Black Spirituality Religion : The book of the dead & Jesus

[cherryblossom]

....Similarities to the resurrection story of Jesus:Both died, both were brought back to some kind of existence after life

Dissimilarities to the resurrection story of Jesus:
Life: Osiris allegedly ruled on earth as a god-king over all of Egypt, Jesus did not rule as an earthly king, but proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven as having arrived on earth

Death: Osiris was duped into his demise, Jesus sacrificially and willingly died for all mankind

Resurrection: Osiris was pieced back to together by other gods out of Isis’ desire for her dead husband, Jesus was raised to a new life having conquered physical death giving hope to all mankind

Afterlife: Osiris was raised to the position of Ruler of the Underworld, Jesus was raised to a new body, the firstborn of the resurrected, and rules with God over all creation



.....http://confidentchristianity.blogspot.com/2007/06/resurrection-myths-vs-resurrection-of.html

 

[cherryblossom]

What about the dating of these stories? Who is influencing who? A couple of quotes from two articles:

- The key here is dating. Most of the alleged parallels between Christianity and mystery religions, upon close scrutiny will show that Christian elements predate mythological elements. In cases where they do not, it is often Jewish elements which predate both Christianity and the myth, and which lent themselves to both religions.[2]

- In the case of all three, there is no evidence earlier than the second century A.D. for the supposed "resurrection" of these mystery gods.[3]

- For a discussion of certain parallels between the Osiris cult and Christianity, where "any theory of borrowing on the part of Christianity from the older faith is not to be entertained, for not only can it not be substantiated on the extant evidence, but it is also intrinsically most improbable." see S. G. F. Brandon. "The Ritual Perpetuation of the Past," “Numen”, vi (1959), 122-129 (quotation is from p. 128).[4]

Also, the Osiris myth directly relates to the corn crop cycle. As taken from The Golden Bough,

The foregoing survey of the myth and ritual of Osiris may suffice to prove that in one of his aspects the god was a personification of the corn, which may be said to die and come to life again every year.

and

But Osiris was more than a spirit of the corn; he was also a tree-spirit, and this may perhaps have been his primitive character, since the worship of trees is naturally older in the history of religion than the worship of the cereals. The character of Osiris as a tree-spirit was represented very graphically in a ceremony described by Firmicus Maternus.

A name for Osiris was the “crop” or “harvest”; and the ancients sometimes explained him as a personification of the corn.

I do not believe an alternative representation for Jesus’ life – specifically the crop cycle or the seasons - can be well evidenced. I also do not see any kind of story revolving around Jesus where the characters are gods and demi-gods, which is true to the plot of most mystery religion stories.


MJ

Note: Please check referenced documents for further documentation. Articles quoted have many more sources than provided here.

For Further Reading:

Metzger, Bruce. Historical and Literary Studies: Pagan, Jewish, and Christian. Available from: http://www.frontline-apologetics.com/mystery_religions_early_christianity.htm.</a Accessed January 22, 2007.

McDowell, Josh. “Is The New Testament Filled With Myths”. Chapter 14 of A Reasoned Defense. Available from: http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch14/default.htm. Accessed January 22, 2007.

Frazer, Sir James George. The Golden Bough. Available from: http://www.bartleby.com/196/79.html Accessed May 22, 2007.

Endnotes:

[1] The term “resurrection” is used here only for comparative purposes. I am currently looking into whether or not this term was a Judeo-Christian term borrowed by the mystery religions or if the mystery religions ever used this term at all.

[2] McDowell, Josh. “Is The New Testament Filled With Myths”. Chapter 14 of A Reasoned Defense. Available from: http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch14/default.htm. Accessed January 22, 2007.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Metzger, Bruce. “Methodology in the Study of Mystery Religions and Early Christianity.” from Historical and Literary Studies: Jewish, Pagan, and Christian. Available from http://www.frontline-apologetics.com/mystery_religions_early_christianity.htm. accessed January 22, 2007. This quote is a footnote from page 12.
© Mary Jo Sharp 2007

http://confidentchristianity.blogspot.com/2007/06/resurrection-myths-vs-resurrection-of.html

 

[cherryblossom]

What's Here
This section is about charges that the Biblical stories were "borrowed" from other sources and are therefore fictional.

http://www.tektonics.org/copycathub.html