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A million lemmings can’t be wrong – or can they? In 2003 DAN BROWN published The Da Vinci Code. It quickly became a best-seller and remained at the top of The New York Times’ best-seller list for 35 weeks. It has sold over 60 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Brian Edwards’ book is brief and to the point. He gives a résumé of this novel and then explains its claims and the implications of those claims for the believer. The nub of the matter is, should we continue to trust the authority and reliability of the four gospels, or should we be swayed by the counterclaims of the Gnostic gospels of the Nag Hamadi library? The author reminds his readers of the early date of the biblical gospels and the vast amount of manuscript support which lies behind them. Gnostic heresies were already tending to arise by the end of the first century AD. John’s first epistle was written to counter the teaching of Cerinthus and the Docetists and Ebionites. As always with heresy, attacks were directed against the Lord’s perfect humanity, His deity and His redemptive work.
This book does not claim to be a comprehensive defence against the claims made by Dan Brown. Its value lies in its challenge to believers to revisit the facts which compel us to trust the records found in the canonical gospels and to renew our understanding of their trustworthiness and sufficiency for faith and life. In so doing, we shall find ourselves in the company of the faithful down the centuries, who, in every age, have had to resist the enemy’s attacks upon the word of God.
This is a stimulating book which will encourage the thoughtful reader to follow up the leads which Edwards gives.
