The Dead Sea Scrolls are approximately 900 documents that are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. They were found in caves near Jerusalem in and ancient village called Qumran between the years of 1947 and 1956. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain some of the oldest copies of parts of the Old Testament. They also contain writings of a religious group called Essenes. This group was based in Israel in 200 BC and they lasted until 100 AD.
It has been the attempt of many to try to show there is a connection between Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. They have even gone as far as to say that they are not the word of God, but instead the basis for the New Testament. Yet several sources that have read the scrolls state there is no mention of Jesus anywhere in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Gnostic Gospels, well, we covered those partially earlier in our attempt to show the disparity between a fictional novel and historical fact. While we do not know who wrote any of the Gnostic Gospels, we do know that they were not Christian, but people trying to act as though they were Christians. To further prove this, you need to compare the New Testament and the Gnostic Gospel. As a Christian, you know that the New Testament is a continuation of the Old Testament, and in reading it, you will note that there are several references to the Old Testament including details about what the life of the land was like in Israel during the first century.
The Gnostic Gospels however make very little reference to the land, leading many to think that the Gnostic people had never even been to Israel, or perhaps they were not alive during that first century. Plus there is a theological contradiction between the New Testament and the Gnostic Gospel.
Da Vinci was a Pagan
As that the novel takes his name and links the story his masterful works, it is only natural then to sum up or discussion with this statement that is obviously false. Leonardo Da Vinci is being portrayed as an anti-Christian pagan from the Renaissance Era who was entrusted with a great secret that could undermine the foundation of Christianity itself. Naturally though, the desire to share bits and pieces of this great secret with the world got the better of him and he used his artwork, his Christian based artwork to divulge his anti-Christian beliefs.
To disprove this statement, we need look no further then to the first biography written about Leonardo Da Vinci by Giorgio Vasari. This book was published in 1550, and in it, Da Vinci repented his sins and confessed that Christianity was were his faith lie near the end of his life. It is stated in the biography that Da Vinci desired "to be informed of Catholic practice and of the good and holy Christian religion, then, after many tears, he repented and confessed." It goes on to say that in this document that was penned in front of witnesses and stated by Da Vinci himself that he "commends his soul to Almighty God" (not the goddess), "to the Blessed Virgin Mary" (not Magdalene), and "to Saint Michael and all the angels and saints in paradise." - "The Truth Behind The Da Vinci Code," by Richard Abanes, page 65.
While controversy and cover up provide an excellent and exciting story line for a novel, one only needs to dig into history just a little to see that not everything we read is based on truth. But if reading this novel has made you think about your faith once more, it then has served a great purpose. http://www.davincitruth.com