Is Jesus Christ the same as Robin Hood, King Arthur etc.. i.e. a mythological hero?

Answer 1

Yes he is. His tale follows many of the themes found in myth, legend, folk tales etc. He follows the heros journey, there's a lack of a description of his childhood, etc etc. Just like at the similarities in Greek myth alone. He was both man and devine similar to hercules and other Greek heros.

Though, if you really get into it the story of Jesus is just another version of the Dionysus myth. Here's an excert from wikipedia:

"It is possible that Dionysian mythology would later find its way into Christianity. There are many parallels between Dionysus and Jesus; both were said to have been born from a virgin mother, a mortal woman, but fathered by the king of heaven, to have returned from the dead, to have transformed water into wine, and to have been liberator of mankind. The modern scholar Barry Powell also argues that Christian notions of eating and drinking "the flesh" and "blood" of Jesus were influenced by the cult of Dionysus. Certainly the Dionysus myth contains a great deal of cannibalism, in its links to Ino (however, one must note that Dionysian cannibalism has no correlation with self-sacrifice as a means of propitiation). Dionysus was also distinct among Greek gods, as a deity commonly felt within individual followers. In a less benign example of influence on Christianity, Dionysus' followers, as well as another god, Pan, are said to have had the most influence on the modern view of Satan as animal-like and horned.[13] It is also possible these similarities between Christianity and Dionysiac religion are all only representations of the same common religious archetypes. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the story of Jesus turning water into wine is only found in the Gospel of John, which differs on many points from the other Synoptic Gospels. That very passage, it has been suggested, was incorporated into the Gospel from an earlier source focusing on Jesus' miracles.[14]

According to Martin A. Larson in The Story of Christian Origins (1977), Osiris was the first savior, and all soteriology in the region borrowed this religion, directly and indirectly, including Mithraism and Christianity, from an Osirian-Dionysian influence. As with their common dying and resurrected saviors, they all share common sacraments, ostensibly grounded in their reliance on seasonal cereal agriculture, having adopted the rituals with the food itself. Larson notes that Herodotus uses the names Osiris and Dionysus interchangeably and Plutarch identifies them as the same, while the name was anciently thought to originate from the place Nysa, in Egypt (now Ethiopia).

The subject of Dionysus is complex and baffling. The problem is further complicated by the fact that he appears in at least four characters: first, as the respectable patron of the theatre and the arts; second, as the effeminate, yet fierce and phallic mystery-god of the bloodthirsty Maenads; third, as the mystic deity in the temples of Demeter; and fourth, as the divine savior who died for mankind and whose body and blood were symbolically eaten and drunk in the eucharist of the Orphic-Pythagorean celibates. Beyond this, almost all barbarian nations had their own versions of Dionysius under many names. And yet there is a simpler explanation: Dionysus, Bromius, Sabazius, Attis, Adonis, Zalmoxis, Corybas, Serapis, and Orpheus himself are replicas of their grand prototype Osiris; and the variations which appear among them resulted from the transplantation of the god from one country to another, and reflect simply the specific needs of his multifarious worshipers (37-38)."


Just google Dionysus and Jesus and you will find a lot of information about this.

Another great example of how different religious stories/myths are just rewritten versions of previous ones are the flood stories found in Sumerian myth. It later appeared in the Hindu Rig vedas and then even later in the old testiment as the Noah myth.

There is some scientific support that an land mass may have been over taken by the red sea (insert a large number here) of years ago and that event spawned the great flood myth.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

King Arthur was originally a welsh legend but some say he was based vaguely on a few different historical figures...However the tale of King Arthur has been changed repeatedly and much of what was originally in the telling has been lost to antiquity but perhaps the important aspect of the story is the archetypes involved (the fair maiden, the wise wizard, the valiant knight, the dark crone, etc.) The Holy Grail is an entire separate topic by itself so I won't touch that one but if you would like to know more about the legend of Arthur look up some info on Geoffry of Monmouth who is responsible for the rewriting and retelling of of the Arthurian Legend and creating the character of Merlin from the historical bard known as Myrddin...hope this helps

Answer 3

Robin Hood is based on a real person. See the article on Wikipedia.

Arthur also existed, though many of the legends about him were mythological.

So, yes, Jesus was a real person, like Robin Hood and King Arthur, all of whom EXISTED!

Answer 4

No sober historian denies the historicity of the man, Jesus Christ. Robin Hood and King Arthur are not even close to being so firmly confirmed as real historical figures. Many who deny the divinity of Jesus Christ are convinced of his historicity. One of the most persistent and determined foes of Jesus Christ in modern times admits that the evidence is beyond reasonable dispute and that Jesus Christ lived and taught the people of Judea. Moreover, he declares that Paul, the chief writer of epistles and advocate for Jesus Christ, was a real personality who came in contact with the Christians within the first decade after the death of Christ.

As to whether Jesus Christ was the Son of God, that is widely disputed. However, that is a personal thing and it's up to you to decide for yourself if the claim of His divinity is true or false. But I leave you with my testimony that it is true. I know Jesus Christ was the Son of God.

Answer 5

Indeed. The Jesus Christos is a culmination of many different myths in the Fertile Cresent region; myths that the audience hearing them would have been perfectly familar with. In fact, the glorious beauty of the cycle means that this new figure was greater than any other that came before, and assumes all thier powers. His myths are an accumulation of Set, Orsiris, Attis, Adonis, Dionysis, Mithra, and even a few Goddesses. He aquires the blessings and priestesses of other traditions, as is indicated by Mary of the Temple at Magdala, or Magdelene. http://www.northernway.org/twm/mary/magdalene.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/marymagdalene.html

For example, the donkey ride at Passover was orginally a ceremony of Set. The Birthday and much of the other worship is orginally Mithras, also a God-king born to a virgin in a manger. http://www.near-death.com/experiences/origen048.html
http://dim.com/~randl/tarsus.htm
"In Christian mythology, there was a grove of trees sacred to Tammuz (the Sumerian grain God) in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. (Bethlehem, by the way, means "house of bread".) Many cultures look at the harvesting, winnowing and grinding of the grain as the death of God, and then the sprouting of grain as his resurrection. Churches to this day look at the bread as the body of the dying God, and often loaves are baked in the human form. Eating this bread is the partaking of eating the flesh of the God." http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/lammas.htm

He is also the Christos, the Annointed One, which is the name of many separate Jewish 'god-kings' or human scapegoat sacrifices. http://www.the-cauldron.fsnet.co.uk/BLACK%20MARY%20&%20THE%20SACRED%20BLOOD.htm

He no doubt did not exist as a real person, but an grand accumulation of myths and teachings, in the style of Heracles, Orpheus, and other semi-divine hero cults. And no, it was not the Devil anticpating the Messiah that created these stories before His alleged birth. They are ancient myths of great antiquity, veneration, and beauty, and verifable from so many sources...

Answer 6

Not only is the Bible a reference guide to living a good life it ia an historical document that kept a record of events happening in and around Jesus's time. Particularly the New Testamant.

Cheers!

Answer 7

in a sense yes i believe so. i once read that religion is the only thing that keeps the poor from stealing from the rich. religion makes you believe that there are these rules and with out following these rules you will be punished. like telling a two year old that if he sucks his thumb it will fall off

Answer 8

no he's not. but the truth is, jesus description according to paul the tarsus, is actually derived from the story of mithra - a man of mithraism - an ancient greek religion.

Answer 9

I have to say that I found the answer posted here by Shelley absolutely fascinating and one of the best I've ever read here on any subject.

Answer 10

how dare you call King Arturious (Arthur) Mythological.

why i've half a mind to sick a Leprachaun on you