Many who have read the New York Times best seller The Da Vinci Code have questions that arise from seven codes, expressed or implied, in Dan Brown's book. In Breaking the Da Vinci Code, Darrell Bock, Ph.D., responds to the novelist's claims using central ancient texts and answers the following questions:

• Who was Mary Magdalene?
• Was Jesus married?
• Would Jesus being single be un-Jewish?
• Do the so-called secret, gnostic gospels help us understand Jesus?
• How were the New Testament gospels assembled?
• Does Mary's honored role as apostle match the claims of the New School?
• What is the remaining relevance of The Da Vinci Code?

Darrell Bock's research uncovers the origins of these codes by focusing on the 325 years immediately following the birth of Christ, for the claims of The Da Vinci Code rise or fall on the basis of things emerging from this period. Breaking the Da Vinci Code distinguishes fictitious entertainment from historical elements of the Christian faith. For by seeing these differences, one can break the da Vinci code. Ultimately, though, there is another code lurking behind the pages of this novel. Most readers of the novel have no idea that this other code is there. In fact, Bock didn't notice it at first himself. Breaking the Da Vinci Code, though, will lead readers to discover why this novel has become something of a public phenomenon and why the issues it raises are worthy of careful study and reflection.