Book Review: The Da Vinci Code Breaker

You can view this book’s Amazon detail page here.

Author: James L. Garlow
Publisher: Bethany House
Title: The Da Vinci Codebreaker: An Easy-to-use Fact Checker
Genre: Nonfiction

The Da Vinci Code has swept the globe and provoked not just controversy, but a variety of products which support, explain, critique, criticize and debunk it. Responses to the responses range from things like “why would anyone debunk fiction?” to “a much needed resource, because Dan Brown has presented lies as history in order to make a quick buck.” The Da Vinci Codebreaker is a companion glossary to Cracking Da Vinci’s Code. This is not a book you will read through, it’s an alphabetical listing of terms and facts used in the Da Vinci Code. It is a thorough and complete reference manual for anyone who seeks the facts about the assertions in the Da Vinci Code. What it is not is an attack on Dan Brown or a book that proselytizes Christianity. It simply lists the historical references in the Da Vinci Code, and where they are inaccurate, corrects them.

It contains over 500 facts and terms used in the Da Vinci Code and thoroughly explains each one, often including timelines, maps, photos and other supporting material. For example, the entry on Constantine the Great includes the following:

Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon claims that “Constantine and his male successors successfully converted the world from matriarchal paganism to patriarchal Christianity” (DVC, 124) Actually, Constantine gave Christianity equal legal status with pagan religions; paganism persisted in the empire long after his reign. […]

Another character says that “the Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan emperor Constantine the Great” (DVC, 231). In truth, Constantine had nothing to do with the selection or collation of the New Testament’s twenty-seven books; by the late first and second centuries, Christians throughout the world had accepted twenty, including the four gospels, as authoritative guidelines for life. Debates about the other seven did persist into the fourth century; however the final canon emerged from a consensus of church leaders, not from imperial decree. After the Council of Nicaea (325), Constantine authorized the copying and distribution of fifty Bibles, but the editions copied before these fifty do not differ significantly from the editions copied after.

Many Christians have declined to purchase the Da Vinci Code because they don’t want to enrich Dan Brown for attacking their faith. Now that the movie has been released, even people who don’t enjoy reading are hearing things about Christianity that are not true, and they’re hearing them in an entertaining and persuasive way.

Is it worth about ten dollars to you to have strangers approach you and initiate a discussion about your faith? Just carry around a copy of the Da Vinci Code in plain sight. I would call that a worthwhile investment. But make sure that you are also carrying around the Da Vinci Codebreaker, ready to pull out and reference at key points in the discussion. The Da Vinci Code, along with Cracking Da Vinci’s Code and The Da Vinci Codebreaker, provide Christians with an opportunity not to be missed.

I would rate this book a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5. It does exactly what it promises - provide the user with a reference manual to authoritatively discuss the assertions in the Da Vinci Code.
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Laura Curtis is a web developer and master certified computer trainer in New Orleans.