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Lutzer
The Da Vinci Deception
Written by Erwin W. Lutzer
In The Da Vinci Code, the Gnostic Gospels provide the historical basis for the alleged marriage of Jesus to Mary Magdalene, supposedly referred to in The Gospel of Philip. In the novel, Sir Leigh Teabing quotes the passage and says, "Unfortunately for the early editors, one particularly troubling earthly theme kept recurring in the gospels. Mary Magdalene. . . . More specifically, her marriage to Jesus Christ."2 Later in the novel, The Gospel of Mary is quoted to show that it was Jesus' intention for Mary Magdalene to become the leader of the church.
Since the supposed marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene lies at the heart of The Da Vinci Code, we'll look more closely at that question in the next chapter. Here I simply want to give a brief introduction to the Gnostic Gospels so we can better understand their origin and teachings.
The word Gnostic comes from the Greek gnosis, which means "knowledge." More precisely, the word is used to refer to hidden knowledge that is available only to the enlightened. The Gnostics believed they were privy to spiritual experiences that gave them an inside track on a religious interpretation of the world. Their version of Christianity was, among other things, pro-feminine. God is sometimes described as androgynous—that is, both male and female. Some of these writings speak of sexual rituals, and others make convoluted references to teachings about Jesus and his disciples. Understandably, these writings are used in feminist literature in an attempt to redefine Christianity and disclose the "real story" regarding the origins of Christianity.
"Dozens of Christian Scriptures were Holy Writ, then heresy, then forgotten. Why are we looking at them again?"3 These were the questions Time magazine asked in its cover story on these gospels. We are told these gospels "fill a perceived need for alternative views of the Christ story on the part of New Age seekers and of mainline believers uncomfortable with some of their faith's theological restrictions."4 Some church study groups, the article says, are reading these alternative gospels and are finding them to be in harmony with the present spirit of tolerance and do-it-yourself religion.
Since the Bible—the traditional one—has stood the test of time and the disciplines of history and archaeology, is it not only fair that we critique The Gnostic Bible with the same historical scrutiny that the more familiar Bible has received? Unfortunately, this is both more difficult and easier at the same time. More difficult, because The Gnostic Bible makes no references to cities, rivers, valleys, and specific sequential events as does our traditional Bible. For the most part the Gnostic Gospels make no pretense of being an actual record of events; rather, they are simply the musings of various teachers. In fact, as we'll see later, the Gnostic writers did not actually believe that historical events (such as the life and mission of Jesus) were essential to the spiritual quest.
Source: The Da Vinci Deception by Erwin W. Lutzer, pp 20-22.
(2) Brown, The Da Vinci Code, 244.
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(3) David Van Biema, "The Lost Gospels" Time, (December 22, 2003), 56.
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(4) Ibid., 56.
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The Da Vinci Deception, Copyright © 2004 by Erwin W. Lutzer used with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
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