DaVinci Code: The Truth Behind the Fiction - Part 11

DaVinci Code part 11 - Other Gospels

In my last post I closed by asking the following questions:
In my next post, we’ll take one last look at these “other gospels” that are mentioned so many times in the DaVinci Code. Not only are the Gospels of Mary and Philip mentioned but the Gospel of Thomas and others are mentioned in the novel. Are there other ‘gospels’ that should have been included in the Bible? Are there more accurate accounts of the life of Jesus than we have in the New Testament? Did the church conspire to keep these documents out of the hands of believers for political reasons?
I think these questions can be addressed relatively briefly (believe it or not).

First, one of the characters in the DaVinci Code claims that “more than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relatively few were chosen.” (p.231) Then another claim is made about these “more than eighty gospels” when Brown has another character claim “Constantine commissioned and financed the new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ’s human traits and embellished those gospels that made him godlike.” (p.234)

So, where do I start…let’s deal with the number of documents called gospels known to exist. In actuality, we have only eleven such documents and only twenty eight are even referenced in other literature of the time. So, the number ‘eighty’ is a number created by the fiction writer to make his story more sensational. Also, most of the works are from a religious sect called the Gnostics and most were written far after the death of the supposed author.

I think the most interesting and twisted part of these claims is that Constantine (who had nothing to do with the books that were chosen for the Bible) omitted these Gnostic “gospels” because they spoke of Christ’s human traits and opted instead to include and embellish gospels that made Jesus godlike. You simply cannot twist the truth more than that! First, the Gnostics and their ‘gospels’ actually did NOT believe that Jesus was human at all! They believed flesh was inherently evil so Christ could not have come “in the flesh.” So, if there were any documents that would have negated his humanity and pushed his deistic qualities, it would have been these Gnostic documents.

Secondly, the true Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are the ones who give us both the human and deistic traits of Jesus. We see Jesus eating, sleeping, weeping, experiencing hunger and thirst in the true gospels. None of these traits are claimed by the Gnostic writings. We also see Jesus performing miracles like walking on water, turning water into wine, and raising Lazarus from the dead – all in these same four true Gospels.

To answer the questions in our first paragraph: 1) No, there are no “other gospels” that should have been included in the Bible. Most of these documents are from a heretical Gnostic group who was trying to make Jesus into a god with no human qualities. 2) No, these other documents do not give a more accurate account of Jesus than the true Gospels of the New Testament. In fact, most were written over a hundred years after the death of the people that were supposed to have written them and no scholar worth his or her salt gives these documents and historical credence. 3) No, the Catholic church did not conspire to keep these documents out of the hands of believers for political reasons. Brown suggests in the book that they kept out the documents that would have showed the human side of Jesus in order to make him seem more godlike. In fact, it is the Gnostic texts referred to in the DaVinci Code that negate Jesus’ humanity so the whole premise falls flat on even the most cursory inspection.

We’ve looked at where the Bible came from and considered the evidence for its Divine origins. We’ve looked at Mary Magdalene and answered the question, ‘Was Jesus married?” We’ve considered the “other gospels” that Brown references and answered many questions regarding their authenticity. Next time we’ll look at Constantine who is mentioned often as a major contributor to the overall conspiracy posited in the DaVinci Code.

By the way, the series “DaVinci Code: The Truth Behind the Fiction” begins May 21st at Frontline. You can take the hyperlink a few words back and go straight to our site to get the details, but in summary: the dates are May 21st, May 28th, and June 4th at 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM each night. Please consider bringing an unchurched friend to all three messages. If you attend Frontline and are not planning to bring a visitor with you please consider attending the 7:30 PM service so we will have room for guests at the 5:30 PM service. Your decision to do this if you don’t have a guest with you will be a huge help!

Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net