Is Jesus a myth?

Response

There are individuals who argue that the accounts of Jesus as documented in the New Testament are merely myths borrowed from pagan folklore, such as the tales of Osiris, Dionysus, Adonis, Attis, and Mithras. The assertion is that these myths essentially tell the same story as the New Testament’s narrative of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. As stated by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, “Nothing in Christianity is original.”

To uncover the truth regarding the assertion that the Gospel writers borrowed from mythology, it is crucial to (1) delve into the history behind the claims, (2) scrutinize the actual depictions of the false gods being compared to Christ, (3) expose any logical fallacies being presented, and (4) examine why the New Testament Gospels provide reliable portrayals of the genuine and historical Jesus Christ.

The notion that Jesus was a myth or an exaggeration originated in the writings of liberal German theologians in the nineteenth century. They essentially posited that Jesus was merely a replica of popular dying-and-rising fertility gods in various regions—Tammuz in Mesopotamia, Adonis in Syria, Attis in Asia Minor, and Horus in Egypt. It is worth noting that none of the publications containing these theories were taken seriously by the scholars of that era. The claim that Jesus was a recycled Tammuz, for instance, was thoroughly examined by contemporary scholars and found to be entirely unfounded. It is only recently that these claims have resurfaced, largely due to the proliferation of information from unverifiable sources facilitated by the Internet.

This brings us to the next area of inquiry—do the mythological gods of ancient times truly reflect the character of Jesus Christ?As an example, the Zeitgeist movie makes these claims about the Egyptian god Horus:

• He was born on December 25 of a virgin: Isis Mary

• A star in the East proclaimed his arrival

• Three kings came to adore the newborn “savior”

• He became a child prodigy teacher at age 12

• At age 30 he was “baptized” and began a “ministry”

• Horus had twelve “disciples”

• Horus was betrayed

• He was crucified

• He was buried for three days

• He was resurrected after three days

However, when the actual writings about Horus are competently examined, this is what we find:

• Horus was born to Isis; there is no mention in history of her being called “Mary.” Moreover, “Mary” is our Anglicized form of her real name, Miryam or Miriam. “Mary” was not even used in the original texts of Scripture.

• Isis was not a virgin; she was the widow of Osiris and conceived Horus with Osiris.

• Horus was born during the month of Khoiak (Oct/Nov), not December 25. Further, there is no mention in the Bible as to Christ’s actual birth date.

• There is no record of three kings visiting Horus at his birth. The Bible never states the actual number of magi that came to see Christ.

• Horus is not a “savior” in any way; he did not die for anyone.

• There are no accounts of Horus being a teacher at the age of 12.

• Horus was not “baptized.” The only account of Horus that involves water is one story where Horus is torn to pieces, with Isis requesting the crocodile god to fish him out of the water.

• Horus did not have a “ministry.”

• Horus did not have 12 disciples. According to the Horus accounts, Horus had four demigods that followed him, and there are some indications of 16 human followers and an unknown number of blacksmiths that went into battle with him.

• There is no account of Horus being betrayed by a friend.

• Horus did not die by crucifixion. There are various accounts of Horus’ death, but none of them mention crucifixion.

Some of them involve crucifixion.

• There is no account of Horus being buried for three days.

• Horus was not resurrected. There is no account of Horus emerging from the grave with the same body he entered with. Some stories mention Horus/Osiris being revived by Isis and then becoming the ruler of the underworld.

When compared side by side, Jesus and Horus share little, if any, resemblance.

Jesus is also compared to Mithras by those who argue that Jesus Christ is a myth. All the aforementioned descriptions of Horus are attributed to Mithras (e.g., born of a virgin, crucified, rising in three days, etc.). But what does the Mithras myth actually state?

• He was born from a solid rock, not from any woman.

• He first battled the sun and then a primeval bull, believed to be the initial act of creation. Mithras slew the bull, which then became the source of life for humanity.

• Mithras’s birth was commemorated on December 25, coinciding with the winter solstice.

• There is no mention of him being a great teacher.

• There is no mention of Mithras having 12 disciples. The notion that Mithras had 12 disciples may have originated from a mural depicting Mithras surrounded by the twelve zodiac signs.

• Mithras did not experience bodily resurrection. Instead, upon completing his earthly mission, he was transported to paradise in a chariot, alive and well. The early Christian writer Tertullian did mention Mithraic followers re-enacting resurrection scenes, but this took place long after the New Testament era, so if any imitation occurred, it was Mithraism imitating Christianity.

