Misconceptions Clarified IX; "Jesus Story Stolen?"
Welcome to Misconceptions Clarified episode IX; "Jesus Story Stolen?"
When considering the uniqueness along with the evidence for the case of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there can only be one conclusion; that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, who died on the cross by crucifixion, who rose from the dead on the third day, whose tomb was left empty, and who appeared to the multitudes in his post-resurrected body. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single greatest attested supernatural miracle in all human history. Unfortunately, there exists a numerous amount of criticism against the resurrection of Jesus by many unbelievers who assert that the resurrection is a myth stolen from other religions. Many critics of the Christian faith conclude that Christianity in general is not authentic, but only a copy of mythological antiquity. Therefore, the objective of this analysis will attempt to clear the air on whether the account of Jesus and the resurrection was a story stolen from other religions. This study will analyze Jesus side by side to Horus, Mithra, Dionysus, Attis, and Krishna to see if there exists any credible evidence to support the accusation of stealing.
Who is the Son of Man?
However, before this comparative study gets into the details, it's important to understand who the Son of Man is in the Bible. In the Gospel of Matthew 16:13, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Now, fast forward to the twentieth-first century, and who do the contemporaries say the Son of Man is? The list of speculations regarding the person of Jesus Christ is so long that this article will not be able to cover them all. However, to make the long story short, many say Jesus was a myth, that his story was stolen from other religious accounts, and that he was just a great prophet and teacher. Furthermore, skeptics assert that Jesus did not die on the cross nor did he rise from the dead, but that he fell unconscious on the cross and that he was revived in the tomb in his mortal body. Even the chief priests and elders concocted a lie in Matthew 28:13 that the disciples stole Jesus’ dead body while they were sleeping. David Hume, one of the main opponents of the eighteenth century critically defends against the possibility of supernatural events, thus invalidating the case for the resurrection of Jesus Christ by saying, “there is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men.” The amount of theories and criticisms against Jesus and the Christian faith are so vast that a library could be built with books just on this subject alone. On the contrary, Christians respond to the question of who the Son of Man is just as Peter responded to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew; that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Therefore, let’s begin this brief exploration by examining these allegations of plagiarism.
Horus the Egyptian God
When considering the variety of theories pertaining to the account of Jesus Christ, there are obvious contradictions among them. For instance, the first theory pertains to the Egyptian account of Horus. According to Peter Joseph’s documentary Zeitgeist, Bill Maher’s documentary Religulous, Acharya S. The Christ Conspiracy, and Peter Gandy’s The Jesus Mysteries, these are just a few sources that insist Christianity copied the account of Horus and applied it to Jesus Christ. Horus was hypothetically born on the 25th of December, born of a virgin woman with a star in the east, adorned by three kings, had twelve disciples, baptized into ministry at the age of thirty, suffered death by crucifixion, and resurrected on the third day, almost identical to the account of Jesus Christ. At face value, this claim of Horus appears very attractive to the naked eye, but a closer look will reveal the truth. First, in the Bible, there are no references to Jesus being born on the 25th of December, nor a specific number of Magi that visited Jesus, which automatically voids these two claims. Furthermore, according to The Complete God and Goddess of Ancient Egypt, there is no mention of Horus being born of a virgin birth on the 25th of December, no mention of an eastern star, no mention of being baptized, no mention of being visited by three kings, nor any mention of twelve disciples. As a matter of fact, there are many accounts of Horus in Egyptian mythology and one of them says that he was born to his mother Isis who gathered her dead husband’s (Osiris) dismembered body parts, reunited them together, magically revived his phallus, and became impregnated giving birth to Horus posthumously. There is no specific mention of Horus dying, only his father Osiris was killed by his brother Seth. So, if there is no account of Horus death, how can he be resurrected? The concept of the resurrection, (an actual human having died and came back to life) was not rooted or believed it could happen in ancient mythology according to N.T. Wright. The idea of the resurrection pertained to human beings, not mythological gods such as Horus. Jesus Christ is a validated historical human being with several eyewitness testimonies to his resurrection, which is completely opposite to the mythical god Horus, who is a non-historical human being with no historical attestations. Additionally, death by crucifixion was not even practiced by the ancient Egyptians and this method of capital punishment did not come into existence until approximately twenty-five hundred years after the legend of Horus. In essence, the arguments regarding the similarities between Horus and Jesus have been refuted just within this brief examination. Moreover, how the disparity between Jesus and Horus originate on the same scale of comparison is incomprehensible after examining the evidence. The only conclusion this article can calculate is that it was invented with a priori objective to disprove the tenets of Christianity.
