secret knowledge, and pagan symbols. The conclude by showing that, "Under the guise of a novel, The Da Vinci Code is an ideological call to arms." According to them, it is a call to embrace pagan monism. They ultimately present to the reader a choice between paganism and Biblical theism.

At the beginning of each chapter is a brief narrative about their own fictional character, Carrie Williams. Carrie is a practical agnostic who is attracted to the claims of The Da Vinci Code, but she's turned off by her extremely pagan roommate. In the middle of the book is a foldout color insert of The Last Supper, explaining its history and the figures in it. In the back is a reader's guide with four to five questions for each chapter to help facilitate reflection and discussion, as well as a spread of others books for further reading.

Cracking Da Vinci's Code covers a wide range of issues, but hones in on the most important- the underlying worldview of pagan monism. The authors carefully explain each point and argument, showing the weaknesses of Brown's claims and worldview. The narrative about Carrie reminds us that the issues being dealt with are of practical and eternal importance. By the end of the book, James Garlow and Peter Jones have offered an excellent exposition of The Da Vinci Code as well as a clear and compelling case for the truth of biblical Christianity.

36 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Christian Defense, May 4, 2004

By A Customer

This book does not deal at all with Brown's Da Vinci Code in any way that would be appreciated by non-fundamentalist types.

First of all, it is cheesy, insipid, tasteless, and really offensoive in its little fictional vignettes about a girl confused by Brown's book. It's so gratuitously anti-secular (anti-gay, I might add) and way-over-the-top hokey.

Second, it's blatantly a Christian defense-and that's about it. All these authors say is, bottom line, believe that Christianity is true-don't thnk any other way. This is not too bad, except that the way they try to prove it is so narrow in their appeal to mostly the Bible.

Third, they really do not deal a lot at all with Da Vinci, his art, the Priory of Sion, and related issues (like the Knights Templar). You don't get the facts about these these or even any resources to help you look up stuff yourself.

Making a buck. That's what this one is about, at least in my opinion. Check out the other books at amazon on this subject. Some are better than others. All seem to be better than this one (based on available reviews only).

I'm going to order "Breaking the Da Vinci Code" (Bock) and "The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code" (Abanes).

And FYI to all readers, I'm a Cat'lic (so maybe I'll pick up Kellmeyer, too, not sure).