The Real Davinci Code

The Davinci Code claims "almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false." Why? Because of a single meeting of bishops in 325, at the city of Nicea. There, Brown argues, church leaders who wanted to consolidate their power base (he calls this, "the Vatican," or "the Roman Catholic church") created a divine Christ and an infallible Scripture— that had never before existed among Christians. There are some elements of truth in this assertion, but grossly distorted. There was a power grab and takeover by the Vatican later in AD 451 at the Council of Carthage but this had nothing to do with the divinityof Christ nor the infallibility of the scripture. The Council of Nicene begin this shift of power to Rome on account of it being called by Constantine, the powerful emperor of Rome. The Catholic Church have condemned the movie because it comes against their historical authencity and mandated authority as successors of Peter by portraying Jesus as being married hence having other successors. The Protestant Church have condemned the movie because it comes against the authencity of the bible.

The churches in a rare show of unity have condemned the movie as blasphemous and puts Christianity in a bad light and will cause Christians to doubt their faith and should be banned. In defence, many believed that this condemnation is ludicrous since the show is only fiction, a "wayang" show, cleverly manipulated by the producers of the movie to provide free publicity and up ticket sales. In a way, the condemnation is not ludicrous as it seems but because it pricks the deep conscience of the church that they are guilty, of proclaiming man instead of Christ as the head of the church, the many millions killed to maintain the power and wealth of the church, and the abuse of the bible to justify racism, slavery, colonism, homophobia. The churches are indeed guilty for hideous crimes against God and man.

The question remains unanswered "What is the truth, the real Davinci Code?" Who was Leonardo Da Vinci and what was his real message in the paintings. We will explore, three aspects raised by the Davinci Code:-

a. The solid authencity of the Bible

The Davinci Code claims that the Nicene Council in AD 325, resulted in the creation of an infallible Scripture bible which it claims has never existed before as an attempt to consolidate power of the Vatican. However, the confirmation of the bible did not come until the Council of Carthage in AD 397 nor was it a new concept with the scriptures commonly used and read for the last 300 years prior in the western and eartern churches. Those who reject the Bible being historically accurate, are also rejecting it spiritually. They are bringing to question the Scriptures message of salvation. The reliability of Scripture is not exclusive to history or its spiritual message, but must include both. If the Bible is true, than what it speaks about man needing salvation is also true.

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh in Hebrew) consists of 24 books in three parts: the Torah (Pentateuch), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).The Torah, or "Teaching," is known as the five books of Moses. The Nevi'im, or "Prophets," tells the story of the rise of the Hebrew monarchy, its division into two kingdoms, and the prophets who, in God's name, judged the kings and the Children of Israel. It ends with the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians and the conquest of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians, and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. . The Old Testament canon was confirmed by the Jewish Council of Jamnia in AD 90 and excludes Deuterocanonical books or Apocrypha. The Christian Old Testament has a 39-book canon (instead of 24) due to a different method of division

The New Testament is a Christian collection of 27 books with Jesus as its central figure, written primarily in Koine Greek in the early Christian period. Some point to hundreds of years later to show that it was then the Bible was put together. The canon was generally accepted and read by the early church. Later, in the 4th century, when the church was challenged by many forgeries and false letters circulating, their use and authencity was universally recognised at the council of Carthage convened in 397 A.D. No council was necessary to affirm what was already true. No book became canonical by the action of a church council. In the same way the Old Testament books were not decided upon by the Sanhedrin. The church only recognized the books that God had inspired because of the revealed record they already had and the eyewitnesses that were still alive. In a response to the reformation movement by Martin Luther, the Council of Trent (1545-1564) confirmed the bible list of books but also placed the modern Bible on its list of prohibited books, and forbade any person to read the Bible without a license from a Roman Catholic bishop or inquisitor.