Krishna the Indian God
In addition to Horus, there are other mythological accounts that make similar contentions to the historical Jesus of Nazareth. For instance, the Indian god Krishna is supposedly born of a virgin birth with a star in the east, along with a resurrection. According to Indian Mythology by Paul Hamlyn, these specific claims could not be further from the truth. Krishna was the last of eight sons born to his mother Devaka who was married to Vasudeva. There is no evidence in the legend of Krishna of a virgin birth, nor a star in the east. In regards to the resurrection of Krishna, once he dies by a passing hunter who mistakenly strikes his heel with a bow like Homer’s Iliad story of how Achilles died, there is no mention of Krishna resurrecting from the dead. The only other detail pertaining to Krishna’s death is that his body never goes through the process of deterioration and basically the story ends at Krishna’s death. So, how does a comparison between Jesus and Krishna even come into fruition? It more than likely derived from a blatant position to disapprove the case for Christianity, especially since these comparisons are not even in the vicinity of association.
Dionysus the Greek God
Another drastic example of this sort of comparison of Jesus comes from the Greek god Dionysus. On a side note, it is important to highlight that it is not the ancient Greeks, or the ancient Egyptians, or the ancient Indians, or the ancient Romans who are making these accusations that Christianity borrowed from their religion. These are modern day foreigners to these ancient cultures that are drawing up these outrageous charges against Jesus and the Christian faith attempting to dissuade the masses through their writings, through social media, through television, and through the internet. Now, Dionysus was also allegedly born of a virgin, performed miracles, and resurrected from the dead. Surprisingly, according to ancient Greek mythology, there is no reference to a virgin birth, and even the resurrection of Dionysus is greatly exaggerated in its comparison to Jesus. Furthermore, Dionysus did not suffer death by crucifixion as the adversary asserts, but was torn apart and eaten by titans. Again, how does this comparison equate to Jesus Christ being condemned to death on the cross by the Romans? Where are the similarities? Critics claim that Christianity forged the resurrection of Jesus from ancient mythology, but judging from the evidence thus far, this is hardly the truth. Skeptics are struggling to string together these scandalous theories to undermine the tenets of the Christian faith and the results of their formulations are pathetic. In regards to the resurrection of Dionysus, there is a reference to the god of wine being brought back to life from his tragedy of being eaten by the titans. However, according to the debate between Gary Habermas and Tim Callahan, there are no sources of the resurrection of Dionysus that actually predate Christianity. In sum, it is plausible to conclude that it was not Christianity who borrowed from Greek mythology, but just the reversal.
Attis The Greek God
Again, it appears at this point in the investigation unfair to compare Jesus Christ, a validated historical human being to a bunch of mythical gods. Nevertheless, this analysis must continue to unravel the pieces of this comparative equation by dismantling the next contestant in the Greek god Attis. As with the other three ancient mythical gods mentioned above, Attis contains the exact same characteristics according to the exact same adversaries outlined in paragraph three. The account of Attis is not as widely attested to unlike the other gods mentioned in this investigation. As a matter of fact, several Greek mythological books in the local library did not even mention the Greek god Attis. Nevertheless, after examining the available information, the legend of Attis is even more far-fetched. For instance, the virgin birth of Attis consists of the Olympian gods casting away the male organs which turned into an almond tree. Once the almond tree was ripe enough, Nana the daughter of the Greek god Sangarius picked an almond, put it in her bosom and became pregnant, which is how Attis arrived on the mythical scene. If this sounds slightly awkward, the alleged crucifixion of Attis entails his own castration. Furthermore, the resurrection of Attis is murky considering the contradictory reports on whether or not there is an actual resurrection of Attis. According to Elliot Nesch’s refuted documentary on Zeitgeist, the resurrection account of Attis is practically non-existent, and what remains available does not predate Christianity. It is yet inconceivable to think how the mythical god Attis is seriously compared to the historical Jesus. Nonetheless, Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Therefore, what Christianity has to compete against in the twenty-first century regarding heretical worldviews is practically the same scenario the first-century church had to contend with, just with different contenders and with a different means in which information is communicated.
