(Posted August 30, 2006)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The fictional conspiracies woven by the bestselling \"The Da Vinci Code,\" by Dan Brown, will be decoded in a lecture at Juniata College by theologian Robert M. Price at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 7 in Neff Lecture Hall in the von Liebig Center for Science on the Juniata campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. The talk, titled \"The Da Vinci Fraud,\" will be given by Robert M. Price, professor of theology and Scriptural studies at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary in Miami Gardens, Fla., will address many of the issues raised by the popular thriller and the subsequent movie made from the book. He will talk about whether Jesus was a man or a god and whether Jesus was married during his life on Earth. He also will talk about other questions raised by the book, including whether the Roman emperor Constantine created Christianity, as well as the origins of the books in the New testament. He also will speak about the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order whose legendary exploits have been used as conspiracy fodder in several films and historical thrillers. Price is also a member of The Jesus Seminar, a collaborative research organization that researches the historical Jesus, and the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion. His most recent book, \"The Da Vinci Fraud: Why the Truth is Stranger than Fiction,\" is available in bookstores. He also wrote two other books, \"Deconstructing Jesus\" and \"The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition?\" He also is the host of \"The Bible Geek,\" a Webcast broadcast every Sunday at 4 p.m. He earned a bachelor\'s degree in 1976 at Montclair State College in Upper Montclair, N.J. He went on to earn a master\'s degree in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. and earned a doctorate in theology from Drew University in Madison, N.J. He also earned a master\'s degree and doctoral degree in the New Testament from Drew University.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.