The Greeks asked Paul, "May we know what this NEW teaching is that you are presenting? You are BRINGING some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean" (Acts 17:19)
He was preaching about the resurrection. People always say this relates to Horus and Mithra. Yet the Greeks had no clue as to this "resurrection" thing. They even thought it strange. Doesn't this kind of close the book about the idea of the Christians taking from Greek mythology?
Your thoughts?
2007-07-09 16:19:16 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
You forget, the book of Acts was written by Christians, not the Greeks.
Are you saying the legends of Mithra, Horus, Gilgamesh and others were not known to the Greeks? Of course they were.
If anything, this proves that the quotes attributed to the Greeks in Acts were either fabricated or knowingly obtained from stupid Greeks. Because an educated Greek would never have said that.
2007-07-09 16:37:42 · answer #1 · answered by freebird 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
What does Paul answering a question have to do with what Jesus allegedly taught?
1. Read a little further to Acts 17:22 "Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious."
There's a bit of a double standard here when you consider that Pauls primary motivation for converting to Christianity was hearing voices in his head... Also, remember that he is speaking to philosophers who were making fun of him.
2. Now, if you read the Bible very carefully, you will find that many of Pauls teachings are not the same as the teachings of Jesus. Many of them are completely against the few Jesus quotes seen in scripture. At least once in the Bible that Paul even states that people should follow his teaching instead of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
This passage is VERY important, since Pauls stand on many aspects of Christian dogma are diametrically opposed to the few qoutes of Jesus.
In fact, within the Christian community, there are people known as "Paulists" who follow Pauls writings more than they do the words of Christ.
3. Also, considering how inaccurate the Book of Acts is about a great many things that are not supported by other parts of scripture, I think you need a better arguement.
4. Dionysus, a Greek diety, is a typical life/death/rebirth diety. The worship of Dionysus was practiced for centuries before Jesus was an itch in Mary's robe.
Incidentally, Dionysus was also born of a virgin, and was often called The Lamb; King of Kings; Only Begotten Son; Saviour (Sôtêrios); Redeemer; Sin Bearer; Anointed One; and ;Alpha and Omega among other things.
-SD-
2007-07-10 00:07:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You do know that Horus is Egyptian, I hope. Mithras is hellenistic, but was primarily practiced during the time of the Roman Empire.
But using the bible as proof is a bit silly-do you think the bible is going to mention another resurrection story? Bad for business.
2007-07-09 23:26:25 · answer #3 · answered by Julia Sugarbaker 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Greek civilization started around 3700 years ago and has persists to this day. It's safe to say that the Greek on the street 2000 years ago didn't know much of anything about his or her own history so your question, though thoughtful, is flawed in its premise.
2007-07-09 23:36:18 · answer #4 · answered by Michael da Man 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like it would. I really need to brush up on my Greek mythology, though. I've never noticed a comparison before.
2007-07-09 23:31:16 · answer #5 · answered by Jessica M 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It wasn't taken from the Greeks, it was taken from Mithra and Zoroastrianism.
2007-07-09 23:32:44 · answer #6 · answered by Frank 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry but you're using a bible verse as proof? It's a book, no matter how holy it's presumed to be. I guess I can go write that pigs fly in a book and say it's proof. You have to put yourself in the shoes of others.
2007-07-09 23:30:31 · answer #7 · answered by Azu 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