Greetings! This Web site is home to a new book entitled,

Da Vinci Speaks:
That is Not Mary Magdalene,
How to Stay Sensitive to the Art of Deception.

Da Vinci Speaks is not an attempt to "debunk" The Da Vinci Code by insisting that The Bible, or traditional Christian history is accurate. Rather, it provides a window into the art of deception and the tricks commonly used to manipulate what we believe. The Da Vinci Code and Holy Blood / Holy Grail, are great tools for understanding the various tactics to watch for. Both editions are long on salesmanship and short on substance. Smoke and mirrors are the order of the day. We'll turn the tables and find out if the arguments of these Bible-critics can stand up to a critical evaluation. Lots of quotes from the best-sellers are used, so it's O.K. if you haven't read them.

The text is not in finished form yet and the references still must be added, so we'd appreciate it if you didn't reprint. Three chapters are currently available to read on this web site. You'll find the links to them over at the left. A brief rundown of each follows below.

In addition, in the spirit of fun and open inquiry, we're offering $2,500.00 to the first person who can find solid evidence in The Da Vinci Code OR the non-fiction books Mr. Brown used as references for any of the claims found over on our Challenge page. Go there to take the challenge!

For questions, or comments, just click on Contact, also at left.

Chapter One : The Art of Deception: An Introduction

Da Vinci Speaks is satire. It's meant to be entertaining, but there are serious issues as well. Is deception ever justified? How does prejudice begin? Does the objection that The Da Vinci Code is "only fiction" really make sense, or is it a bit naive? Is the book really based on the work of fringe authors? Often we think about things just long enough to reach the conclusions we want to reach. Sometimes it's necessary to dig a little deeper. This is one Introduction you shouldn't skip.

Chapter Two : Till Death Do Us Part (Was Jesus Married?)

A humorous look at the so-called "evidence" presented in The Da Vinci Code to support the claim that Jesus was married. The author is caught bluffing time and time again, until his two main characters, Teabing and Langdon, begin to look like caricatures. The real secret, though, is that the only person who finds great significance in the marital status of Jesus is Dan Brown.

Chapter Three: Da Vinci Speaks: "That Is Not Mary Magdalene"! -

The clues Da Vinci supposedly put in his artwork have captured the imagination of many readers. But according to Leonardo, the person sitting next to Jesus in The Last Supper isn't Mary Magdalene, it's a man: the disciple John! The specifics are fascinating - just click on the link marked "Chapter Three ". You'll also see some great photos that show John really did look like a woman in the paintings of that era.

Unflattering Quotes On Dan Brown By His Plagiarism Trial Judge:

• Mr. Brown Repeatedly Misled The Court With Statements That Weren't True
• The Research For The Da Vinci Code Was Very Superficial & Done By His Wife
• The Historical Content Was Riddled With Errors
• Much Of The Material Was Copied Verbatim From Holy Blood, Holy Grail
• The Reason He Wasn't Found Guilty Was That Holy Blood Is Non-Fiction

Judge Smith Is Speaking:

Section 343 - "The claimants (the Holy Blood authors) say I should treat Mr. Brown's testimony with caution. That is too high in my opinion... His confidence eroded during cross-examination as Mr Raynor James established that, in reality, Mr. Brown knew very little about how the historical background [of The DaVinci Code] was researched... In my view, he simply accepted his wife's material... I do not believe for one minute that he critically analyzed any of it; he just used it... He did not cross-check her work".

Section 345 - "He has presented himself as being a deep and thorough researcher on all his books, but the reality is that the research is very superficial... the evidence demonstrates that The Da Vinci Code is simply not correct with respect to the historical data".

Section 349 - "This case is about taking a substantial part of Holy Blood, Holy Grail and placing it in The Da Vinci Code". [315] "I reject Mr. Brown's claim that he acquired Holy Blood at a late date and did not use it in any significant way... I regard the suggestion that he and his wife created the Teabing lectures [the historical content] from sources other than Holy Blood unsustainable. It flies in the face of logic, the documents presented, and the language similarities between the two books. The conclusion is irresistible: Mrs. Brown provided the material for The DVC with a copy of Holy Blood in her hands". [The only reason Dan Brown wasn't guilty of plagiarism was that Holy Blood is supposedly non-fiction, so the ideas aren't protected]

Section 345 - "I don't believe Mr. Brown consciously lied... the failures in his testimony do not mean I must reject everything he says... I accept the list of books he says he used in writing the synopsis".

So, what did Judge Smith think of Holy Blood, the book Dan Brown "borrowed" his theories & history from? Here are his conclusions:

"... the Rennes Le Chateau mystery and the Priory of Sion documents were all an elaborate hoax in which Mr. Pierre Plantard had a significant role... Mr Baigent [author of Holy Blood] said they were always suspicious of Mr Plantard, but I don't see that in their book... It was essential to the credibility of Holy Blood that the Priory of Sion have a plausible basis, because without that, a large part of it disappears as a credible book, if not an outright hoax or a piece of fiction".

"Interesting as all this is [Holy Blood], there is no actual research provided by the authors in their speculative travel. Questions are posed, but why they're posed, and what material led to the questions being asked, is not found in the book".

"[Holy Blood] consists of a series of conjectures, but with no real evidence... they are at the far end of conjecture in my view... Baigent and Leigh's history is poor... No evidential material is produced for their speculations" (i.e. There's no evidence in the book!)

(Thank You Judge Smith. You Now Join The Discovery Channel, 60 Minutes, And The History Channel In Saying The Priory Of Sion Is A Hoax, Which Means Holy Blood & The Da Vinci Code Are Fraudulent As Well.)