As an ex-atheist, I’m embarrassed to admit that I fell for the tired atheist insistence that Jesus is supposedly a copy of pagan gods and that Christianity is just as unbelievable as any other religion. Watching “Zeitgeist: the Movie” may or may not have had something to do with it, and since that particular film has been a huge spreader of these sorts of claims, it’s time now to set the record straight!
Consider the videos below, or read on:
I used to use this line: “I don’t believe in your God the same way you don’t believe in the gods of Hinduism or Islam.”
Sadly, Christians I talked to mostly didn’t have a response for this, but there are plenty of ways to respond to it.
The Bible is Unique Among Holy Books
It doesn’t contradict modern science. It has amazing knowledge of quite a few scientific facts, far before the surrounding population would have had any way of knowing them.
Just a few of our favorites:
- The Universe came from nothing and had a beginning (Gen 1:1)
- There are only 2 constellations of stars that are gravitationally linked: Pleiades & Belt of Orion (Job 38:31)
- The Earth is suspended on nothing, hanging in space (Job 26:7)
- Basic principles of hygiene and cleanliness, way before their time (Lev 15:13, Deut 23:12-13, Lev 13:45-46)
- Oceans have currents (Ps 8:8)
- Accurate description of water cycle (Job 26:8, 36:27-28)
Jesus is Well-Attested in Ancient History
Here are the facts that secular scholars agree on about Jesus:
- Jesus died by crucifixion
- Jesus’ followers claimed to see him in body after his death
- Christianity began because of such claims
- Jesus’ disciples died in martyrdom rather than recant their belief that Jesus rose from the dead
- The account of the resurrection began spreading immediately after it happened, not as some later myth or legend
- Jesus’ own unbelieving brother, James, converted to Christianity because of what he claims was an encounter with the risen Jesus
- Jesus’ tomb was empty, as even was admitted by his adversaries
So, Jesus’ existence and many facts surrounding His life, death, and empty tomb are corroborated by secular history and accepted as historical facts by scholars.
Jesus is Unique: Not a Copy of Pagan Gods
Have your atheist friends come at you with the claim that Jesus is a copy of pagan gods like Mithra, Dionysus, and Horus?
Most of the ideas of Jesus having so-called similarities to pagan gods began in the Enlightenment Era…and it’s useful to know that this time was marked by a trend of people looking for ways to depart from Christianity.
Modern scholarship is in agreement as well that Jesus is not a copy of pagan gods. Consider this quote from Bart Ehrman:
“The alleged parallels between Jesus and the “pagan” savior-gods in most instances reside in the modern imagination: We do not have accounts of others who were born to virgin mothers and who died as an atonement for sin and then were raised from the dead (despite what the sensationalists claim ad nauseum in their propagandized versions).”
With that out of the way, let’s dig into some of the specifics of the supposed similarities, as a few basic facts about each of these mythical deities easily demonstrate that Jesus is not at all similar:
Mithra
- No virgin birth; emerged from a rock
- Not crucified, not killed, not resurrected; said to have gone straight to paradise on a chariot
- Most of what we know about Mithra actually comes from the time following Jesus, not before
- He didn’t have 12 disciples; 12 guys watched him kill a bull, but that’s as far as it goes.
Mithra was known for miracles…that’s the only other real similarity.
Dionysus
- No virgin birth; had a mother and father. Some myths claim Zeus (father) impregnated Dionysus’ mother via a lightning bolt, but no mention of virginity even if this unusual method of conception is to be assumed.
- Born January 6th, not December 25th (although even December 25th isn’t probably Jesus’ actual birth date)
- Known as a god of wine, but didn’t turn water into wine
- Scholars like Gary Habermas and others confirm that any Dionysus stories resembling resurrection actually came AFTER Jesus
Horus
- No virgin birth; parents were Isis and Osiris
- Didn’t die, didn’t rise
- Later followers of Horus added myths about crucifixion, but this is such an obvious anachronism, as crucifixion didn’t exist at the time of the original Horus myths
The only real similarity here is that Horus healed the sick, and so did Jesus. However, Horus’ healings seem to be limited to those afflicted with snake bites and scorpion stings.
Krishna
- No virgin birth, and in fact had older siblings
- Supposed to be the 8th incarnation of Vishnu, not the “son of God” as claimed by skeptics
- Shot by a hunter with a poison arrow; did not resurrect
Krishna was known for miracles, and that’s about as far as the parallels go here.
Reliability of the Bible
Most holy books claim to be a revelation, or series of revelations, from God, or very similar to this. Not the Bible…
The Bible is largely a collection of histories, letters, and other records…all of which tell the same story, even though they were written hundreds of years apart and frequently by geographically separated authors.
In fact, the Bible is one of the best attested works of ancient history…if not the best.
