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Cracking Da Vinci's Code - The Hidden Agenda UnveiledMost compelling thought:Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is more than a witless work of fiction; it's a well aimed tool to advance neo-paganism. Advocates of Gnosticism are on a rampage to draw Christians away from Christianity, and into the 'empty myths' Bible writers warned about. Buy this book for: Anyone who 1) thinks that DVC forwards a new and brilliant idea, 2) has become confused or intrigued by the noble sounding of Gnosticism, or, 3) like us here at Abarim Publications, is seriously irritated with DVC's derailing train of perjury concerning art in general, the Bible specifically, church history and ultimately God himself. |
Ph.D. in historical theology from Drew University; Master of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary; Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary.
Peter Jones
Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary; Master of Theology from Harvard Divinity School; Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
A brief review of:
Cracking Da Vinci's Code
Blinding ignorance does mislead us.
O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!
- Leonardo Da Vinci.
O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!
- Leonardo Da Vinci.
I am happy that Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code happened. I think DVC is important. Not because it conveys a profound new idea or sways literary vogue, but because it is so popular and so ludicrous at the same time. And that would be funny if it weren't so doggone perditious. DVC shows how hungry humanity has become for meaningful mythology and it has peeved an army of authoritative authors onto the popular book market, invariably amazed at general gullibility and patiently leading the audience through the ABC's of who we are and where we came from.
There hasn't been a spin-off such as this present Da Vinci hype since Jurassic Park hit the cinemas and every twelve-year-old could list the differences between a T-rex and that smaller guy that got eaten in the end. This time however, it's not twelve-year-olds but grown ups, and scarier even, academics, doctors in theology who bad-mouth the Bible like theorazzi. And that is where the sea of critical response parts: DVC has been publicly quartered by every serious art scholar, literary expert and historian at large. Theology, however, stood silently by, like Saul at the Stephen incident but by no means out of complacency; that's not theology's nature as anybody knows. Garlow and Jones show that the real reason was far more vicious.
Cracking Da Vinci's Code by James L. Garlow and Peter Jones is a pleasantly written, popular rebuttal of Brown's theology, Christology and portrait of church history. Its mission is twofold: first to show, quite effortlessly, how often and how blatantly wrong DVC is about Biblical matters or statements concerning church history, and secondly, how paganism and Gnosticism have been on the upswing and gained detrimental momentum in the last fifty years or so.
Garlow and Jones start off with a few excellent chapters on sex and gender issues and a barrage of sometimes endearing, sometimes embarrassing facts of church history that witness against DVC's accusations. Within the first few pages it becomes clear that the fatuity of DVC is by no means subtle or requires lengthy philosophical discussions to disinter. Then the tone of the book becomes austere and declares that DVC, as a sliver of a larger and deadly attractive whole, is not simply opposed by the no-fun policy of archaic institutions, but by a living core of people that love truth more than anything, a still very large gathering of people who are very well informed about the matters that DVC plays with and object to any of its conclusions.
Still, to me the most frightening aspect of Cracking The Da Vinci Code is the titanic battle between academics; James Garlow Ph.D. and Peter Jones Ph.D promise us plebeian readers that, surely, brilliant and beautiful Elaine Pagels Ph.D. and double-doctorate theologian Mary Daly Ph.D, to name two, are perfidious and wrong. Our heroes prove they are. It becomes almost easy to believe. If only our heroes had explained why such strong opposition is presently rising from within the Christian theological tradition. Then, as the answer dawns on me, I become sad and scared and tired.
I am sad that centuries of Scripture abuse spawned a battle such as this. I am afraid that this may even be the apocalyptic conflict that was to seduce the elect, and that an ensuing persecution of true Ecclesians should surprise no one. I am tired of seeing the people that I admire most, those of us who have time to study all day, get drunk on the yeast of folly.
I envy people who find a way to be scholars instead of labourers, but when I see how some scholars choose to investigate a heresy and then get swallowed up by it, my envy wanes. I am happy that there is also an abundance of strong and confident scholarship that continues to conclude into the validity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have always considered myself very fortunate to be able to believe so great a promise.
Cracking Da Vinci's Code is a must-read.
James L. Garlow
