John,
  After reading Paul Wilson's post about The DaVince Code, I thought I'd
join the fray. I was talked into reading it, against my better judgment, and
was horrified with what I found. To make this short, let me only mention one
feature of the book -- the claim that Jesus married Mary Magdaline and they
had a daughter, whose posterity are apparently still living. Author Dan
Brown obviously does not know the real reason that Jesus came to earth and
became a man and died on the cross. The fact is, Jesus came as the "last
Adam" -- to pay the price for the first Adam's sin, and thereby release the
entire race of Adam from the resulting condemnation. The Bible clearly says,
"As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." It's as
simple as that. One man sinned, another man took his place in death. And if
all the race of Adam die because of Adam's sin, then it follows that all the
race of Adam will be released from death if someone else comes along and
pays the price. This was precisely what Jesus came to earth for. Now, if, as
Dan Brown asserts, Jesus fathered a daughter, it means that she would have
had a perfect father, and would not have inherited the condemnation that we
all have inherited from Adam -- and that means that she would still be
living somewhere here on this earth. It throws a "monkey-wrench" into the
God-given concept of the "ransom for all."
   Now -- one more thing. I have, hanging on my bedroom wall, a large print
of DaVince's "Last Supper." Dan Brown claims that the person sitting at
Jesus' right hand is Mary Magdalene. But did he ever count the number of
people in the picture? The Bible clearly says that he sat down to eat with
the twelve. There are twelve people in the picture, plus Jesus. Yes, Judas
is there -- he's sitting right in front looking sort of upset, while clearly
holding the money bag. One disciple is whispering something to the person
sitting at Jesus' right, and pointing toward Jesus. The Bible tells us that
Peter had whispered to John, who was sitting beside Jesus, and asked him to
inquire of Jesus as to which one of them was going to betray him. (John
13:23-24) And this is exactly what DaVince is depicting in the painting. I
submit that if the figure sitting at Jesus' right is Mary Magdaline, then
DaVince made a mistake and only painted eleven disciples instead of twelve.
   People who read The DaVince Code must realize that it is fiction -- all
fiction -- and a fiction that debunks the plan of God for the salvation of
man.

Bonnie
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Thanks, Bonnie.
The book must be a very clever fiction to stay on the best-seller lists for more than a year.
John