Debunked: Jesus vs. Mithras

Jesus:

1) Born of a virgin

2) Born in a cave/stable. Was placed in a manger. Birth heralded by angels and a star in the east. Was visited by magi and a group of shepherds. 

3) Worshiped by his followers on Sunday, "The Lords Day" instead of on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.

4) Had twelve disciples.

5) Jesus listened to and asked questions of the religious leaders in the Temple when he was twelve years old. (Luke 2:41-52) He was never a "child teacher." 

6) Had a three year ministry as a traveling teacher. Preached a "Sermon on the Mount," was Transfigured.

7) Preformed many miracles, cast out demons, raised the dead, and walked on water, etc.

8) Crucified between two criminals, buried for three days, rose from the dead.

9) Called by many Messianic titles. ie. "the Lamb of God," "Messiah", "The way, the truth, and the life," "Son of Man," "God's Son." etc.

10) Came to die sacrificially in order to fulfill the requirements of the Old Testament Law for the redemption of mankind. 

Mithras:

1)  Born out of a rock. Not only was he not "virgin born," he was not even born of a living thing.

2) As stated above, Mithras was not born. Therefore there was no manger, star, magi or any of the other nativity elements in any of the Mithra narratives. However, his followers did celebrate his "birth" on December 25th. That being said, Christ's birth most likely occurred some time between late spring and early autumn, based on scriptural evidence. (ie. shepherds staying with their flocks in open pasture overnight.) It was not until the mid 330s AD that "Christmas" began to be celebrated on December 25th. 

3) Mithras was worshiped on Sunday only by members of the Roman Mithraic traditions in the cult's later years, (ca. 155-300 AD) well after New Testament times and the establishment of Christianity. 

4)  There is no mention of any disciples in Mithraic tradition. However there is one depiction of him surrounded by the twelve signs of the Zodiac Calendar. That being said, this iconography and indeed the Roman Cult of Mithra itself, originated in post-Christian times, and therefore did not inspire the depiction of Christ and his disciples. Rather, the founders of Mithraism plagiarized themes and existing iconography found in Christianity, and incorporated them into their "Mystery Cult."  

5) Was never a child-teacher. In fact, there is no mention of him being a teacher at all. 

6) Had no ministry to speak of. 

7) Mithras undoubtedly preformed many miracles, like any ancient deity. However there is virtually no record of any such miracles ever being preformed. That said, the few miracles and "great deeds" of Mithras that we do know of do not coincide with any miracle preformed by Jesus Christ.  

8) There is no evidence in any Mithraic tradition of Mithras ever dying, much less a crucifixion. The only evidence of an alleged "resurrection" is recorded by the ancient historian Tertullian, who records that members of the Mythras Cult reenacted resurrection scenes as part of their secretive rituals. But this took place long after Christianity had been established. (ca. 150-240 AD ) That being said, we know more about the post-Christian practices of the Cult of Mithras than we do their actual beliefs!

9) Was not called by any Messianic titles except for "mediator." However, unlike Jesus, Mithras did not mediate on behalf of sinners, but rather between the waring gods of good and evil in some Zoroastrian traditions. That being said, Mithras was a sun-god, and therefore was often associated with the sign Leo in astrology. So one could argue that he does have some connection with lion iconography, though he is never once referred to as "the lion and the lamb."

10) Mithras did not die sacrificially. Nor did he die for the redemption of mankind. In fact, Mithras did not die at all. The only time Mithras did anything to "save humanity" was when he killed a mythological bull (the Tauroctony), which later became the source of all life on earth. Furthermore, according to Mithraic tradition, when Mithras' time on earth had ended, he returned to paradise in a chariot, alive and well. He was not buried, and did not rise from the dead.

Conclusion: 

Jesus is not based on Mithras.



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Sources:


The Roman Cult of Mithras

Cold-Case Christianity

Is Jesus a myth?

What is Mithraism?


See Also:

Mythology and the Messiah

Debunked: Jesus vs. Dionysus

Debunked: Jesus vs. Horus

Debunked: Jesus vs. Asclepius

Debunked: Jesus vs. Orpheus

Debunked: Jesus vs. Krishna

The Dying and Rising God: Jesus or Osiris?

