Decoding the Da Vinci Code - Kenneth Bailey

About this sermon

Decoding the Da Vinci Code - Kenneth Bailey A novel is a novel, and novelists succeed through the skillful exercise of the imagination. However, the The Da Vinci Code novel imagines the best of American scholarship (Harvard) and the finest of British scholarship (Oxford) agreeing on what are presented as “facts” regarding the origin of the Christian faith. This one hour lecture was originally delivered at Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA in April 2004. It succinctly reviews the origins of the four Biblical Gospels, the formation of the Canon, the council of Nicea, the role of Constantine and the emergence of the Gnostic gospels in the 3rd to 5th centuries. It then compares established historical facts with the imagination of the novelist that created the mystery thriller, The Da Vinci Code. This lecture and all content on this channel is made available by the Foundation for Middle Eastern New Testament Studies. Visit www.kennethbailey.net for more Ken Bailey resources and to learn more about the work of FoMENTS. Kenneth E. Bailey was a prolific author and lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament studies. An ordained Presbyterian minister for decades, a member of the Presbytery of Shenango, he later also served as Canon Theologian of the Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church, USA. He held graduate degrees in Arabic language and literature, and in systematic theology; his Th.D. was in New Testament studies. Bailey spent 40 years living and teaching New Testament in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem, and Cyprus, holding the title of research professor (emeritus) of Middle Eastern New Testament studies at the Ecumenical Institute (Tantur), Jerusalem. In his retirement in the United States, he was widely received as a preacher and teacher in numerous congregations, retreats, and lecture series. Bailey wrote many books in English and in Arabic and published many articles in various scholarly and popular journals.