Defending the Faith Part 4

1. Defending the Faith Part 4 Is Christianity a Copycat Religion? “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” Proverbs 18:15 Andy Nelson, Pastor of Operations and Discipleship

2. A Common Objection Christianity is a copycat religion, it borrows its ideas from pagan mystery religions (Greek, Roman, and Egyptian). These mystery religions typically existed after Christ but were based on stories written before Christ. If this is true, then Christianity is a copycat and not the truth. These claims are meant to undermine the legitimacy of Christianity.The problem: When you study the mystery religions they are actually nothing like Christianity.

3. What is a Mystery Religion? “The reason these cults were called “mystery religions” is that they involved secret ceremonies known only to those initiated into the cult. The major benefit of these practices was thought to be some kind of salvation.” www.equip.org

4. Horus: The Great Example “Written in 1280 B.C., the Egyptian Book of the Dead describes a god, Horus. Horus is the son of the god Osiris born to a virgin mother. He was baptized by the river by Anup the Baptizer who was later beheaded. Like Jesus, Horus was tempted while alone in the desert, healed the sick, the blind, cast out demons, and walked on water. He raised Asar from the dead. “Asar” translates to “Lazarus.” Oh yeah, he also had 12 disciples. Yes, Horus was crucified first after 3 days, two women announced Horus the savior of humanity had been resurrection.” McDowell, P. 304, an excerpt from the movie “Religulous”.Born December 25th

5. Mediterranean Mystery Religions

6. Mystery religions can be divided into two categories: state or civil, and personal (McDowell, P. 304). “Out of Greece came the cults of Demeter and Dionysus, as well as their later developments, the Eleusinian and Orphic mystery religions. Asia Minor (more specifically, the region known as Phrygia) gave birth to the cult of Cybele and Attis. The Cult of Isis and Osiris (later Serapis) originated in Egypt, while Syria and Palestine saw the rise of the cult of Adonis. Finally, Persia (Iran) was a leading early locale for the cult of Mithras.”

7. These religions were practiced during the formative years of Christianity, and were based on stories which had some origin before Christ. Because of this questions arose about whether Christianity borrowed certain concepts and simply reformed them into something new. This charge became most popular in the 19th and 20th centuries.

8. James G. Fraser, a cultural anthropologist, wrote a book called The Golden Bough, a study “of the similarities among the ancient religions (especially Eastern Mediterranean examples) that worshipped a mythical god who died each year at harvest along with the vegetation and then revived with the new planting of the next agricultural cycle.” (McDowell, P. 304).Christ’s resurrection?

9. The Myth of Demeter “Demeter was the goddess of corn, grain, and the harvest. She was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. It was believed that Demeter made the crops grow each year; thus the first loaf of bread made from the annual harvest was offered to her. She was the goddess of the earth, of agriculture, and of fertility in general. Sacred to her are livestock and agricultural products, poppy, narcissus and the crane.”

10. “Demeter was intimately associated with the seasons. Her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades to be his wife in the underworld. In her anger at her daughter's loss, Demeter laid a curse on the world that caused plants to wither and die, and the land to become desolate. Zeus, alarmed for the barren earth, sought for Persephone's return. However, because she had eaten while in the underworld, Hades had a claim on her. Therefore, it was decreed that Persephone would spend four months each year in the underworld. During these months Demeter would grieve for her daughter's absence, withdrawing her gifts from the world, creating winter. Her return brought the spring.” https://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Demeter/demeter.html

11. Many of these mystery religions were focused on the death (end) and birth (beginning) of crops and agriculture. Thus, the gods resembled this cycle in some way. Roots for resurrection of Jesus?

12. The Myth of Osiris An Egyptian creation myth, and one of the “legitimate” stories of Horus.

13. Understanding Horus https://www.thoughtco.com/eye-of-horus-ancient-egyptian-symbol-96013 https://yigitkoroglu.deviantart.com/art/Horus-121725404

14. Jesus Vs. HorusJ. Warner Wallace, www.coldcasechristiantiy.com Claim: Horus was born in a cave, his birth announced by an angel, heralded by a star and attended by shepherds. Truth: There is no reference to a cave or manger in the Egyptian birth story of Horus. In fact, none of these details are present in the ancient Egyptian stories of Horus. Horus was born in a swamp. His birth was not heralded by an angel. There was no star. Claim: Horus attended a special rite of passage at the age of twelve and there is no data on the child from the age of 12 to 30. Truth: There is no continuous effort in the Horus mythology to account for all these years, so there are no real gaps in the chronology. Horus never taught in any temple at twelve (as did Jesus).

