I keep hearing about how Christians "borrowed" from so many other faiths, and I have to ask?

Question

Could that be because, in the words of the alien in the movie "Enemy Mine" (if you haven't watched it, you ought to), Truth is Truth?
If Jesus is Who He says He is, He's been around since before the beginning of time. Why wouldn't there have been traces of the truth all over the place?
The coming of God as Man to the earth (and perhaps to every inhabited planet in the universe?) was such a huge event that the entire world marks time from that event. (Yeah, BC and ACE, did I hear a snicker in the audience?)
In fact, it was such an amazingly tremendous event that the destiny of all living things everywhere is changed....
....
....
....


Forever.

Answer 1

Exactly correct.

Answer 2

Christianity has borrowed from all sorts of beliefs and cultures for a variety of reasons; mostly to help facilitate inculturation. (Heck, did I get the right word there?) What I mean is when they converted people, they found ways to bring the traditions of those people in line with Christianity. Sometimes for the good, sometime not.

There is a LOT of Judaism in Christianity since Jesus was a Jew and lived his life based on his Jewish upbringing.

And yes, at the end of the day, truth is truth, no matter its form. Just because God revealed the fulness of His truth through Jesus (at least, that's what I believe) doesn't mean that God hasn't revealed His truth in other forms.

Answer 3

1. Even you know that christians plagiarized (read as STOLE) their religion, otherwise you wouldn't have used quotes around "borrowed".
2. "If Jesus is Who He says He is"-- Why should I believe he is who he says he is in the first place?
3. These "traces of the truth" are not just similar ideas, they are almost direct quotations of Buddhism (profile me and see my question about Christianity plagiarizing the Somadeva for examples).
4. B.C. and A.D. was not chosen as a time reference because of a universally held belief, it was chosen because of the belief of the worlds leading superpowers.
5. There are tribes in Papua New Guinea and other 'remote' places who to this day have never had the bad news of Christ preached to them. (so much for "the destiny of all living things" being changed.

Answer 4

ACE? That snicker would be a chuckle at your silliness.

The amazing event was the rise of the Roman Empire. They figured out that Christianity was an absolutely brilliant way of keeping the masses from revolting, after all suffering in this world isn't really suffering, it's a downpayment on a happy hereafter. (Lest you question me, remember that their prior MO had been 'bread and circuses', fed and distracted.)

So the Roman Empire is cruising across Europe, sweeping multitudes of ethnic groups and cultures into its loving embrace and converting them all to Christianity.

Europe then managed to colonize most of the rest of the world.

Are you really going to make a heavy duty theological point out of the fact that their particular dating system became dominant?

Answer 5

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If that's the case, then why is the Christian version of "what's what" any more (or less) accurate than any other mythology or religion's version of it?

Why do Christians get to be the only ones who are "right"?

Who's to say that Jesus isn't just another "trace" of that universal Truth, instead of the "source" of it?

Answer 6

Well, sweetie.. here's the problem with your statement.
If there's a universal truth that comes forth, how can christianity then be the only way to heaven?
If Jesus comes in many forms to many people, it means there are many paths to God, and belief in the Jesus of a religion that was made up of a conglomeration of other religions isn't the only way to heaven.
you'll have to either throw out half of your doctrine or throw out the pagan and jewish parts.. I'd be glad if you did, but I don't think you're going to do it.

Answer 7

Nice cover-up, but doesn't really work. =)

BC and AD wasn't used till centuries later.... easy enough to use anyone's birth, death, etc... to mark the time. ANd it doesn't mark ANY event of Jesus... Top scholars can't even tell you when he was born, they give guestimations (anywhere from 6BC to 4 AD) and his death was, what? 30 - 33 or so yrs later. If they can't even give us his birth year, how do you think they used that to mark time???

THings everywhere did not change till the Roman Catholic Church took rule after the fall of Rome... and then we went into the Dark Ages. This doesn't sound like the enlightenment so many within Christianity claim.

Answer 8

Wow. It never ceases to amaze me how easily you people can reason around the most ridiculous of ideas just so that it makes you feel better about your faith...

You know, if you people put this much effort into intellectual honesty, you probably would stop beleiving the Bible...

Every religion claims to be the one true religion. Why is that? And, why should I beleive yours?

To the fool below me - how can Mithrasism been copied from Christianity when it was around PRIOR to it? Mithras was born of a virgin, died and was placed in a rock tomb and was later ressurected. Sound familiar?

Answer 9

No, it's because your religion's creators were and are like magpies in that they only take the best and brightest aspects of each spiritual tradition and leave the rest behind. Like the Borg you assimilate cultures and had their distinctiveness to your own collective. In sharp contrast, many other faiths do not need to steal or borrow from other traditions to make them a strong or complete faith simply because they don't have to, they are already complete and strong as it is....unlike Christianity.

Answer 10

ya, but they can't tell you the exact date of his birth

: P

but seriously, if what you say is true, then christians have a lot of apologizing to do to all of the religions they "borrowed" things from, especially after telling those same religions that they're false!

Answer 11

well, first off, a lot of people think that Christianity was copied off of zoriastrian beliefs... but that can't be, because isaiah, jeremiah, and others came BEFORE the zoriastrian religion came about.. hence, predictions about the messiah, such as crucifiction, and so forth.

others say it came from Mitrhanism.. but really, it's the exact opposite. mithranism copied CHRSITIANITY.

the torah is more liberal then some think.. like if isaiah wanted to, he could have added a pagan belief, and as long as it got people closer to Yahweh and didn't contradict earlier beliefs, Yahweh wouldn't mind i don't think.

but that's for yahweh to decide, and not me..