Summary of Plot - What is the Da Vinci Code?

The Da Vinci Code film and novel concerns the attempts of Robert Langdon, professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, to solve the murder of renowned curator Jacques Saunière of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The interpretation of hidden messages inside Leonardo Da Vinci's famous works, including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, figure prominently in the solution to the mystery.

What secret was Saunière protecting that led to his murder?
Who is the mastermind behind his murder?

The hidden message turns out to reveal the cover-up of the true message of Jesus Christ by a secret arm of the Roman Catholic Church called Opus Dei. The book's fictional expert, British royal historian Sir Leigh Teabing, reveals to cryptologist Sophie Neveu (granddaughter of the murdered curator) that at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. "many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon," including Jesus diety.  The story also makes conjectures about the Mary Madgalene as the wife of Jesus, and the Da Vinci code Holy Grail.

(Quotes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da Vinci_code and www.y-zine.com/monalisa2.htm )

DA VINCI CODE Fact or fiction

The author and every authority agrees that " The Da Vinci Codes " novel is a FICTION (make believe):

Dan Brown, Author, Da Vinci Code says:
"The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction...
...If you read the "FACT" page, you will see it clearly states that the documents, rituals, organization, artwork, and architecture in the novel all exist. The "FACT" page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters."
(Quote from www.danbrown.com/novels/Da Vinci_code/faqs.html).

Opus Dei (organization referenced in the novel) says:
"Many people are intrigued by the claims about Christian history and theology presented in The Da Vinci Code. We would like to remind them that The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction, and it is not a reliable source of information on these matters."
(Quote from www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=7017)

CBS News (60 Minutes) says:
"As for Brown, he declined 60 Minutes request for an interview. But on his official Web site, there's a page entitled "Bizarre True Facts from The Da Vinci Code," where he continues to claim that the Priory of Sion is a European secret society that since 1099 has been guarding "a shocking historical secret." Asked where they would place this hoax in the list of hoaxes that have been perpetrated throughout history, Putnam and John Edwin Wood both say "at the top."

"One of Plantard's fantasies was to set up right-wing, anti-Semitic organizations, similar in style to medieval orders of chivalry. But in reality these organizations existed only on paper..."
(Quote from: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/27/60minutes/main1552009_page4.php?lgZ=en&ccZ=&vrZ=&scZ=&add=Read&show=Journals)

FACTS

Have you explored the facts about these "top-level" questions...

• WHAT are the most historically authentic and reliable sources about Jesus?
• WHEN and HOW were the primary biographies of Jesus (Gospels) selected, and others rejected?
• What claims did Jesus actually make about his own deity, according to the source material?
• Did the Council of Nicaea even debate the deity of Jesus, and what did they conclude?