Matabele
Journey Man
THE headmaster of Australia's oldest independent school has written to parents and students to warn them of "inaccurate and damaging" assertions in The Da Vinci Code, which opens in cinemas today.
Dr Timothy Hawkes, headmaster at The King's School in Parramatta, says that although Dan Brown's novel is fictional, it wraps grains of truth in fantasy so persuasively that it has shaken the faith of many Christians.
While the entertainment quarter at Moore Park was abuzz last night, it was all for the Anthony Mundine and Danny Green fight.
The film preview for exhibitors, promotional partners and the media was a low-key event that attracted no protesters.
Dr Hawkes's letter, to be published tomorrow in the Anglican school's newsletter, The King's Herald, sets out a case for why many of the convincing premises in the novel are false.
The letter, obtained by the Herald, says that serious scholars believe Dan Brown has "not only sold a book, he has sold a lie".
"The way to disguise a lie is to wrap it in truth," Dr Hawkes said.
"Dan Brown not only peppers his novel with geographical and architectural accuracies, he salts away assertions which are both inaccurate and damaging.
"In a society made vulnerable through only a nominal understanding of its own faith, :roll: it would appear that many who read The Da Vinci Code are now questioning their Sunday school instruction."
A major source of error in the novel lies in the use of discredited Gnostic texts, which were written after the books of the Bible.
According to Dr Hawkes, the heretical texts are presented as having equal authority to biblical texts, including the Gospels, which were written closer to the time of Jesus. The claim that Jesus was married is based on the Gnostic text of Philip and was not taken seriously by scholars.
"Dan Brown makes use of the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Mary, none of which will be found in your Bible," he said
Dr Hawkes addressed his school assembly yesterday, challenging his 1500 students to be mature and to not easily fall for inaccuracies of the type found in Dan Brown's novel.
The headmaster has also been outspoken in his support of intelligent design theory being discussed in classrooms, saying there were undeniable weaknesses in Darwin's theory of evolution.
Dr Timothy Hawkes, headmaster at The King's School in Parramatta, says that although Dan Brown's novel is fictional, it wraps grains of truth in fantasy so persuasively that it has shaken the faith of many Christians.
While the entertainment quarter at Moore Park was abuzz last night, it was all for the Anthony Mundine and Danny Green fight.
The film preview for exhibitors, promotional partners and the media was a low-key event that attracted no protesters.
Dr Hawkes's letter, to be published tomorrow in the Anglican school's newsletter, The King's Herald, sets out a case for why many of the convincing premises in the novel are false.
The letter, obtained by the Herald, says that serious scholars believe Dan Brown has "not only sold a book, he has sold a lie".
"The way to disguise a lie is to wrap it in truth," Dr Hawkes said.
"Dan Brown not only peppers his novel with geographical and architectural accuracies, he salts away assertions which are both inaccurate and damaging.
"In a society made vulnerable through only a nominal understanding of its own faith, :roll: it would appear that many who read The Da Vinci Code are now questioning their Sunday school instruction."
A major source of error in the novel lies in the use of discredited Gnostic texts, which were written after the books of the Bible.
According to Dr Hawkes, the heretical texts are presented as having equal authority to biblical texts, including the Gospels, which were written closer to the time of Jesus. The claim that Jesus was married is based on the Gnostic text of Philip and was not taken seriously by scholars.
"Dan Brown makes use of the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Mary, none of which will be found in your Bible," he said
Dr Hawkes addressed his school assembly yesterday, challenging his 1500 students to be mature and to not easily fall for inaccuracies of the type found in Dan Brown's novel.
The headmaster has also been outspoken in his support of intelligent design theory being discussed in classrooms, saying there were undeniable weaknesses in Darwin's theory of evolution.