What was the Da
Vinci Code?
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“The Da
Vinci Code” is a book that was written
by Dan Brown.
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It
is a book on revealing the truth behind the Bible and the Christian faith.
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Although
many believe that “The Da Vinci Code” is fiction, Dan
bases all his theories on actual events.
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The
book was not created to diminish the religion itself but to inform the reader
of man’s own bias that changed the true story of the bible.
The
importance of Da Vinci!
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Leonardo
Da Vinci was not only apart of, but helped lead the secret society called
the Priory of Sion.
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The
society was established to preserve the life and rituals of Jesus Christ.
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Da Vinci was known for hiding messages or hidden
meanings in his paintings.
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These
messages were secrets kept by the secret society about the religion that few
others knew.
The
Controversy of the Last Supper
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The
Last Supper done by Leonardo, is displayed in the
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The
Bible story indicates that the painting represents the last supper that Jesus
had with his disciples before his crucifixion. However scholars now believe
other wise
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Leonardo
is famous for putting hidden messages into his pieces which is shown in this
painting.
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The
person who was
thought
to be Peter on
the right
hand side of
Jesus is now
believed
to be Mary
Magdalene
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The
separation from the hips creates a “V” representing chastity, and the “M”
behind them represents her name Mary.
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Mary
was also created in the style in which Leonardo painted many other women. Was
this on purpose? What is he telling us?
The holy grail!
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Legend
tells us that the holy grail was the cup Jesus used in the last supper
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There
was this notion that the holy grail was a cup or container that held the blood
of Jesus Christ
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it was originally called by the French Sang Real
(royal blood). It was only until misinterpretation when it was called San Greal (holy grail).
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This
mistake indicates that the holy grail is not a cup but
the holy blood line of Christ.
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The
legend is that Mary came to
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This
could mean that the line of Christ could still exist today …
Importance
of Mary!
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Although
Mary is rarely mentioned in the Bible and perceived to be unimportant, she was
actually a large part of Christianity
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In
300 AD a monk was ordered by the Pope to choose 27 acceptable gospels (the new testament ) and discard of the rest.
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The
monk saved what he could and got rid of the rest. Much later a man named Mohamed
Ali found the gospels (Gnostic Books), one of which being the gospel of Mary.
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In the Gospel of Mary it states that she played
an important role in the Christian religion, made important decisions, taught
others and was the main support to Jesus
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We envision Mary as a prostitute however, it was only until Pope Gregory gave her the slander
“Prostitute” in 300 AD (the same period that the gospels were destroyed) that
she was called that. She actually was not a prostitute at all.
Summary of topic!
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What the political leaders viewed as
unacceptable gospels were lost to time. We may never
know what were on the gospels that were destroyed, but of the ones that remain
we can see the type of texts that they tried to remove
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This includes the Gospel of Mary and a Gospel
that reads “These are the secrete words from the lips of Jesus Christ”.
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The Da Vinci Code
sheds light on these controversial issues and allows the reader to decide
for themselves.
Effects Socially!
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Positive-Short term-
Brings people back to the church to ask
questions about their faith. Allows leaders of the church to explain to
others and raise interest in the church.
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-Long term- Those who gained interest to ask
questions, continue going back to the church and become active members
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Negative- Many may get the implications that the
Christian religion is false, and those who are religious may loose interest or
stray from their faith.
Effects Economically
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Positive-Short term- Dan Brown, the author gets
rich from his book and added interest furthers tourist attractions.
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-Long term-Books and novels inspired by the book
are created, and media (movies etc.) flourish.
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Negative-
Questioning of Dan’s agenda. Just because his book is a best seller does not
mean it is true.
Effects politically
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Positive-Short and Long term- Politics
concerning the novel regard the church’s own politics.
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The Pope had a large influence on peoples views, and caused many to discount the novel and
remain Christian.
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Negative-Short and Long
term- After the release of the “Da Vinci Code” many
Catholic churches have been suffering.
Questions!
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Why do you think Pope Gregory would have ordered
for the gospels to be destroyed at that era?
At
that time in history women were not considered people. Men disregarded women’s
roles in society, and at that time the church had a clear view of how
Christianity should be.
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What are your own personal opinions about the Da Vinci Code?
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Although Dan clearly states that his novel is
fiction at the beginning of the book. Should it be considered fiction or
non-fiction because it has several true events?
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Do you think that Da
Vinci painted Mary or Peter in the painting The Last Supper?
We
feel that it is Mary based on Leonardo’s drawings and paintings of women of
that era and her involvement in the Gnostic.
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Those of you who are Christian or even non-
Christian, does this change your opinions on the Bible, and would you ever be
interested in reading the novel?
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In Da Vinci’s, Last
Supper, there are two hidden messages that were mentioned before, what were they
and what did they signify.
The M for Mary’s name, and the V meaning chastity.
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Do you think that there could potentially be a
blood line of Christ to this day?
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If you found out that you were a descendent of
Christ, what would you do and how would you feel?
Bibliography
Robinson, Tony "The
Real Da Vinci Code"
History Channel, March 23/05
"Good
News Bible" ,
Burstein, Dan ed. Secrets of the Code. U.S
CDSBooks. April 2004