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Home , Dan Brown, Pierre Plantard, Priory of Sion

newsletter of mitchelton presbyterian church may 06 Exploring Da Vinci There is little doubt that has hit a cultural nerve. Sales estimates run at forty-three million, while reader estimates reach as high as one hundred million. And a major movie by with in a lead role is on the way in May. The novel's combination of mystery, history, conspiracy and the use of romantic locations and figures have made it a popular piece of fiction. Its plot has intrigued its readers and raised many questions about the history of early Christianity. Polls by George Barna show that 43 percent of its readers have felt “spiritually benefited” from reading the book. By any count, that means many people are being influenced by its claims, even though its genre is fiction. What has made it so controversial is the author's claim that the backdrop to the novel is rooted in historical fact - the book is a kind of "tweener" genre, a cross between fiction and non-fiction, that is, fiction with a non-fiction skeleton. What is one to do when the author claims his skeleton is real, has been carefully researched and many millions of people apparently take him at his word because their knowledge of church history is limited? Many people end up with legitimate and sincere questions about claims the book makes. Besides, there’s always a willingness to believe that “the institutional church” has covered up the “truth.” The best thing to do is to examine the claims. First, Brown claims that Jesus Christ was married to ; second, that the four Biblical gospels were chosen from among several (namely 80!) that existed in the fourth century because the four gospels presented a divine Jesus versus a human Jesus in the excluded works; third, that the idea of the divinity of Jesus became orthodoxy only through a “close vote” at the council of Nicea in AD 325. The key to the novel's plot is that many in the church knew that Jesus was married and to protect his late emerging divinity they conspired not to let that become known, even to the point of murder. Now as fiction, this makes an intriguing story, but what about as fact? Let’s take a look. Three Major Problems Problem 1: Was Jesus Married? Basic to the story line is the claim that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and that many in the church knew (as did people like Leonardo Da Vinci later on in history). The evidence for this claim comes from two extra biblical gospels, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene 17:10-18:21 and The Gospel of Philip 63:33-36. Both contain remarks that Jesus had a special relationship to Mary or that he loved her more than any of the twelve disciples. One text uses the term "companion" to describe her. In addition, there is an appeal in the Phillip text where Jesus is said to kiss Mary on the lips. So the inference is that if he kissed her in public he must have been her husband. Now the facts are these. Biblical scholars universally agree that these late “story books about Jesus” written in the first few hundreds years rarely contained useful historical data. Even then, these texts don’t actually claim Jesus was married. In fact, the famous kiss on the lips text actually has a blank in the original manuscript right at the point where it describes where Mary was kissed. So it could be the lips or the cheek, which would simply refer to a kiss of fellowship. The term companion is debated as to its force, and does not usually allude to actual marriage at all. There are volumes of texts about Jesus from the first five centuries. The fact is, none of the others describes Jesus as married and most assume he was not, as that was a basis for some arguing that priests should be single. But what if he was? The novel claims that a married Jesus would need to be covered up by the church because it would expose the fact that Jesus was not divine. Why? In fact, the church has always confessed the full humanity of Jesus, and the status of marriage would fit in nicely with such a claim. Thus, even the premise of the theological problem the novel sees for a married Jesus is false. Problem 2 The Emergence of the Gospels. The novel also claims that the four gospels were chosen late from about eighty gospels to be a part of the Bible because the four gospels had a divine Jesus as opposed to other gospels that had a human Jesus. Once again we are at a place where liberal and conservative scholars agree. The study of what is called the canon (or the recognition of the books that comprise the ) is a complex area when it comes to the compilation of the entire New Testament. Athanasius in AD 367 is the first figure we have who lists the 27 books of the New Testament as we have them today. It may be that rested his view on this fact, although he never mentions it. However, what this late date does not take into account is that the books under discussion in the third and fourth centuries were some epistles and Revelation, books like 2 Peter, Jude, 2 and 3 John, not any of the four gospels. Scholars of the canon agree that by the end of the second century the four-fold gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) was recognized as authoritative. This is a full 125 years before Constantine and the Nicean Council came on the scene. For example, Justin Martyr (around 150AD) said that the four gospels were the “memoirs of the apostles.” That, and that alone, is what gave them weight. So what about the claim of eighty gospels to choose from? The number is a gross exaggeration – but there are in fact about two dozen works from the first few centuries that called themselves “gospels.” Jesus had obviously captured the world’s imagination! Often, the gospels put a different “spin” on the story of Jesus, to suit the unorthodox views of certain breakaway groups. For instance, many denied that Jesus was even human, because (in the Gnostic view) the spirit cannot mix with this flesh. This is seen in a works like Apocalypse of Peter 81:4-24 and Second Treatise of the Great Seth 56:6-19, two works of Gnostic Christians, who Dan Brown appeals to for his claims. They teach that “the real Jesus” was in heaven laughing as the crucifixion took place because people mistakenly thought they were crucifying him. In this view, Jesus simply occupied a human presence for a time or appeared to be human – a view known as docetism. The funny thing is, these works were rejected because they failed to recognize Jesus was fully human! These views are documented detail in a new book by Darrell Bock called The Missing Gospels. Thus, the idea that the gospels emerged as a reflection of orthodoxy about the time of the fourth century around the time of Constantine and the Nicean Council is just bad history. But this leads to the next issue… Problem 3: Did A Belief in Jesus' Divinity Receive its Decisive Sanction through a "close vote" at Nicea in AD 325? This claim is probably the worst of the three problems. What we know about Nicea is this. It gathered not to determine the divinity of Jesus but to discuss the Arian view of Jesus, who saw Jesus as Son of God, but appointed to that role versus having possessed from eternity. So the debate was the type of Son of God Jesus was, not whether Jesus was divine. Arius, like modern day Jehovah’s Witnesses, believed Jesus was the first created being; Nicea ended up affirming is that Jesus was eternally the Son. Constantine did call this council together because he wanted peace and unity in the church – and he put pressure on the group to agree. But the ultimate vote of 314-2 vote was a landslide. Brown's claim, then, is false here as well. What to Make of the Novel? The interest in The Da Vinci Code shows a few things about contemporary culture. There is a keen interest in things related to the origins of Christianity, Indeed, there is a spiritual hunger of sorts out there. However, it is not a very discerning kind of quest. This makes it all the more important that those who teach about early Christian history today know the roots of the early and communicate some of that to their students, who in turn can have informed discussions with their inquisitive neighbors. Some treat it simply as fiction and a good read Others are looking for reason not to believe and this information is something they grab onto for support. As you talk about the novel and the movie, do so calmly and confidently – and with a good grip of the facts! Darrell Bock, edited by Phil Campbell

Some Da Vinci Myths Exposed Claim: Wealthy French Priest Berenger Sauniere was funded by the lost treasure of the secret . Fact: Sauniere was funded by a scam involving payment for fake masses. Claim: Leonardo da Vinci once led the Priory of Sion Fact: The Priory of Sion – along with the list of past leaders – was invented by in a fake 1960s document Claim: Constantine and the Council of Nicea chose four ‘gospels’ from more than 80 contenders in 325AD because they suited his political agenda. Fact: The four genuine gospels were accepted in the first century. Up to 30 “pseudo” gospels have been found dating from the second and third centuries. Claim: The council of Nicea ended with a close vote and chose the gospels that made Jesus seem “divine.” Fact: The council of Nicea voted 314-2 to keep the original gospels that make Jesus seem both human and divine. Judas gets a Makeover Suddenly, everyone’s talking about the fake gospels that flooded the world in the three hundred years after the genuine articles were written. There’s even one that was meant to be written by Judas, reports Garnet Swann... With all the fanfare of yet another movie reading of the crucifixion story, of course, was Judas. blockbuster, the National Geographic Society held a press Thirdly, we need to remember that this manuscript - though conference in April announcing the release of an important quite old - contains teaching that was written long after the historical discovery – a papyrus manuscript known as ‘the writing of the four gospels we have in the bible. Gnosticism Gospel of Judas’. It was a stroke of marketing genius to grew in popularity in the second century AD and this is the release this archeological finding just before the Easter period in which their teachings (eg. the Gospel of Judas) weekend, and in the lead up to the release of The Da Vinci were written down. The gospels we have in the bible – Code movie. Media around the world picked up the story Matthew, Mark Luke and John were all written in the first and headlines followed such as “A threat to the official century AD and there is clear evidence that these gospels doctrine of the church” and “A discovery that will shock the were written either by eyewitnesses to Jesus