Debunked: Jesus vs. Horus

Jesus:

1) Born of a virgin.

2) Born in a cave/stable. Was placed in a manger. Birth heralded by angels and a star in the east. Was visited by magi and a group of shepherds. 

3) Was baptized at age thirty by John the Baptist John the Baptist was later beheaded.

4) Had twelve disciples.

5) Jesus listened to and asked questions of the religious leaders in the Temple when he was twelve years old. (Luke 2:41-52) He was never a "child teacher."

6) Had a three year ministry as a traveling teacher. Preached a "Sermon on the Mount," and was Transfigured.

7) Preformed many miracles, cast out demons, raised the dead, and walked on water.

8) Crucified between two criminals, buried for three days, rose from the dead.

9) Called by many Messianic Titles. ie. "The Lamb of God," "Messiah", "The way, the truth, and the life," "Son of Man," "God's Son." etc.

10) Came to die sacrificially in order to fulfill the requirements of the Old Testament Law for the redemption of mankind.

Horus:

1) Was born out of a sexual union between Isis (the name "Isis-Meri" is not found anywhere in Egyptian mythology) and Osiris. He was not "born of a virgin."

2) Was born in a swamp on the Nile Delta. There is no mention of a manger, shepherds, angels, magi, or a miraculous star in any Horus narrative.

3) Was never baptized. No one named "Anup the Baptizer" exists in Horus Mythology.

4)  Had four regular disciples, (Heru-Shemsu) sixteen temporary followers (mentioned only once) and an indeterminate number of followers (Mesnui) who joined him in battle at one point in the narrative. He did not have twelve disciples. 

5) No effort is made in the narrative to give us continuous, chronological information on Horus' childhood. He did not teach in any temple at age twelve.

6) Had no ministry. He never preached a "Sermon on the Mount," and was never Transfigured.  

7) Preformed some miracles (like all ancient gods) but never cast out demons, raised the dead, or walk on water at any point in the ancient narrative.

8) Was never crucified. In fact, in most of the Egyptian myths, Horus never died. He lost an eye in a battle with his uncle Set in one account, and merged with Re/Ra (the Sun God) in another. In this account Horus metaphorically "dies" and is "reborn" each day with the setting and rising of the sun. 

Another, more obscure version of the story says that Horus was killed, cut into pieces and thrown into the Nile. His mother Isis then sends a crocodile to retrieve the pieces of his corpse which she then sews back together and reanimates with magic just as she had done with his father, Osiris. That being said, there is no crucifixion, three-day burial, or resurrection to be found in any Horus narrative.

9) No Messianic Title was ever used in regard to Horus. ie. "The way, the truth, and the life," "Messiah," "Lamb of God," "Son of Man," etc. He was instead known as the "Great God," "Master of Heaven," "Chief of Powers," and "Avenger of his Father." (Osiris)

(The Egyptian word "krst" means "Burial" and is not a title at all. While the word "isua" which supposedly means "Holly Child" dose not even exist in ancient Egyptian, and is therefore not found in any of the Horus myths.)

10) There was no Egyptian "Law" for Horus to fulfill. He did not die sacrificially, if he even died at all (see 8.)

Conclusion:

Jesus is not based on Horus.


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Sources: 

Ancient History Encyclopedia   

Cold-Case Christianity   

Is Jesus a Myth?

See Also:

Mythology and the Messiah

Debunked: Jesus vs. Dionysus

Debunked: Jesus vs. Mithras

Debunked: Jesus vs. Asclepius

Debunked: Jesus vs. Orpheus

Debunked: Jesus vs. Krishna

The Dying and Rising God: Jesus or Osiris?

