Outright Falsehoods in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code

The Roman Emperor Constantine

“The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.” (Da Vinci Code, 231)

 “Because Constantine upgraded Jesus’ status almost four centuries after Jesus’ death, thousands of documents already existed chronicling his life as a mortal man.  To rewrite the history books, Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke.  From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history.  Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ’s human traits and embellished those gospels that made him Godlike.  The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.” (Da Vinci Code, 234)

"I thought Constantine was a Christian," Sophie said.  "Hardly," Teabing scoffed.  "He was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed, too weak to protest.  In Constantine's day, Rome's official religion was sun worship--the cult of Sol Invictus, or the Invincible Sun--and Constantine was its head priest.  Unfortunately for him, a growing religious turmoil was gripping Rome.  Three centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christ's followers had multiplied exponentially.  Christians and pagans began warring, and the conflict grew to such proportions that it threatened to rend Rome in two.  Constantine decided something had to be done.  In 325 A.D., he decided to unify Rome under a single religion. Christianity."  Sophie was surprised.  "Why would a pagan emperor choose Christianity as the official religion?" (Da Vinci Code, 232)

“Fortunately for historians, some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive.  The Dead Sea Scrolls [the earliest Christian records] were found in the 1950s hidden in a cave near Qumran in the Judean desert.  And, of course, Coptic Scrolls in 1945 at Nag Hammadi.  In addition to telling the true Grail story, these documents speak of Christ’s ministry in very human terms.” (Da Vinci Code, 234)

“Of course, the Vatican, in keeping with their tradition of misinformation, tried very hard to suppress the release of these scrolls.  And why wouldn’t they?  The scrolls highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda—to promote the divinity of the man Jesus and use his influence to solidify their own power base.”

“My dear child, it was not Mary Magdalene’s royal blood that concerned the Church so much as it was her consorting with Christ, who also had royal blood.  As you know, the Book of Matthew tells us that Jesus was of the House of David.  A descendant of King Solomon—King of the Jews.  By marrying into the powerful House of Benjamin, Jesus fused two royal bloodlines, creating a potent political union with the potential of making a legitimate claim to the throne and restoring the line of kings as it was under Solomon.”