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The book and film do present a great opportunity, however, to explore the claims of the real Jesus. As an aid to understanding and discussing these claims, we have prepared a two-page handout that outlines The Da Vinci Code, its claims and the actual historic facts, and raises some questions that may be useful in discussing what the Christian faith really means.
Click here to download the handout Engaging With the Da Vinci Code.
We would also recommend the following for further information:
· 'The Real Da Vinci Code' - Tony Robinson's Channel 4 documentary, which delves into Dan Brown's facts and history in a watchable and believable way. On DVD.
· 'The Da Vinci Code: A Response' - Nicky Gumbel, published by Alpha International. Reviews all the main points, VERY short and readable.
· 'The Gospel Code: Novel Claims about Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Da Vinci' - Ben Witherington III, published by IVP. Witherington is a US scholar that regularly comments on Bible-related issues on the network news. A longer, scholarly discussion.
· ‘The Da Vinci Hoax’—Carl Olson, Sandra Miesel, published by Ignatius Press. A well-documented review by two Catholic researchers.
· ‘Decoding Da Vinci: The Challenge of Historic Christianity and Fantasy’ - NT Wright, published by Grove Books. A good essay on the cultural appeal of false claims about the Christian faith.
On-Line Materials from Previous VBI Courses
The handouts, slides and .mp3 recordings from previous VBI courses run in South West London can be accessed and downloaded from the links on this page.
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New! Overview of the Kingdom of God
Engaging With The Da Vinci Code
Gospel and Letters of John (2005): Weekly handouts and teachings
Weekly handouts and teachings (2003)
For more information, please contact:
Allen Dixon, SW London
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Engaging with The Da Vinci Code |
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Dan Brown’s ‘Da Vinci Code’ is billed as fiction, but it makes some extraordinary claims about Jesus, the Christian church and the Bible that may sound convincing, particularly for people that are not familiar with Christian history and writings. It’s a great ‘whodunit’—shame the facts are so wrong! |
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What did Jesus mean by The Kingdom of God? |
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Jesus probably talked more about the ‘kingdom of God’ than any other subject. He talked about it in terms of a future and a present reality, an internal and an external reality.
Properly understood, everything Jesus did and taught is encompassed in the picture of the kingdom of God that its King, Jesus himself, gave us.
A new paper giving an overview of Jesus’s teaching on the kingdom of God, providing some ideas of how it works in practice, and suggesting questions for group discussion, can be downloaded by clicking here. |