The Da Vinci Deception

Rating:
Summary: The Da vinci Deception
Review: Erwin Lutzer merely wrote an essay on his opinions of "The DaVinci Code". He neither proved nor disproved anything. He offered no real proof of his opinions. It was a total waste of my reading time. I had done some outside reading on my own and learned more than what Lutzer had to say.

I would recommend "Breaking the DaVinci Code" by Darrell Bock. He offers real information.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: Even though it doesn't take up much time, this book is not worth what time it does take.

The Da Vinci Code raised a number of very interesting questions about religion and religious history. It was clear, however, that some of the "facts" cited in DVC were facts while others were legend and/or Dan Brown's imagination. Part of the fun of DVC for me was trying to figure out where the facts ended and the fiction began.

Unfortunately, The Da Vinci Deception does almost nothing to help answer any of the questions raised by DVC. "Deception" clearly takes DVC very seriously. In response, it takes a very defensive stance, cites a few facts when they are available and then reverts to the author's belief system when facts are not available.

This was a very disappointing book. I gave it a second star only because it was easy to read.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: Finally, a book which delves into real verifiable history and lays it up against Brown's fictional book.

As a person who studies church history and early writings, I am very pleased with how Lutzer clears up the confusion generated by Brown's non-studied fictional book.

I just wish Dan Brown had set his book in "a far off land" so that I wouldn't be confronted with people asking me, as a christian researcher, "What do you think of the Da vinci code?".

Apart from the names, pretty much all the events in Dan's book are fiction.

Fiction is fiction. Ancient history is history. One of these things is not like the other.

Other books of interest may include "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist" by Norm Geisler.

Rating:
Summary: To Go A Step Beyond
Review: If you loved DaVinci Code or if you hated it, you must admit it did get a reaction from you....which in itself is one definition of a successful novel. Many readers have found themselves more interested in the information detailed in Dan Brown's books, and if so, this book is a good choice to begin to learn about the amazing history of the Christian Church.

Especially Gnosticism and the early Christian Church, and especially the creation of the New Testament Bible. For a different review....here is my review of books that build on these interests, especially the "lost" books of the New Testament Bible and the concepts of Gnosticism.

Nearly all knowledgeable Biblical scholars realize there have been a wide range of writings attributed to Jesus and his Apostles..... and that some of these were selected for compilation into the book that became known as the Bible.....and that some books have been removed from some versions of the Bible and others have been re-discovered in modern times.

The attention focused on Gnosticism by Dan Brown's DaVinci Code may be debatable, but the fact is that increased attention on academics tends to be predominately positive, so I welcome those with first-time or renewed interest. At least first-timers to Gnosticism are not pursuing the oh-so-popular legends of the Holy Grail, Bloodline of Christ, and Mary Magdalene.

This is great......I seldom quote other reviewers, but there is one reviewer of Pagels' books who confided that he had been a Jesuit candidate and had been required to study a wide range of texts but was never was told about the Nag Hamadi texts. He said:

"Now I know why. The Gospel of Thomas lays waste to the notion that Jesus was `the only begotten Son of God' and obviates the need for a formalized church when he says, `When your leaders tell you that God is in heaven, say rather, God is within you, and without you.' No wonder they suppressed this stuff! The Roman Catholic Church hasn't maintained itself as the oldest institution in the world by allowing individuals to have a clear channel to see the divinity within all of us: they need to put God in a bottle, label the bottle, put that bottle on an altar, build a church around that altar, put a sign over the door, and create rubricks and rituals to keep out the dis-believing riff-raff. Real `Us' versus `them' stuff, the polar opposite from `God is within You.' `My God is bigger than your God' the church(s)seem to say. And you can only get there through "my" door/denomination. But Jesus according to Thomas had it right: just keep it simple, and discover the indwelling Divinity `within you and without you.'"

Here are quickie reviews of what is being bought these days on the Gnostic Gospels and the lost books of the Bible in general:

The Lost Books of the Bible (0517277956) includes 26 apocryphal books from the first 400 years that were not included in the New Testament.

Marvin Meyers' The Secret Teachings of Jesus : Four Gnostic Gospels (0394744330 ) is a new translation without commentary of The Secret Book of James, The Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Thomas, and The Secret Book of John.

James M. Robinson's The Nag Hammadi Library in English : Revised Edition (0060669357) has been around 25 years now and is in 2nd edition. It has introductions to each of the 13 Nag Hammadi Codices and the Papyrus Berioinensis 8502.

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (0140278079) by Geza Vermes has selected works....a complete work is more difficult to achieve than the publisher's marketing concept indicates. His commentary generates strong reactions.

