On the one hand, New Testament scholarship has been preoccupied with a search for the "historical Jesus." On the other, twists and turns occurring after the first century brought about "an enforced orthodoxy" that views modern visionaries as heretics. The inconclusive nature of theology pits those who are reluctant to support the miraculous against the witness of the original oral tradition. One result of the confusion over the New Testament record is that contemporary fiction such as The Da Vinci Code has emerged to fill the void. It has been so popular because there is hunger for a...