MORE FROM BART EHRMAN on the Da Vinci Code: He's written a book refuting it, which we're told took all of two weeks to write. This Herald Sun/A.P. article also gives a clearer account of what he says about the Dead Sea Scrolls, phrased more accurately and doubtlessly closer to what he actually said.

Also not true, Ehrman says. In fact, the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient writings discovered in caves near Jerusalem in 1947, were authored by a group of single, celibate Jewish men called The Essenes.

"The idea that a Jewish man couldn't be single is ludicrous," Ehrman said. "There were, in fact, single men in the ancient time and they had world views much like Jesus."

Further, a character in "The Da Vinci Code" refers to the Dead Sea Scrolls as one of Christianity's earliest writings. That claim, too, was a head-scratcher for Ehrman, pointing out once again the ancient scrolls were written by Jews.

"There's nothing Christian about the Dead Sea Scrolls," he said.