The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Hank Hanegraaff (Author), Paul Maier (Author) "A vast double standard overhangs Western society today that is totally deplorable-namely, you dare not attack any of the religious systems of the world. ..." (more)
Key Phrases: holy blood, The Da Vinci Code, Jesus Christ, New Testament (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

People are talking. The DaVinci Code has been on the New York Times best-seller list for almost a year and is raising a variety of responses from Christians and non-Christians alike. Some are outraged and upset by the claims of Dan Brown, while others are left utterly confused and don't know what to believe. The DaVinci Code: Fact or Fiction? explodes the myths of the book and shows the reliability of Scripture, the divinity of Christ, as well as the historical facts for the Priory of Zion and the Knights Templar. This is the only hands-on accessible reference guide. The DaVinci Code: Fact or Fiction? helps you turn debate about the book into an evangelistic opportunity.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (April 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414302797
• ISBN-13: 978-1414302799
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #642,733 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Many Pages to Debunk A BestSelling Hoax?, October 4, 2004

By	rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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Answer: 81 concise and decisive pages. Maier is a pre-eminent history scholar of the times of the apostles and Jesus and Hannigraf is an accomplished apologist in theology.

They from the beginning of Brown's bestseller debunk it as a hoax starting with his opening assumption: assume as a fact that the Priory of Sion exists as Brown's novel writes about it!

Factual or fictional assumption? Fictional. This is quickly unloaded as being an unresearched, unchecked bit of writing. Maier quickly shows that an ex-con Anti-Semite had planted these falsified documents at the Bibliotechque in Paris and that this has been authenticated. See his footnote on this fact by NY Times Book Review Laura Miller who checked this all out and shows that this is all one big hoax!

Next, is what Brown writes about Constantine true: that he was the one who made Jesus into a superdeity, that he collated the Bible and other devious, manipulative schemes to make Christianity thrive? Fact or fiction? Fiction. There is not one shred of valid historical evidence to support Brown's wild speculations. Thus his plot quickly falls to ruins.

Or, did the Council of Nicea when voting on the deity of Christ have an extremely close vote as Brown's novel suggest it did? Fact or fiction? Fiction: the vote was 300 to 2!

Need to go on? I don't, but some of you who are moved by anything even suspicious as disproving history and deconstructing it will likely not be impressed by this or this book or any significant, tested and accepted by all evidence.

We believe what we want to. As the authors so wisely and correctly point out: why all the rankor about Christianity and no attempts at debunking any of the other world religions? Why does Allah and Muhammed and Buddah not enjoy this same treatment?

Fact or Fiction? Check it out. You should be disturbed by what you find. Calling fact "fiction" and fiction "fact" is becoming a true sport and artform in our culture. Our people are constantly being duped and they're buying it. Just witness the millions of copies Brown's book has sold and many believing it hook, line and sinker.

Thanks to Maier and Hannagraf who put down their facts so they can be checked out. If one does this with Brown, you'll come up with the same conclusions this excellent little book does: The Da Vinci Code? It's fiction!

62 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Sepearating Fact From Fiction, June 4, 2004

By	Scott Kolecki (Brooklyn, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My wife recently completed reading "Angels and Demons" and started immediately into "The DaVinci Code". Even though she knew that it was pseudo-religious fiction, she nonetheless came away from the book with an impression about the church that was founded by the context of what was contained in these books. The danger inherent in that is there are many people who, like my wife, are intelligent people who enjoy fiction, but may not have the familiarity or background to really distinguish what is factual from what is the fabrication of fact for the purposes of telling a story. As the title suggests, the book really does fact from fiction.

The book is divided into two sections. The first, titled "The DaVinci Deception, was written by Paul L. Maier who is a professor of ancient history at Wester Michigan University. He examines the many claims in the book, such as the prospect that Jesus was married, and, using facts passed down through text and documentation that spans the centuries to debunk the fictional claims made in the novel.

The second section, called "But What Is Truth?" is written by Hank Hanegraaff, who is the host of the popular Bible Answer Man radio program. He takes the "dogma" of DaVinci Code, and, using scripture, educates the reader on the real history from which the fiction in DaVinci Code was derived.

This book is a great companion for the novel "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. It does not attempt to criticize Brown's writing, nor does it discourage readers from engaging in the book as a piece of fiction, but rather it allows the reader a fuller understanding of what they are reading--what is really based on history/religion, and what is based on the fabrications of an author whose story has been hailed one of the great pieces of religious fiction.

A good, quick read, packed full of information.

-Scott Kolecki

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No ax to grind, November 1, 2004

By	Dave Telford "kvrdave" (Goldendale, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read The Da Vinci Code and had a few problems with it but was able to mostly suspend disbelief and enjoy the novel. But imagine if you were watching Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark and all of the Nazis were Black. It is still a very good movie, but it isn't very historically accurate...and it can make it tough to suspend your disbelief and truly enjoy the show.

That was my problem with Dan Brown's book. I knew too much of the history of Christianity. So when he would come up with a good conspiracy and give a date, I would know that there were plenty of things that happened prior to that to invalidate the theory. But I didn't know it all, and that is why this was a decent book. It went over other things that I didn't know were untrue. The best way to use this book is to then let it show you other things to investigate as it is all interesting stuff.

But don't read this to keep your faith in Christ. If a book by Dan Brown made your faith shaky, you never really checked out why you have faith to begin with. So do that first (and maybe this book is a part of that).