Just where DID Christianity come from? This question has plauged mankind for hundreds of years. Most point to the Bible, stating that with the coming of Jesus came the coming of Christianity. However, we have a serious issue to consider. Before getting to that, examine this example:
Author A writes book X 100 years ago. 50 years later, Author B finds book X and edites it, turning it into book Z. Who gets credit, Author A or B?
Author A does, naturally. After all, he DID write it first and Author B simply edited it to suit him and marketed it as a whole new creation. Such is the case, some argue, with Christianity, or more specifically, with Jesus Christ himself.
Many argue that Jesus Christ never even existed, that he is only a myth, created hundreds if not thousands of years ago as a figurehead. For your informations sake, I will present some other religious figures, (Which predate the Christ of the Bible by hundreds of years, hence the Author A and B). Is it possible the early Christian Church borrowed from these legends to create its Savior? I'll let you decide. These excerpts are taken from a webpage, whos addy I will list furthur down:
~*Buddha*~
-Although most people think of Buddha as being one person who lived around 500 B.C.E., the character commonly portrayed as Buddha can also be demonstrated to be a compilation of godmen, legends and sayings of various holy men both preceding and succeeding the period attributed to the Buddha.-
~The Buddha character has the following in common with the Christ figure:~
* Buddha was born of the virgin Maya, who was considered the "Queen of Heaven."
* He was of royal descent.
* He crushed a serpent's head.
* Sakyamuni Buddha had 12 disciples.
* He performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick, fed 500 men from a "small basket of cakes," and walked on water.
* He abolished idolatry, was a "sower of the word," and preached "the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness."
* He taught chastity, temperance, tolerance, compassion, love, and the equality of all.
* He was transfigured on a mount.
* Sakya Buddha was crucified in a sin-atonement, suffered for three days in hell, and was resurrected.
* He ascended to Nirvana or "heaven."
* Buddha was considered the "Good Shepherd", the "Carpenter", the "Infinite and Everlasting."
* He was called the "Savior of the World" and the "Light of the World."
~*Horus of Egypt*~
-The stories of Jesus and Horus are very similar, with Horus even contributing the name of Jesus Christ. Horus and his once-and-future Father, Osiris, are frequently interchangeable in the mythos ("I and my Father are one"). The legends of Horus go back thousands of years, and he shares the following in common with Jesus:-
* Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Meri on December 25th in a cave/manger, with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men.
* He was a child teacher in the Temple and was baptized when he was 30 years old.
* Horus was also baptized by "Anup the Baptizer," who becomes "John the Baptist."
* He had 12 disciples.
* He performed miracles and raised one man, El-Azar-us, from the dead.
* He walked on water.
* Horus was transfigured on the Mount.
* He was crucified, buried in a tomb and resurrected.
* He was also the "Way, the Truth, the Light, the Messiah, God's Anointed Son, the Son of Man, the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, the Word" etc.
* He was "the Fisher," and was associated with the Lamb, Lion and Fish
* Horus's personal epithet was "Iusa," the "ever-becoming son" of "Ptah," the "Father."
* Horus was called "the KRST," or "Anointed One,"
~*Mithra, Sungod of Persia*~
-The story of Mithra precedes the Christian version by at least 600 years. According to Wheless, the cult of Mithra was, shortly before the Christian era, "the most popular and widely spread 'Pagan' religion of the times." Mithra has the following in common with the Christ character:-
* Mithra was born on December 25th.
* He was considered a great traveling teacher and master.
* He had 12 companions or disciples.
* He performed miracles.
* He was buried in a tomb.
* After three days he rose again.
* His resurrection was celebrated every year.
* Mithra was called "the Good Shepherd."
* He was considered "the Way, the Truth and the Light, the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah."
* He was identified with both the Lion and the Lamb.
* His sacred day was Sunday, "the Lord's Day," hundreds of years before the appearance of Christ.
* Mithra had his principal festival on what was later to become Easter, at which time he was resurrected.
* His religion had a Eucharist or "Lord's Supper."
