I am not a religious person, so I don't know. But it seems to me that Christ was probably an intellectual, and would have studied divinity (if there is even such a word back then) and essentially unified Judaism, which is more law than religion, with a spiritual core which is what Hinduism is mostly about. Is Christianity nothing more than a watered down version of Hinduism told in story form to given continuity to the Old Testament? Do we not see how God becomes more tolerant in the new Testament? I have Jewish friends that have become Buddhists, and I suspect they would be Christians were it not for the one minor detail that Christians believe that Christ is the messiah, which is intolerable to them. Opinions and debate welcome.
there are an awful lot a Christians out there that seem absolutely positive that Jesus is, of course, unique and the first of his kind. They are unaware that the myth of their Christ is similar to several other god-men myths. Here are some of those other mythical god-men that Jesus, the Christian Messiah, apparently shares roots with. Does anything about these Gods that predate the christian God sound familiar? Think about these the next time you read the bible and ask yourself why do Gods that predate christianity have the same attributes as biblegod. Of course the answer is very clear if you open your mind to the truth. Christianity is a mismash of earlier religions that borrowed its myths from earlier gods. Here is a list of some earlier gods. Does anything sound familiar: Zoroaster/Zarathustra --Zoroaster was born of a virgin and âimmaculate conception by a ray of divine reason.â --He was baptized in a river. --In his youth he astounded wise men with his wisdom. --He was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. --He began his ministry at age 30. --Zoroaster baptized with water, fire and âholy wind.â --He cast out demons and restored the sight to a blind man. --He taught about heaven and hell, and revealed mysteries, including resurrection, judgment, salvation and the apocalypse. --He had a sacred cup or grail. --He was slain. --His religion had a eucharist. --He was the âWord made flesh.â Zoroasterâs followers expected a âsecond comingâ in the virgin-born Saoshynt or Savior, who is to come in 2341 CE and begin his ministry at age 30, ushering in a golden age. Mithra of Persia --Mithra was born of a virgin on December 25 in a cave, and his birth was attended by shepherds bearing gifts. --He was considered a great traveling teacher and master. --He had 12 companions or disciples. --Mithraâs followers were promised immortality. --He performed miracles. --As the âgreat bull of the Sun,â Mithra sacrificed himself for world peace. --He was buried in atomb and after three days rose again. --His resurrection was celebrated every year. --He was called âthe Good Shepherdâ and identified with both the Lamb and the Lion. --He was considered the âWay, the Truth and the Light,â and the âLogos,â [Word] âRedeemer,â âSaviorâ and âMessiah.â --His sacred day was Sunday, the âLordâs Day,â hundreds of years before the appearance of Christ. --Mithra had his principal festival on what was later to become Easter. --His religion had a eucharist or âLordâs Supper,â at which Mithra said, âHe who shall nto eat of my body nor drink of my blood so that he may be one with me and I with him, shall not be saved.â --âHis annual sacrifice is the Passover of the Magi, a symbolical atonement of pledge of moral and physical regeneration.â Virtually all of the elements of the Catholic ritual, from miter to wafer to altar to doxology, are directly taken from earlier Pagan mystery religions. Attis of Phrygia --Attis was born on December 25 of the Virgin Nana. --He was considered the savior who was slain for the salvation of mankind. --His body as bread was eaten by his worshippers --His priests were âeunuchs for the kingdom of heaven.â --He was both the Divine Son and the Father. --On âBlack Friday,â he was crucified on a tree, from which his holy blood ran down to redeem the earth. Dionysus/Bacchus Dionysus or Bacchus is thought of as being Greek, but he is a remake of the Egyptian god Osiris, whose cult extended throughout a large part of the ancient world for thousands of years. Dionysusâs religion was well-developed in Thrace, northeast of Greece, and Phrygia, which became Galatia, where Attis also later reigned. Although a Dionysus is best remembered for the rowdy celebrations in his name, which was Latinized as Bacchus, he had many other functions and contributed several aspects to the Jesus character: --Dionysus was born of a virgin on December 25 and, as the Holy Child, was placed in a manger. --He was a traveling teacher who performed miracles. --He ârode in a triumphal procession on an a##.â --He was a sacred king killed and eaten in an eucharistic ritual for fecundity and purification. --Dionysus rose from the dead on March 25. --He was the God of the Vine, and turned water into wine. --He was called âKing of Kingsâ and âGod of Gods.â --He was considered the âOnly Begotten Son,â Savior,â âRedeemer,â âSin Bearer,â Anointed One,â and the âAlpha and Omega.â --He was identified with the Ram or Lamb. --His sacrificial title of âDendritesâ or âYoung Man of the Treeâ intimates he was hung on a tree or crucified.