Mythology and the Messiah

    When I first began researching ancient mythology for this article I was writing under the impression that many pagan myths paralleled the life of Christ; the miraculous events surrounding his birth, ministry, death, and ultimate resurrection. The reason for my assumption was obvious: virtually everyone, including historians, authors and mainstream archaeologists seemed to be arriving at the conclusion that the biblical authors plagiarized ancient themes of redemption, victory over evil, and salvation, from the myths of old. Indeed, I didn't have to look very far to find articles, books, and even a few History Channel and National Geographic specials to support this claim.
    However, upon closer examination of the myths in question, I soon discovered that much of the alleged evidence used to support these pseudo-messianic theories is circumstantial at best, or otherwise nonexistent.
    Suffice it to say, I was dumbfounded by just how many people were being deceived by those who are attempting to use mythical parallels as evidence against Christianity.
    That being said, while historically unfounded, the basis for the plagiarism hypothesis seems obvious: Christianity originated in the First Century AD whereas contemporary pagan myths had existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Therefore Christianity must have borrowed ideas from other religions.

    At first glance, the logic of this argument seems sound. However, upon further study, it soon becomes clear that the plagiarism hypothesis is in fact a poat-hoc fallacy that not only ignores historical and cultural evidence to the contrary, but also crucial counter-evidence found in the scriptures themselves.

    According to the book of Genesis (ca. 1440-1400 BC) there was a time when all mankind knew about God. They did not necessarily worship Him, but they at least knew of Him.
    For example: Genesis 4 recounts the story of Cain and Able–both of whom made offerings to the Lord (Yahweh/Jehovah) thousands of years before the Old Testament Law was written. Likewise, Noah also built an alter and made sacrifices to the Lord after exiting the Ark in Genesis 8:20.
    In Genesis 4:26 we are told that "...people first began to worship the Lord (Yahweh/Jehovah) by name." While Genesis 14:17-20, speaks of a meeting between Abraham–the first of the Old Testament Patriarchs, and father of the Jewish Nation–and a Canaanite named Melchizedek, who is identified as the King of Salem (that is, Jerusalem) and a priest of the Most High God.

    All that to say, there is strong evidence from the earliest biblical text to support the notion that at least some of the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia were worshiping the Hebrew God, Yahweh/Jehovah at least 430 years before the Jewish religion ever existed.

    That said, this conclusion is also based in part on what some might consider to be another post-hoc fallacy: the belief that ancient, pagan religions based their mythologies on historical events from the biblical record, simply because the biblical record states that these events took place before the pagan religions began. However, if one attempts to use this argument to dismiss the biblical record, then one must also be willing to apply the same logic to the rest of history. After all, every history book in existence was written long after the events they record actually took place, and generally hold to an interpretation of history that favors those who wrote them. (History is written by the victor after all.) Yet, despite this admittedly biased representation of historical evidence, most historical documents are widely accepted, while the Bible is generally dismissed without so much as a second thought.
     However, if the Bible is indeed an historically accurate document that truthfully records the dawn of human civilization, then the aforementioned conclusion is no longer in error, and is in fact highly plausible.
    If this is indeed true, and the biblical record is historically sound, then it is not outside the realm of possibility for ancient societies to share a common mythology. This is especially significant when you stop to consider the fact that, like the rest of the Old Testament, Genesis is filled with Messianic Prophesies, all of which would be fulfilled by Jesus Christ some 1400 years later.
   
    The first of these Messianic Prophesies is recorded in Genesis 3:15:

 "And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
    and you will strike his heel."

~ Genesis 3:15 NLT (New Living Translation) 

    This one prophesy–which predates both Judaism and Christianity by thousands of years in the biblical timeline–is enough to form the foundation of every alleged pseudo-messianic myth from Adonis to Zoroaster. Therefore one could easily argue that Judaism and Christianity did not borrow their inspiration from ancient, pagan religions, but rather the ancient, pagan religions created their mythology based on a prophesy given to mankind by the Most High God when sin first entered the world.
    However, as previously stated, most–if not all–of these alleged similarities are not ancient at all, but are in fact post-Christian and/or modern fabrications. (ie. the Horus-Jesus Myth.)

