Debunking the Da Vinci Code

With the new movie being released nationwide this weekend, The Da Vinci Code is the hot topic once again. KSEV's Edd Hendee spoke in length this morning about the movie and its lies and mistruths. His guests for the hour long segment were a professor (I am afraid I did not get her name) from the University of St. Thomas and pastor Ben Young of Second Baptist Church, who provided the following excellent review that was posted on Lone Star Times this morning:

Was Jesus Married?
No. There is neither biblical nor extra-biblical evidence, including the Gnostic writings, that Jesus was married. Both conservative and liberal scholars as well as historians agree that Jesus was celibate. And even if Jesus had been married, it would not in any way have negated his deity.

Who Was Mary Magdalene?
Jesus cast seven demons out of her when he first met her. From that moment on, she was a devoted follower of Christ and, along with a few other women, helped support his ministry. Mary was an eyewitness to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and was the first person Christ appeared to after the resurrection. Nowhere in the bible or in any other historical references is she referred to as his wife or as having any special relationship to Jesus other than as one of his devoted followers.

Did Constantine invent the deity of Christ?
No. The New Testament disciples worshiped Jesus as divine. The early church worshiped Jesus as divine. The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus was ancient history (250 years old) by the time Constantine was in power.

Did early Christians worship Jesus as divine?
Yes. History records that the early church recognized and worshiped Jesus as fully God and fully man. This truth is well recorded in the works of the early church fathers. To name a few: Justin Martyr, Origen, Tertullian, and Irenaeus.

Is the New Testament Reliable?
Yes. The New Testament books are well documented and historically verifiable. They are both internally and externally reliable. Each of the books was linked to eyewitness accounts of apostles. They all date back to the first century, with the very latest book having been written within only 60 years of Christ’s life. In such a short amount of time, there would be many still alive to refute or verify the claims. To put it into perspective, think WWII. There are still many people alive who can check the facts on that war because they were there. The truth of the matter is, many books in the New Testament were written a mere 30 years from Christ’s life. We’re talking Watergate now. Information in the gospels has also been cross-referenced with secular historical accounts, and the gospels have proven consistent and reliable.

Is the premise of The Da Vinci Code self-contradictory?
Yes. Dan Brown’s two main points actually contradict each other. His conclusion is that we should worship Mary Magdalene, whom he refers to as the "sacred feminine" because she was married to Jesus, he claims. However, his earlier argument was that Jesus was not divine. If Jesus was not divine, then why would we worship Mary Magdalene for being married to a regular guy, Jesus the carpenter?

Good Resources
http://www.thetruthaboutdavinci.com/
Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Darrell L. Bock, Ph.D.