Horus/Osiris of Egypt In the Egyptian myth, Horus and his once-and-future Father, Osiris, are frequently interchangeable, as in âI and my Father are one.â Concerning Osiris, Walker says: Of all savior-gods worshiped at the beginning of the Christian era, Osiris may have contributed more details to the evolving Christ figure than any other. Already very old in Egypt, Osiris was identified with nearly every other Egyptian god and was on the way to absorbing them all. He had well over 200 divine names. He was called the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, God of Gods. He was the Resurrection and the Life, the Good Shepherd, Eternity and Everlastingness, the god who âmade men and women to be born again.â Budge says, âFrom first to last, Osiris was to the Egyptians the god-man who suffered, an died, and rose again, and reigned eternally in heaven. They believed that they would inherit eternal life, just as he had done . . .â Osirisâs coming was announced by Three Wise Men: the three stars Mintaka, Anilam, and Alnitak in the belt of Orion, which point directly to Osirisâs star in the east, Sirius (Sothis), significator of his birth . . . Certainly Osiris was a prototypical Messiah, as well as a devoured Host. His flesh was eaten in the form of communion cakes of wheat, the âplant of Truth.â . . . The cult of Osiris contributed a number of ideas and phrases to the Bible. The 23rd Psalm copied an Egyptian text appealing to Osiris the Good Shepherd to lead the deceased to the âgreen pasturesâ and âstill watersâ of the nefer-nefer land, to restore the soul to the body, and to give protection in the valley of the shadow of death (the Tuat). The Lordâs Prayer was prefigured by an Egyptian hymn to Osiris-Amen beginning, âO Amen, O Amen, who are in heaven.â Amen was also invoked at the end of every prayer. As Col. James Chruchward naively exclaims, âThe teachings of Osiris and Jesus are wonderfully alike. Many passages are identically the same, word for word.â Osiris was also the god of the vine and a great travelling teacher who civilized the world. He was the ruler and judge of the dead. In his passion, Osiris was plotted against and killed by Set and âthe 72.â Like that of Jesus, Osirisâs resurrection served to provide hope to all that they may do likewise and become eternal. Osirisâs âsonâ or renewed incarnation, Horus, shares the following in common with Jesus: --Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Merion December 25 in a cave/manger with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men. --His earthly father was named âSebâ (âJosephâ). --He was of royal descent. --At at 12, he was a child teacher in the Temple, and at 30, he was baptized having disappeared for 18 years. --Horus was baptized in the river Eridanus or Iarutana (Jordan) by âAnup the Baptizerâ (âJohn the Baptistâ), who was decapitated. --He had 12 desciples, two of who were his âwitnessesâ and were named âAnupâ and âAanâ (the two âJohnsâ). --He performed miracles, exorcised demons and raised El-Azarus (âEl-Osirisâ), from the dead. --Horus walked on water. --His personal epithet was âIusa,â the âever-becoming sonâ of âPtah,â the âFather.â He was thus called âHoly Child.â --He delivered a âSermon on the Mountâ and his followers recounted the âSayings of Iusa.â --Horus was transfigured on the Mount. --He was crucified between two thieves, buried for three days in a tomb, and resurrected. --He was also the âWay, the Truth, the Light,â âMessiah,â âGodâs Anointed Son,â âthe âSon of Man,â the âGood Shepherd,â the âLamb of God,â the âWord made flesh,â the âWord of Truth,â etc. --He was âthe Fisherâ and was associated with the Fish (âIchthysâ), Lamb and Lion. --He came to fulfill the Law. --Horus was called âthe KRST,â or âAnointed One.â --Like Jesus, âHorus was supposed to reign one thousand years.â Furthermore, inscribed about 3,500 years ago [1500 years before Jesusâ alleged advent] on the walls of the Temple at Luxor were images of the Annunciation, Immaculate Conception, Birth and Adoration of Horus, with Thoth announcing to the Virgin Isis that she will conceive Horus; with Kneph the âHoly Ghost,â impregnating the virgin; and with the infant being attended bh three kings, or magi, bearing gifts. In addition, in the catacombs at Rome are pictures of the baby Horus being held by the virgin mother Isisâthe original âMadonna and Child.