The Da Vinci Con

Dan Brown's 2003 best-seller, The Da Vinci Code, makes some outrageous historical claims about Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.  Despite being a work of fiction, the author presents these claims as historical fact, for he asserts on the first page of his book that, "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate."  In fact, almost nothing Brown claims about art, history, Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the Bible, secret documents or the Catholic Church is either true or accurate, nor even very well thought-out.

Story of The Da Vinci Code:

Brown’s alleged historical facts (and the truth behind the fiction):

Other Historical Claims

  • Leonardo da Vinci
  • Jehovah
  • Founding of Paris
  • Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Content of the Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Walt Disney

 

Pages in order

  1. Story of The Da Vinci Code: Murder Mystery
  2. Story of The Da Vinci Code: Historical Secret
  3. Leonardo’s Last Supper 
  4. Derivation of 'Holy Grail'
  5. Mary Magdalene in the Bible
  6. Priory of Sion
  7. Questions of Jesus’s True Identity
  8. Non-Christian Sources
  9. Christian Sources: Biblical Texts
  10. Other Apostolic Texts sometimes considered inspired
  11. St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch – AD 110
  12. "Alternate" Gospels: Gospel of Peter (c. AD 130)
  13. St. Justin, Martyr – AD 151
  14. St. Irenaeus of Lyon – AD189
  15. "Alternate" Christianities: Marcion (c. AD 140), Valentinus (gnostic) (AD 136 – 165), Gnosticism (AD 100-150)
  16. Gnostic Scriptures:Gospel of Truth (AD 140-180), Gospel of Thomas (AD 140), Coptic Apocalypse of Peter (c. AD 200)
  17. The ‘Muratorian’ Canon: list of acceptable texts for church in Rome – c. AD 200
  18. Constantine
  19. Council of Nicaea - AD 325
  20. St. Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea (c. AD 330) – In his History of the Church, lists Four Categories of Texts
  21. Constantine’s Bibles – AD 331
  22. Codex Sinaiticus: Oldest surviving manuscript of the New Testament (from 4th c.)
  23. Closing the Canon
  24. Philosophical Issues: Diversity of Christianities
  25. Philosophical Issues: Subjectivism of Belief
  26. Theological Issue: Was Jesus married?
  27. Other Historical Claims

Books, articles and websites exposing the eggregious historical errors contained in Mr. Brown's book, including information about Opus Dei.