Resumo de Cracking The Da Vinci Code

Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everybody?s Asking, by Darrell L. Bock

After Dan Brown?s worldwide bestseller The Da Vinci Code was published, many Catholics and Protestants alike were up in arms about the controversial history of the Church Brown has painted in his book. Several books by Christian authors whose aim was to ?set the record straight,? so to speak, were published soon afterwards.

One of these is Breaking the Da Vinci Code. Written in an easy-to-understand fashion, each chapter addresses a controversial point from the Da Vinci Code, such as:

Who was Mary Magdalene? Brown?s research, largely based on the Lost Gospels, concludes that the Catholic Church wrongly labeled her a prostitute; she is actually a well-to-do noblewoman who married Jesus and bore his child. After he was crucified, she fled to France and was protected there by a group of Jews. Her descendants became the Merovingian dynasty of France.

Darrell L. Bock asserts that this theory is untrue, analyzing ancient texts to debase Brown?s assertions. Although the Church might have been wrong in labeling her a prostitute, she was definitely not the bride of Christ. Along with refuting Brown?s theory, Bock criticizes Brown?s use of the Lost Gospels, which were rejected by the early Church when compiling the New Testament, as sources. Bock, along with many religious historians, asserts that these Lost Gospels are inaccurate and unreliable sources.

Other important questions are:

Was Jesus married? Bock?s answer is negative. Historically, he provides his reasons. Theologically, he expounds on the importance of Jesus being single: Jesus Christ was God, and He will be married to the Church when the world draws near to its end. To marry a human woman before the Second Coming would contradict the words of Jesus according to the four New Testament Gospels along with prophecies in other books of the Bible.

Would Jesus Being Single be Un-Jewish? Again, the answer is negative. Perhaps the most obvious answer can be found by reading the four Gospels. Jesus did not care at all about being unorthodox and unlike the other Jews; in consequence, they hated Him and called for His crucifixion. He in fact harshly criticized the ruling order of Jews and did not live like them.

Do the So-Called Secret Gnostic Gospels Help Us Understand Jesus? Bock?s answer to this question is particularly informative and enlightening.

What is the Remaining Relevance of the Da Vinci Code?

After reading this refutation of Dan Brown?s theories, one might wonder if there is any religious significance to the Da Vinci Code at all. However, the choice is for the reader to decide, after weighing the historical evidence upheld by most scholars today.

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