The Da Vinci Code as a Theological Fiction and Comparision with Amish Tripathi

1. The Vinci Code as a Theological
Fiction and comparison with Amish
Tripathi
Department of English MKBU
Presented by – Krishna K. Patel

2. Theology
• Theology is taught to priest and minister so they
can better understand their religion, and it’s also
taught in non – religious colleges to anyone who is
curious about the ideas and effects of religion.
• The first half – theology is theo – which means god
in Greek. The suffix – logy means “The Study of”, so
theology literally means “the study of God”, but we
usually expand it to mean the study of religion
more broadly.

3. • As defined by Scholasticism theology is constituted
by a triple aspects: what is taught by God, teaches
of god and leads to God.
• This indicates the three distinct areas of God as
theophanic revelation, the systematic study of the
nature of divine and, more generally of divine and
more generally , of religious belief, and the spiritual
path.
• Theology is taught as an academic discipline,
typically in universities and seminaries .

4. Theological Fiction
• Theological fiction is fictional writing which
shapes people’s attitudes towards
theological beliefs.
• It is typically instructional or exploratory
rather than descriptive, and it engages
specifically with the theoretical ideas which
underly and shape typical responses to
religion.

5. The Da Vinci Code
• Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is the best
known work of theology fiction. Sales have
passed the twenty million mark and a film,
starting Tom Hanks, is in the pipeline.
• However, many of its readers, while coming
for the entertainment, are taking its
historical and theological assertions for real.
• Brown himself fostered this beginning of his
text a page in enlarged print entitled ‘Fact’.

6. Theology in DVC
• The gist of DVC is that Jesus married Mary
Magdalene and intended her to be the leader of
his Church. Following the Crucifixion, the
Magdalene’s role was wrested from her by Peter
and the apostles.
• Subsequently she moved to the south of France,
where she gave birth to Jesus’ daughter .
• Her daughter in turn had descendants coming
down to the present time, including one of the
novel’s main characters, Sophie Neveu.

7. • A major theme of DVC is the legendary ‘Holy
Grail’. This turns out to be, not the communion
cup used at the Last Supper as traditionally
understood, but Mary Magdalene and her
descendants – the real ‘cup’ that contained the
bloodline of Jesus. Brown invoke the similarity
in Old French between ‘San Greal’ (Holy Grail)
and ‘Sang Real’ ( Royal Blood) as indicating a
code for the secret lineage. Mary Magdalene
also represented an ancient spiritual traditional
called the ‘Sacred Feminine’ which the Church or
Rome supressed.

8. A Gnostic Agenda
• The term ‘gnosticism’ refers to a spiritual/
philosophical movement that appeared in the
Mediterranean world of the second century and
which by the end of that century had become a
number of separate sects, each complete with its own
‘gospels’ and other writings. The term is derived from
the Greek word gnosis, meaning ‘knowledge’. Gnostic
gospels and other texts are frequently invoked by
exponents of the ‘alternative’ Christian narrative
outlined in the books examined above. There seems
to be a campaign to displace the traditional Christian
story with a gnostic view.

9. Dualism
• There are two opposing parts in God. One is the
transcedent Father (pleroma), totally spiritual
and incorruptible. The other is the Demiurge,
the womb, Mother of all, and creator of the
physical world. For some, the Demiurge is a
fallen being who believes itself to be the only
god. Each human person is a spirit or ‘divine
spark’ of the Father that has become trapped in
matte. The physicl world, including the body, is a
product of darkness. Only the spiritual soul can
be liberated and experience salvation.

10. Amish Tripathi
• Amish Tripathy is an
Indian diplomat,
columnist and author,
known for his novels. The
Immortals of Meluha,
The Secrets of the Nagas,
The Oath of the
Vayuputras, Ram: Scion
of Ikshvaku, Sita :
Warrior of Mithila, and
Raavan: Enemy of
Aryavarta.

11. Shiva Triology

12. Comparision
• Both are theology fiction
• God as a character
• Living as a normal human being
• Marriage of Christ
• Controversy about Christ’s marrriage
• Prostitute woman
• Marriage of Shiva
• No Controversy

13. Theological Questions
• Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene?
• Did Jesus intend the Magdalene to lead his
Church?

14. Citation
• Hughes, Louis. “Theology Fiction (1): Behind
the Da Vinci Code.” The Furrow, vol. 56, no.
10, 2005, pp. 522–530. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/27665219. Accessed 21
Feb. 2020. Bibliography
• Theology. 21 February 2020
<https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/the
ology>.