Joe Hoffmann is Campbell Professor of Religion and Human Values at Wells College, New York and chair of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER) at the Center for Inquiry. He is formerly Professor of Civilization Studies at American University of Beirut and Senior Research Scholar of St. Cross College, Oxford. Dr. Hoffmann is a specialist in the social and cultural history of early Christianity, and the author of Jesus Outside the Gospels, coeditor of Biblical versus Secular Ethics, Jesus in Myth and History, Modern Spiritualities, The Origins of Christianity, The Secret Gospels, What the Bible Really Says, and editor and translator of the Oxford University Press editions of Celsus' On the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians and Porphyry's Against the Christians: The Literary Remains.

In this discussion with DJ Grothe, Professor Hoffmann probes the truth and fiction behind The Da Vinci Code, explores Christianity's true origins, and examines the public's overwhelming fascination with Dan Brown's worldwide best-selling novel.

Also in this episode, Sarah Jordan stresses the importance of youth education in science and human values, as well as detailing CFI's new summer camp for children, Camp Inquiry.