Listverse has a list of 10 Christ-like figures who pre-date Jesus:
- Buddha
- Krishna
- Odysseus
- Romulus
- Dionysus
- Heracles
- Glycon
- Zoroaster
- Attis of Phrygia
- Horus
(But they left out Ishtar!)
10 Christ-like Figures Who Pre-Date Jesus
June 5, 2009 By 38 Comments
A couple of those are a stretch (Buddha’s similarities to the Jesus in the new testament are at best superficial), but nevertheless it’s shocking how shamelessly plagiarized the whole “god-man died for you but rose again” story has been. Makes me shake my head at how many times I heard (and sometimes, preached) the “Christianity is like no other religion, it has a risen Savior!” mantra.
He is risen? Like yeast?
actually, Buddha was the one I agreed with most… there are as many “miracles” associated with him as with Jesus, particularly around his birth.
The Holy Popover.
You forgot Pythagoras. there are two latin biographies of him – little booklets.
And Persephone is mysteriously missing as well…
Glycon seems interesting.
Richard Carrier mentions him in his essay, “Kooks and Quacks of the Roman Empire:”
Ironic… So, is there more proof about Glycon’s existence than about Jesus?
The English writer Alan Moore worships Glycon.
And of course they left out Mithras
On first glance, many of the figures don’t seem to have a whole lot of similarity with Christ. How many of them were crucified, came back from the dead or sit in judgement in the afterlife?
Which makes the list dubious since many elements of early christianism seem to be copied straight from mithraism.
As I said on another thread:
Paul’s claim to fame is his mission to the gentiles. He is probably responsible for establishing the modus operandi that allowed the early church to proliferate in non-Jewish areas: The incorporation of pagan practices. Most Christian holidays, as you know, have pagan origins. I contend that Paul initiated this process by introducing Mithraic sacramental practices into the nascent church.
Agree on the general principle that pagan elements are introduced into the Jesus-cult very quickly. The sect becomes Roman, more than Romans become Christian.
Oh yeah. And Osiris
Why yes I do reply to myself. Me to.
But anyway, I was just looking at the Horus myth, and it occurred to me that the Christ story combines elements of both Horus and Osiris. In Egyptian mythology it is Osiris who sits in judgement in the afterlife, corresponding to the resurrected Christ. Horus as a babe in the arms of Isis would reflect Madonna and Christ child image.
How the Buddha became a Catholic Saint
Not that I disagree with the point you are trying to make, but I think it’s more interesting how the image of Ishtar resembles Gandalf. ;o)
They also ditched Baldur, who was killed, and shall arise again after Ragnarok.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldr
Probably because it’s not clear that Baldur pre-dates JC.
Whoops–My stupid.
Sometimes I have all the historical sense, reading comprehension, and fact-checking ability of a Christian Conservative.
Don’t be so hard on yourself.
Ishtar looks like he’s crossing his fingers (maybe hoping to NOT be on this list?)
Wow, Krishna is eerily close…
I know! I noticed that when I was studying devotional Hinduism in my first semester of college. The Bhagavad-Gita especially! “Bring me your failures” sounds remarkably like the Christian concept of grace…you’re right; the similarities are eerie.
Yes! In one of my Indian Epics classes, we had to write “creative” papers, and one girl wrote a conversation between Jesus and Krishna that was basically, “I did this.” “Really? Me too!”
Odysseus? It’s been awhile since I’ve read the Odyssey but I think that that one may be a bit of a stretch.
It’s funny how few christians know that birth in the winter solstice (dec 25), virgin conceptions of saviour, dying 3 days and rising again, have been told and retold throughout history and prehistory. I certainly did not know about it when I was a christian. I would like to ask a christian, point blank, how they account for that. That the gospel story is mostly plaigarized from ancient folk tales. Would that make anyone question its literal truth? I think this is a “best-kept secret” among evangelicals, anyway.
I agree with you about this. I figure some christians would really begin to have doubt if they studied the history of christianity by itself. I only know a small amount and am amazed at how little it has to do with truth.
Those were all prefigurations arranged by God to test your faith.
Those were all prefigurations arranged by Satan to deceive you.
Very much how god (satan) planted fossils to test (deceive) his flock (victims).
Ever watch Brian Fleming’s “The God Who Wasn’t There”? He covered this in greater detail.
I just looked this up – it looks fantastic. I’m going to try to track it down.
This list is very innacurate, as some of the comments show. :P
Krishna is NOT part of a trinity, the Hindu Trimurti consists of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Shakyamuni Buddha did not enter a monastary at the age of twelve, he didn’t even set foot outside the palace where he grew up for a while after that. There are certain other errors in the post. I wish people would do their research, rofl, and stop grabbing at straws to prove religious people wrong (we don’t need to). That makes us as bad as the creationists.
I couldn’t get past number one. You’re stretching the definition pretty far on Buddha, and that’s the best you’ve got for all the history BC? Obviously arent many christ like figures after all
Your comment is weak, at best, Trav.