Origin of Christianity

[Scientist]

Hey everybody,
I was watching this documentary some time ago. Pretty interesting stuff.
It talks about the similarities between Christianity and much older religions.
the naked truth

Now, I know most people on doomworld are to lazy to sit through such a long documentary so here a really short comedy clip which pretty much summarizes it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snc5AOYt1Ak

[Hobbs]

In reference to the youtube clip, and completely off topic, I honestly think Davies provides incorrect answers on purpose.

[Csonicgo]

how about the origin of the new Christianity? which isn't Christianity at all, it's more of "god loves you and he wants your money".

[Dr. Zin]

I haven't watched the whole video yet, but the evolution and cross-polination of religions is not a new concept.

It is interesting that the flight of the Jews from Egypt happens to occur shortly after the great experiment of Akenaten, the Pharoh who re-wrote the Egyptian religion to a monotheistic form. Noting that Moses is a Egyptian name, it seems that the early Jews were not slaves of the Egyptians; rather the Jews were monotheistic Egyptians who fled the country when Akenaten's successor struck out his legacy and returned to the old ways. It is not a far stretch that such a group would settle among the Semite tribes just outside of the Pharoh's reach.

Oh, and I assume that the video makes mention of how Christianity seems to be Judaism with Zoroastrarian beliefs thrown on top (the Son of God, redemption of all peoples, Satan being an independant force of evil rather than an instrument of god, apocalypse, etc).

[myk]

Dr. Zin said:
I haven't watched the whole video yet, but the evolution and cross-polination of religions is not a new concept.

What's more, how could a religion grow without assimilating populations that already have their particular beliefs (aside from mass murder, that is often practiced to a degree), and why would religious sages and prophets not read into past religious experiments and experiences (through texts, verbal accounts, or whatever)?

[Quasar]

Christianity was just one of the many mystic cults to emerge during the late period of Roman Empire. All of them shared similar core themes and beliefs, key amongst them being the necessity for salvation, specifically through the acceptance of some savior figure, be he a man or a spirit.

Judaism was fertile ground for the development of one such cult since it already contained within it the prophecy of a Messiah who would redeem the Jewish people.

[Sharessa]

Dr. Zin said:

Akenaten's successor

That would be Tutankaten, who had to change his name to Tutankhamen when the clerics of the old gods gained power again and forced polytheism back into society. Born in Macedonia, moved to Arizona.

Oh, and I assume that the video makes mention of how Christianity seems to be Judaism with Zoroastrarian beliefs thrown on top (the Son of God, redemption of all peoples, Satan being an independant force of evil rather than an instrument of god, apocalypse, etc).

Hmm, from what I've read, Zoroastrianism is more mellower than Christianity. That being said, I haven't read all that much about Zoroastrianism. I've found a lot of interest in Gnosticism as of late though. Now THAT is one interesting religion, and one I could almost get behind.

[Sharessa]

Well I don't have time to sit through the first video (if I tried, I'd fall asleep), but I watched the second video. Two things. 1 - Stephen Fry for the win. 2 - Damn, that Mithras thing is interesting. I need to research this.

[Dr. Zin]

Danarchy said:

Hmm, from what I've read, Zoroastrianism is more mellower than Christianity. That being said, I haven't read all that much about Zoroastrianism.

It is hard to make generalizations like that, there are many different forms of Zoroastrianism. It isn't like the Abrahamic faiths, with their central books. There are scriptures and compendiums, but they aren't as fixed as the Torah or what have you.

[Sharessa]

I was just drawn to the fact that it preached equality for women and had a lot of nature elements you usually don't find in monotheistic religions. Dunno if those are universal within the faith though. I also like how when they die, they don't get buried or cremated, they get put out in the wilderness to be eaten by wild animals.

[Scientist]

okay, for those of you unwilling to sit through the whole documentary here's a summary:
The documentary notes the similarities between Jesus and the ancient Egyptian god Horus. Further it compares the life of Jesus with that of Krishna, Buddha and a dozen other men from ancient religions. Apparently everyone of them had the same life Jesus had.
They were all born from a virgin, born in a stable or cave. Their parents fled because the ruling King tried to kill the baby boy. Each went to the temple at age 12. Each started their preaching at age 30 and died at age 33.
They're all incarnations of God.
Further they are all identified with the sun and died for our salvation. They are all ways to eternal life.

The documentary claims that it is quite improbable that all these men lived the same lifes. It is more probable that all these stories are based on the same ancient myth. The myth is based on astrology originating in ancient Egypt. The stories of Jesus, Krishna, Buddha etc are simply different re-tellings of a myth that is many thousands of years old.

[myk]

Scientist said:
The stories of Jesus, Krishna, Buddha etc are simply different re-tellings of a myth that is many thousands of years old.

Yeah, though naturally each is encrusted with cultural differences, conceptions, and the remains of possible facts or hints of actual personages of each historical backdrop. Just like you can adapt a particular festivity to existing customs (such as uniting Christmas and pagan solstice feasts), you can adapt what is transmitted of a prophet's life to existing divine character types that are already familiar to many cultures. It's similar to fairy tales and fables, that are often similar in many cultures, and have been carried through the ages with alterations but distinguishable structures or motifs.

The first character I noticed was in some ways similar to Christ is Socrates (even though he isn't exactly a religious figure). But now that this comes up I remember the story of Osiris as I heard it at primary school, where he was killed and then ressurrected.

[Remilia Scarlet]

Scientist said:

The documentary notes the similarities between Jesus and the ancient Egyptian god Horus. Further it compares the life of Jesus with that of Krishna, Buddha and a dozen other men from ancient religions.

Buddha doesn't follow any of the things you just listed. He was conceived naturally, was born into royalty in a garden (he was a prince), never claimed he was a god, left his house at 29 to "discover life" so to speak, was enlightened at age 35, and died at the age of 80. There are parallels in their lives, but not the ones you listed.

Though the other night I was watching a show on National Geographic about Cain and Able that offered an interesting parallel. It depicted parallels between the Biblical brothers and the Egyptian gods Osiris and Seth (also brothers). They also connected them back to Akenaten, though I forget how.

[myk]

DJ_Haruko said:
Buddha doesn't follow any of the things you just listed.

I haven't checked the documentary as I'm currently on dial-up, but it's true that Buddha has some considerable differences (and Buddhism itself is more of an organized philosophy of life than a traditional religion).

Also it appears that Krishna and Christ come from the same root, meaning "anoninted".

[kristus]

The story of Noah and the Arc are taken from the worlds first known peice of litterature the "Gilgamesh epos". Only in the Gilgamesh epos, it's much more detailed and it's not with the christian god of course.

[Scientist]

DJ_Haruko said:

Buddha doesn't follow any of the things you just listed.

Yes, I indeed misquoted the documentary... :-(

[kristus]

Well, if there's one thing we do know about how religions "evolve" is that they branch out into several different smaller factions, and that even if they don't have any previous relation, they do rub off on eachother.

And just like the leading international language today, the christianity is a concotion of several different religions and doesn't really have one origin.