15. Claim: Horus was baptized in a river at the age of 30, and his baptizer was later beheaded. Truth: Horus was never baptized. While conspiracy theorists often point to “Anup the Baptizer” (claiming he was later beheaded), there is no such person in Horus’ story.

16. Claim: Horus had 12 disciples. Truth: Horus had only four disciples (called ‘Heru-Shemsu’), but at some point in his story there is reference to sixteen followers and a group of unnumbered followers who join Horus in battle (called ‘mesnui’). Claim: Horus performed miracles, exorcized demons, raised someone from the dead, and walked on water. Truth: Horus certainly performed miracles (he was, after all, described as a god). But there was no mention of exorcizing demons, raising people from the dead or walking on water.

17. Claim: Horus was called “Iusa”, the “ever-becoming son” and the “Holy Child”. Truth: No one in Egyptian history was ever called “Iusa” (the word does not exist) nor was anyone called “Holy Child”. Claim: Horus delivered a “Sermon on the Mount”, and his followers recounted his sayings. He was transfigured on the Mount. Truth: Horus never delivered a “Sermon on the Mount”, nor was he transfigured.

18. Claim: Horus was crucified between two thieves, buried for three days in a tomb, and was resurrected. Truth: Horus is not reported to have died at all in the vast majority of Egyptian narratives. There is also no crucifixion story. Instead, Horus is usually described as eventually merging with Re (the Sun god) after which he “dies” and is “reborn” every day as the sun rises. There is a parallel account describing Horus’ death and detailing how he was cast in pieces into the water, later fished out by a crocodile at Isis’ request.

19. Claim: Horus was called “Way”, “the Truth” “the Light”, “Messiah”, “God’s Anointed Son”, “Son of Man”, “Good Shepherd”, “Lamb of God”, “Word made flesh”, “Word of Truth”, “the KRST” or “Anointed One”. Truth: None of these titles are in Egyptian history, but Horus is called by several names you might expect for any god in mythology: “Great God”, “Chief of the Powers”, “Master of Heaven”, and “Avenger of His Father”. Horus was not called “the Krst”. This word in Egyptian means “burial” (it wasn’t a title at all).

20. Claim: Horus was “the Fisher” and was associated with the Fish, Lamb and Lion. Truth: Some of conspiracy theorists associate Horus with fish (by virtue of the fact that Horus was a fish in some portion of the ancient narrative), but there is no evidence Horus was ever called a “fisher” or was ever associated with the Lion or the Lamb. Claim: Horus came to fulfill the Law, and was supposed to reign one thousand years. Truth: There was no Egyptian “law” for Horus to fulfill, and there is no mention of a thousand year reign in Egyptian mythology.

21. Claim: Born December 25 Truth: No record indicates this, in fact, it seems that this was influenced by Christian thought.

22. In summary: There are many versions of Horus, and the version presented in secular culture as seen in the movie Religulous, is not documented; it is an urban legend.

23. Krishna (Hindu) and Jesus (Sometime, B.C. with some written records appearing A.D.) “Krishna (also Krsna or Hari Krishna) is a major Hindu god and considered the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. He is perhaps the most popular of all the heroes of Hindu mythology. Krishna’s adventures are recounted in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, the Harivamsa, and the sacred collection of texts known as the Puranas where Krishna is described as the Supreme Being and creator of the universe. The most ancient tales of Krishna involve his adventures with the Pandava princes whilst later, stories accumulated over the centuries which describe his eventful youth, when Krishna used his proficient weapons skills to good effect to defeat a host of fearsome enemies, demons and monsters.

24. According to tradition Krishna belonged to the Yadava - a pastoral race - and the god’s birth is picturesquely described in the Mahabharata. One day Vishnu, the great Hindu god pulled two hairs from his own head, one white and one black. The black hair was planted into the womb of Devaki, a princess of the city of Mathura, and so Krishna was born into the Pandava family, his earthly father being Vasudeva. Unfortunately for Krishna his mother’s brother, Kamsa, had been warned that Devaki’s eighth child would kill him, and so Kamsa determined to murder the eighth child, a crime he had already carried out seven times before Krishna was born. Fortunately, Vasudeva took the precaution of hiding Krishna in the remote village of Vrindavana where the boy was brought up as a simple cowherd (in this guise he can be referred to as Govinda). There he spent an idyllic childhood and stirred the hearts of many gopis or herd-women with his dark good looks, playful charm, and mastery of music and dance.

