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Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine
A staggeringly popular work of fiction, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has stood atop The New York Times Bestseller List for well over a year, with millions of copies in print. But this fast-paced mystery is unusual in that the author states up front that the historical information in the book is all factually accurate. But is this claim true?
As historian Bart D. Ehrman sh...more
As historian Bart D. Ehrman sh...more
Hardcover, 207 pages
Published
October 13th 2004
by Oxford University Press
(first published 2000)
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Interesting and informative study on the potential truths and fallacies of the Da Vinci code and other such mythos.
I found this volume refreshingly straight-forward and a good review of all of what I learned in my college studies of religion, the world religions, and various other information. Ehrman is thoughtful, bringing his own experience, doubts, certainties, and learning to the task of examining Dan Brown's best-seller. Like many, I found The Da Vinci Code a wonderful page-turner, and I was absorbed in its twists and turns, but I was on occasion, a little uneasy when the "facts" Brown was o...more
This audiobook was incredibly interesting. The author is a noted Biblical scholar and he refuted many of the claims made in Dan Brown's book resoundingly. For example, that the Emperor Constantine decided the can of Scripture and that he rejected some 80 other Gospels. The canon was established more than 100 years beyond his time and there were only a few other gospels and they had glaring errors or in some cases were almost nonsense. The mystique of "the sacred feminine" is simply ...more
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This is a very good introductuion for anyone who interests in the study of Bible and historical Jesus. I would argue that professor Ehrman does not intend to smash 'The Davinci Code', his main target of criticism, nor does he intend to judge the value of the novel itself. His effort is doing at his best to assure us, his readers, to recognize the fact that this novel is a novel, not a book containing of historical facts, and to correct facts claimed of its validity by the novelist himself - most...more
I liked that the author didn't set out to bash "The Da Vinci Code" and that he did, indeed, enjoy the novel (as did I). He attempted to examine what is known historically to either confirm or refute Brown's statements in the novel.
However, I DIDN'T like that Ehrman seemed to interpret historical documents in the way that fit his thesis (this being that Brown was mostly wrong in the novel). I read a lot of "it's impossible to tell for sure, but it is most likely...."...more
However, I DIDN'T like that Ehrman seemed to interpret historical documents in the way that fit his thesis (this being that Brown was mostly wrong in the novel). I read a lot of "it's impossible to tell for sure, but it is most likely...."...more
Mike
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
EVERYONE who has read the Da Vinci Code
Ehrman has outdone himself again. This is a great little book for people who are actually interested in the historical questions that The Da Vinci Code claims to answer: Who wrote the New Testament? Who decided whether Jesus was a human or a god? Was he married? What did Jesus actually teach? Who was Mary Magdalene, and what was her relationship with Jesus? and what were the contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi library, and the gnostic gospels?
One puzzling thing a...more
One puzzling thing a...more
I read this as part of an online challenge to read a fiction / nonfiction book on the same topic. Unfortunately, the fiction book I was pairing this with was not The Da Vinci Code (which I di read several years ago) but The Expected One. The Expected One has a very similar plot to The Da Vinci Code, though it is less of a thriller and much more detailed in my opinion. Regardless, this book paired well with the plot of The Expected One as well.
I thought this was interesting, maybe a...more
I thought this was interesting, maybe a...more
I found the information given to be very interesting. That said, the writing was atrocious. Every point made is belabored to the extreme and the continuous debates with Dan Brown's fictional characters drove me nuts. Dan Brown is the man with whom you disagree. Teabing and Langdon are not real.
If it wasn't on audio CD and we weren't on a 6 hour car trip in the middle of nowhere, I don't know that I could have made it through this book. Even so, I learned quite a bit about early ...more
If it wasn't on audio CD and we weren't on a 6 hour car trip in the middle of nowhere, I don't know that I could have made it through this book. Even so, I learned quite a bit about early ...more
I think some might find it very sad [or hopefully impressive:] that I already knew nearly everything in this book before I started reading it. I did learn a few new things, that the Gospel of Philip is in Coptic, not Aramaic. Also, while I knew nearly everything in it, and knew how insanely silly some of the mistakes Dan Brown made in his book, it was very funny to read about them all in one place. My favorite is that the Dead Sea Scrolls were Christian documents -- no, really definitely not. St...more
As the movie of Angels and Demons was being released, I realized that I didn't remember much of the fictitious, conspiracy-theory history underlying The Da Vinci Code (which I read years ago). This was a pretty quick read, and the title explains it all. In the process it also ends up being a decent primer on some of the historical context surrounding first century Palestine, the Gospels, and the early Church. It's not an in-depth exploration of those topics, by any means; but it doesn't purpo...more
I'm a fan of Bart Ehrman's books just for the sheer provocative nature of his materials, and as always, this one doesn't disappoint. As a biblical scholar, he does have a lot to say about what Dan Brown claims to be based on fact. I've learned a lot and came away with more questions, but that's how I like it.