or by those Christian faith”. who spoke to eyewitnesses. While manuscripts such as the Here’s a very old manuscript that presents a very different gospel of Judas are extremely useful for determining the picture of the relationship between Jesus and Judas than doctrines and practices of non-Christian Gnostic sects as what we have in the bible. Apparently, Judas is not the they existed in the second century, it is questionable if they traitor, but the one who understood Jesus more than all the reveal to us anything about the origins of Christianity or other disciples. According to the “Gospel of Judas,” Jesus indeed of the historical reality of the relationship between secretly told Judas of his mission to die on the cross and so Jesus and Judas. in fact Judas helped Jesus, rather than betraying him. Finally, this manuscript contains teaching which was never In true Da Vinci Code style, let’s examine the evidence, to considered to be consistent with Christian teaching. This is see if this is yet another case of truth long hidden by the a very important point to make. There is a view promoted church. Four things are worth pointing out. by books like ‘The Da Vinci Code’, that within the early Firstly, this manuscript is genuinely old. This papyrus which church, various beliefs jostled for prominence - those is a Coptic translation of an earlier version has been dated to beliefs finally deemed as orthodox (the four gospels) were around 300AD. The original it was based on probably came those that helped secure the church’s authority. But we need from the second century. Because this manuscript is old, we to understand that this is not how it worked. Normal every should be very glad it has been discovered. We should have day Christians understood what fitted with normal Christian the historian’s appetite for every scrap of information, every thought and ‘the Gospel of Judas’ would have never even coin, every inscription, and every papyrus that helps us been a consideration since its content is utterly anti- understand the ancient world better. This certainly is an Christian. Christianity teaches that there in one God who important discovery. made the world good. The purpose of humanity is not to escape human nature and creation. Rather the purpose of Secondly, this manuscript has a context. The ‘Gospel of God through Jesus Christ was to redeem - and show the full Judas’ represents a form of teaching known as Gnosticism, a value of - humans and all of creation. From the earliest mystical religion that gained popularity in the second beginning of Christianity, a document like the gospel of century AD - two hundred years after Jesus. Gnosticism Judas was considered heretical. There was never any saw a strict divide between the physical realm and the conspiracy to reject this picture of Jesus – because it was spiritual realm. According to Gnosticism, the purpose in life never even considered as being something valid! was to free oneself from the physical realm and to pass through various spiritual levels. In ‘the Gospel of Judas’ we While the Gospel of Judas is an important archaeological can see this in Jesus’ words to Judas where he speaks of his find that tells us much about religious practices in the desire to release his spirit from the physical constraint of the ancient world in the second century AD, it must be said that body – “You will exceed all of them [the other disciples]. it tells us very little about the reality of the relationship For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me”. More than between Jesus and Judas in the first century AD. The hype that, The Gospel of Judas was written by a specific Gnostic surrounding the discovery of this manuscript perhaps group known as the Cainite sect. This sect was devoted to appeals to ideas of concealed truth and . reinterpreting the stories of biblical ‘bad guys’ and making But the fact is that the gospel of Judas was consistently them heroes - they take their name from Cain, the son of rejected by the early church. It was always considered a Adam and Eve, who killed his brother. The hero in their later fabrication, produced within non-Christian religion. Introducing Dr Greg Clarke Dr Greg Clarke is the director of the CASE Christian scholarship project at New College, University of NSW, which is dedicated to tracking and analysing trends in popular culture. He is also a Visiting Fellow in the School of English at UNSW. He edits the Case magazine and website (www.case.edu.au) and is the author of Is It Worth Believing? The Spiritual Challenge of The Da Vinci Code," along with numerous other books and articles. Greg is married to Amelia and they live in Botany in Sydney's south-east with their three school-age kids. Having widely researched the Da Vinci Code phenomenon, Greg is in constant demand as a speaker, with over thirty engagements around Australia over the next few months. Greg’s seminar at Mitchelton will be available for podcast and direct download online at www.mpc.org.au/resources. Unlocking The Priory Of Sion One thing that has attracted readers to "The Da Vinci Code" is the claim that a mysterious European society, known as the Priory of Sion, has for centuries guarded a momentous secret - that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and today their descendants are living in . American CBS Correspondent Ed Bradley investigated ...

