Why did so many religions before Christianity talk of a virgin birth and the crucifixion of their leader?

Question

Could it be that the story appealed to people, especially the virgin birth idea, so new religions like Christianity kept repeating the same story?

Answer 1

The "Jesus on a Stick" story is just another rendition of older "sacrificial god" stories from older cultures. The Persians had Mithra, for example, long before the advent of the Christian messiah.

When the early church began waging it's bloody "holy" war against heretics, they also incorporated oh-so-many stories, ideas, and practices from pre-Christ religions into their new religion in order to ease the conversion process of the Pagans.

Like it or not, Christianity has Pagan DNA!

Answer 2

Yep, the Osiris-Dionysus cults were plentyful around the Mediterranean in those days, thanks to the Hellenization of the world. The typical cycle for a new location involved basically changing the basic pattern for the cult to fit the established religion and then letting things run from there. Since Judaism was fairly unique among religions at the time (this being the result of a strong nationalist/xenophobic streak that grew out of the Babylonian captivity), it took a little more adapting, and the result was Christianity.

Answer 3

it's interesting to compare the cycle of life/death/rebirth to both the exigencies of the seasons of the year, and to the oedipal cycle, particularly the lattter:

briefly, the 'son' is whollly dependent upon the mother while an infant, and therefore competes with the father for her love. as the child grows older, of course, this need diminishes. at puberty, in the judeo-christian religions, the child can declare that 'today i am a man' (think of the bible story about jesus being 'lost' to his mother when he's off at the temple, and the correlation of that story to the 'bar mitzvah' or catholic 'confirmation). the cycle is complete when the son marries a virgin of his own -- the 'piercing' imagery of crucifixion (albeit homoerotic) symbolizes becoming 'one with the father,' i.e., completing the cycle of life/death/rebirth -- or, 'redemption,' if you will... there's no longer an oedipal conflict by that age.

(speaking of homoerotic imagery, btw, there's an argument to be made for the contrast of heterosexual 'redemption' with homosexual 'transcendence' -- after all, until rather recent history, what did one do with a gay son but enter him into the priesthood; and what do gay men in tribal societies become but shamans?)

Answer 4

In the "beginning" was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God ( John 1:1 ). Nothing or noone came before the Word of God. Anything but the Bible is a cheap, empty imitation. Christianity can not copy from something that already belongs to them. Satan is the thief, not Christians.

Answer 5

Many of the biblical stories appear to be stolen stories from other more ancient cultures and then customized to fit Christianity.

Religion has been used for eternity to control the populace and keep those in power, in power. Fear is a very powerful motivator.

Of course the stories "appeal" to people and their basic emotions, that is why thousands of years later we keep re-telling them.

Answer 6

Catholic and Christianity are the same thing. But Christians don't believe that they should be paintings in their church. So... That's why they have the same story. I'm not sure about other religions but, they're just probably copying Catholic/Christians to have more believers and making more people in their religion

Answer 7

These false religions copied their theories from the Old Testament Prophecies.

Answer 8

I think other religions were copying the Bible. The virgin birth and crucifixion were prophesied a few thousand years before they happened.

Answer 9

Its fascinating how you make such outlandish claims with apsolutely zero details to back them up.

I'd give you a "D-" for creativity, but I've heard the same garbage from other people, likewise with no supporting details. Here's your "F!"

Answer 10

Since you have never done the research yourself, in that you simply regurgitate what others have wrote on the matter, you really don't know what you are talking about. I have, and I know you are deceived.