TableTalk Discussion Starters: Debunking The Da Vinci Code

Written by Deborah Brunt

Periodically, LifeWay.com will feature "TableTalk," a brief discussion starter you can use in a small group Bible study or brown-bag lunch session to get the women in your ministry talking. These articles are courtesy of  Journey magazine, a devotional guide for women published by LifeWay Church Resources.

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"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie." - Romans 1:25, Holman CSB

Discussion Starters ...

• Have you read the popular novel The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown? If so, what did you think of it? If not, what have you heard about it?
  
  
• The first page claims: "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate."
  
  
• The novel contains a series of startling statements about Jesus, the Bible, and the history of the church. Most of these statements are made to a fictional young woman named Sophie by a fictional historian, Leigh Teabing.
  
  
• The name "Sophie" comes from the Greek word for wisdom. Stop and ask God for wisdom before discussing the novel's teachings.
  
  
• Teabing the historian tells Sophie, "... almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false" (p. 235). How do people generally respond to statements of experts? How does Galatians 1:6-9 tell us to respond to Teabing's claims?
  
  
• Before systematically dismantling the main tenets of Christianity, Teabing asks Sophie, "How well do you know the New Testament?" She responds, "Not at all, really" (p. 230). How would you answer his question? Why is knowledge of Scripture a safeguard against error? What else helps us know the truth?
  
  
• How would you respond to Teabing's statement, "The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God" (p. 231)? What witnesses to the Bible's authenticity has God provided?
  
  
• The Council of Nicaea was convened in A.D. 325 because a man named Arius was teaching that Jesus was a created being. The Council affirmed Jesus' divinity (Cracking Da Vinci's Code, pp. 93-97). Teabing tells Sophie, "...until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet . . . a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal" (p. 233). What evidence to the contrary do you find in the New Testament? In the lives and deaths of the apostles?
  
  
• Teabing further asserts: "Not only was Jesus Christ married [to Mary Magdalene], but He was a father" (p. 249). Jesus "intended for the future of His Church to be in the hands of Mary Magdalene" (p. 248). Through procreating, Jesus was promoting "the sacred feminine and the goddess" (p. 238, also see p. 249). Ever heard of a tall tale? Why is this one particularly dangerous?
  
  
• In what ways did Jesus affirm women? Who is in charge of the church? (See Colossians 1:17-18.) What does the Bible say about worshiping anyone except God Himself?
  
  
• The Da Vinci Code applauds sex rites as "man's only bridge from earth to heaven" (p. 308) and accuses the Church of recasting sex as "disgusting and sinful" (p. 309). (In some cultures, sex was practiced as a "rite" or an element of pagan worship.) What's the truth about sex (Ephesians 5:31)? What light does Romans 1:24-25 shed on the novel's teachings?
  
  
• In what ways does Teabing's conversation with Sophie resemble the conversation in Genesis 3:1-7?
  
  
• Teabing draws many of his conclusions from: hidden symbolism he sees in Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper, and ancient scrolls that deny Jesus' divinity and proclaim salvation by secret knowledge.

For each pair below, tell which has more credibility regarding Jesus' life and teachings—and why:

According to 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, why might people believe what The Da Vinci Code claims? How can Christians help someone confused by the novel's teachings? If you're confused, how will you seek the truth?

For further study, read Cracking Da Vinci's Code, by James L. Garlow & Peter Jones (Colorado Springs, Colorado: Victor, 2004) or www.breakingthedavincicode.com.

Journey, a monthly women's devotional magazine, offers guidance for a growing, personal relationship with God. Each weekday devotion deals with issues and real-life situations. Journey also includes monthly messages from Bible teacher Beth Moore, Table Talk, and other inspirational articles.

Deborah Brunt of Oklahoma City is a writer and speaker who challenges women to pivotal involvement in God's purposes.