Friday, June 10, 2005

Bart Ehrman on Da Vinci Code

Beliefnet has an enjoyable interview with Bart Ehrman on his recent book setting The Da Vinci Code straight:

Unpacking 'The Code'
What's true in Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code' and what's pure historical fiction?
Interview by Deborah Caldwell
. . . . How is your book different from previous "Da Vinci Code" spinoffs?

I haven't made a precise study of this, but I think almost all of the other books are written by evangelical Christians who are concerned that "The Da Vinci Code" might lead their people astray. And that isn't my agenda at all. My agenda really is more historical—making sure people understand the historical realities of the life of Jesus, his relationship to Mary Magdalene, how we got our New Testament Gospels, why other gospels were excluded, what the role of Constantine was in the formation of Christianity. These are for me purely historical interests. And people are obviously interested; some are interested in them for religious reasons and some just because they're interested in our culture's past . . . .

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