    In short, any parallels that may exist between ancient mythology and the Bible can be attributed to the fact that mankind once knew of God; they had heard of the coming Messiah, but slowly lost sight of God's promise as truth gave way to myth. But unlike the vague prophecies and myths of paganism, God's prophecies were specific and to the point, and were ultimately fulfilled by the only true Messiah–a man named Jesus, in the year 30 AD.
    The old religions, along with their mythologies, are all but forgotten. Yet Jesus, the stone the builders rejected, has become the cornerstone of a church that will never be overcome. (Matthew 16:16-18, Acts 4:11-12)

Related Articles on this Blog:

Was Jesus Real?

Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead

Debunked: Jesus vs. Mithras

Debunked: Jesus vs. Horus

The Dying and Rising God: Jesus or Osiris?     


Other Resources to Watch:

The Case for Ancient Monotheism 

Go Therefore

"'Son of man,' he said, 'I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ And whether they listen or refuse to listen — for remember, they are rebels — at least they will know they have had a prophet among them.

"'Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels. You must give them my messages whether they listen or not. But they won’t listen, for they are completely rebellious! ..."

"... Then he said, 'Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages. I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand. No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are. I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels."

 "Then he added, 'Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says!' Do this whether they listen to you or not.'"

~Ezekiel  2:3-7, 3:4-11 New Living Translation (NLT)

As I've been reading through Ezekiel, the one thing that has really stood out to me is just how relevant the writings of this Old Testament prophet are given the chaos and moral decay of today's society.

Just as in Ezekiel's day, many of our nations have turned their backs on God. Our people — my people — are rebelling against Him and His laws just as the children of Israel did during the Babylonian Exile. (ca. 597/581 BC)  And just as in the days of Ezekiel, I feel that God is calling the Church to stand up and and deliver His message of salvation to our own people — the hard-hearted and rebellious nations living in open defiance of Him and His word. 

Think about this for a moment: what do you think would happen if the Church spent just as much time and effort on reaching their local communities as they do on foreign missions? 

If we the Church — the unified Body of Christ — took the Great Commission seriously and began making disciples of all nations, including our own, do you think we would see a change in our communities, countries, and maybe even the world as a whole?

If we stopped isolating ourselves and started investing our time in building relationships with our unsaved neighbors, showing them the Gospel by the way we live, instead of pushing them away with our hypocrisy, do you think that maybe, just maybe, they would be more inclined to listen to us when we tell them about our faith? (1 Peter 2:12, 3:13-17)

In my community of 20,000 people, there is a church on virtually every street corner. Yet, like most of the United States, over 80% of the people in my town are un-reached. Despite the fact that they have ample access to the scriptures, Biblical ignorance is everywhere. Indeed, few people know the difference between the Iliad and the Old Testament! Most don't know anything about Jesus' teachings, or what Christians believe, aside from what they hear from the media or see on the internet. Many think that they will go to heaven because they've read parts of the Bible, believe in God, are a "good person" or go to church from time to time. And most of the people I've talked to about my faith don't want anything to do with "man-made religion" because the few churches that do attempt local missions go about it the wrong way, and end up pushing people away from God.

It is shameful. We pray for revival, yet few of us actually do anything about it. Instead, we look at all of the wickedness in our world and complain about how bad things are, while at the same time holding to the notion that if we just elect the right person to make the right laws, we can get our country back on track. Do we honestly think that electing a godly leader will fix our nation when the hearts of the people are far from God?

What if instead of trusting in elected officials to fix the social problems and spiritual decay in our world, we examined ourselves; purifying our hearts before God by asking God to reveal anything in our lives that may be interfering with our ability to effectively serve Him. If we ask God to make us able to serve Him and allow Him to prune our hearts, He will use us to change the world. (John 15:2)

The time is now, Christian. Whether you like it or not, you became a missionary the moment you surrendered your life to Christ. You are now Christ's ambassador, the salt and light of the world. (2 Corinthians 5:20, Matthew 5:13-16) There's a mission field is right outside your front door; an entire nation in need of God. The harvest is great, but the workers are few. (Luke 10:2-3) So fulfill your calling and go!

"'...I (Jesus) have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"

~Matthew 28:18-20 New Living Translation (NLT)