Others with startling amounts of info that is Christ-related in this include:
* Krishna of India
* Odin of the Scandinavians
* Quetzalcoatl of Mexico
* Baal of Phoenicia
There are about 15 more, I won't list them all, just a partial list. Many "Godmen" of the world have had their birthday on or very near to December 25th.
This is because the ancients recognized that (from an earthcentric perspective) the sun makes an annual descent southward until December 21st or 22nd, the winter solstice, when it stops moving southerly for three days and then starts to move northward again. During this time, the ancients declared that "God's sun" had "died" for three days and was "born again" on December 25th.
The ancients realized quite abundantly that they needed the sun to return every day and that they would be in big trouble if the sun continued to move southward and did not stop and reverse its direction. Thus, these many different cultures celebrated the "sun of God's" birthday on December 25th.70 The following are the characteristics of the "sun of God":
* The sun "dies" for three days on December 22nd, the winter solstice, when it stops in its movement south, to be born again or resurrected on December 25th, when it resumes its movement north.
* In some areas, the calendar originally began in the constellation of Virgo, and the sun would therefore be "born of a Virgin."
* The sun is the "Light of the World"
* The sun "cometh on clouds, and every eye shall see him."
* The sun wears a corona, "crown of thorns" or halo.
* The sun's "followers," "helpers" or "disciples" are the 12 months and the 12 signs of the zodiac or constellations, through which the sun must pass.
* The sun enters into each sign of the zodiac at 30°; hence, the "Sun of God" begins his ministry at "age" 30.
* The sun is hung on a cross or "crucified," which represents its passing through the equinoxes, the vernal equinox being Easter, at which time it is then resurrected.
Zeus, aka "Zeus Pateras," who we now automatically believe to be a myth and not a historical figure, takes his name from the Indian version, "Dyaus Pitar." Dyaus Pitar in turn is related to the Egyptian "Ptah," and from both Pitar and Ptah comes the word "pater," or "father." "Zeus" equals "Dyaus," which became "Deos," "Deus" and "Dios" - "God." "Zeus Pateras," like Dyaus Pitar, means, "God the Father," a very ancient concept that in no way originated with "Jesus" and Christianity.
There is no question of Zeus being a historical character. Dyaus Pitar becomes "Jupiter" in Roman mythology, and likewise is not representative of an actual, historical character. In Egyptian mythology, Ptah, the Father, is the unseen god-force, and the sun was viewed as Ptah's visible proxy who brings everlasting life to the earth; hence, the "son of God" is really the "sun of God." Indeed, according to Hotema, the very name "Christ" comes from the Hindi word "Kris" (as in Krishna), which is a name for the sun.
Horus's principal enemy - originally Horus's other face or "dark" aspect - was "Set" or "Sata," whence comes "Satan." Horus struggles with Set in the exact manner that Jesus battles with Satan, with 40 days in the wilderness, among other similarities. This is because this myth represents the triumph of light over dark, or the sun's return to relieve the terror of the night.
The word Israel itself, far from being a Jewish appellation, probably comes from the combination of three different reigning deities: Isis, the Earth Mother Goddess revered throughout the ancient world; Ra, the Egyptian sungod; and El, the Semitic deity passed down in form as Saturn. El was one of the earliest names for the god of the ancient Hebrews (whence Emmanu-El, Micha-El, Gabri-El, Samu-El, etc.), and his worship is reflected in the fact that the Jews still consider Saturday as "God's Day."
"What profit has not that fable of Christ brought us!" -- Pope Leo X
This post was not intended to destroy, defame, offend, insult or harass. If this has done so, forgive me, it wasen't my intent. My intent was to give this up for grabs as food for thought, to be read with an open mind. I've read this and more and still believe Jesus Christ existed. Am I being a hippocrit? No, I never stated I PERSONALLY believe this, nor will I state it. I hope that this made you think, as it did me.
References:
http://www.truthbeknown.com/origins.htm
http://www.truthbeknown.com/christ.htm
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