Da Vinci and the Bible - Separating Fact from Fiction

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Code #1: Were The Biblical Manuscripts Handed On Reliably?

FICTION:       
The NT texts have been changed many times over the centuries, and have not been handed down to us in a reliable way.

FACT:            
The NT Scriptures are the most reliable texts we have from antiquity.
The Second Most Attested Manuscript From Antiquity
The Iliad by Homer
The NT Manuscript Tradition
NT Manuscript Tradition
Many more ancient Greek copies of NT than of Homer’s Iliad (5,000 vs. 650).

These NT copies are much closer in date to the originals.

Reliable copies: 99.5% match.

The NT Manuscript Tradition
“The New Testament, then, has not only survived in more manuscripts than any other book from antiquity, but it has survived in a purer form than any other great book—a form that is 99.5 percent pure.”

Code #2: Hidden Gospels?

FICTION:       
The 4 Gospels we have today are not the earliest Gospels.  Originally there were over 80 Gospels offering diverse views.           Later, a powerful group suppressed almost all of them in favor of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Code #2: Hidden Gospels?

FACT:
There were a few other “Gospels” written in addition to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, these were written much later than the 4 Gospels — in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries. These other Gospels contain many beliefs that are nowhere found in the first century of Christianity.
The Four Gospels Ideas in the “Gnostic Gospels”
Dualism Rejection of the Old TestamentWhat is salvation?
Why did Jesus come?
Jesus wasn’t fully human

Code #3: Jesus and Mary Magdalene

FICTION:       
Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and they had children. It would be “unJewish” for Jesus              to remain unmarried.This marriage is “a matter of historical record.”

Code #3: Jesus and Mary Magdalene

FACT:
In the thousands of pages written by the early Christians, there is no single text that says Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene…Not even in the Gnostic Gospels!

Celibacy was not forbidden. In fact, some of the most respected Jews refrained from marriage.

Code #3: Jesus and Mary Magdalene No NT Evidence.

Celibacy was not forbidden.  In some cases, it was esteemed.

Even the Gnostic Gospels say nothing about this marriage!

Code #3: Jesus and Mary Magdalene

Gospel of Phillip
Actual Fragmented Text: 
And the companion of the … Mary       Magdalene… loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her… on…

Code #4: Re-Writing History:

The Council of Nicea

FICTION:       
No one believed Jesus was divine until the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.).

In a “relatively close vote,” the Council gave the human Jesus an upgrade, declaring him divine.

Code #4: Re-Writing History:

The Council of Nicea

FACT: The earliest Christians believed in Christ’s divinity from the very beginning—centuries before the Council of Nicea.

Early Christian Belief in Jesus’ Divinity
Nicea Affirmed the Early Christian Belief in Christ’s Divinity
Arius:   Jesus was not fully divine
“There was a time when the Son was not”
Nicea:  “Begotten, not made, one in being with the Father”

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