THE DA VINCI CODE ON TRIAL
Filtering fact from fiction
By Stephen Clark. Bryntirion Press (distributed by Evangelical Press). 94 pages. £4.50
ISBN 1 85049 2093
Stephen Clark clearly states the two primary aims of his book in the introduction: to separate fact from fiction in The Da Vinci Code, revealing the erroneous way in which Dan Brown has sought to undermine the integrity of the New Testament; and to set out the basis for believing that the New Testament presents an accurate and authentic account of Jesus Christ and of the early church (p. 8).
Given that this is a book of 94 pages, it could be imagined that this remit is perhaps a bit ambitious. Clark does do a good job of examining enough of the problems with The Da Vinci Code to demonstrate that even its ‘facts’ are a malicious fiction, but he is not as thorough as some other authors have been in this regard (e.g. Garlow and Jones, Cracking Da Vinci’s Code). There is, however, more time given to a positive defence of Christianity. Due to this emphasis, the book could be especially helpful to those who have had confidence in their Christian beliefs knocked by The Da Vinci Code. Helpful and relevant material is examined from turn of the first century Roman sources (Pliny the Younger’s letters to Emperor Trajan and Tacitus’s Annals) that I haven’t yet seen brought up in other critiques of Brown’s book. They form solid evidence against Brown’s work and in favour of orthodox Christian belief.