25. Krishna was involved in many escapades in his adventurous youth. Notable amongst these are his various killings and thrashings of prominent enemies such as the ogress Putana, the giant bull danava, the giant snake Kaliya, and the king of the Hayas (horses). Also swiftly dealt with was the scheming tyrant Kamsa – after whose beheading Krishna established himself as king of Mathura. Krishna slew many demons: Muru and his 7,000 sons, Pralamba – who Krishna beat up using only his fists, Naraka – son of the Earth and who had accumulated a harem of 16,000 captured women, and the sea-demon Pancajana who looked like a conch shell and who lost his magic shell to Krishna which the hero carried thereafter and used as a trumpet.

26. Krishna also found time to lift the mountain Govardhana to foil a terrible deluge sent by Indra, to conquer Saubha, the floating city of the Titans (daityas), got the better of the sea-god Varuna, and even managed to steal the divine discuss possessed by the fire-god Agni. Against mere mortals Krishna also wreaked havoc amongst the Gandharas, Bhojas, and Kalingas, amongst others.”Born December 25th https://www.ancient.eu/Krishna/

27. Krishna… • Killed people • Had sex with maidens • Is 1 of an almost infinite number of Hindu gods • Again, birth of December 25: Likely influenced by Christianity, not the other way around. • Is nothing like Jesus

28. Mithra and Jesus www.tertullian.org 1. Appears in historical record after Christ (Appears 1st century A.D and disappears 4th century A.D.) 2. Cult was all male (Yahoo!) 3. Justin Martyr, 1st century Christian apologist, speaks against the cult’s mimicking of Christian mass (First Apology, wordonfire.org)

29. Claims about Mithras • Mithras had a virgin birth No ancient source gives such a birth myth for Mithras. Rather Mithras is always described as born from solid rock. Scholar David Ulansey, who has suggested that Mithras might be the "outside name" of a cult of Perseus, has speculated that the idea of a rock-birth derives from the myth in which Perseus was born because Zeus visited Danae in an underground cavern.

30. 2. Mithras was visited by Magi No ancient source depicts the Magi attending the rock-birth of Mithras. He is, however, sometimes depicted attended by Cautes and Cautopates.

31. 3. Mithras died on a cross The following claim may be found online(jdstone.org) "3) According to Mithraism, before Mithra died on a cross, he celebrated a "Last Supper" with his twelve disciples, who represented the twelve signs of the zodiac. "4) After the death of Mithra, his body was laid to rest in a rock tomb." No ancient source records that Mithras died, still less that he did so on a cross.

32. 4) Mithras had 12 disciples The earliest appearance of this claim appears to be by Godfrey Higgins in 1836, where it is unreferenced and appears in passing.19 Higgins work was apparently quarried extensively by the theosophist Madame Blavatsky.20 The claim appears in an elaborate form in the notorious "Jesus Mysteries" of Freke and Gandy in 2001.21 It has been publicized by someone calling themselves "Acharya S", who turns out to be an American woman named Dorothy Murdock.22 Murdock was made aware that the claim was untrue, but has since elaborated and reiterated the claim. She knows that Mithras is depicted surrounded by the zodiac on a couple of reliefs, and proposes that these 'must' be disciples, since sometimes in renaissance Christian art the apostles are depicted with the signs of the zodiac.

33. 5) Born December 25 Again, no record indicating this.

34. In Summary The mystery religions are based on ancient texts, but much of the information which exists today is based on urban legends, hearsay, and information which is not traceable.Furthermore, the claims of these mystery religions are very obviously influenced by Christianity, and not the other way around (For example, December 25th birthdate of Horus, Krishna, and Mithra).

35. Dan Brown’s Origin Tells the story of a scientist who somehow discovers the exact way in which evolutionary life began thus proving origin stories to be completely false.

36. The Da Vinci Code: No different than Horus Dan Brown’s book, The Da Vinci Code, has sold more than 80 million copies (McDowell, P. 304). It’s central tenet undermines the Biblical witness of Christ by claiming that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children with her.Big Picture: This concept of undermining the validity of Christianity is nothing new. And it has NEVER worked, and NEVER will! But we need to know the weaknesses of the arguments used against God’s truth.

37. Isn’t it exciting being a Christian? You know the truth. Now, find out why it is true.