All the New Testament books were written between 45-75 A.D excluding only the apostle John’s writings that were written in 85-95 A.D. Four times Paul specifically said I am writing this with my own hand making it clear it was from the living apostles. (Gal.6:11; Philemon 1:19; 2 Thess. 3:17; Col. 4:18) . As the apostles were writing down their records it was considered holy writ to be read throughtout the churches that was dispered when Stephen was martyed. 1 Thess. 2:13, 2 Peter 3:16, 2 Peter 1:191 Cor.1:2, Eph.1:1, 1 Thess.5:27, Gal.1:21, Col.4:16, Rev 1:11

b. The doubtful authencity of the Universal Catholic church

The Nicene Council was the first conference of Christian Bishops made possible when the Roman Empire decriminalized it in AD 313 by the Edict of Milan. It resulted in the Nicene Creed to establish conformity of belief, uniquely essential for Christians, and by public professions of the faith, to identify heretics or any disconformity within each community. The Nicene Council did not create a divine Christ, it summarises the beliefs of Christians for the last two hundred years prior based on the writings of the apostles. A total of 250 to 318 Bishops of various cities attended but only only 5 from Churches under the Roman sphere, with the remaining from the eastern Sphere.

The Bishop of Rome Silvester 1, was represented by two priests. But it did represent the start of a shift to Rome with the Council being successfully called by Constantine based on his political power. Constantine had earlier converted to "Christianity" after defeating the incumbent Roman Emperor in 312 AD at Milvian Bridge outside Rome. He attributed the victory to "Christ" after having a dream prior that Jesus told him to use a chi-rho sign to go into battle (after praying to the pagan moon god). Constantine ordered it to be put on his soldier's shields - and won the battle. The sign has the symbol made of the first two letters of 'Christ' in Greek - chi (X) and rho (P) with the words IN HOC SIGNO VINCES or IN THIS SIGN CONQUER (IHS) which became the defining banner of the church.

The Davinci code challenges the legitimacy of the church by claiming that Jesus was married and therefore have an earthly successor. If the successor of Jesus was not Peter, then we have an illegitimate church. The current church is a 5th century movement centered in Rome. Soon after the acceptance of Christianity as a state religion of Rome in AD313 by the Edic of Milan, there was a strong power struggle to claim supremacy by the Roman Bishops. The Bishop of Rome, Leo 1 claimed rulership of the universal church. In order to legitimise his claim of power, Leo 1 (440 AD) declared himself to be the successor of Peter hence authoritive rulership based on Mat 16:18. In order to fit their theology and greed for power, new traditions and writings were added to declare that Peter was in Rome and died there despite no firm historical references of him being there as the first Bishop of Rome.

By the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, we see the the rising power of the Bishop of Rome, Leo 1, in all the decision making. The second day of the council ended with shouts from the bishops, "It is Peter who says this through Leo. This is what we all of us believe. This is the faith of the Apostles". His degates held at least an honorary presidency, and where the bishops recognized him as the interpreter of the voice of Peter and as the head of their body, requesting of him the confirmation of their decrees. Hence the consolidation of the power base of the Roman Cathlic Church.

c. The real Leonardo Da vinci - the Gay artist.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance polymath: an architect, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, inventor, geometer, musician, futurist and painter. He has been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance man" and as a universal genius, a man infinitely curious and infinitely inventive. He is also considered one of the greatest painters who ever lived.

Born April 15, 1452 by his mid-teens, Leonardo was apprenticed in Florence to Andrea del Verrochio, a sculptor and painter affiliated with the powerful Medici family, under whose guidance the boy's artistic talents quickly flowered. In 1476, charges of sodomony were anonymously brought against him and three others for allegedly having sexual relations with a seventeen-year-old male artists' model. After two hearings the charges were eventually dropped on a technicality. These traumatic experience led Leonardo his life private, even going so far as to use mirror writing to keep his thoughts hidden. Hence, little of his emotional life is known directly.

