Are there similiarities between Mythology and Bible stories?

Question

Is there a story in World Mythology that tells of a god sacrificing his son? Or of a creation story? Or of an immaculate conception? --- I was just wondering if any of you have noticed similarities between the stories in Mythology and the stories in the Bible?---Everyone is welcome to answer---I have been fascinated by this for some time now and really want to know what others think---Blessings!

I will read Gilgamesh ASAP! Great answers so far--keep'em coming!

Great movie on this website! zeitgeistmovie.com --It had lots of very interesting info! Everyone should watch this. Thanks for posting it.

Answer 1

Yep, watch the first part of this:
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
(you can skip over the intro, it's long)

Answer 2

There are many very close similarities between the Bible and Egyptian mythology and the deeds and trials of the Gods and Goddesses. The ancient Egyptians believed that the reigning Pharaoh was the progeny of Amun and the conception took place when Amun visited the prospective mother and breathed the ka or soul of the child into her nostrils. There are many depictions of this concerning many of the Pharaoihs. Probably the best portrayal of the "story" is found at Deir El Barhi the temple of the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut.
The similarities between the portrayal of Mary the Madonna and Isis and the child Horus are identical and indeed some were actually used by the early Christians in Egypt . However the hieroglyphs depicting the names of the Goddess Isis and the God Horus were always erased.
There are many other very close similarities in what is refered to as the mythology of the ancient Egyptians and the events and stories of the Christian Bible.

Answer 3

Ever since I took Greek/Roman Mythology in class, I have questioned some things that are in the bible. The Book our class had to read was by Edith Hamlton. Although I haven't had my book with me at the moment I do remember some details that stood out to me. One of the stories in the Myth book was about the races. There are a certain number of races, us being the brass race (the most corrupt) I do believe. It basically states that the more decades that pass us by, Mankind becomes more corrupt and eventually Zeus will destroy all the living beings for their disobedience. Another story in the mythology book that comes to mind is similar to Noah's arc. The gist of the story is: two people, a man and women were warned about Zeus having Poseidon flood the earth so they built a box where they could both outlast the storm. After the flood took place and everything was in ruin, the box ends up landing on ground. The two people get out of the box. At first Zeus was angry that the two survived but then decided to let them live. A voice called out to them and said something like cast aside the bones of mother earth to form new life. They did so and thus new life came. The first story reminds me of revelations in the bible, and the latter reminds me of Noah's Arc as I stated above. But what gets me is the fact that the bible was written after Mythology. There seems to be similarities in each of them which I couldn't dismiss, that made me believe that certain stories in the bible were taken from Mythology. I am not here to claim the bible to be false or anything of the matter. I am just curious what other people's opinions are. Maybe someone else's could enlighten all of us here?

Answer 4

yes.
Creation story:

ALL OF THEM.

Immaculate Conception? As in, impregnated by a god/ goddess. Achilles was the son of a mortal and Thetis.

Hercules is the son of Zeus (which we know to exist, Zeus that is)

Ever read Gilgamesh. Look up Utnapishtim's story. Note that Gilgamesh is many thousand years older than the Big Book of Lies. (Can't spell that without B I B L E)

Crucifixion and spear to the side. See ODIN.

Answer 5

One of the larger ones is the Epic of Gilgamesh. Story about man who has a god as a friend. There is a part about the world flooding that is very much the same as the story of Noah's Ark. Of Course this Epic was told and written thousands of years earlier then the bible.

Answer 6

Yes, the mythology of the Middle East is rife with similarities to Bible stories.

Answer 7

I think the story of Noah's ark was taken from a Babylonian myth, which was written a few thousand years before the Bible.

I have also heard that the Abrahamic god was originally a sky god of a middle eastern civilization, but i'm not sure on that either.

Answer 8

Check out the Gilgamesh stories. There is a flood that destroys the world in those.

Answer 9

There are many. There are even statues of the Egyptian goddess Isis and her son Horace which looks strangely like Mary and Jesus.The star of David in Judaism has an earlier meaning. It is the symbol of the heart chakra.

Answer 10

I have been a Christian for all of my life and believe in the stories of the Bible. I can not find of any story in mythology that compares to the story of Jesus Christ birth, death and resurection. Please remember the the Bible is not the only recorded history of Jesus Christ. There are many other non-Christian sources that confirm his life and death however they do not believe in His divinity.

You know, I believe you have doubts over the truth of Jesus Christ and the fact he is the son of God. If you trully wish to examine the truth, do a study of the prophesies given in the Bible (ex. The Book of Daniel, The book of Revelations and others) decide for yourself if it doesnt open your eyes to our present day. You will be somewhat shocked over the things it says. Give it a months study take your time and examine it and you will see that the Bible is no myth.

Answer 11

There are not nearly as many similarities as people think. But there are many, many similarities between Bible stories and the ancient "Mystery Religions."