5/15/2006

Leading Evangelical Christian Scholars Decipher The Da Vinci Code at Metro NYC Conference Before Movie Opens
Worldwide Deciphering The Da Vinci Code Conference a Big Hit in Manhattan

NEW YORK, May 13 /Christian Newswire/ -- Almost three years after its release, Dan Brown’s international bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, continues to make waves. As the May 19th worldwide release of Ron Howard’s film version approaches, Evangelical Christians prepared today for a new surge of interest. Shepherd Project Ministries, Chosen People Ministries and Campus Crusade for Christ teamed up to produce the Deciphering The Da Vinci Code conference in Manhattan. The free conference, held at the historic Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, provided credible, biblical answers to The Da Vinci Code’s controversial claims so Christians will be ready to use the release of the movie on May 19th as an outreach opportunity.

The conference included presentations by world- renowned biblical scholars including Dr. Darrell Bock, author of Breaking the Da Vinci Code and professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, Craig Smith, founder and president of Shepherd Project Ministries and Dr. Michael Wilkins, professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Talbot School of Theology. They discussed the historical reliability of the Bible, early church Christology, New Testament formation and the so-called Gnostic gospels as related to The Da Vinci Code book and the upcoming movie.

The Da Vinci Code follows its characters as they race to unravel a mysterious murder. Along the way, they discover an ancient conspiracy to cover up the true origins of Christianity. The book and movie discuss how Jesus never claimed to be divine and had a son with Mary Magdalene. Furthermore, the New Testament was essentially invented by the Council of Nicea in the 4th century. These claims are purported by the book’s author to be well- established, though long-neglected, historical fact.

Unfortunately, these claims are not found only in works of fiction today. Dr. Darrell Bock, a highly respected New Testament scholar - and a member of the Deciphering The Da Vinci Code conference team - explains: “These ideas are now commonly taught in our universities and are being disseminated in numerous recent books. These ideas reflect an effort to remake our religious and cultural history, an attempt to makeover Christianity and rob it of its unique claims.”

Because it is part of this disturbing trend, Craig Smith, founder and president of Shepherd Project Ministries, is convinced that the church cannot afford to write The Da Vinci Code off as simple fiction. Smith has seen the book’s impact in the church.

“I’ve talked to a lot of Christians that are seriously troubled by this view of Jesus and the Bible’s origins,” said Smith. “Even worse, we recently met a youth worker who told us that she had been teaching The Da Vinci Code to her youth group. That’s disturbing to me. This is not just something going on ‘out there.’ It’s impacting us inside the Church as well.”

At the same time, Smith says there are positive aspects to the book’s popularity. “Everywhere I go people are reading it and they’re fascinated by its claims. More importantly, they’re interested in discussing those claims in light of the historical evidence. I expected to spend a lot of time refuting the Code’s revisionist history, but I’m actually spending more time addressing people’s genuine curiosity about the reliability of Scripture and the claims of Christ. In that sense, we might think of this as the Da Vinci opportunity,” he continued.

“We must also remember that Jesus was Jewish and he is worshipped by hundreds of millions of Gentiles around the world,” said Mitch Glaser, president of Chosen People Ministries. “The Bible will continue to be the most popular book in the world because it contains the definition of Truth,” Glaser continued.

A similar Deciphering the Da Vinci Code conference took place on May 6th in Denver and there will be one more conference on May 20th in Los Angeles. For more information, go to www.shepherdproject.com .