There is ample evidence that the artist's primary erotic interests were directed toward men. Throughout his life, Leonardo surrounded himself with beautiful young men, and his drawings and writings evince a deep appreciation for male beauty. In contrast, there is no evidence that Leonardo was ever intimately involved with a woman or even had a close friendship with one. Hence, he was most likely a Gay man. Moreover, Leonardo developed close relationships with his (male) students Rumors circulated about the nature of his relationship, lasting for almost twenty years, with a "curly-haired youth" named Gian Giacomo de' Caprotti.

Leonardo's alleged love of boys was a topic of discussion even in the sixteenth century. In "Il Libro dei Sogni" (The Book of Dreams), a fictional dialogue on l'amore masculino (male love) written by the contemporary art critic Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Leonardo appears as one of the protagonists and declares, "Know that male love is exclusively the product of virtue which, joining men together with the diverse affections of friendship, makes it so that from a tender age they would enter into the manly one as more stalwart friends." In the dialogue, the interlocutor inquires of Leonardo about his relations with his assistant, il Salaino, "Did you play the game from behind which the Florentines love so much?" Leonardo answers, "And how many times! Keep in mind that he was a beautiful young man, especially at about fifteen."

One of Leonardo's most famous painting is of a mural of The Last Supper (1495-1498) in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan depicting the final meal of Jesus with his disciples. The Davinci Code alleges that it was Mary Magdalene sitting beside Jesus instead of John for a rather effiminate man with long hair was drawn.

The man sitting next to Jesus was certainly John for drawings such cute looking handsome man was his expertise. The hidden meaning when contrasted with the other men drawn was that St. John was considered by Leonardo, as a gay man. He did not accidentally paint a figure that was uncertain in its gender. Leonardo painted John as very womanly. This is undeniable. Dan Brown and his believers would have you think that although Leonardo called the figure "John", he was secretly painting Mary Magdalene. As always, Gays don't exist and the real conspiracy is the lengths that society will go to in order to avoid discussion of homosexuality especially when it comes to the rich, and famous. The idea that so much of Western History is a result of the genius and accomplishments of men who were gay is simply not acceptable.

Leonardo's mature years are filled with some of his most recognizable works - Mona Lisa (or La Gioconda), now in the Louvre in Paris. It is Leonardo's most famous and most ambiguous painting. Although the painting purports to be a portrait of the wife of a merchant, Francesco del Giocondo, some scholars have speculated that it is a self-portrait. Her enigmatic smile, hinting at a secret joke or private knowledge, has haunted viewers since it was first shown. The painting was never completed or delivered to its owner, and Leonardo carried it with him throughout the last years of his life.

If the painting was meant to be a portrait, it would have been done in one setting. Yet, Leornardo took years to complete and carried with him. Dr. Lillian Schwartz of Bell Labs suggests that the Mona Lisa is actually a self-portrait. She supports this theory with the results of a digital analysis of the facial features of Leonardo's face and that of the famous painting. When flipping a self-portrait drawing by Leonardo and then merging that with an image of the Mona Lisa using a computer, the features of the faces align perfectly.

Leonardo had a secret, He was gay. He was picturing himself as a drag queen and smiling at his own creation. He had real reason to hide this secret after being accused of being a homosexual in 1476 and due to societies very strong condemnation of homosexuality.

In the last ten years of Leonardo's life, Francesco Melzi, a young Lombard aristocrat, became his constant companion and ultimately served as the executor of his estate.

In Conclusion

The Davinci Code is but a work of fiction although sprinkled with truth concerning the legality, power struggles and scandals within the church who in many ways diverted from the biblical teachings from the 4th century onwards against the very own scriptures which it canonised.

For Gays, it is a sad reflection, of one of the greatest artists even known has to hide his sexual orientation because of the strong religious homophorbia against gays. Yes, Leornardo had a hidden message for us, that he was gay and is'nt it so obious. He could not lived a life openly and had to hide behind the face of mona lisa. That is the real tragedy.

The real Davinci Code is a revelation that gays have a profound role in history and the world we live today. Acceptance of it will change the church forever, from the power and walth centered focused from the 4th century period to a church that is white and pure, ready for the bridgegroom Jesus to come back again.