More instances can be provided regarding Krishna, Attis, Dionysus, and other mythological deities, but the conclusion remains the same. Ultimately, the historical Jesus depicted in the Bible is distinctive. The alleged parallels between Jesus’ narrative and pagan myths are greatly exaggerated. Furthermore, although stories of Horus, Mithras, and others precede Christianity, there is scant historical evidence of the p

Revising the Christian beliefs of those religions. The majority of the earliest writings of these religions date back to the third and fourth centuries A.D. Assuming that the pre-Christian beliefs of these religions (for which there is no record) were the same as their post-Christian beliefs is simplistic. It is more reasonable to attribute any similarities between these religions and Christianity to the religions’ adoption of Christian teachings about Jesus.

This brings us to the next area to explore: the logical fallacies made by those who argue that Christianity borrowed from pagan mystery religions. We will focus on two fallacies in particular: the fallacy of the false cause and the terminological fallacy.

When one thing precedes another, some people infer that the first thing must have caused the second. This is the fallacy of the false cause. A rooster may crow before sunrise every morning, but that does not mean the rooster causes the sun to rise. Even if pre-Christian accounts of mythological gods closely resembled Christ (which they do not), it does not imply that they prompted the Gospel writers to fabricate a false Jesus. Making such a claim is like saying that the TV series Star Trek influenced the NASA Space Shuttle program.

The terminological fallacy arises when words are redefined to support a point. For instance, the Zeitgeist movie states that Horus “began his ministry,” but the term “ministry” is being redefined. Horus did not have an actual “ministry” comparable to that of Christ. Those who suggest a connection between Mithras and Jesus mention the “baptism” that initiated candidates into the Mithras cult, but what did it entail? Mithraic priests would lower initiates into a pit, hang a bull over the pit, and cut the bull’s stomach, drenching the initiates in blood and entrails. This practice bears no resemblance to Christian baptism—a person submerging in water (symbolizing Christ’s death) and then emerging from the water (symbolizing Christ’s resurrection). However, proponents of a mythological Jesus continue to deceive.

Respectively use the same term, “baptism,” to describe both rites in hopes of linking the two.

This brings us to the subject of the truthfulness of the New Testament. No other work of antiquity has more evidence to its historical veracity than the New Testament. The New Testament has more writers (nine), better writers, and earlier writers than any other existing document from that era. Furthermore, history testifies that these writers went to their deaths claiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. While some may die for a lie they think is true, no person dies for a lie he knows to be false. Consider this—if you were threatened with crucifixion, as tradition says happened to the apostle Peter, and all you had to do to save your life was renounce a lie you had knowingly told, what would you do?

In addition, history has shown that it takes at least two generations to pass before myth can enter a historical account. That’s because, as long as there are eyewitnesses to an event, errors can be refuted, and mythical embellishments can be exposed. All the Gospels of the New Testament were written during the lifetime of the eyewitnesses, with some of Paul’s Epistles being written as early as A.D. 50. Paul directly appeals to contemporary eyewitnesses to verify his testimony «after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. », (1 Corinthians 15:6).

The New Testament attests to the fact that, in the first century, Jesus was not mistaken for any other god. When Paul preached in Athens, the elite thinkers of that city said, “‘He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,’—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know whAt these things mean’” (Acts 17:18-20; NASB). Clearly, if Paul were simply rehashing stories of other gods, the Athenians would not have referred to his doctrine as a “new” and “strange” teaching. If dying-and-rising gods were plentiful in the first century, why, when the apostle Paul preached Jesus rising from the dead, did the Epicureans and Stoics not remark, “Ah, just like Horus and Mithras”?

In conclusion, the claim that Jesus is a copy of mythological gods originated with authors whose works have been discounted by academia, contain logical fallacies, and cannot compare to the New Testament Gospels, which have withstood nearly 2,000 years of intense scrutiny. The alleged parallels between Jesus and other gods disappear when the original myths are examined. The Jesus-is-a-myth theory relies on selective descriptions, redefined words, and false assumptions.

Jesus Christ is unique in history, with His voice rising above all false gods’ as He asks the question that ultimately determines a person’s eternal destiny: “Who do you say I am?” «He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? », (Matthew 16:15).