A Practical Guide to the Logic, Philosophy and Thoughts of Christianity

Section 2 - Article 3

Article 3 - Old enemies rise again

This article is written in response to the wave of doubts in Christianity in the UK following the Da Vinci code novel by Dan Brown, and the resurfacing of the gospel of Judas in 2006.

It is very interesting to note that the Da Vinci code novel by Dan Brown and the Gospel of Judas have hit bookstores and TV/cinema recently within the span of a year. Most Christians may not realize this, but these are really old ideas. In fact, any Bible historian would no doubt know that these ideas were mentioned and discredited in around 300 AD by early church fathers. I feel very discouraged when people lose their faith because of the Da Vinci code or the gospel of Judas. Early Christians have already discredited them! The gospel of Judas was dated to 400 AD, and since Judas died before Jesus (~30 AD) (as even reported so in his 'own' gospel), how could it be written by Judas? It may have been recorded by Judas' disciples (if he ever had any), but not after at least 5 generations! I do not see the logic there, nor do I see the point in actually caring about that new 'gospel'.

The Da Vinci code book centers on a conspiracy theory in the Vatican Roman Catholic church, reiterating the theory proposed by another book "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. I have seen many documentaries (non-Christian - Channel 4 London) that historically discredited such conspiracy theories. The Knight Templars were destroyed because they were getting too rich and powerful in Europe; the first implication of Holy Grail was from King Arthur stories; the "descendants of Christ" was a hoax. If anyone were to insist that these are all cover ups, then it is just like insisting in a conspiracy between aliens and the US government. It may be true that there is no proof to discredit a conspiracy theory as well as to prove it at this point in time, it is really down to personal preference to adopt whatever stance one wants to take. I adopt a "Jesus as Messiah" stance, because I have real personal experiences concerning the power of the name of Jesus, which would not have happened if He was not the Lord God. From the Torah and the Jewish scriptures (Masoretic Text; and in the Bible as the Old Testament), we know the prophecies of the Messiah mentioned, and it is well-documented that the teachers of that time (some Jewish sects now as well) were anticipating a great leader, a king, a warrior, and definitely not some carpenter like Jesus, nor someone who would be taken to crucifixion so easily, and also surely not someone who would die to begin with. So it would be a really bad conspiracy theory, and bad ones do get exposed with a better one built upon it. At any rate still, it is really up to personal logic and conviction. The gospel of Judas contradicts Da Vinci code and vice versa. We have to make our own stand and be able to reap the consequences of our choices when the time comes. I think I can only justify my choice, not by myself, but by Christ who justifies us.