FedUp Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 As I had mentioned in my initial posting on the forum, I came to my unbelief through reading, the Bible as well as some of the other information available to Theologians and historians about not only Christianity, but other religions. I have been told that there are other stories from other religious traditions as well as mythologies from around the globe, some older than Christianity, that are either near carbon copies of the Biblical stories of Jesus or obviously heavily borrowed from by Christianity(the Egyptian 'god' or 'deity' Horus is one that comes to mind). This is something that has fascinated me and has lead me to desire to learn more. From what I have read so far in many of your posts here, it appears there are some pretty sharp and well read people on this forum. I am wondering if any of you might be able to either speak about or point me in the direction of any other info regarding or explaining similarities or borrowing from other religions or traditions that can be found in the Christian Bible. Any help would be mucho appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FedUp Posted January 1, 2008 Author Share Posted January 1, 2008 As I have been perusing this forum, it appears there is already posted a ton of such info. My apologies for asking such a redundant question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 There's tons of it. Actually just do some Google for "Jesus Pagan roots" and you'll have a truckload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FedUp Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 What's odd is I see there is a book out speaking about '16 Crucified Saviours', however many years back I had an online chat in an AOL chatroom with a Rabbi from Israel who at the time was trying to convince me that being 'Christian' was the wrong way to go. Of course he would have rather I converted to Judaism. He spoke about this same issue of 16 crucified saviours and how Christianity was rooted in Paganism. Of course at the time I thought he was offbase, but I find it ironic that all this time later I see there is indeed some info regarding 16 Crucified Saviours. I had thought he was just making all that up at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I've recently altered my thinking on this a bit but this site (POCM) is still a fun read. For me the "pagan" is still there...it's the "origins" I've some issues with (it's a bit of chicken and egg). Still the site is good to start. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 There is a lot of phoniness when it comes to this issue. You need to distinguish between "borrowing" and "parallels". Because the Jesus stories contain many elements that were pre-existing, but the gospels are not a straight copycat of anything. Borrowing is very tough to prove. And sometimes you'll see claims that Jesus is a carbon copy of someone or some idea that actually came later. Such as Philostratus' "Life of Appolonius" or, possibly even, Mithras and the Mithraic Rituals practiced by the Romans. Not to say that christianity did not come about as the result of outside influences. There is no question that it did. Particularly Greek influences, from their stories of mythology and concepts from their philosophical schools. And, some parts of the New Testament find clear parallels in Egyptian mythology as well: Burton Mack, a professor of Early Christianity at the School of Theology at Claremont, has this to say about the Revelation of John: "It is overreaction in any case, for literary analysis demonstrates a studied fascination with the torture and torment of martyrdom. The interlocking sevens are clearly a device for prolonging the descriptions of terror. And some of the descriptions would put Hieronymus Bosch to shame. A search for the source of John's imagery turns up a veritable hodgepodge of ancient Near Eastern myths. From verse to verse the historians's mind, in search of parallels, ricochets among myths of creation, sea dragons, holy wars, royal births, Egyptian depictions of the afterlife, Isis of the heavens, Horus and Seth, the divine court, wisdom at the throne of God, the plagues of the exodus, angelic warriors, cosmic conflagrations, and so on. It does not help that, interspersed the the horrific, there are many examples of heightened and holy liturgical language reminiscent of the prayer and psalms of the pious. After twenty-two chapters of blood-soiled linens, beds, and bodies, the concluding exhortation to the thirsty to "take the water of life as a gift" is not very inviting. " From the book Who Wrote the New Testament. One thing I can tell you FOR SURE - there was lots and lots of magical thinking and gullibility being practiced in the Near East in late antiquity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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