Do you understand that Christianity is just the most recent in a long line of Sun-worshipping religions?

Question

Horus, Mithra, Krishna, Attis, Dionysus, Zarathustra/Zoroaster, Heracles, Adonis, Tammuz, etc...

Why do Christians believe their Sun-God Jesus is real when he is clearly based on these same old recycled myths?

"The christian religion is a parody on the worship of the sun, in which they put a man whom they call Christ, in the place of the sun, and pay him the same adoration which was originally paid to the sun." Thomas Paine, 1737-1809

Answer 1

Shhh don't ruin it for them. They think they had the idea first.

Answer 2

I think there's something significant you are missing here.

The reason why the sun is so key to these religions is because it symbolises Light, which is perceived as life-giving, illuminating etc. It is also a symbol of the resplendent Self fully realised. The Solar Disc in all these religions embodies Man's inner nature at its most highly developed. The Light the sun represents is a spiritual Light. As the Hermetica says "the Sun is a visible God". Such transcendent Light imagery is found in all the religions you speak of as well as in Kaballah, Sufism, the Bagavad Gita et al. This Light is a cosmic Light, not a literal one.

Now, its absolutely correct that Christianity evolved out of all these other Mystery Religions, just as everything evolves out of what came before. But you are missing a key element which none of the other religions has. Christ is a man as well as a God. The Light that he represents is contained within the nature of humanity as well as the nature of God. This is what makes Christianity the apotheosis of the Light Religions. It takes the Light imagery somewhere it has never been before. Its implications for the potential of the human race go further than any of the earlier religions. Paine misses the point. Christianity is not Sun-worship or Light-worship but the worship of the Sun and the Light in Man. Now THAT is a revolutionary idea we haven't even properly BEGUN to get our heads round.

So to say "Christianity is bunk because it evolved out of earlier faiths" is like saying "This artist is rubbish because I knew him when he was a baby". Is the human race crap because we all used to be monkeys? No. We aren't monkeys now, are we? Look how far we have come.

And one more dimension to add to the mix. All these religions are Light religions. Many, Zoroastrianism in particular, believe that the Universe was created out of Light but that Matter broke up that purity. Kaballah has the same idea in its interpretation of Genesis. Creation begins with the words "Let there be Light". In Christianity, as you rightly say, the Light imagery is taken to its nth degree. The Gnostic Christians, who were at the fountainhead of Christianity, believed that Christ was an emissary from God to lead us back to the Light-realms where we came from...

And the punchline? That modern science tells us that everything IS Light. When you break down all matter to its lowest level that is all we are: Light energy. Matter is dense Light. Look at a nuclear explosion. That is the amount of Light energy contained in an atom. Every single atom of our body contains that energy. That's all we are. Compressed Light.

So when you think of it in that way, Sun-Worship, Light-Worship, the idea that a man can become pure Light as in the Gospels, doesn't sound so stupid does it?

Perhaps they were onto something those guys all those years ago?

Answer 3

Hmmmm, actually I disagree with this theory. Christianity was the first Urban religion. All the religions before that were based upon sun and moon cycles, planting, fertility and harvest, life and death. Christianity pretty much did away with all the agrarian concerns with whole "God gave man dominion over the earth, beasts and birds of the air."

Answer 4

Do you understand that Chevrolet, Volvo, and Ferrari are all Cars?
That cars, wagons, trains, planes and ships are all Means of Transportation regardless of their differences?
That gods may be many but Divinity can only be one?
That love has many forms, but at the end Love is one?
That many things have many forms but all have Form as such?
That there are many beings alive but all partake of Life?
That Life is a mystery rather than a debate?

Answer 5

No, it's quite distinct.

The parrallel you draw is vague: something is worshipped and adored, period. That's neither unique to monotheistic religion nor even to pantheistic religion, but stems from animism, which anthropologically is the most primitive of belief systems (that something powerful resides in objects in things and is accorded respect for favors). In other words, it is not sufficient to decry Christianity as being another form of sun-worship simply because something is worshipped.

Consider the differences:

Horus: Human body, falcon's head, decapitated his mother. Physically is the sky. Ruled land of the living, while his brother and equal Osiris ruled land of the dead.

