The Big Lie

Most people have heard of The Da Vinci Code and the Gospel of Judas. Coincidently both are companion texts to ancient scriptures unearthed in 1945. These texts have formed the basis of some assertions in Dan Brown's controversial bestseller The Da Vinci Code. Likewise the the gospel of Judas is believed to be the work of Gnostic Christians, a stream of Christian thinking declared heretical by early church fathers. The Judas gospel is a third or fourth century ( 220-340 A.D) Coptic manuscript discovered in the desert near El Minya, Egypt, in the 1970s. It was reportedly sold to a dealer in prohibited ancient artifacts and was eventually acquired by National Geographic in 2001.

Ron Howard is directing a movie about the Code starring Tom Hanks which will be released sometime this year; Likewise the National Geographic has produced a documentary on the Gospel of Judas. After four years of restoration and translation, the "Gospel of Judas" premiered in a National Geographic Channel special on Palm Sunday, April 9, 2006.

The Code begins with the murder of the curator of the Louvre in Paris. A code specialist from Harvard is called into the case and pursues the culprit. He discovers a mixture of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. The novel "reveals" that Jesus was not divine, that he married the Mary Magdalene of the New Testament, had a child with her, that the bloodline survived in France, and that the church conspired for millennia to hide the truth. A key character announces, among other things, that the idea of the divinity of Jesus was hatched by the Roman emperor Constantine as a political power play. Some of these revelations concerning Christ should sound familiar as they were part of the movie “The Last Temptation of Christ.”

The Judas Gospel reportedly reveals an interesting twist on the events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. It deviates from the Gospels’ portrayal of Judas Iscariot as the disciple who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, and instead portrays him as an obedient disciple who did Jesus' bidding. Judas—on Christ’s orders—turned Jesus over to the Jewish leaders because Jesus wanted to escape from His human body and return to the spiritual realm by being crucified. Therefore Jesus told Judas to betray Him, so that the Old Testament prophecies might be fulfilled. In the end Judas was actually the hero of the world (instead of the betrayer): according to the Gospel of Judas.

One might ask if the Code is professed to be fiction and the Gospel was rejected by the early Church what’s the harm? These are just fictional works and most people know that right? I wish it was that simple.

Consider the following quote:

All this was inspired by the principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes. ... Adolf Hitler, 1925, autobiography Mein Kampf (James Murphy translation, page 134):

There is a “certain force of credibility” in the Code and the Gospel: There was a Jesus, Mary Magdalene , Judas, Rome, and a Crucifiction. From there the fiction of the Code and the Gospel: and the truth of the historical Gospels part company. Some would respond so what? Winston Churchill said, "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." There has been a concerted effort by Satan and darkness to water-down the Word of God since Adam. In Gen. ch. 3 Satan deceives Eve by giving her lies wrapped in truth.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (3:1-5 NIV).

First the truth Satan spoke was they would be like God—knowing good and evil. Next the lie was they would not die but be like God. Satan, by his first question to Eve, was searching for an opening where he could sew doubt. When he found an opening he challenegd Adam and Eve’s trust and belief in God’s Word. Satan ignored the “consequences” of disobedience (death) and focused them on his accusation that God was holding something back from his creation--the “forbidden fruit” was actually the way for them to achieve divinity. They ate and gained the “knowledge of good and evil but at great cost.

And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life (3:22-25).

The Big Lie worked. Keep in mind that Satan took advantage of and manipulated their ignorance. Adam and Eve did not know of sin, death, sorrow, fear, and so forth. Thus Satan’s words “you will not die” had a hollow ring to them as there was no fear of death for death did not exhist! So they were left with a choice: believe God, whom they knew and His Word—don’t eat least you die—or believe the Big Lie —eat and become like God. For whatever the reasons they choose the Big Lie: and the rest is history.

Again there is just enough truth in the Code and Gospel to make it dangerous. People will easily be deceived and accept these “fictional” writings as the Gospe. Would you like proof?

Consider this statement taken from an Internet discussion group;

The Book of Judas--I heard today that a new piece of the bible has been found. It is the so called Book of Judas. It was found in 1970 in Egypt. According to it, Judas was no traitor at all, he did was Jesus asked him to do. According to the script, it was Judas who liberated Jesus from his earthly bounds, so that he could fullfill his heavenly mission. In practice he was the only of the 12 who really understood Jeesus. In bible, Judas betrayed him for 30 silver coins, regretted later and the hanged himself. The author is unknown, but it has been written about 300 AD. It has been said to give interesting insight to the early days of christianity. Personally I believe that this could be true. As I believe some of the Apocryphon are real aswell. Interesting news tough. [edit on 7-4-2006 by Salama]

Next consider this review on the Code from the Boston Globe:

Little more than a year since it began, the phenomenon of The Da Vinci Code shows no sign of abating. The theological thriller by New Hampshire's Dan Brown is still selling an astonishing 80,000 to 90,000 hard-cover copies per week. Last week, the book went into its 56th printing, bringing the number of copies in print to 7.35 million.

Did you pick up on the word “theological thriller?” The Code has become a phenominal bestseller and is on track to become a phenomenion just like the Harry Potter books.

Finally consider a quote from a Catholic theologian taken from the Boston Globe:

"I do think it matters," [whether the Code book is historically accurate] says Catherine Mooney, associate professor of church history at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge. "It has been striking to me, in conversation with well-educated people, that they are predisposed to believe everything in the book. They ask me, `Is it true that Jesus was married?' That may reveal attitudes toward the church today; that there is something not being revealed." Yet Mooney regards it as a teaching opportunity, too, and has been asked by a Boston-area parish to give a talk on the historical questions raised by the novel.

While these writings are obviously historically fiction, the Big Lie is no great effort is made by the writer of the Code or the owners of the Gospel to ardently make that point. In the Forward of the Code the author states "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate;" yet he does not specifically disavowed any of the history in the book as fiction. This is left to the reader to infer. Therefore and sadly the Code and the Gospel will become factual to those ignorant of Bible history—which until the 20 th-century was accepted as accuate history. These two writings will further dilute the claims made by Jesus of Nazaroth to be the Son of God, the Savior of the World, and perhaps the most importantly, the Resurrected Messiah and confuse marginal Christians and unbelievers.

How imprtant is the ressurection?

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable 1 Cor. 15:13-19.

“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over” -- Joseph Goebbels; Adolf Hitler’s Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and an expert at spinning the "Big Lie!"