â As Massey says: It was the Gnostic art that reproduced the Hathor-Meri and Horus of Egypt as the Virgin and child-Christ of Rome . . . You poor idiotai, said the Gnostics [to the early Christians], you have mistaken the mysteries of old for modern history, and accepted literally all that was only meant mystically. Krishna of India The similarities between the Christian character and the Indian messiah Krishna number in the hundreds, particularly when the early Christian texts now considered apocrypha are factored in. It should be noted that a common earlier English spelling of Krishna was âChristna,â which reveals its relation to âChrist.â Also, in Bengali, Krishna is reputedly âChristos,â which is the same as the Greek for âChristâ and which the soldiers of Alexander the Great called Krishna. It should be further noted that, as with Jesus, Buddha and Osiris, many people have believed and continue to believe in a historical Krishna. The following is a partial list of the correspondences between Jesus and Krishna: --Krishna was born of the Virgin Devaki (âDivine Oneâ) on December 25. --His earthly father was a carpenter, who was off in the city paying tax while Krishna was born. --His birth was signaled by a star in the east and attended by angels and shepherds, at which time he was presented with spices. --The heavenly hosts danced and sang at his birth. --He was persecuted by a tyrant who ordered the slaughter of thousands of infants. --Krishna was anointed on the head with oil by a woman whom he healed. --He is depicted as having his foot on the head of a serpent. --He worked miracles and wonders, raising the dead and healing lepers, the deaf and the blind. --Krishna used parables to teach the people about charity and love, and he âlived poor and he loved the poor.â --He castigated the clergy, charging them with âambition and hypocrisy . . . Tradition says he fell victim to their vengeance.â --Krishnaâs âbeloved discipleâ was Arjuina or Ar-jouan (Jouhn). --He was transfigured in front of his disciples. --He gave his disciples the ability to work miracles. --His path was âstrewn with branches.â --In some traditions he died on a tree or was crucified between two thieves. --Krishna was killed around the age of 30, and the sun darkened at his death. --He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven âin the sight of all men.â --He was depicted on a cross with nail-holes in his feet, as well as having a heart emblem on his clothing. --Krishna is the âlion of the tribe of Saki.â --He was called the âShepherd of Godâ and considered the âRedeemer,â âFirstborn,â âSin-Bearer,â âLiberator,â âUniversal Word.â --He was deemed the âSon of Godâ and âour Lord and Savior,â who came to earth to die for manâs salvation. --He was the second person of the Trinity. --His disciples purportedly bestowed upon him the title âJezeus,â or âJeseus,â meaning âpure essence.â --Krishna is to return to judge the dead, riding on a white horse, and to do battle with the âPrince of Evil,â who will desolate the earth.
If the bible is correct (up to you to decide) Then the human ancestry can be traced back to two events, firstly the institution of humankind, that being different from other lifeforms, in that he/she was made a living soul. From there mankind was generational at large in a singular culture to the tower of babel, I would surmise that history was repeated down through the generations from first hand accounts repeated. When the split came and the first general culture was splintered at the Tower of Babel, it would make sense that each new different culture would have the same aspects and ideology woven through their religious beliefs, drawn from the history given. Through out time I'm sure they were modified and diluted. Because history was given to Moses after the fact, in some cases much after some of the previous dead cultures, doesn't discount the fact that it was given in a first hand, accurate account by the author and creator. In essence most want to believe that Moses drew upon ancient texts to write the Torah, where some believe the creation accounts in the Torah to be the truth from the time of creation, and preceding accounts plagiarized and revised history. But believe what you want.
but of course the bible can be proven wrong about many things. that being the case why would you believe that it is right about this subject?
Why should I break out my list of apologetics, just to hear your rebuttals and my rebuttals to yours etc etc............ "For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day." Have a great conversation, regards
Man. If I thought Christ was God, I wouldn't presume that he borrowed from a man his philosophy, no? Perhaps you meant the rhetorical "you".