Jesus: Human body, human head, loved his mother dearly. Has gone up to Heaven and is prophecied to return from Heaven, which may or may not be the sky, but the sky is not considered to be part of Jesus. Has rulership over the living and the dead, has no brother, and has conquered death.

Mithra: Created separate from Ahura Mazda to be an equal in worship but not the same being. Protector of truth and destroyer of evil, but intermediate-level deity in the Zoroastrian pantheon. The Vedas, on the other hand, consider Mithra to be a dual-deity with Varuna (the keeper of the music of the cosmic spheres) and acts to bring light.

Jesus: Not created, but Creator, one being with the Father and Holy Spirit (in Trinitarian Christianity; non-Trinitarian Christianity still does not hold Him to be created). Deserving of utmost praise, not part of a pantheon, and not directly connected with the sun. There is a passage in 2 Peter that refers to Jesus as "Morning Star", (luciferae in the Vulgate) which was a title used for kings in pagan cultures that would be understood by the pagan Romans at the time. But this does not actually mean Jesus pulls the sun across the sky - we have gravity for that.

Krishna: depicted as a cowherd with a flute, born 7/19/3228 BCE of Princess Devaki and husband Vasuveda, fought demons in his youth and overthrew a corrupt uncle. He was killed in a battle following a festival. In Jainism, he is a hero but not a deity. In Baha'i he is a prophet, but not a deity. In Thelema he is a saint.

Jesus: a carpenter, not a cowherd, incarnated in a modest birth, never known to pick up a weapon (other than the whip to drive moneychangers out of the temple). Recognized in Christianity as deity, not prophet, not hero, not saint, but deity.

Attis: a local Phryegian semi-deity who symbolized the life-death-rebirth cycle, was fathered by the cast-away male organ of a demon that grew into an almond tree. At his wedding to his mother, he castrated himself. He was reborn as an evergreen tree.

Jesus: Conceived by the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, not an almond tree. Never married. Never castrated. Not reincarnated as an evergreen tree.

Dionysus: seriously, the Greek god of wine? You need to do some research.

Jesus: drank wine. So have I, come to think of it. hmmphh...

Zarathustra/Zoroaster: Iranian prophet and poet who is credited with founding Zoroastrianism. His name is variously translated as "longing for camels" or "angry old camel."

Jesus: Never wrote a poem, never described as a camel. Oh, and He's considered divine, not a prophet.

Heracles: What in the world does Heracles have to do with the sun? I mean, really, do some research.

Adonis: now this is the first Semitic deity you've mentioned, and he's held to have close ties with Tammuz. Indeed, the prophet Ezekiel writes against the worship of Tammuz (the women used to mourn for Tammuz's passing; it can be assumed that Adonis' passing was likewise mourned).
In Greek myth, Adonis was conceived in the incestuous union of Myrrha with her father. Myrrha was turned into a Myrrh tree (how creative!) and her father shot the tree with an arrow, upon which Adonis was born. Adonis was killed and his blood became sea anemones.

Tammuz: Babylonian deity worshipped for six days following the summer solstice with a "funeral" for Tammuz.

Jesus: not worshipped with a six-day funeral or at anything close to the summer solstice. If it were at the Winter Solstice, I could see case for a connection, but there it's not a funeral but a birth that is celebrated. His death and resurrection are celebrated, rather uncalendarlike, in March or April, well away from the Equinox or Solstice.

So Thomas Paine thinks Christianity is a hoax? I assure you, he's been paid his reward.

And do some research on your next question, please.

Answer 6

I had a link to a great video on this. It shows the many similarities between Jesus and the Sun. But I've lost it.

So, I'll just say, yeah, it's obvious. Talk about evolution...

Answer 7

Tommy Paine had problems. I worship not the sun, as it is created and I worship no creation.

hercules (heracles) was the son of zeus, a lightning god. apollo was the god of the sun. you should know that....

Answer 8

I see no connection between sun worship and Christianity.

Answer 9

Thomas Pain said it, so it must be true.Jesus, recycled myth? Throw our your calender and your watch. we set time by his birth.
He was a real, historical figure. I know, your religion pre-dates mine. you still worship monkeys.
Get real.

Answer 10

That's "SON" worshipper, Honey. Biiiigggggggg difference.

Answer 11

Jesus is the way,the truth, and the life! (John 14:6)

don't be fooled by satan, trust in Christ! God bless.