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| The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code: A Challenging Response to the Bestselling Novel | 
| Author: Richard Abanes
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 336531
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 96
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.3
ISBN: 0736914390
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780736914390
ASIN: 0736914390
Publication Date: April 21, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Nationally recognized researcher Richard Abanes, author of Harry Potter and the Bible, looks at three of the most fascinating people in history: Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Based on his extensive research, Abanes explores the answers to many of the questions that Dan Brown’s fictional thriller, The Da Vinci Code, raises: - Are Da Vinci’s paintings really full of clues about an alternative religion?
- Were Jesus and Mary Magdalene married?
- Has the church suppressed the truth about the “Lost Gospels”?
- What is the real nature of the Holy Grail?
Join Richard Abanes as he “de–codes” one of the most controversial novels of our time and goes behind the scenes to separate fact from fiction.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 52 more reviews...
 A Challenging Response. February 12, 2008
It moves you along very quickly, and the quotes by Brown are in shaded boxes in order to help the reader know precisely where they are and helps with back-referencing. I've never really seen this approach. It actually provides a little bit of eye candy. The book is very visually oriented.
Some good points, but some complaints too July 26, 2006
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
This book is a bit of mixed bag. I have listed what I liked/disliked about this book below.
What I liked:
1. This book is concise and to the point
2. It offers a fairly thorough critique of the Da Vinci Code
3. The author's arguments are generally pretty sound. This book does a good job refuting the DVC's arguments.
4. In many ways, this is a good book to hand to a friend who asks "what's wrong with the Da Vinci Code?" It's also a good book to equip yourself to defend the Bible against the false claims in the DVC.
If you were confused by the Da Vinci Code this is worth reading.
What I didn't like:
1. It didn't seem to shed much new light on the issue; I had already heard most of the stuff I had read in it. In all fairness, it is hard to be TOO original on the subject (given how many critiques of the book there are out there), but it seems like if you're going to publish a book you should at least have something to say that hasn't already been said a million times.
2. The writing and format of the book could have used quite a bit of help at times. The format was unimaginative and never varied from the format of a quote/claim from the Da Vinci Code in a gray box followed by a refutation of the claim. The book often read like a "laundry-list" of problems with the Da Vinci Code, which gives the book a "cranked-out" feel, like the author and publisher put little thought into it. The writing isn't always that much better to be honest. It provides a lot of information, but it could have been delivered better. Quite frankly, this book sometimes looks and reads like the author Googled the Da Vinci Code and he and the publishers threw this together in a hurry using Word and a desktop printer.
3. The most serious problem I found with it, though, was that it spends nearly all the time refuting the Da Vinci Code's claims in the negative sense but doesn't always present the truth. Showing that your opponent is wrong is not the same as showing that your position is right. Even if someone is convinced to reject the Da Vinci Code's claims, so what? Unless they are also pointed towards the real Jesus and the real truth contained in the Bible, I don't see how they're much better off than they were before.
In summary, this book is OK at very best, an extremely generous 3 stars. I would recommend "The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction" by Hank Hanegraaff and Paul Meier instead of this book. It is really a much better book. Not only do they refute the main points of the Da Vinci Code, they use this as an opportunity to defend the reliability of the Bible and historic Christianity, all the while pointing people to the real Jesus and challenging people to accept Him. They both refute the DVC in a negative sense and provide the accompanying truth; for example, they refuted the DVC's claims about Jesus' divinity and also defended the fact that Jesus really was who He claimed to be, whereas Albanes' book stops at refuting the DVC. It is also much better written, and the authors put much more thought into their book. Their book has more imagination and creativity, doesn't look like it was slapped together in a week like Albanes' book does, and probably covers more information. Hanegraaff's book is a great evangelistic tool as well; you can give it to your unbelieving friends to help them see that the Bible can indeed be trusted. As I mentioned before, I really wish that Albanes' book had been more clear about presenting the positive truth of the Bible; this would have made it more useful as a witnessing tool I think.
This book is, however, a handy reference tool. The one nice thing about the organization is that, if you can't remember how to refute a specific DVC claim, it makes it easier to find.
 A Quick Response to the Da Vinci Code July 3, 2006
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book was very well written and clearly lays out some of the flaws in The Da Vinci Code from both a historic and Biblical perspective. I highly recommend it for someone who wants a quick but accurate response to the Da Vinci Code.
Essential Fallacies of the Da Vinci Code June 24, 2006
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Despite all the hype surrounding it, the DaVinci Code is really nothing new. For the longest time, enemies of the Christian faith have tried to falsely ascribe its teachings to pre-existing pagan beliefs. Abanes shows the essential differences between pagan and Christian teachings. Decades ago, the feminists had developed an elaborate mythology, not founded on facts, of onetime global goddess worship. This has been repeated by the DaVinci Code, and Abanes exposes the baselessness of this feminist pseudohistory. Likewise, Abanes exposes the long-rejected error of "older" gospels giving an authentic alternative view of early Christianity. Then, besides showing the fact that recognition of the Deity of Jesus Christ long predates Constantine, Abanes also debunks the alleged powers of the Emperor Constantine in enforcing Christian doctrine. Abanes also shows how the persecution of witches has been greatly exaggerated.
Another good retort - but needed? June 2, 2006
7 out of 14 found this review helpful
You know, this book is actually quite well researched. It's put together very simply and is organized with point/counterpoint responses. It is also well written and mildly entertaining considering the fact that it is meant only as a response to someone else's work (poor as it may be).
My only real problem with this book (and others like it) is that the author seems so offended by Dan Browns secular take on the Christian Faith. To be honest I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about. To say that Jesus was a man in not offensive, to say that a man was married is not offensive, to say that a man had children is not offensive, to say that people have lied and covered up the past is not really all that offensive either. This is just a normal worldly response.
In reality it is we as Christians that believe the offense. We believe in the "offense of the cross". To say that Jesus was God, that blood someone atones for sin, that Christ came and fulfilled prophetic words, that the Bible is inherent, that Christ died on the cross but then rose from the dead - this is the true offense. What is offensive to the world is what we believe.
If you are seeking some good information that will help some poor soul who found him/herself dismayed by a self named "work of fiction" then by all means read this book and use its knowledge well, but do not forget that what we believe is far more offensive (and yet true) than anything man could ever come up with.
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