NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

1/07/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES ­The best-selling novel, "The Da Vinci Code," will be the subject of a course in the Louisiana Scholars' College at Northwestern State University. Professor of Philosophy Dr. Fraser Snowden will teach the class.

"The Da Vinci Code" was written by Dan Brown and has topped the New York Times bestseller list for 93 weeks, provoking enormous discussion and controversy.

"Ordinarily, I would not be interested in teaching a course based on a work of popular fiction, which by no means can be regarded as a work of serious literary fiction," said Snowden. "But 'The Da Vinci Code' opens up all kinds of fascinating questions about the formation of the early Christian Church and the role of the sacred feminine in the religion ­ especially the role of Mary Magdalene."

Snowden describes the book as "immensely entertaining."

"It is a religious thriller that toys with our fascination with conspiracies and secrets," said Snowden. "Because it portrays Mary Magdalene not as a repentant prostitute but as the lover or wife of Jesus and the 'apostle to the apostles,' it presents an unorthodox version of Christianity that many female readers find compelling."

According to Snowden, Brown claims that The "Da Vinci Code" is a work of fiction, but the historical and theological materials woven into the narrative are factual. Snowden maintains that the book is full of errors, both minor and major, so readers who are not well versed in the history of the early Church may feel that they are reading a novel that conveys the truth about Christianity.

"Brown makes all kinds of questionable claims," said Snowden. "He says, for instance, that the Gnostic texts unearthed in Upper Egypt in 1945 were scrolls. In fact, the so-called Nag Hammadi Library consisted of 13 leather bound volumes. He claims that the Dead Sea Scrolls were Christian writings; they were, in fact, Jewish materials. He says that there were numerous first hand accounts of Jesus, his teachings, and his ministry written by his followers; no evidence exists to support this claim; indeed, Jesus' followers were probably all illiterate."

Snowden said that Brown's entire discussion of the role of the emperor Constantine in the formation of the New Testament canon is seriously flawed.

"Constantine had no role in deciding which books would make up the Christian New Testament," said Snowden. "His intriguing examination of the figure sitting at Jesus' right in Da Vinci's "Last Supper" (Brown contends that the feminine blond figure is Mary Magdalene, not the apostle John), establishes nothing about the actual role of Mary Magdalene historically.

"One of the topics we will discuss in this course is the moral responsibility of a novelist to be historically and factually accurate. Is part of Brown's fiction the claim that the background of the story is factual? I think Brown's novel provides us with an opportunity to explore fascinating and important questions about the Christian religion."

For further information about this course, contact Snowden at (318) 357-4587.

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