A Christian Response to The Da Vinci Code
Are these claims true?
The Da Vinci Code is actually a work of fiction. Nevertheless, many people who know little about New Testament Christianity have been influenced by its ideas. Perhaps this is not surprising, since its author makes the claim, 'All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.' He also affirms that the Priory of Sion is a real, historical organisation which really was founded in the year 1099 A.D. He has claimed in interviews that all the historical detail in his novel is accurate.
Does the
Priory of Sion really exist?
The simple answer to this is, No! History suggests that it did exist,
but only for a very short time, and not until the 20th century. It was
created in the year 1956 by a French eccentric, Pierre Plantard - you
can still examine the files by which he registered the organisation, now
deposited in the police station at St Julien-en-Genevois in France.
Plantard was a fantasist. He claimed that he was the king of France, descended
from the ancient Merovingian dynasty. Between 1937 and 1989 he created
several phantom associations and also falsely claimed various liaisons
with prominent people in order to attract attention to himself. In 1989
he claimed that a French financier, Roger-Patrice Pelat was one of the
Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion. But following a financial scandal
involving Pelat, a French judge, Thierry Jean-Pierre, made an official
investigation into Plantard and his claims. When the judge ordered Plantard
to swear on oath that Pelat was involved with the Priory of Sion, Plantard
admitted that he had invented the whole thing.
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Did
the early Christians think Jesus was only a man?