He was born of a virgin.
He was both God and man.
He died on a tree.
He rose from the dead.
He gave eternal life to his devotees, who commemorated his death with a ritual meal of bread and wine. They considered themselves "washed with the blood".
Recognize him?
It's MITHRAS! Guess who came first??
Jesus is nothing but ripoff! Merry Mithras to all! Ho ho ho!
2006-12-20 02:57:59 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
There are 5 references on the NT to Jesus dying on a tree: Acts 5:30, 10:20, 13:29; I Peter 2:24; Galatians 3:13. Borrowed details for a borrowed myth.
2006-12-20 02:59:16 · update #1
Tree is NOT slang for cross! What a feeble explanation!
As for Mike Wittsy, you information is dead wrong. Mithraism is known to have pre-existed Christianity, and to have become extinct as Christianity took over. It certainly wouldn't come AFTER it. Any claim that it did is the desperate excuse of someone who KNOWS that Christianity is derivative.
2006-12-20 04:07:14 · update #2
Osiris, Tammuz, Hercules and Attis beat out Mithras for that birthday.
The Mithras cult arose c. 600 BCE, before the rise of Rome.
When the Christ myth was new Mithras and Mithraism were already ancient. Worshiped for centuries as God's Messenger of Truth, Mithras was long revered by the Persians (Zoroastrianism) and the Indians (see the Vedic literature).
Christian apologist Justin Martyr (1 Apologia, 66, 4) denounces the devil for having sent a God so similar to Jesus – yet preceding him.
2006-12-20 03:07:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
If you're asking a question ask it. If you're making a statement, post it as an answer to a question. This will answer your question and refute your statement.
"The major reason why no Mithraic influence on first-century Christianity is possible is the timing: it's all wrong! The flowering of Mithraism occurred after the close of the New Testament canon, much too late for it to have influenced anything that appears in the New Testament. Moreover, no monuments for the cult can be dated earlier than A.D. 90-100, and even this dating requires us to make some exceedingly generous assumptions. Chronological difficulties, then, make the possibility of a Mithraic influence on early Christianity extremely improbable. Certainly, there remains no credible evidence for such an influence."
2006-12-20 03:08:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Happy birthday, Mithras! Thank you for shifting the universe, you great Bull Slayer! Have you ever read "The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World" by David Ulansey? It's a good book, and I think you'd enjoy it.
Anyway, there are other Gods with the same birthday, like Dionysus (Bacchus) and Heru (Horus). Many of the other things from these winter traditions survive today as well in celebration!
Some Pagans/Wiccans still celebrate the birth of the Sun God on the Winter Solstice.
2006-12-20 03:02:43 · answer #3 · answered by Mrs. Pears 5 · 5⤊ 3⤋
And Jesus wasn't even born on December 25. Talk about misplaced holidays.
But then, the Yule tree and Easter eggs were "borrowed" from earlier cultures, so the birth of Jesus is no surprise.
2006-12-20 03:01:13 · answer #4 · answered by Rev Kev 5 · 6⤊ 2⤋
Although the bible does not give a specific date, there are several references to the birth of "christ" that point to him being born in the spring... for one, sheppards don't tend their flocks in the fields when it's winter.
and a happy saturnalia to you!
2006-12-20 03:07:04 · answer #5 · answered by cutiekellymarie 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Of course. Shane McGowan of The Pogues. He's 49.
At least that's what it says on his birth cert.
2006-12-20 07:16:17 · answer #6 · answered by Melok 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is most likely thousands of peoples birthdays. But we followers of Jesus the Christ choose to also use it as the day to celebrate His coming into the world to save it from sin. Merry Christmas.
2006-12-20 03:03:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 5⤋
Merry Mithramas!
2006-12-20 03:01:17 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 4⤋
Tree was Roman slang for the Cross. One was not crucified on a Tree,but one was crucified on a Cross. I would expect such a learned person as yourself to know that.
2006-12-20 03:10:23 · answer #9 · answered by Minister 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋
i think it is the birtday of a pagan god. definatly not Jesus birthday.
2006-12-20 03:06:39 · answer #10 · answered by Thumbs down me now 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