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Jesus Decoded

Duke Divinity School professor helps decode “The Da Vinci Code” in television documentary

May 15, 2006

Hays
Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey professor of New Testament, is featured in “Jesus Decoded,” a television documentary that explores some of the biblical and historical issues surrounding the best selling novel The Da Vinci Code by author Dan Brown. The film version of the book, starring Tom Hanks, is to be released on May 19.

Hays is internationally recognized as an authority on New Testament ethics and the writings attributed to the apostle Paul. He has spoken on The Da Vinci Code a number of times, including an April 25 discussion with Bart Ehrman of the University of North Carolina at the divinity school.

In the documentary, Hays joins Salesian Father Francis J. Moloney, most recently on the faculty of the Catholic University of America, Sister of St. Joseph Maria Pascuzzi, associate professor of the New Testament at the University of San Diego, Marist Father Justin Taylor, New Testament professor at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem, and Robert Randolf Coleman, an art expert and associate professor at the University of Notre Dame.

“Jesus Decoded” is an hour-long documentary supported by the U.S. Bishops’ Catholic Communication Campaign that answers important questions that people are asking about Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church in light of popular media such as The Da Vinci Code. The program will be offered to stations affiliated with NBC for broadcast starting the third weekend of May.

The documentary highlights clear and accurate information about the person of Jesus, his disciples, and the formation of the books of the New Testament. Shot on location in Israel, Turkey, and Italy by NewGroup Media, Jesus Decoded offers a solid Catholic response to Da Vinci Code believers, concentrating especially on the first three centuries of the development of the church.

Hays discusses many of the historical and biblical inaccuracies of the novel, stating, “It’s full of a great deal of silliness” and “there’s no suggestion that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married.”

Jesus Decoded offers general information about the documentary as well as a local broadcast schedule.