While some people read Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and believe the fictional tale some Christians have deemed blasphemous, a London courtroom continues to hear testimony that even the plot line from the novel was ripped off from earlier books.

Brown returned to the witness stand yesterday acknowledging "reworking" passages from an earlier book, but he still flatly rejected charges that he plagiarized ideas for his spiritual conspiracy thriller.

The author spent a third day defending his work against a copyright infringement suit brought by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of a 1982 nonfiction book, "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail."

The suit is against Brown's publisher, Random House, which also published "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail." Random House denies the claims, and Brown says the assertion that he copied is "completely fanciful."

"I'm not crazy about the word 'copied,'" Brown testified. "Copying implies it is identical. It's not identical."

Brown said "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" was "one of the books in the mix" when he and his wife, Blythe Brown, were researching the novel.

He acknowledged "reworking" passages from the earlier book.

"That's how you incorporate research into a novel," Brown said.

Scene from "The Da Vinci Code."

If Baigent and Leigh succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the scheduled May 19 film release of "The Da Vinci Code," starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou, one of the most highly touted movies of the year.

"The Da Vinci Code" has sold more than 40 million copies since its release three years ago, and has turned Brown, 41, into a literary superstar.

The movie faces other obstacles besides the lawsuit. Before the final cut is finished and the scoring is done, boycotts are already being organized against what is assumed to be a movie deeply offensive to Christians, sacrilegious, incredulous and historically inaccurate.

Much of the controversy surrounding the book and the film is the proposition that Jesus was actually married to Mary Magdalene. The story line claims she had a child with Jesus – an heir that became France's royal bloodline. It further suggests Catholic secret societies hid these and many other secrets about Jesus. It supposes Leonardo Da Vinci and Sir Isaac Newton were in on the secret. Da Vinci, the book says, tried to covertly alert the world through his painting of "The Last Supper."

The Russian Orthodox Church has officially condemned the upcoming movie because it says the novel on which the movie was based is blasphemous.

Mikhail Dudko, a spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate, said that it would be a mistake to regard the international best-seller and its movie version merely as works of art.

"We, people of faith, are used to paying a lot of attention to words and images, and we know just how powerful they can be," Dudko said. "The sheer assumption that Christ could have had children out of wedlock is insulting to believers."

In addition, a major documentary maker, Grizzly Adams Productions, has released a two-hour DVD critique of "The Da Vinci Code" in advance of the Hollywood thriller's release. The new documentary, exclusively marketed through WND's online store, ShopNetDaily, offers an explosive expose made to answer those questions and many more.

It's called "Breaking the Da Vinci Code," and it was created for an anticipated television airing later this spring by Grizzly Adams Productions.

It, too, is based on another popular book of the same name.

The documentary addresses all the lingering questions and explodes myths perpetuated by the novel and the upcoming movie – expected to be a blockbuster hit. It includes interviews with authors and the world's leading experts in archeology, theology, art history, philosophy and science.

"This documentary offers Christians a great opportunity to prepare in advance for the release of this Hollywood extravaganza so you can tell your children the truth about the movie and the book upon which it is based," said Joseph Farah, editor and founder of WND. "It is spectacularly well-done."

As a very special added bonus, when you order "Breaking the da Vinci Code" from WorldNetDaily's online store, you can also receive – FREE – three issues of WorldNetDaily's elite monthly Whistleblower magazine, which many have called the best news magazine in the world. That's a $22.50 free value! (Offer good in the U.S. only.) Watch for the free offer during checkout.

Order the DVD documentary "Breaking the Da Vinci Code" now

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