Fact and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code (Paperback)

~ (Author) "He has always been the source of contoversy..." (more)
Key Phrases: alternate universe, natural evil, Catholic Church, Opus Dei, Mary Magdalene (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Addresses 72 different issues raised by the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code, including:

How Paul’s Letter to the Galatians proves Jesus did not wed Mary Magdalene,
How Christians understand the place of pain in the world,
Why pagan symbols have a role in Christian artwork,
The correct interpretation of The Last Supper and The Madonna of the Rocks,
Where The Mona Lisa’s name comes from,
The historical origins of Wicca,
Why both Christians and non-Christians mistakenly think sex is dirty,
Why understanding German history is crucial to understanding the issues raised in the novel,
Constantine’s role in the early Church,
The Catholic role in Renaissance witch trials,
The role of war in Christian Faith,
The heresies attributed to Opus Dei,
And much, much more!

About the Author

With graduate degrees in both European history and theology , plus the popular book on Christian sexuality Sex and the Sacred City (ISBN 0971812810) to his credit, Steve Kellmeyer is very admirably suited to weigh the claims made in The Da Vinci Code against the historical and theological evidence. Join him as he works page by page through the novel, highlighting the fact and the fiction!

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Bridegroom Press (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971812861
• ISBN-13: 978-0971812864
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,077,936 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Why do we need so many books debunking a work of FICTION?, June 26, 2004

By A Customer

Are you a Christian who was duped into reading Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," thinking it was just a run-of-the-mill mystery/suspense thriller? Were you deeply traumatized by the "revelations" within? Are you overwhelmed by the prospect of researching all those questions yourself? Well, rest easy. It turns out that you don't have to use that brain of yours at all. Some fine folks have looked into the matter, and guess what--everything you thought you knew about Jesus and the Bible and the history of Christianity is COMPLETELY CORRECT! Dan Brown is nothing more than a filthy liar with an Anti-Christian (Anti-Catholic in particular) Agenda. Hallelujah! Now go back to sleep.

I am referring, of course, to the dozen or so books that have been published with the purpose of "proving" Dan Brown wrong in the last several months. I work in one of amazon.com's warehouses, so I am familiar with most of them (I've actually read almost all of Kellmeyer's book at work while my bosses were looking the other way). Some of these books are irritating; some are just dumb; a couple of them actually treat the subject fairly, although I don't agree with all their conclusions. But Steve Kellmeyer's "Fact And Fiction In The Da Vinci Code" is one of the most infuriating things I've ever read.

If "The Da Vinci Code" really bothered you, I can save you some time and money. Grab a copy of the book; open it to the page with the publication info. About a third of the way down the page is what you're looking for: "All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental." That's right. This is a work of FICTION. That means it's made-up. Don't thank me all at once.

I'm not defending Brown. He certainly doesn't need me to do so. This book is making him a very rich man, and I doubt he loses much sleep over anything people like Steve Kellmeyer are saying about him. While I thoroughly enjoyed "The Da Vinci Code," I will concede that Brown brought this upon himself, to a certain extent. He is guilty of some sloppy scholarship and bad semantics (he states some things as facts that aren't exactly factual, and he gets a few things completely wrong). I don't advise that anyone believe anything just because it was in "The Da Vinci Code," and I definitely don't recommend that you use Brown's novel to back up your arguments unless you want to look stupid. What I am trying to defend is the right to question beliefs, challenge assumptions, and disagree with the mainstream.

What really burns me is the condescending tone of Kellmeyer's book. Instead of attacking Brown's "claims," he uses Brown's "errors" to prove that "The Da Vinci Code" is set in an "alternate universe" where everything is different (by the way, the "claims" in "The Da Vinci Code" are not Brown's at all, but a hodgepodge of parts of theories put forth by Henry Lincoln, Richard Leigh, Michael Baigent, Margaret Starbird, Lynn Picknett, Clive Prince, and others). It's really very ingenious, in a way. He presents his evidence the way you might explain your senile grandfather's temper tantrum to your eight year old kid. Poor Dan Brown. He can't help getting this stuff wrong--he's living in a fantasy world. This way he can saturate his book with sneering sarcasm without doing anything so petty as insulting Brown outright. Well, Steve, here's a little tidbit that might interest you: ALL fiction is set in an alternate universe. If it happened in our universe, it wouldn't exactly be fiction, now would it.

But I can prove that Kellmeyer's book is also a work of fiction set in an alternate universe. Have a look:

Point 1. Kellmeyer is universally acknowledged as the foremost expert on whatever he happens to be talking about. Not so in our universe. But it's definitely the case in Kellmeyer?s world--he feels almost never feels the need to back up anything he says and he doesn't even bother with a bibliography (bibliographies are certainly not required in fiction, but on the first page of ch. 60 in The Da Vinci Code, Brown list his four most important sources, which puts him four points ahead of Kellmeyer. And if you look on his website, he lists about fifteen more).

