Gospel Code: Novel Claims about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci

Dan Brown's international bestseller The Da Vinci Code has raised many questions in the minds of readers.
Was Jesus really married to Mary Magdalene? Did he father a child with her? Did Constantine suppress the earliest Gospels and invent the doctrine of Christ's divinity? Do the Gnostic Gospels represent the true Christian faith which the early church sought to supplant? The Da Vinci Code, in blurring the lines between fact and fiction, popularizes the speculations and contentions of numerous more serious books that are also attracting wide attention. How should we respond to claims that we now have documents that reveal secrets about Jesus, secrets long suppressed by the church and other religious institutions? Do these new documents successfully debunk traditional views about Jesus and early Christianity?

Ben Witherington III confronts these claims with the sure-footedness of a New Testament scholar, yet in the plain language that any interested reader can follow. He takes us back to the early centuries after Jesus' death and tells us what we can really know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the canonical Gospels and their Gnostic rivals.

Ben Witherington III confronts the claims of The Da Vinci Code with the sure-footedness of a New Testament scholar, yet in the plain language that any interested reader can follow.

Publishers Weekly

The popularity of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code has caused Christian apologists to address what they consider to be its heresies and historical errors. Witherington, a New Testament scholar at Asbury Theological Seminary, intends in this volume to add his voice to the growing criticism of Brown's novel. Each chapter treats an issue-the formation of the canon, the "married Jesus" theory, etc.-and then offers a wealth of background material to support an evangelical Christian viewpoint. Drawing on his background in Christian theology and church history, Witherington explains his position in a lucid and sometimes whimsical style. He is particularly strong when exploring and explaining the processes of textual criticism and redaction, and in helping readers understand the flow of Christian history and the development of doctrine. The influence of Gnosticism, ancient and modern, likewise receives extensive treatment. The book closes with an appeal for a more rational, and less speculative, consideration of the Jesus story. Quite apart from its treatment of Brown's novel, this book is a fine exposition of mainstream evangelical teaching and merits wide readership. (July) Forecast: Witherington's book is a late starter-Cook, Thomas Nelson, Ignatius and other publishers have already offered Da Vinci responses. Still, this more extensive, reasoned treatment may have the staying power that other instant books lack. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Ben Witherington III (Ph.D., University of Durham, England) is professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of many books on the New Testament, including Women and the Genesis of Christianity (Cambridge University Press), Jesus the Sage (Fortress Press), The Jesus Quest(InterVarsity Press) and The Paul Quest (InterVarsity Press). With Hershel Shanks he is coauthor of The Brother of Jesus (HarperSanFrancisco), a book on the controversial James ossuary. A frequent contributor to Beliefnet.com, Witherington has also appeared on numerous TV news programs such as Dateline, 60 Minutes, 20/20 and the Peter Jennings ABC special Jesus and Paul--The Word and the Witness.