Since you asked

Following questions were raised in the Youth Alive (Assemblies of God, Secunderabad) about the book and movie The The DaVinci Code and were answered by Jerry Thomas and George Paul. 

1. Dan Brown says in one of his interviews that he is a Christian and believes in Jesus. What do you think about it?

Answer: There he is again with another distortion and lie!!!

If Dan Brown argues that he is Christian because he is born in a Christian family, then our answer is: Christianity is not a biological religion but a spiritual one. That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of spirit is spirit.

If Dan Brown thinks that he can morph Jesus into anything he wants and claim that he believes in Jesus, our answer is: Sorry, Jesus is not a myth that you can mould according to your imagination, he is a historical person. There can be only one true account of real and concrete people.

2. Do you think if Jesus was married, his divinity would have been affected?

Answer: Marriage is not a sin. Marriage is instituted by God and is honorable in the sight of God. So, if Jesus did something which is not sin but honorable, it would not have affected his divinity. However, it would have affected his mission. His mission was not to procreate but to create all things new through his death and resurrection.

3. I just would like to say that Jesus is God and as the Bible says it was through him we are created. So we are like his children and he is our father who has reared us from birth. So, it is RIDICULOUS TO SAY THAT JESUS would marry his own creation.

Answer: No issues dude. Let us not have a dispute over any speculation. History says that Jesus did not marry. We both agree on that. Amen.

4. Many non Christians are asking this question: Was Jesus really married? How to answer this question and if they ask you what answer would you give?

Answer: All ancient documents that has any specific reference to Jesus, whether reliable (New Testament) or unreliable (Gnostic writings), unanimously declare that he was not married. However, the most reliable ancient historical document (New Testament) clearly says that His marriage will take place. Better be ready for that.

5. Is there a Biblical reference to Mary Magdalene as Christ's companion. If yes, how do you substantiate (you must have meant refute) Dan Brown's allegation that Christ is married to Mary Magdalene?

Answer:  No. There are no Biblical references which calls Mary Magdalene as the companion of Jesus. This reference appears in the 'Gospel of Philip'-a spurious gospel written in the third century. It is neither a gospel nor written by Philip. Moreover, the word companion even in this spurious gospel doesn't have the meaning of a spouse.

6. It is written in Revelation 22:18, 19 that nobody should add or take away anything written in this book. Then, how can the Church take away 16 gospels out of 20?

Answer: 16 of them were never part of the Bible. So, there is no question of taking them away. Those were 'fake' gospels. They were not written by Apostles or their immediate disciples. They do not contain accurate record of Jesus. In fact, they have very little or no biographical information about Jesus and were written by people who are interested in myths and not in history.

7. Was it only John, the beloved, who was not having beard? Why didn't John have when all other disciples had? 

Answer: The picture of Last Supper is not a photograph from the first century but a painting of the 15th Century. So, we really do not know how the real John looked like and how others looked like. Da Vinci drew like that because during his times, people believed that the best disciple is a young disciple. So, obviously John, being ‘the best student’ of Jesus, should look the youngest. (Who knows? Maybe John wanted to look different and cool!!!)

8. As far as I have heard, it is written that Jesus was not crucified but he was sedated and just let go. Then Jesus got married and had children. Comment.

Answer: None of the first century writings whether it is by Roman or Jewish historians or by disciples of Jesus agree with this account. So there is no reason to believe in this story. Moreover, how will a person who escaped death inspire the early Christians to give up their life and endure all sufferings? But Jesus who conquered death and resurrected can inspire.

9. It says in the Bible that in the last days, many false prophets would come. Does the Da Vinci Code book or Dan Brown could be a start of that? Related Question: Is Dan Brown the Anti Christ?

Answer: I do not know whether he is the anti Christ or not. But obviously Dan Brown is moved by the spirit of the Anti Christ. If you read 1st Timothy 4:1-5; Apostle Paul forewarns us that the Gnosticism would make a major come back at the end of the times.

10. What is a Holy Grail? In this book, it is first talked about as the chalice and later it is talked about as the womb of Mary Magdalene.

Answer: The Holy Grail (Grail meaning Cup) is believed by some to have been the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, and others to have been the cup that Joseph of Arimathea uses to catch the blood of the crucified Christ. None of the credible and reputed historians support the view that it was the womb of Mary Magdalene. Michael Balgent who popularized this first through his book 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' has an undergraduate degree in psychology and pursued an MA in Mysticism and Religious Experience.