I'm not sure if this book is for everyone, but I for one, will definitely read it again (don't know when, but I will).
I'm not sure if this book is for everyone, but I for one, will definitely read it again (don't know when, but I will).
Dan
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Every Christian and anyone interested in Christianity
Having read a lot of ancient history, particularly early Christian history, most friends and family, after reading The Da Vinci Code, inevitably ask me how much of it is true. I always refer them to this book. Ehrman is eminently rational and respectful in his critique. He doesn't slam Dan Brown, he simply points out where his claims are historically accurate and where they are way off base.
Not only is this an excellent assessment of the book, it is an amazingly accessible and interest...more
Not only is this an excellent assessment of the book, it is an amazingly accessible and interest...more
A concise overview of pertinent developments of xian thought regarding Jesus humanity and divinity. Ehrman wisely excercizes caution in his treatment of Jesus and women in the historical context. He may lean a bit to heavily on his own conclusions regarding Jesus' apocalyptic worldview.
I have enjoyed reading each one of Bart Ehrman's books. His qualifications to teach the bible are impressive and it shows.
If you want to get an idea of what early Christianity and Christians were about I'd go with Ehrman's serious works like Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture & the Faiths We Never Knew or Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible & Why.
And he's far too kind to Dan Brown.
And he's far too kind to Dan Brown.
Having just finished Misquoting Jesus, and Jesus, Interrupted, a lot of the information that Ehrman presented was familiar to me, but there was some new information as well. The thing I liked most about this book was the way in which it was presented. Ehrman's agenda was simply to point out historical error, not to criticize the message. He actually LIKED The Da Vinci Code as a work of fiction. It was a refreshing change from other books I've read that were defensive and reactionary, namely ...more
Loved this book. A biblical scholar and expert on early Christianity, Ehrman provides a knowledgeable and credible analysis of the documentary evidence for claims made in The Da Vinci Code.
Thanks John. It's in the pile
Good rebuttal.
Aside from Ehrman's admission that he likes the 'story' within "The Da Vinci Code", I enjoy Ehrman's revelations. (Perhaps Ehrman hasn't read much fiction.)
Ehrman methodically destroys the assertions made by Dan Brown in his book The Da Vinci code. While he's at it, Ehrman also describes histriography and what it entails.
While Ehrman attacks errors in Brown's book he also elucidates a great deal of the history of early Christianity in a fairly accessible manne...more
Ehrman methodically destroys the assertions made by Dan Brown in his book The Da Vinci code. While he's at it, Ehrman also describes histriography and what it entails.
While Ehrman attacks errors in Brown's book he also elucidates a great deal of the history of early Christianity in a fairly accessible manne...more
This book was my introduction to the works of Professor Ehrman. I have since read several more of his works, always with soul-searching, but always with great intellectual and religious growth. I picked up this book thinking it would be the religious attack on Dan Brown's work that I had come to distrust and revile, and found that while it exposed many of the author's errors, it did so in a way that I could respect and, more importantly, that I could learn from.
Robert
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Mature Christians
Shelves:
biblical-studies
The author is a first class scholar and not at the moment a confessing Christian. So, when he debunks the history of the Da vinci Code he is doing it purely from a scholarly perspective. Very enlightening and informative. His debunking of much of what we have believed to be orthodox is not for the faint of heart.
Nice introduction into what really is true in early Christianity (at least what is accepted today as what happened). The book isn't long enough to give a lot of detail, but does give you the basics of what you need to know if you want to know the accepted truth. It made me want to read even more.
Very interesting information from a Biblical Scholarship position. He brings to light the error's of the Da Vinci Code from academic level not a religious one.
kinda bored with the whole fact/fiction thing about this book. Brown writes fiction...but what a genius who can write fiction and make people believe its fact.
A good follow up to the DA Vinci Code to separate out the fact from historical fiction.
Dry, but the real deal. Worth the read.
Very good read.
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Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.
A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Ma...more
More about Bart D. Ehrman...
A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Ma...more
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