Elaine Pagels has 2 books (The Gnostic Gospels 0679724532 and Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas 0375501568) that have received considerable attention lately. For many, her work is controversial in that it is written for popular consumption and there is a strong modern interpretation. She does attempt to reinterpret ancient gender relationships in the light of modern feminist thinking. While this is a useful (and entertaining) aspect of college women's studies programs, it is not as unethical as some critics claim. As hard as they may try, all historians interpret the past in the context of the present. Obviously there is value in our attempts to re-interpret the past in the light of our own time.

If you want the full scholarly work it is W. Schneemelcher's 2 volume New Testament Apocrypha.

Also, to understand the Cathars......try Barbara Tuckman's Distant Mirror for an incredible historical commentary on how the Christian Church has handled other points of view

Rating:
Summary: Preachin' to the Choir
Review: Pastor Lutzer has written his debunking of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" more or less to serve people who already agree with him. Condescending and dismissive, Lutzer asserts that willful misunderstandings of the issues presented in Brown's novel in general and the Gnostic gospels in particular are as common as "Elvis sightings". And this from a man who claims to wish to serve Christians in their quest to clear up questions raised by the novel! It seems he is only interested in those who cease asking the questions in the first place - exactly the kind of attitude that has made the church vulnerable to phenomena like "The Da Vinci Code" in the first place.

Opinions Lutzer disagrees with are labeled "politically correct" and more than one question regarding women in the early church is tossed away as being the concern only of "feminists" (you can practically see the sneer on his face as he types this particular "f word"). Only people who are true believers should apply here- seekers are clearly unwelcome, and are swatted away as fluffy spiritualists and not true Christians.

Lutzer may or may not have a valid voice to add to the debate Dan Brown has sparked. It's hard to say with so much of his writing buried in his own agenda - as a biblical scholar and conservative pastor, Lutzer is clearly among those that would be threatened by any upheaval in traditional Christianity. It's a shame he couldn't make his case without being so defensive. I can't imagine that anyone who doesn't already agree with him would find much of value here. If you're seeking to make heads or tails of some of the outrageous stuff you read in "The Da Vinci Code" I recommend that you look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: The Da vinci Deception
Review: Pastor Lutzer has written his debunking of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" more or less to serve people who already agree with him. Condescending and dismissive, Lutzer asserts that willful misunderstandings of the issues presented in Brown's novel in general and the Gnostic gospels in particular are as common as "Elvis sightings". And this from a man who claims to wish to serve Christians in their quest to clear up questions raised by the novel! It seems he is only interested in those who cease asking the questions in the first place - exactly the kind of attitude that has made the church vulnerable to phenomena like "The Da Vinci Code" in the first place.

Opinions Lutzer disagrees with are labeled "politically correct" and more than one question regarding women in the early church is tossed away as being the concern only of "feminists" (you can practically see the sneer on his face as he types this particular "f word"). Only people who are true believers should apply here- seekers are clearly unwelcome, and are swatted away as fluffy spiritualists and not true Christians.

Lutzer may or may not have a valid voice to add to the debate Dan Brown has sparked. It's hard to say with so much of his writing buried in his own agenda - as a biblical scholar and conservative pastor, Lutzer is clearly among those that would be threatened by any upheaval in traditional Christianity. It's a shame he couldn't make his case without being so defensive. I can't imagine that anyone who doesn't already agree with him would find much of value here. If you're seeking to make heads or tails of some of the outrageous stuff you read in "The Da Vinci Code" I recommend that you look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Quick, Helpful Read
Review: This handy little tract does a fairly nice job of debunking the novel. It's easy to read and hits some very important historical points people should understand before reading "The Da Vinci Code". In particular, the author pokes so many holes in the Gnostic gospels (upon which most of Dan Brown's bizarre speculations rest) that in the end they seem about as convincing as Swiss cheese. Lutzer,from the Moody Bible Institute, draws heavily from Catholic Tradition to make his case, so I applaud his ecumenical spirit.

Rating:
Summary: Quick, Helpful Read
Review: This handy little tract does a fairly nice job of debunking the novel. It's easy to read and hits some very important historical points people should understand before reading "The Da Vinci Code". In particular, the author pokes so many holes in the Gnostic gospels (upon which most of Dan Brown's bizarre speculations rest) that in the end they seem about as convincing as Swiss cheese. Lutzer,from the Moody Bible Institute, draws heavily from Catholic Tradition to make his case, so I applaud his ecumenical spirit.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific, easy-to-understand, quick read
Review: This is a great book for the reader without a theological degree who doesn't want to wade through a thick, jargon-filled treatise on the history of the Bible and Christianity. Probably the best resource for a book group or adult Sunday school class about the DaVinci Code.