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Is Christianity based on myth?: Difference between revisions
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According to Bart Ehrman, an agnostic scholar who wrote a book entitled "''Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth''", there are so many independent attestations of Jesus' existence, that it is actually "astounding for an ancient figure of any kind". Ehrman dismisses the idea that the story of Jesus was an invention based on pagan myths of dying-and-rising gods, maintaining that the early Christians were primarily influenced by Jewish ideas, not Greek or Roman ones. Ehrman repeatedly insists that the idea that there was never such a person as Jesus is not seriously considered by historians or experts in the field at all.<ref>Ehrman, Bart D. (2012). Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth.</ref> | According to Bart Ehrman, an agnostic scholar who wrote a book entitled "''Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth''", there are so many independent attestations of Jesus' existence, that it is actually "astounding for an ancient figure of any kind". Ehrman dismisses the idea that the story of Jesus was an invention based on pagan myths of dying-and-rising gods, maintaining that the early Christians were primarily influenced by Jewish ideas, not Greek or Roman ones. Ehrman repeatedly insists that the idea that there was never such a person as Jesus is not seriously considered by historians or experts in the field at all.<ref>Ehrman, Bart D. (2012). Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth.</ref> | ||
=Similariies to ancient mythical figures= | |||
Numerous examples can be given of Krishna, Attis, Dionysus, and other mythological gods having clear similarities to the story of Jesus, but the result is always the same. In the end, the historical Jesus portrayed in the Bible is unique. The alleged similarities of Jesus’ story to pagan myths are wildly exaggerated. | |||
Further, while tales of Horus, Mithras, and others pre-date Christianity, there is very little historical record of the pre-Christian beliefs of those religions. The vast majority of the earliest writings of these religions date from the third and fourth centuries A.D. To assume that the pre-Christian beliefs of these religions (of which there is no record) were identical to their post-Christian beliefs is naive. It is more logical to attribute any similarities between these religions and Christianity to the religions’ copying Christian teaching about Jesus.<ref>Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013).</ref> | |||
Here are a couple of specific examples: | |||
==The Horus Myth== | ==The Horus Myth== | ||
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When compared side by side, Jesus and Horus bear little, if any, resemblance to one another.<ref>Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013).</ref> | When compared side by side, Jesus and Horus bear little, if any, resemblance to one another.<ref>Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013).</ref> | ||
== | ==What about Mithras?== | ||
Jesus is also compared to Mithras by those claiming that Jesus Christ is a myth. All the above descriptions of Horus are applied to Mithras (e.g., born of a virgin, being crucified, rising in three days, etc.). But what does the Mithras myth actually say? | Jesus is also compared to Mithras by those claiming that Jesus Christ is a myth. All the above descriptions of Horus are applied to Mithras (e.g., born of a virgin, being crucified, rising in three days, etc.). But what does the Mithras myth actually say? | ||