Point 2. Nothing bad has ever been done in the name of Christianity, especially not by the Catholic Church. According to Kellmeyer, Brown is slandering the good name of Christianity with his talk of Inquisitions, witch-burnings, the oppression of women/Jews/pagans/scientists, the organized cover-up of clerical sexual abuse, etc. All of these things are facts in our world. But they apparently never happened on Kellmeyer's planet.

Point 3. There was no child molestation scandal involving Catholic priests. Doesn?t Kellmeyer?s world sound so much more pleasant than our own? Actually, I?m oversimplifying a bit. In Kellmeyer?s world, the scandal was about homosexuality, not pedophilia. The offending priests were merely gay men who like ?em real young, because the victims were young teenagers and not prepubescent children. In a purely objective sense, this isn?t that different from the way it happened in our world, although not all of the victims had reached puberty. Here?s the difference: in Kellmeyer?s world, ephebophiles (those who molest young teenagers) occupy considerably higher moral ground than pedophiles (those who molest pre-pubescent children). But in our world, I don?t think there are many people who see a meaningful distinction between molesting an 11 year old and molesting a 13 year old.

Point 4. Archaeology has proven that the four Canonical Gospels are completely accurate. I definitely knew I was dealing with someone from another dimension the first time I read this claim. For one thing, it's not even possible in our world, as the Gospels contradict each other on too many points to go into here, so they can?t all be true. For another, no one has ever found a single written reference to Jesus that dates from his alleged lifetime. Even the oldest extant accounts by people who knew him (Simon Peter, etc.) are copies of copies of copies. But in Kellmeyer's world, there are probably signed affidavits from eyewitnesses to Jesus' miracles, notarized photographs of the crucifixion, and digital video footage of the resurrection.

Point 5. History is made up of an unbroken sequence of unassailable facts that are never open to interpretation. Kellmeyer makes definite statements regarding controversial historical issues with a rock-solid confidence that is nothing short of astounding. Secular historians also have a bad habit of doing this. But here in our universe, it's not a good idea to do that, unless you relish the possibility of eating crow when new information comes to light. History gets pretty sketchy the further back you go, and when you're talking about stuff that happened a millennium or two ago, you're plunging into some very murky waters indeed. There are numerous gaps in our knowledge of the past, and ancient sources often contradict each other, leaving us with no certain way to discern which are the correct accounts. The original context of much of our evidence is lost, forcing us to guess and speculate, although some historians like to pretend they never do that. As ongoing research brings new evidence to light, we are often forced to adjust our theories. How much simpler it must be in Steve's world, where everything is so clear-cut.

To bring my rant to a close: if you are curious about the subjects discussed in "The Da Vinci Code" (or any other subject, for that matter), then head on down to your local library and start digging (be forewarned that you may never get an answer that completely satisfies you). If after reviewing the available evidence, you still firmly believe what you always believed, then good for you. I'm not trying to tell anyone that they have to believe this or that. But if you let people like Steve Kellmeyer tell you what to think and believe, then you're nothing but a sheep.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth the money, June 1, 2004

By A Customer

This book is great if you want to know more about the theological underpinnings for some of Dan Brown's assertions.

Like other DVC books, this one goes through all the facts and figures, but unlike other DVC books, this one addresses what Catholics actually believe concerning assertions like "sex is dirty" or "pain is good".

It turns out that the Catholic understanding of sex, pain, sin, faith and reason is really quite a bit different than Dan Brown indicates. For instance, most people assume Catholics are like all other Christians in condemning reason and relying on faith. It turns out this idea is one of the major places where Catholic Faith differs from other Christian faiths.

Catholics view faith and reason as two sides of the same coin, two necessary aspects of intellect that work together in harmony. The idea that they can be in opposition is actually derived from the kind of fundamentalist Christianity Dan Brown was raised with - it is specifically condemned by Catholic teaching. Given the explanations provided in this book, it's easy to see that Brown's novels project his own flawed Christianity onto Catholics.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in finding out more about Dan Brown's theological worldview.

68 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for inquiring minds......., April 3, 2004

By	The Inquirer (Midwest) - See all my reviews

Throughout The DaVinci Code, I continually asked myself - is what I have been taught to believe utter nonsense? Is Dan Brown right? Steve Kellmeyer has answered these inquiries and more in his excellant work. This book should be read by every person who has read The DaVinci Code - both Catholics and non-Catholics. Mr. Brown did an excellent job writing his book of fiction - similarly, Mr. Kellmeyer did a superior job distinguishing what was fact and what was simply made up to make The DaVinci more intriguing.