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

~ 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. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Victor (April 1, 2004)
• ISBN-10: 078144165X
• ASIN: B000HOMU48
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,453,361 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 37 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

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

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.)

37 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Books Are On The Way, May 5, 2004

By	Peter Kenney (Birmingham, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

CRACKING DAVINCI'S CODE is an interesting book which attempts to dispute many of the assumptions made in THE DAVINCI CODE by Dan Brown. In particular Garlow and Jones disagree with Brown's description of the attitude of early church leaders towards women, sex and the divinity of Jesus Christ and especially Brown's suggestion of a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene which produced offspring.

Garlow and Jones write in the style of two fundamentalists who feel threatened by a New Age heresy. They see a connection between the ideas expressed by THE DAVINCI CODE and the work of some of the scholars from The Jesus Seminar such as Elaine Pagels. Ultimately they predict the world will be divided into only two religious groups - pagan monism and biblical theism. The latter places God outside the circle of creation instead of in it as in pagan monism. In biblical theism God has a special place as creator apart from his creatures. In their view THE DAVINCI CODE preaches a form of pagan monism with God seen as an impersonal force of nature. Garlow and Jones stand firmly opposed to this view since they are on the side of the biblical theists.

I don't think that Dan Brown is motivated by much more than a strong desire to tell a good story and sell a lot of books. Garlow and Jones act more like they are on a crusade but they also want to sell books. I feel certain that more books on the subject of the DaVinci Code are definitely on the way.

37 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars They say it all in the title., April 26, 2004

By	"advofjet" (Texas) - See all my reviews

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

The main thing I dont get about this book is how serious it takes itself. In the book they go in depth about what Dan Brown's hidden agenda is when writing the Da Vinci Code. Take a look at Dan Brown's other works. Digital Fortress and Deception Point are both about cracking some sort of codes. Nothing to do with religous codes just codes in general. And like those books, this book is FICTION. Hmm .. I wonder what his next book will be about.

The authors of this book try to make you believe that Dan Brown is out to infect the world with some personal agenda and is using this medium to transport his theories. I can sum up very quickly what Dan Brown's motives were behind writing this book.

- New York Time bestsellers sell tons of copies
- Only the best and most engrossing books make the list
- If I write a book about something I know (ie codes) and make it engrossing, I can rake in the cash too.

There you have it, the whole point behind the book. Dan Brown is an author. Authors write for a living and for money. Dan Brown writes to make money. Simple as that. No hidden agenda, no conspiracy, simple economics.