A Lawyer Rebuts The

Da Vinci CodePart V

By

Randall K Broberg, Esq.

Da Vinci

Code

Attacks On

The Gospels

“The Bible is a product of man,

my dear. Not of God. The Bible

did not fall magically from the

clouds. Man created it as a

historical record of tumultuous

times, and it has evolved through

countless translations, additions,

and revisions. History has never

had a definitive version of the

book.” (p. 231)

Da Vinci Code Attacks on the Bible

2.“The Gospels were recorded well after the

lifetime of the eyewitnesses and

have been embellished over

time”

DVC On Constantine & NT“Because Constantine upgraded Jesus’ status

almost four centuries after Jesus’ death,

thousands of documents already existed

chronicling His life as a mortal man. To

rewrite the history books, Constantine knew

he would need a bold stroke … [He]

commissioned and financed a new Bible,

which omitted those gospels which spoke of

Christ’s human traits and embellished those

gospels which made Him godlike. The

earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up,

and burned.” (234)

Jesus: A

Revolutionary

Biography

John Dominic Crossan

“…if you read them horizontally and

comparatively, focusing on this or that

unit and comparing it across two, three,

or four versions, it is disagreement

rather than agreement that strikes you

most forcibly. And those divergences

stem not from the random vagaries of

memory and recall but from the

coherent and consistent theologies of

the individual texts.”

“Historical Jesus”

Embellishment Theory

“Jesus”

• 30-70 AD

• Saw Jesus

as a wise

teacher

• No need for

a messiah

• No Cross, No

Resurrection,

No “Gospel”

“Christ”

• 70-100 AD

• Added narrative myths

upon Q sayings

• Proclamation of the

death and resurrection

of Jesus

“JESUS SEMINAR THEORY TIMELINE”

4 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

Dating Gospels Circular Logic

Biblical Gospels

Assert

Divinity

of Christ

Biblical Gospels

Are Late and

Untrustworthy

Original Jesus

Was a Man.

Church made him

Son of God, Later

“THE SANDWICH”

4 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

Establishing

First Dates

Establishing the First Dates

4 - 1 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

Conversion of Saul

30-50 AD

Period of Oral Tradition

• Jewish culture stressed memorizations of the law.

– Deuteronomy 6:4-9

– In a culture where this was practiced, their memorization skills were far advanced from ours today.

– New Testament scholar Darrell Bock states that the Jewish culture was “a culture of memory.”

• the church preserved the teachings of Christ in the forms of hymns which were easy to memorize.

– E.g., Paul’s summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15

LAST DATES:

MANUSCRIPTS

Brodmer Papyrus II:

Dated A. D. 150-200.Contains first 14 chapters of John and

portions of last 7 chapters.

Brodmer papyrus:

dated

around 200 A.D.

Magdalen Papyrus

Dated 150 AD

• Magdalen papyrus -

fragment (dated

around 150 A.D.,

but a more recent

dating place it

possible around 50

A.D. !)

John Rylands MSS:

Dated A. D. 114-130.Oldest

fragment of

NT, contains

only five

verses (Jn.

18:31-33, 37-

38) but reads

exactly the

same as the

Greek text

today!

The Rylands

Fragment

John 18:31-33, 37

AD 130

Dead Sea Scrolls’ Mark Fragments

Pre-70 AD

Qumran cave 7 (7q5 is

Mark 6:52-53) –

(dated around 50 A.D. !)

Last Dates: Manuscripts

4 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

98 - 130 A.D.

John Ryland

fragment

125 - 150 A.D.

Chester Beatty

fragment

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

Dead Sea Scrolls

Mark

John

Last Dates

Early Church

Quotations

Last Dates: Church Fathers

4 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

120 A.D.

Polycarp

110 - 115 A.D.

Ignatius

95 A.D.

Clement

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

Dead Sea Scrolls

Mark

Establishing the Last Dates

4 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

98 - 130 A.D.

John Ryland

fragment

125 - 150 A.D.

Chester Beatty

fragment

120 A.D.

Polycarp

110 - 115 A.D.

Ignatius

95 A.D.

Clement

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

Dead Sea Scrolls

Mark

John

“WHOLE NT INSIDE

THE SANDWICH”

4 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

EARLY VS LATE DATES

“Two significant facts

intervene between the

lifetime of Jesus and the

composition of the

gospels: first, Rome had

destroyed Jerusalem; and,

second, the majority of

Jews had declined to

perceive Jesus as a

messiah.”

Paula Fredriksen, From

Jesus to Christ

Dating Gospels Circular Logic

Gospels Prophecy

Destruction of Temple

Gospels

Are Written

After Destruction of Temple

Prophecies are

impossible

Early vs. Late Dates

4 - 1 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

Destruction of Temple

Deaths of Paul & Peter

The Spoils of Jerusalem

Triumph of Titus

Triumphal Arch of Titus

Celebrating Destruction of

Jerusalem, 70 AD.