“To follow the trail of the Priory of Sion,” reports Bradley, “you first need to go to a small, remote village in the foothills of the French Pyrenees called Rennes le Chateau and to go back in time more than 100 years. It was here that the Priory was said to have had a mysterious influence on the village priest, Berenger Sauniere, who spent money on a scale that was far beyond his means. After lavishly redecorating the interior of the church, Sauniere built a grand estate with a promenade that stretched along the edge of the village and a tower, where he entertained guests and housed his extensive library. Saunire died in 1917, but the mystery of his wealth lived on. In the 1950's, newspaper reports suggested that Sauniere had discovered a fabulous treasure and soon Rennes Le Chateau began to be invaded by treasure hunters from all over the world. One of those was British scriptwriter , who came across a book containing reproductions of two parchments, supposedly ound by Sauniere behind the altar in his church. Each contained a passage from the Gospels, written in an ancient script, and was said to contain a secret message which led him to the treasure. was called "The Priory of Sion," named not for 12th-century Lincoln suggested that Sauniere, the priest of Rennes Le Chateau, , but for the local mountain close to where he lived. Ten had acquired his mysterious wealth through his association with the years later and now back in , Plantard gave the Priory of Sion a shadowy Priory of Sion, whose role was to protect none other than fictitious pedigree by drawing up that list of Grand Masters and the descendants of Christ. Lincoln's theory was that Mary depositing it in the Bibliotheque Nationale. Charlot says that apart Magdalene had married Jesus and the that she allegedly from that list, no historian has found any evidence that the Priory of brought to France was not the cup from the Last Supper but the child Sion existed before Plantard set up his version in 1956. that she and Jesus had together. "In other words, all that Plantard tells us, or what other people tell us This was the theme of a book he co-authored in the 1980s called about the Priory of Sion — that the Grand Master was Victor Hugo "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" which was an international bestseller and or Leonardo Da Vinci — is sheer invention," says Charlot. The on which Dan Brown acknowledges he drew for "The Da Vinci Priory of Sion, says Charlot, was just another figment of Plantard's Code." But is it a fact? "I can't say that it's a fact because it isn't. It's imagination. an idea. But it fits the facts that we have, very few though they be," Plantard turned to a friend named Philippe de Cherisey for help in Lincoln says. One of those alleged facts is featured prominently at creating the supposedly ancient parchments to back up his story. the beginning of "The Da Vinci Code." On a page headed "Fact," "Philippe de Cherisey was something of a joker,” says reporter Ed Dan Brown says that the Priory of Sion, which is central to the secret Bradley. “He’d actually been an actor and had played parts in French at the heart of his book, is a real organization. He says that the television and he was fond of puzzles. And he invented the French National Library holds documents proving it was founded in parchments because he liked puzzles. " Jerusalem at the time of the . That proof is in some documents known as the Dossiers Secrets or Secret Files. Significantly, 60 minutes actually tracked down the current owner of the documents. French writer Jean-Luc Chaumeil, who knew both American’s 60 Minutes checked out those Secret Files - The men well and inherited many of their papers, says he has them.  Biblioth que Nationale made exact copies for the 60 Minutes team to Chaumeil says he got the parchments from de Cherisey and had them look at because they said the originals were too fragile to handle. analyzed by two experts, who found that they are maybe 40 years “We soon found what we were looking for,” says Ed Bradley. “One old. Chaumeil also has a document, handwritten and signed by de document gives the history of the Priory of Sion dating back to the Cherisey in which he describes how he created the parchments to 12th Century, and there's a list of Grand Masters that includes such produce what he calls "a good ." illustrious names as Sir and Leonardo Da Vinci. This "But if the parchments are a hoax, if the parchments are forged, what information would be astounding — except for one thing. The does that do to the story of Rennes Le Chateau and the story of the document is clearly a fake! Priory of Sion?" Bradley asked. "If the parchments are wrong, no, French researchers have questioned the authenticity of these secret the story is finished," Chaumeil replied. files ever since they were deposited in the Bibliotheque Nationale in the 1960's. Their attention came to focus on a man named Pierre Dan Brown declined 60 Minutes request for an interview, but on his Plantard, who claimed to be the current Grand Master of the Priory web site he continues to claim that the Priory of Sion is a European of Sion. But evidence at the police headquarters in Paris tells a that since 1099 has been guarding "a shocking different story. Historian Claude Charlot, who is director of police historical secret." Instead, it’s simply the uncovering of a 40 year old archives, says there’s a file on Plantard, who died in 2000, showing hoax. that during World War II he was investigated for fraud. But one mystery still remains, and it's the one that began this story: Where did the priest of Rennes Le Chateau, Bérenger Saunire, get One of Plantard's fantasies was to set up right-wing, anti-Semitic the money to build his estate? In 1910 he was summoned to appear organizations, similar in style to medieval orders of . But in before the bishop's court in the local, medieval-walled city of reality these organizations existed only on paper. "I noticed that in Carcasonne. There, he was tried and found guilty of trafficking in one of the police reports it was noted that his organization 'French masses. Priests are allowed to accept money for saying up to three National Renewal' was described as a ‘phantom group.' That he masses a day. But what Saunire had done was to solicit and receive claimed it had 3,000 members and the police found it had only four," money for thousands of masses, which he couldn't possibly have Bradley remarked. said. In fact, he didn't even try. So the source of the wealth of the Charlot says it was a pure invention. In 1953, Plantard served a six- priest of Rennes le Chateau was not some ancient, mysterious month sentence for fraud — but three years later, he was again treasure — but good old-fashioned fraud. setting up a new organization. Under French law, it’s necessary to deposit the statutes of every new association with the authorities. It Full transcript and 60 minutes video: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/27/60minutes/main1552009.shtml