Mithra the Persian God
The last of the ancient gods that needs to be addressed regarding the major comparisons is the Persian god Mithra. As with the other gods, Mithra is also supposedly born of a virgin, crucified, and resurrected. Notice how all five mythological accounts are constructed together in effort to make a stronger case that Christianity plagiarized from these various myths. At minimum, they all claim a virgin birth, a performance of miracles, and a resurrection. After further evaluation into the fable of Mithra, the comparison is resoundingly more of a contrast. On a side note, there needs to be a distinction made between the Old Persian Mithra and the Roman Mithra. Since the allegations of this assignment refer to Christianity borrowing from ancient mythology, it is only logical to examine Mithra in the Persian context since Christianity predates the Roman Mithra. Examining the Roman Mithra will not do this brief investigation any justice to the criticisms because it could possibly lead to the opposite conclusion that the myth borrowed from Christianity. However, with that being said, Mithra’s birth record is a rather intriguing account of him emerging from a rock. Now, unless the rock was a virgin, this can hardly be a parallel to the virgin birth of Jesus by Mary who was impregnated by the Holy Ghost. In regards to the resurrection of Mithra, there are no sources predating Christianity that even mentions the death of Mithra. Therefore, a resurrection minus a record of death is implausible from a general understanding. As mentioned earlier, a resurrection is mainly thought to be a new life after a period of being dead. Without a period of being dead, there cannot be a new life in this sense.
No conclusive Evidence
Unfortunately, for the opponents of Christianity, the evidence for ancient mythology regarding their rising and dying gods is inadequate against the case for Jesus Christ. Generally, when considering the thousands upon thousands of gods that men have created in their imaginations, it might be possible to find a couple of accounts that appear similar to the historical Jesus. As a matter of fact, the disparity between Jesus and anybody else in all of human history is so great that people have to purposely invent theories to depreciate the love God has shown for his creation through his Son Jesus Christ. To advocate a comparison of Jesus Christ to a falcon-headed god in Horus, to a guardian of cattle in Mithra, to a castrated god in Attis, to an alcoholic god in Dionysus, and to a blue Indian god in Krishna is a complete insult and contempt to the Christian faith. To actually believe in the biased comparisons of ancient mythology to Jesus Christ shows a lack of commitment to objective academic research. Even in the community of nonbelievers there exists a division among them regarding the authenticity of Christianity. However, no matter what evidence exists to support the Christian faith, no matter what archaeology continues to uncover regarding anything biblically related, unbelievers will continue to find an alternate route around the destination of belief in Jesus and his resurrection. In the Gospel of Luke 16:31, Jesus said to his disciples, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” Therefore, if first-century opponents were not convinced by the resurrection of Jesus, neither will opponents in the twenty-first century be slightly moved to believe in the case for Christianity. God could literally appear on the scene (which he did two thousand years ago) and say that He is God and many will still not believe.
Miracles Comparison
The only other thing the gods of ancient mythology had slightly in common with the historical Jesus is that they all performed some type of miracles. However, the miracles performed by Jesus and the ancient gods are very different in nature simply because the miracles of the ancient gods are mythical and made-up, whereas the miracles of Jesus are historically attested and confirmed. For example, Krishna’s defeat of Naraka and how he captured Naraka’s sixteen thousand, one hundred virgins and married each one of them can be considered a miracle. The legend states, “Krishna now settled down with his sixteen thousand one hundred and eight wives (the eight wives he was already married to before the defeat of Naraka) and was able to delight them all simultaneously.” How Krishna satisfied more than sixteen thousand women at the same time is unimaginable to mentally process unless one believes a miracle occurred. Nevertheless, the rationale behind the mention of this particular miracle of Krishna is to show evidence of its imaginary nature. There are many other miracles attributed to the ancient gods of antiquity, however, nothing revolutionary was performed by these gods mentioned in this assignment.