Importance of

Temple Destruction, 70 AD• The gospels prophesy the

destruction of the Temple

(occurred in AD 70) but

never mention its

fulfillment.

– Matthew 24, Mark 13,

Luke 21. John 2

• Only Gospels Do mention Destruction of Temple!

– Acts

– Hebrews

– Revelation

Matthew

and Luke

70 AD

Destroy

Temple

Mark

The Temple in

Matthew

• Matthew 26:61

and said, "This man

stated, 'I am able to

destroy the temple of

God and to rebuild it in

three days.'"

• Matthew 27:40

and saying, “You who

are going to destroy

the temple and rebuild

it in three days, save

Yourself! If You are the

Son of God, come

down from the cross."Emp. Titus Destroyed Temple in 70 AD

The Temple in Mark

• Mark 13:1-2

• As He was going out of the temple, one of

His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, behold

what wonderful stones and what wonderful

buildings!" And Jesus said to him, "Do you

see these great buildings? Not one stone

will be left upon another which will not be

torn down."

The Temple

in Luke

• Luke 21:5-6And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, "As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down."

The Temple in John• John 2:19-21

Jesus answered

them, “Destroy this

temple, and in three

days I will raise it up."

The Jews then said,

"It took forty-six years

to build this temple,

and will You raise it

up in three days?"

But He was speaking

of the temple of His

body.

The Temple in 1 Corinthians

• 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Do you not know that

you are a temple of

God and that the Spirit

of God dwells in you?

If any man destroys

the temple of God,

God will destroy him,

for the temple of God

is holy, and that is

what you are.

Hebrews and the Temple• Hebrews 9:25

nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own.

Hebrews 10:1For the Law, since it has only] a shadow of [the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.

Hebrews 10:3But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

Importance of Silence

• Acts (Luke) Mentions Death of James

• Luke/Acts never mentions the death of Paul and Peter or James the Just

• Peter Mentions Paul’s letters but Never Mentions Death of Paul

• Paul Never Mentions Death of Peter

• No NT Document mentions death of James, Brother of Jesus

• John mentions Death of Peter!

• 44, James martyred

• 61-68, Paul Martyred

• 62-68, Peter Martyred

• 61 Death of James, Brother of Jesus

THE IMPORTANCE OF SILENCE

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

Death Of

Apostle James Death of Paul, Peter and

James, Jesus’ Brother

Luke/Acts John

Paul’s Letters

Peter’s Letters

Establishing the Gospels’ Dates

4 B.C.

Jesus born

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

Dead

Sea

Scrolls

Oral Tradition Period

30-50 AD

Last John Date

100 AD

Last Luke

Date

Last

Mark

Date

Matthew

WHERE DOES Q FIT?

THE WRITTEN

GOSPELS

50-90 AD

Review: Dating The NT

Matthew

Luke

John

The Gospels

Mark

B.C.

50

A.D.

15050 60 70 80 90 1000 120 140

48-50 A.D.

Galatians

50 A.D.

1&2 Thessalonians

54-56 A.D.

1&2 Corinthians

57 A.D.

Romans60 A.D.

Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon

63-65 A.D.

1&2 Timothy, Titus

60-68 A.D.

1 Peter

85-95 A.D.

1 John

65-80 A.D.

Jude

40-60 A.D.

James

30 A.D.

Jesus

crucified

JESUS

SEMINAR

EMBELLISHME

NT THEORY

EVALUATED

Comparing First and 20th Centuries

Decade First Century 20th Century

00-09 Augustus, JC Childhood Queen Victoria, Ted

Roosevelt

10-19 Augustus, JC Teenager Woodrow Wilson, WW I

20-29 Tiberius, JC in 20s-

>Cross/Resurrection

Roaring 20s, Stock

Crash

30-39 Tiberius, Caligula, Acts 1-12 FDR, Great Depression

40-49 Claudius, Paul’s Missions, Mark WW II

50-59 Claudius, Nero, Paul’s Letters. Eishenauer, “Happy

Days”

60-69 Nero, Paul & Peter Martyred, Luke/Acts Kennedy, LBJ, Vietnam

70-79 Vespasian, Temple Destroyed, Titus Nixon, Ford, Carter

80-89 Domitian John, John’s Letters Reagan, Bush (1)

90-99 Domitian, Nerva Revelation Bush (1) Clinton

2 Timothy 2:15

• Study to show

yourself

approved unto

God, a workman

that need not be

ashamed, rightly

dividing the Word

of Truth