What’s Wrong with The Da Vinci Code?
An LDS perspective by Camille Turpin

As I opened by special illustrated edition of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, my book group’s choice for the month, I was surprised to find this highly celebrated novel more closely resembled an art history textbook than a novel. The wide pages left plenty of room in the margins intended for notes. The beautiful illustrations included photographs of architecture, famous art, and historical documents. I had heard mixed reactions from trusted friends and family members, and yet my preconceived notions of this book were immediately challenged. As an avid reader and lover of art, how could I not be drawn to this beautiful wealth of information?

Every reader I talked to assured me this book was a page-turner, and they were right. More than once I spent one hour too long reading when I had other things to do. The story was compelling, the writing good, the information and theories interesting and familiar. So much of what I read was information I already knew about, or was so well documented by illustrations and alternate sources that it was hard to distinguish the truth from the fiction. I found myself telling people that I was “learning a lot” from the book, almost completely forgetting that it was fiction at all—or maybe deciding that while the story was fiction, the information just couldn’t be. I knew art and history buffs were angry with the inconsistency of information, and I even knew that the theories challenged what I consider to be unquestionable foundations of my own religion. But as I read, I began to excuse it—I mean, there is really no harm in someone believing differently from me, is there? I knew it wouldn’t shake my own faith.

Half way through the book, fully caught-up in the exciting story, and forgiving if not fully supporting what seemed to be some inconsistencies and oversights in theory and history, I found what I consider to be the hidden agenda of this book. The fundamental “secret,” the center of the plot, the information that good men were willing to both die and kill for, was the idea that Christ was not after all the Son of God. I knew it was coming, I thought I was ready for it, but I guess I thought it would just be another theory, another difference of opinion that I could overlook. What bothered me was not so much that Dan Brown challenged the divinity of Christ, many have done that before, but how he did it, and how many Christians have responded.

Through fiction, an author can say anything he wants without having to back it up and explain it. Historical fiction is different in that real people and/or events are utilized in a fictional story. The reader understands that the author won’t mess with the basic historical facts. Because Brown uses real-life art, events, and people, we are led to believe that the novel, The Da Vinci Code is historical fiction. Writes Brown in the book, “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” But many scholarly books have been written proving this statement untrue; there are a number of blatant falsehoods and inaccuracies in this book. One might as well call Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade historical fiction. It is not hard to imagine that even the Christian, as he reads, could gradually come to accept Brown’s “facts” (which cast doubt on the divinity of Christ) as true, if only subconsciously.

Perhaps in order to appeal to those who believe in Christ, Brown shrouds the anti-divinity idea with the less-offensive claim that Mary Magdalene is the legendary "holy grail," meaning that she holds the holy blood of Christ within her womb. Here Brown is using the common belief held by the majority of Chrisitians that if Christ was married and had children he could not have been divine.Personally, that argument, if true, doesn't affect my beliefs, but the point is Brown is banking on it. Although he states that Mary bearing Christ’s child is proof that He is not God, he does not continue to focus on why Mary is the grail, just that she is. This leads the reader to forget what the grail supposedly signifies--that Christ is not divine. There is also extensive discussion on language and history, during which Brown confusedly and repeatedly interchanges “royal” and “holy.” Which is it? After all, why is it that Christ was so important if he is not divine? Why is Mary Magdalene the “cup that holds holy blood” if Christ is not holy? Why is Mary so highly regarded, as in the goddess worship theory, and yet still presented as only being important because of her relationship with Jesus? It’s enough to confuse anyone paying attention. After spending one grueling chapter on the absolute logic of this theory without presenting any obviously valid arguments against it, Brown returns full-force to the story without letting us catch our breath, let alone remember what the characters are fighting for. In order to enjoy the story, Christians may find themselves rooting for those who are trying to “undeceive” the uneducated world by revealing the greatest hoax in history. Talk about forgetting which team you’re on!

I was very surprised to find that my own friends and family members, all followers of Christ, had no problem reading this book. They seemed to think the graphic descriptions of sexual rituals were the only offensive parts and those could be easily discounted or skipped. As we discussed the book in more depth, I realized that most readers either missed the main point altogether, thought Dan Brown was proving, not disproving, the divinity of Christ, or just felt like it was a harmless idea being used for entertainment purposes. They didn’t believe anyone would actually believe what Brown was saying.

Yes, the book was certainly entertaining, but at what price? I for one, would rather read an exciting novel that doesn’t challenge my most precious beliefs, and one that doesn’t insult me by saying that only an uneducated fanatic would believe such a ridiculous idea that Christ is the Savior of the world.

It is impossible to document here the extent of my other concerns about the novel, but just to give you an idea, here is a short list:

The only Christian characters presented are either fanatical lunatics, murderers, or corrupt (more concerned with money than God).

The only educated characters in the novel claim that Christ is not the Son of God, and that sexual rituals are the only way to become spiritually connected with a higher being.

Every argument is one-sided, theories stated as fact, and ideas received as unchallenged truth. There is no believer present to create an educated dialogue.

The ideas are contradictory, undeveloped, and inconsistent. Many are based on skewed depictions of historical events, creating an alternate account of what actually happened.

Characters who are appalled by sinful behavior at the beginning of the book are sympathetic to it by the end.

The book creates an unrealistic environment for these theories. In a predominately Christian society, there would be people who would hear these arguments and still believe the contrary. I would have been able to respect this novel a lot more if it contained even one educated, fully informed, faithful-to-the-end Christian.

Still don’t think there’s an anti-Christ agenda in this book? Even if Dan Brown didn’t have anything but money on his mind, the outcome is the same. By luring the reader into a false sense of authenticity and logic, The Da Vinci Code passes half-truths and wholesale fabrications off as convincing fact in order to persuade the reader that the divinity of Christ is a myth. To me, it seems evident that Dan Brown uses this novel to further an anti-family, anti-Christ sentiment that is damaging to society and personal faith.

For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I like to use this analogy. What if you were reading a historical fiction novel based on the Church? You find there is a lot of history you already know, and some things that you didn’t know before but seem to be true and are authentically portrayed. Then you find a few little theories, say, that Joseph Smith crowned himself King of a quorum of men or was trying to take over the country, where you can see the writer may have just misunderstood something, so you excuse it. Suddenly, you find out the entire point of this riveting book is to suggest that Joseph Smith invented The Book of Mormon. Would you consider this book worthy of reading, or even supporting? How about as a movie for an evening of family entertainment?

If we latter-day saints are dedicated to the truth that The Book of Mormon, along with The Bible, truly testify of Christ, why are we not dedicated to Christ’s divinity at all times, in all places, and in all things?

The approach used to promote the damaging ideas in this book is being used by many groups in today’s society to further a dangerous, creeping, anti-faith agenda. Though it may seem harmless to promote or encourage this type of material, the truth is it is not only potentially harmful to our own spiritual well-being, planting seeds of tolerance or doubt, but may cause those who are seeking and questioning to be led away from the Spirit of truth into the half-truths and deceptions of the master deceiver himself. I believe such material has a negative effect, directly or indirectly, on us all.

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