Secrets behind 'The Da Vinci Code'

Fascination with “The Da Vinci Code” has become so intense that some at the Vatican fear believers may be treating Dan Brown's fiction as Gospel truth. Worshipers there for Good Friday services heard a sermon condemning the book. It was an extraordinary reaction to a secular work of art and not the only response from church leaders.

Last month in Genoa, an Italian Cardinal told Catholics not to buy the novel, calling it, "a sack full of lies against the Church."

"I think there's a serious concern, says Father Thomas Williams, an NBC News consultant and dean of theology at a college affiliated with the Vatican. “It certainly has elements that are a little hostile to the Catholic Church, especially the organization Opus Dei."

Opus Dei is a small, Catholic group that's featured prominently in “The Da Vinci Code.” The albino monk who kills the curator and four others is a member. Aspects of the organization are painted as secretive and ruthless, portrayals that Opus Dei members and many Catholics say is flat out wrong.

Stone Phillips, Dateline correspondent: No Albino monk hit men?

Father Williams: I haven't met one yet... I know members of Opus Dei who are wonderful very good normal people, believing Christians, wonderful members of society. And I think they have been hurt by this.

Phillips: I guess if you're inclined to be suspicious of an institution like the church this is certainly going to feed that.

Father Williams: It is a mysterious institution. You can fit a lot in there. You can create conspiracies because of the richness of its history and this fascinates people.

Dan Brown declined to comment on accusations that the book is anti-Catholic or anti-Christian. He does, however, address the issue on his Web site, which reads:

This book is not anti-anything. It's a novel... The vast majority of devout Christians understand this fact.

At a lecture in New Hampshire recently, the author spoke for the first time about the controversy his novel has created.

"You don't have to believe a single word of this story to enjoy it, to engage in the debate, to remiain open-minded to perspectives that make us think, perspectives that challenge us to ponder why we believe what we believe," says Brown.

And how does Brown feel about the avalance of books the "Da Vinci Code" has spawned?

Brown: I think these books are absolutely wonderful. These authors and I obviously disagree but the dialogue that' sbeing created is powerful and positive. The more vigorously we all consider and debate thes topics, the better understanding of our own spirituality.

In February, two of the authors of Holy Bood, Holy Grail sued Dan Brown's publisher for copyright infringement and lost. Even the judge in that case seemed to embrace the fever: He embedded a code into his ruling, an obscure reference to a BRitish naval ship, a code that was ultimately cracked.

Still, "The Da Vinci COde" phenomenon continues. In the U.S., the movie is number one at the box office, and around the world, the film was the second biggest opening ever.

Outside of the theatre, there are tours— "Grail Trails" that draw fans from all over the world to the story's European locations.

And in Milan, you'll find fans scouring that Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece for clues. Is there that "M" for marriage? That "V" symbolizing Mary’s womb or the chalice?

Art historian David Nolta says he could have saved them the trip.

David Nolta, art historian:  As I tell my students, you can find almost every letter in the alphabet in this picture. You can make the V into a W, if you turn it upside down.

Phillips: You don't think that's intentional on Leonardo's part.

Nolta: Not at all. Any more than it's intentional that you and I, sitting here like this right now, years from now, someone could see this tape and read into the form of our two bodies… And with the proof that one of us, or not both of us, were vegetarians and promulgating vegetarianism.

And as for the novel's claim that St. John, the feminine-looking figure to the right of Jesus, is really Mary Madeline, Prof. Nolta told us that most painters of that era represented St. John that way.

And finally, when it comes to the big question at the heart of “The Da Vinci Code,” nearly every scholar we spoke to had the same thing to say.

Phillips: Is there any historical evidence that Jesus fathered any children?

Bart Ehrman, author of "Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code": No. There's not one scrap of historical evidence.

Dr. Ben Witherington, III, Asbury Theological Seminary: No evidence whatsoever.

Karen King, Harvard Divinity School professor : There's no evidence at all.

“The Da Vinci Code,” an amalgam of truth and fiction, fact and hoax, sacred and profane, has clearly enthralled millions. But when last chapter is read, and readers pause to reflect, just what might they think?

Ehrman: I'd say to readers that they should enjoy it as a work of fiction and not take it's fictional claims as factual claims.

And as for the historical Mary Magdalene, that alluringly mysterious woman so critical to “The Da Vinci Code,” she remains forever shrouded in the mists of legend and faith, a saintly and human image, all in the eye of the beholder.

MORE FROM DATELINE

Dateline Section Front

Mystery of the murdered millionaire Death on the Palouse You might be rich: Check for unclaimed property Killings in 'the biggest little city' Divers recount 19 hours in troubled waters Dateline's 9 unforgettable 911 calls The secret life of a soccer mom 2008: Year of the tornado Mysterious death at Pictured Rocks Park Inside the murder trial of Neil Entwistle Dateline Section Front   Add Dateline headlines to your news reader: