Many who have read the New York Times bestseller The Da Vinci Code have questions that arise from seven codes—expressed or implied—in Dan Brown's book. In Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking, Darrell Bock, Ph.D., responds to the novelist's claims using central ancient texts and answers the following questions:
- Who Was Mary Magdalene?
- Was Jesus Married?
- Would Being Single Make Jesus Un-Jewish?
- Do the So-Called Secret, Gnostic Gospels Help Us Understand Jesus?
- What is the Remaining Relevance of The Da Vinci Code?
Darrell Bock's research uncovers the origins of these codes by focusing on the 325 years immediately following the birth of Christ, for the claims of The Da Vinci Code rise or fall on the basis of things emerging from this period. Breaking the Da Vinci Code distinguishes fictitious entertainment from historical elements of the Christian faith. For by seeing these differences, one can break the Da Vinci code.
Whether you've read The Da Vinci Code or you've seen the movie posters for the upcoming film, it's hard to miss the impact of this blockbuster story on popular culture today. Because of the popular success of Dan Brown's fictional work, questions about the validity of the traditional Gospel story, the supposed Holy Blood-line of Christ and Mary Magdalene, and the intrigue of secret societies within the Church have all come to the surface, demanding the attention of Christians today.
Darrell Bock, respected New Testament scholar and professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, confronts the claims made by The Da Vinci Code in his work, Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking. Getting to the heart of the supposed cover up scandals and the "how" and "why" of the development of our traditional beliefs regarding Christ's life, Bock clears the confusion about the mysterious past of the Catholic Church. Bock's study of significant New Testament texts, the Nag Hammadi, the Mishnah, and other Early Church texts, focuses on addressing the validity of Brown's claims about the story of Christ and offering his scholarly opinion on the truth of these ideas.
