Rating: 
Summary: PowerPoint fromthe pulpit
Review: On the dVC: I have read the book in good pace because of the suspense. Due to my interest in history, art and christianity I became frustrated with they way Brown presents 'facts'. So I bought the book by Maier/ Hanegraaff to validate some of the content.
This was, however, an even bigger frustration. I know I should have been suspicious of the combination of 'fact' and 'religion' to begin with. But whereas Brown wrote a suspense novel that cleverly mixes known facts (what do you see if you look at of a certain window of the Louvre) with elements that add to a ficticious storyline.
Maier, however, threw together a pamphlet to address the 'threat'of the dVC, as he is afraid that the average reader cannot distinguish between fiction and faith. The 'facts'that Maier produces are nearly all based on the Bible as proof, which is a very shaky foundation. But what bothered me about the book is the tone of the child whose candy has been taken away: 'no religion can be offended as that is politically incorrect but everybody is kicking against Christianity' is a frequent remark in the essay. Maier is apparantly an acknowledge academic, but this product is far from it. 'Evidence' against 'facts' in the dVC is to often based on the Bible, hardly a uncontested academic source for anything but Faith. Maier complaint gives little satisfaction if you want to determine what is fact or not in dVC. Maier vision is too blurred by his own faith. His comments only address his percieved 'attack' on that faith.
The essay reads like a sermon before his own community and it presents no interesting denials of 'facts' from Brown's book then are not generally available on the internet.
The Hanegraaff part I did not read as I was not interested in buying a religion.
The essay is in the cat-litter
Rating: 
Summary: Response to Kevin -- a little prejudiced?
Review: Since Kevin didn't read the book, I'll just go ahead and respond to him (hence the 3-star non-rating). If you're intersted in the book and not kevin's lopsided argument than skip this review.
The "create your own Jesus" comment to which Kevin responds is obviously intended to mean "depicting Jesus in a way that is at odds with the canon (i.e. the writings traditionally accepted by Christians as inspired)". Mel Gibson's depiction of Christ is, in general, not outside the biblical view. Mel believes Jesus is God (not a god) and doesn't care to show whether he can withstand torture. The point of the "gore" is that Jesus suffered in the place of sinners to pay for their sins. Torture is resistance is not what Jesus revealed about God. He revealed God's radical commitment to relating to people in spite of their sin by in fact becoming the means of that relationship.
If all you saw was torture, I'm sorry; but it seems to me that your view may have been one-sided as you approached this.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: Sorry, I haven't read the book, I just wanted to comment on this commenter who says that the latest game is "inventing your own version of Jesus and making it sell. So far, Dan Brown seems to have racked up more points than most, dollar wise"Ha ha ha! Guess the commenter missed Mel Gibson's recent gore-fest where he presented HIS version of Jesus, a doomed human-sacrifice whose ability to withstand torture was more important than his teaching. Dude, if he's a god, then he can withstand torture - why don't you make a film about what he had to say? So many Christians need a reminder of his heroic social activism more than they need an action hero. Anyway, I liked the da vinci code, and I thought dan brown's reading was no more or less likely than anything any church I've ever been to has cooked up. Modern christianity is so full of heresy and historical assumptions that it's shocking that intelligent Christians don't ask MORE questions. Christianity today is a simplistic shadow of what it used to be before Paul perverted everything Jesus said to maintain the power imbalance. Furthermore, say what you like about Dan Brown, but he got you talking and debating, which is more than you'd be doing if you'd just gone to church and received only the sanitized "approved" Jesus. And that is a good thing; Maybe you will take what you learn and salvage your faith from its stagnation.
Rating: 
Summary: Strong Defense of Christianity
Review: This book is one of a growing number of volumes being written to set the record straight on the life, person, and work of Jesus Christ. This title also dismisses the strong accusations made in "The DaVinci Code" that the Bible is invalid and untrustworthy. While "The DaVinci Code" is fictional, many mistake it as containing genuine, historical evidence. This book by Hanegraaff and Maier shows how totally fictional "The DaVinci Code" really is. If you've read "The DaVinci Code," this book is also a must-read.
Rating: 
Summary: Accomplishes What It Sets Out To Do
Review: This book is rather a small booklet rebutting the spurious and silly story line presented in Brown's popular bestseller, "The DaVinci Code." The authors state why the book, that rebutts a fictional writings, is so imporatnt and they quickly make their case. I for one, have ran into several people asserting this book as a novel based on fact. This pamphlet works because it is small, concise, and inexpensive. I have been hard on Hanegraaff in the past for small books that are nothing more than religious tracks, but this time, the price is right and it accomplsihes what it sets out to do. There is so much to refute in Brown's book, but it does not take a lot of study to do it. Actually, absurdity normally does not take much detial answers. Maier opens the track up with "The Da Vinci Deception." He concisely and effectively refutes the book and shows it as the fiction it is. Hanegraaff's "What is Truth" section is equaly imporatnt and here, serves its purpose. There are however, two negatives I want to touch on: (1) Maier could have spend a little more time in his section, in particular on the Council of Nicea and the Apostolic Fathers (although he does a good and quick job in assaulting the silliness of Brown's book). (2)I don't understand why a simple book to write took so long to be published? After all, I have effectively dismantled Brown's book in discussions with serval friends and could have written this same track in a coupel of days. With CRI's resources, I think they should have been on the cutting edge and got this book out months ago. Small booklet, but very effective.
Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: This little book, though clearly from a Christian prespective, does present the well established historical facts agreed to by all scholars, both Christian and otherwise, that demonstrate the inaccuracies of the Da Vinci Code. A good example is Brown's references to the Dead Sea scrolls, to which many other examples could be added. There is not much real dispute as to who has history on their side. Interestingly enough, those who dismiss this short booklet offer no actual evidence that The Da Vinci code is a reliable historical account, nor point to any books in its defense from any scholarly perspective. When the liberal "Jesus Seminar" and the conservative Jerry Falwell agree on something (i.e. The Da Vinci Code is without a factual basis) you are likley on safe ground, and this booklet does catalogue the errors thereof effectively. For a short effective rebutal you need look no further.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent way to prime the pump
Review: This short booklet is an excellent way to get a brief overview of, and begin understanding the problems with the novel, "The Da Vinci Code." Hanegraaff and Maier have offered a quick, yet thoughtful read in an effort to keep Dan Brown's best selling novel in proper perspective. They offer comfort to young and/or inexperienced Christians who have been taken off guard by the novel and have begun to question whether their faith is reasonable, or just a hoax. This is a short read at a cheap price. It is not an exhaustive tome, however, that is not what it was designed to be. Please consider also reading Lee Strobel's "The Case For Christ" as it not only deals with many key issues in this debate, but has a very thorough bibliography directing readers to some excellent study materials in dealing with the strength of Christianity. The two books overlap in quite a few areas. Hanegraaff and Meier believe that Christians ought not to see their faith as believing in something implausible, but in something which holds up to intense scrutiny. Hanegraaff has said often on his radio broadcast, The Bible Answer Man, "Faith is not a leap into darkness, but a leap into the light."
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