Jesus Christ on the other hand performed signs and wonders no mythological god can compare to. In John 21:25 it says, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Again, the main reason why Jesus should not be equated to the ancient gods is simply because Jesus is a true validated historical person being compared to a bunch of myths, fables, and legends. It is like trying to compare apples and oranges. While both are considered fruit and while both can be compared, this does not mean they should be compared because when the comparison is conducted on both the apple and orange, the comparison turns into a contrast. Meaning, there are more differences than similarities. The same concept applies when examining the mythological accounts of Horus, Krishna, Attis, Dionysus, and Mithra, which are just fantasies developed in the imaginations of men linked to a man in Jesus who was not an invention, but a real person. It seems a little unfair to justify such an assessment and yet, even though the scales are unbalanced, the historical Jesus still overshadows anything men could fabricate in their own minds. Even if this analysis was to compare any other historical person to the historical Jesus, it still would not matter, because Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life, and no one and no god can be objectively mentioned in the same sentence as the savior of the world.
Additionally, while miracles are generally associated with deities, when comparing the apples to oranges concept of these miracles of the ancient gods to Jesus Christ in this analysis, they end up on opposite ends of the comparative spectrum. While there was enough room in the books that it would be written for every one of the miracles performed by the ancient gods, there was not enough room for the miracles performed by the historical Jesus. That’s the difference! When comparing the miracles of the ancient gods in this examination, there were no miracles of healing, no miracles of controlling nature, no miracles of raising actual people from the dead, no miracles of fulfilled prophecy, and no miracles of exorcisms. Furthermore, there are no references of large crowds gathering to hear the teachings of these gods, no encounters of civil authorities, and definitely no death by crucifixion, no empty tomb, no resurrection, and no post-resurrected appearances to the multitudes. At a closer examination of Jesus to the mythological gods of ancient paganism, the comparison is not even close!
Conclusion
In summary, as mentioned previously, this analysis was meant to be brief and there is so much more that could have been mentioned. One of the countless differences between the God of Christianity and the mythological gods of antiquity pertains to the actual teachings. After examining the many different portraits on the gods of ancient paganism, the teachings on morality was practically absent, whereas the moral teachings taught by Jesus Christ are transcendent. A comparison on Jesus’ teachings alone would require a separate investigation. Everything about Jesus is significantly different from all five pagan gods put together. However, the most noteworthy difference between the God of Christianity and the mythological gods of antiquity is that God sent his one and only son Jesus into the world to perform various miracles, and to separate himself from the mythical gods of stone through his bodily resurrection. The accomplishment over death changed the whole historical dynamic and provided a new hope for anyone who would come to believe in the Son of the Living God. Furthermore, Jesus is the only revolutionary figure to ever live who transformed the calendar from B.C., (Before the Common Era/before Christ) to A.D. (Anno Domini/after death). None of the ancient gods mentioned in this comparison are credited for changing the course of history in such a manner as Jesus did. These gods did not have this profound effect where thousands of people converted over to believe in them like they did in early Christianity. Moreover, there are no references to any martyrs for these mythological gods, yet, The Seed of the Martyrs is how Christianity grew exponentialy in the early church, in which critics have no answer for. Nevertheless, when performing an exhaustive investigation of any ancient god or any other human being side by side to the historical Jesus of Nazareth, there is no one who can do it like Jesus! What sets Jesus Christ apart from the rest of the playing field is his bodily resurrection! As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:54, “Death has been swallowed up in victory,” all because of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
#Misconceptions #Clarified #Jesus #Is #Authentic
For more information please consider the references below and click on the YouTube video debunking the Zeitgeist documentary for the "real truth."
http://beginningandend.com/jesus-copy-horus-mithras-dionysis-pagan-gods/ Accessed January 26, 2015.
Habermas, R. Douglas Geivett and Gary. In Defense of Miracles; A Comprehensive Case for God's Action in History. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Hamilton, Edith, and Steele Savage. Mythology / S. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1942.
Ions, Veronica. Indian Mythology. London: Paul Hamlyn, 1973.
Nesch, Elliot. "Zeitgeist REFUTED & DEBUNKED! (Religious Portion)." YouTube. Accessed March 3, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFI6m6Icav4
Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2003.
Wright, N.T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Great Britain: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2003.