The Da Vinci Code Challenge

Dan Brown's book was a desperate search for missing evidence, but sadly, three years later, it's still missing. Will you help us find it?

"Ninety-nine percent of The Da Vinci Code is true"
- Dan Brown (On CNN: 5/25/2003)

In the spirit of fun and open inquiry, we're offering $2500.00 to the first person who can find solid evidence in The Da Vinci Code OR the non-fiction books Mr. Brown used as references for any of the following claims (His reference books are listed in the DVC - Pg. 254):

1. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain "lost gospels" about Jesus Christ.
2. The Bible was rewritten and books removed in 325 A.D. by Constantine.
3. Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a daughter named Sarah.
4. Mary Magdalene was of royal ancestry from the tribe of Benjamin.
5. Mary Magdalene was pregnant at the time of the crucifixion.
6. Mary Magdalene is pictured in The Last Supper.
7. The Catholic Church forbid Mary's name to be spoken.
8. Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Walt Disney believed in the "Grail Theory".
   Grail Theory: Hypothesis that Mary Magdalene was the Holy Grail and married to Jesus,with descendants that included the Merovingian dynasty, Pierre Plantard, etc.
9. Many people have believed in the Grail Theory down through the ages.
10. The "Sangreal Documents" depicted in The Da Vinci Code really exist and are described accurately (As Mr. Brown asserts on his infamous "FACT" page).
11. The Gnostic Gospels were in The Bible at one time.

Or these Claims from Holy Blood, Holy Grail - the book The Da Vinci Code is based on. These are some of the theories Dan Brown decided not to include in his "historically accurate" novel. It's unclear why, since they all came from the same source.

1. Jesus and Mary Magdalene were the reigning King and Queen in Judea when He was crucified.
2. Jesus wasn't dead when they took him down from the cross, they had slipped him some knock-out drops to make it appear like he was.
3. Jesus didn't go to France with Mary Magdalene, because after he was crucified, he was "in no condition to travel". However, after "healing himself", Christ abandoned his bride and became a deadbeat dad by fleeing to Kashmir! (India)
4. Jesus wasn't even on the cross; it was somebody else. Pontius Pilate & Jesus faked his crucifixion to fool everyone. (How do you reconcile this with claims 2 & 3 above? Either he was on the cross or he wasn't; which is it?)
5. Pierre Plantard was the rightful King of France and a descendant of Jesus. (That's in addition to being the mentally unstable, ex-convict, who concocted most of this nonsense. Dan Brown probably forgot to mention that part.)
6. Under General Titus, the Romans sacked Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and plundered hundreds of millions in gold that Pierre Plantard somehow got his hands on & was saving for the rightful owners - the Jews! (We'll pay double on this one!)
7. Barabbus, the thief set free in place of Jesus, was his son (Question: How could the 33 year-old Jesus have a grown man with a long criminal history for a son?)
8. The Knight's Templar was established by The Priory of Sion and found the head of Christ buried under the temple ruins in Jerusalem (Of course now it's hidden in Rosslyn Chapel, or Rennes-Le-Chateau as everyone knows).
9. John The Baptist wasn't executed by Herod. Christ's disciples murdered him so Jesus could steal his ministry. They may even have done it on his orders. (This comes from The Templar Revelation and was too funny to leave out.)

Before sending in evidence for the above claims, please read Chapters Two & Three of Da Vinci Speaks first. That way you won't be wasting your time or ours. They both punch gaping holes in the claim that the Gnostic Gospels and The Last Supper contain credible evidence. If you want to use either one, you must be able to refute what we've written. Send correspondence by clicking Contact over at the left hand side of this page, or email us directly at:

mbakkeland@hotmail.com

"The Da Vinci Speaks Challenge" is not a joke; everything will be judged by an impartial 3rd party and we'll be happy to award the money to a deserving person (That's why the amounts are modest). However, it also raises an important question: If you are unable to answer this challenge, why do you believe these claims? Who wants beliefs that have no evidence to support them?

- m. j. bakeland / p. bertolini