11. How is Fibonacci series related to Da Vinci Code?

Answer: A mathematical series in which each consecutive number is the sum of the two preceding numbers: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc. As the series progresses, the ratio of a Fibonacci number divided by the immediately preceding number comes closer and closer to 1.618, the "golden mean," a ratio found in many natural phenomena as well as man-made objects like the Parthenon and the Great Pyramid. The natural phenomena in the Fibonacci series is a myth.

0, 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55…… which can also be written as 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 2+3=5 3+5=8…. and so on. But what is the relation of Fibonacci series to DVC, The story opens with the murder of Jacques Sauniere, curator of the Louvre Museum in Paris who leaves a code:

A.       13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5 this is a Fibonacci sequence out of order when written properly leads to 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21

B.       O Draconian devil! This second line is an anagram for Leonardo da Vinci

C.       Oh, lame saint!  And this third line is also an anagram for The Mona Lisa.

These clues were meant to lead to a second set of clues. On the glass over the Mona Lisa. The second clue is an anagram for Madonna of the Rocks another Da Vinci painting. Behind this painting, the murdered Sauniere hid a key. On the key, written with the curator's

pen, is an address. The key opens a safe deposit box at the Paris branch of the Depository bank of Zurich which is Sunniere's 10 digit account number consists of the first eight Fibonacci numbers arranged in correct order: 1123581321.

12. Who were the Knights Templar?" 

Answer: The Knights Templar, also known as the "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon," were an order of Christian knights that was formed in approximately 1119 A.D., following the First Crusade. The stated responsibility of the Knights Templar was to protect Christian pilgrims who were traveling to Jerusalem. The Knights Templar were given the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as their headquarters, and there are many legends of the Templars excavating the many tunnels beneath the Temple Mount in search of Biblical treasures and artifacts.

There are various traditions as to what happened to these Knights Templar, with the most likely legend being that they eventually formed what is now known as the Free Masons.

Answer: Historically, the Merovingian dynasty was a succession of Frankish kings who ruled over parts of modern-day France and Germany from the 5th to 8th centuries A.D. The Merovingian kings perpetuated myths concerning themselves of "divine descent," demonstrating itself through continued military successes. The authors of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "The Da Vinci Code" run with this myth, and concoct a connection between Jesus' supposed marriage to Mary Magdalene and their supposed descendants. The hypothesis is that Jesus' descendants intermarried with the Merovingians, giving the line of kings a divine authority.

This is a baseless theory. There is no record of any of the Merovingian kings claiming their heritage to Jesus. What stronger claim to divinity could the Merovingian kings claim than being a blood descendant of Jesus? In fact, the majority of Merovingian kings were Roman Catholic – the exact opposite of what one would expect from the theories of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "The Da Vinci Code." According to the conspiracy theories in those books, the Roman Catholic Church covered up the truth about Jesus and His bloodline. This is very strange considering the historical fact that the supposed descendants of Jesus were in fact practicing Roman Catholics themselves. Just as they warp the true identity of Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "The Da Vinci Code" take history, in this case the Merovingian Dynasty, and twist it beyond recognition in order to support a wild and baseless conspiracy theory.

14. What is the Priory of Sion?

Answer: In "The DaVinci Code," the Priory of Sion is a secret society, founded A.D. 1099, claiming such members as Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo DaVinci. According to "The DaVinci Code," the primary purpose of the Priory of Sion is to maintain the truth that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had children with her. These children then intermarried with the Merovingian line of Frankish kings, with the sacred bloodline surviving into modern times. As with most of what is contained in "The DaVinci Code," there is very little, if any, evidence that would support these conclusions about the Priory of Sion.

In truth, the Priory was a club created in 1956 by, Pierre Plantard who later testified under oath that he had fabricated the entire hoax. The actual society existed only in the novel and in the mind of the late Pierre Plantard.

The only conspiracy theory that involves the Priory of Sion is the one invented by "The DaVinci Code," and others, who are using wild imaginations and unfounded theories to attack what the Bible says about who Jesus Christ truly was, and what He came to earth to do.

15. What is Opus Dei?

 Answer:  According to the official Opus Dei website – http://www.opusdei.org, Opus Dei is "a personal Prelature of the Catholic Church that helps ordinary lay people seek holiness in and through their everyday activities, especially through work." Opus Dei was founded in 1928 by Fr. Josemaría Escrivá (canonized as St. Josemaría Escrivá October, 2002). The organization stresses holiness in everyday activities. "For the most part they [Opus Dei members] do their job and live their family and social lives like everyone else, doing exactly what they would do if they were not in Opus Dei."

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