Authors of the Bible: The Greatest Plagiarism Ever Believed

Whenever I discuss Christianity with Christians I always try and ask 'why do you believe?'

To me, religion is quite evidently fictitious. Virtually everything around us seems to go directly against the claims that are made within the stories of various religions:

~ If there is a date in which everything is supposed to be created, all that is needed to prove that wrong is something that is older than that date.
~ If there is a global event, such as a flood, then all that is needed to prove it never happened is the observations we can make here on Earth that show consistency throughout the Earths history. For instance, the lack of a distinct change in geology around the time such an event was said to occur. Or the lack of fossils that occurred precisely within the same timeline.
~ If a specific process within the religion is said to function the way it does in scripture, then all that is needed to prove it wrong is to replicate that process and have a failed result. (an example would be in Genesis when Jacob wanted to breed his flock to have spots/stripes by placing them in front of objects that were of the shapes he desired)

What seems one of the strongest cases of fictitious evidence, at least within Christianity, is just how plagiarized the entire bible is.

The core of The New Testament is based around the story of Jesus Christ; of which all the Authors that spoke of him didn't actually live during the time Jesus was said to have lived (that alone is pure hearsay).

You don't have to look far to discover that a plethora of other religions have characters that mirrored Jesus Christ:

~ Who was the Son of the highest God, and the biggest healer in Antiquity? He healed the sick and even raised the dead. The name was 'Asklepios' of ancient Greek Religion


~ Who was born by a mortal virgin mother and had a divine Father, and was known as the "Saviour of the world"? The name was 'Hercules' the Roman name for the Greek divine hero Heracles.


~ The true Saviour who wanted to help and save the sinful humans, by sacrificing himself. But he was willing to do this, out of love, pity and compassion for the humans. The name was 'Prometheus'.


~ The Son of God, born by a mortal virgin mother, and often presented as the venerated newborn infant, or depicted riding a donkey? He healed the sick and did numerous wonders, among those making fine wine from plain water. He was killed but resurrected from the dead and became immortal. The followers of this God often ate a holy meal in a kind of sacramental union with the deity to achieve immortality after their death. One of this god's finest achievements was his death, his sacrifice, which delivers the whole human kind. The name was Dionysos.


~ The "Light of the World", the One, the God who defeated death. Born of a virgin mother, considered the first true King by the people. Who rose from the grave and ascended to heaven. The name is Osiris of Egyptian religion


~ The original "Light of the world" was the mediator between God and man and was born on the 25.th of December. Local shepherds witnessed his birth and gave him gifts. He had 12 disciples, and when his work was done on earth he gathered together to a last supper, and then ascended to heaven. At doomsday he will return to pass judgment on both the living and the dead. The righteous will go to heaven and the sinful will be killed in a giant fire. Sunday is his holyday, and this religion gave us the seven days of the week. His followers called each other "brothers" and their leaders "fathers". They practiced babtism and established a sacred meal ritual, where flesh and blood was symbolically consumed by initiates. Above earth was heaven, and below the dark hell with demons and the sinners. The sungod Mithra.


~ Wise men were led to his birth by a star, and his conception was miraculous. After his birth the ruler in the area wanted him dead and started a hunt for the child. But his parents were warned by a heavenly messenger who told them to escape over the river with the holy child. Here, he was met by shepherds. The boy grew up and did many great deeds, and was the mediator between God and man. The name was Krishna


~ Who then, was the God whose mother was told by an angel that she would give birth to a holy child destined to be a Saviour? Even as a child he instructed the priests in the temple in religous matters, while his parents were looking for him. He started his religious career when he was ca 30 years of age, and surrounded himself with 12 disciples. His name was Buddha.


~ performed countless miracles on earth, miracles well attested to by bystanders. He healed the sick and the crippled, restored sight to the blind, cast out demons, and even raised the dead! His birth was of a virgin, foretold by an angel. The name was Apollonius of Tyana


And perhaps the greatest of all:

(Continued in the next post)

Horus:

The sun-god Horus was worshipped nearly 1,000 years before the story of Jesus. Check these parallels:

1.Both were conceived of a virgin.
2.Both were the "only begotten son" of a god (either Osiris or Yahweh)
3.Horus's mother was Meri, Jesus's mother was Mary.
4.Horus's foster father was called Jo-Seph, and Jesus's foster father was Joseph.
5.Both foster fathers were of royal descent.
6.Both were born in a cave (although sometimes Jesus is said to have been born in a stable).
7.Both had their coming announced to their mother by an angel.
Horus; birth was heralded by the star Sirius (the morning star). Jesus had his birth heralded by a star in the East (the sun rises in the East).
8.Ancient Egyptians celebrated the birth of Horus on December 21 (the Winter Solstice). Modern Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25.
9.Both births were announced by angels (this si nto the same as number 7).
10.Both had shepherds witnessing the birth.
11.Horus was visited at birth by "three solar deities" and Jesus was visited by "three wise men".
12.After the birth of Horus, Herut tried to have Horus murdered. After the birth of Jesus, Herod tried to have Jesus murdered.
13.To hide from Herut, the god That tells Isis, "Come, thou goddess Isis, hide thyself with thy child." To hide from Herod, an angel tells Joseph to "arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt."
14.When Horus came of age, he had a special ritual where hsi eye was restored. When Jesus (and other Jews) come of age, they have a special ritual called a Bar Mitzvah.
15.Both Horus and Jesus were 12 at this coming-of-age ritual.
Neither have any official recorded life histories between the ages of 12 and 30.
16.Horus was baptized in the river Eridanus. Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan.
17.Both were baptized at age 30.
18.Horus was baptized by Anup the Baptizer. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
19.Both Anup and John were later beheaded.
20.Horus was taken from the desert of Amenta up a high mountain to be tempted by his arch-rival Set. Jesus was taken from the desert in Palestine up a high mountain to be tempted by his arch-rival Satan.
21.Both Horus and Jesus successfully resist this temptation.
22.Both have 12 disciples.
23.Both walked on water, cast out demons, healed the sick, and restored sight to the blind.
24.Horus "stilled the sea by his power." Jesus commanded the sea to be still by saying, "Peace, be still."
25.Horus raised his dead father (Osiris) from the grave. Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave. (Note the similarity in names when you say them out loud. Further, Osiris was also known as Asar, which is El-Asar in Hebrew, which is El-Asarus in Latin.)
26.Osiris was raised in the town of Anu. Lazarus was raised in Bethanu (literally, "house of Anu").
27.Both gods delivered a Sermon on the Mount.
28.Both were crucified.
29.Both were crucified next to two thieves.
30.Both were buried in a tomb.
31.Horus was sent to Hell and resurrected in 3 days. Jesus was sent to Hell and came back "three days" later (although Friday night to Sunday morning is hardly three days).
32.Both had their resurrection announced by women.
33.Both are supposed to return for a 1000-year reign.
34.Horus is known as KRST, the anointed one. Jesus was known as the Christ (which means "anointed one").
35.Both Jesus and Horus have been called the good shepherd, the lamb of God, the bread of life, the son of man, the Word, the fisher, and the winnower.
36.Both are associated with the zodiac sign of Pisces (the fish).
37.Both are associated with the symbols of the fish, the beetle, the vine, and the shepherd's crook.
38.Horus was born in Anu ("the place of bread") and Jesus was born in Bethlehem ("the house of bread").
39."The infant Horus was carried out of Egypt to escape the wrath of Typhon. The infant Jesus was carried into Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. Concerning the infant Jesus, the New Testament states the following prophecy: 'Out of Egypt have I called my son.'"
40.Both were transfigured on the mount.
41.The catacombs of Rome have pictures of the infant Horus being held by his mother, not unlike the modern-day images of "Madonna and Child."
Noted English author C. W. King says that both Isis and Mary are called "Immaculate".
42.Horus says: "Osiris, I am your son, come to glorify your soul, and to give you even more power." And Jesus says: "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once."
Horus was identified with the Tau (cross).

link
Link 2



It is quite easy to go on and describe even more problematic incidences within the Bible.

I am not quite sure why so many people believe in it, when this information is so readily available.

Do we simply standby while these individuals force reality away and embrace ignorance? And for what? Because they feel comforted that an imaginary friend is there to protect them? Or that there's an sugar-pill answer to the question of what happens after we die?

At an individualistic scale, why not? A person is free to believe whatever nonsense they like.

However, it is almost never individualistic. It spreads to their children, it has tried to suppress education, it has slowed the progression of advancement for hundreds of years.

An issue that needs addressing.

Also... Jesus isn't mentioned in any other writings apart from the Bible! Yet the Bible is the biggest selling book of all time. The Catholic religion is one of the richest corporations / banks in the world.
Religion = greed = war = killing. If there was a god, would he / she really put up with those anti-religious actions?

www.cracked.com...

Came across this the other day, was a good read. Think it fits nicely in here.

Before Marcion, the Christian Bible as we know it did not exist. There was no known segregation between the "Old" (Jewish) and "New" (Christian) Testaments before him. It was just hundreds of different stories in free circulation: multiple books of revelation, too many gospels to count, and more coming in every week. So Marcion decided to go Brothers Grimm on that #.

a reply to: Ghost147

Do we simply standby while these individuals force reality away and embrace ignorance? And for what?

Why not?
Why do you care if someone else does something that you think is silly if it doesn't make any difference in the end for either you or them?
Seems like the ultimate waste of time.

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: Ghost147

Do we simply standby while these individuals force reality away and embrace ignorance? And for what?

Why not?
Why do you care if someone else does something that you think is silly if it doesn't make any difference in the end for either you or them?
Seems like the ultimate waste of time.

Because religion suppresses education, warps minds, and prevents the progression of humanity.

It's kind of like saying "Well, if the drugs allow him/her to feel good, even though they have become delusional, why take them away?" Because it still effects others.

a reply to: Ghost147

Applause!
I was going to add the Mithraic bit, but no you provided a damn fine op. If anything, you make me feel less alone, knowing somebody else understands. Thanks

a reply to: Ghost147

Ok,here is my take on the whole new testament:

*I have a theory that around 2000 years ago, 12 'wise' men got together. Things had been going down hill as far as they were concerned with the Jewish religion,(yes they were Hebrews then). Everyone was being punished for something,there were the "elites" that had control over just about everything that the Romans didn't. And if you were poor and could not afford a bird to sacrifice,well the kingdom of heaven was closed to you. Not to mention all the nonsense with having to put your hand in boiling oil to prove you were telling the truth about something. There HAD to be a better way. It seemed that the Jews had lost their way and instead of concentrating on God's love,it was all about punishing everyone.

It is amazing to think about how well traveled most of these people really were back then. There was the silk road and others for transport of goods and people.Even those who didn't leave an area,there were many travelers that came to town with goods that told of other places and people were you lived. So people were well aware of other religions and cultures because of this. So these 12 "wise" men got together in secret and found they had similar views on the state of things and what should be done about it.

They decided to found a NEW religion taking the what they thought was the best from all the religions at that time. Kinda like how America tried to be the melting pot of the world for cultures,these guys were doing it with religion 2000 years ago. But they had to come up with stories about his life and what exactly he taught. So they pulled from Zoroastrianism and Buddhism and the other religions to make up a great tale.

These tales frequently followed the same themes,people would think it miraculous that someone was born of a 'virgin' birth,or had a star pointing out where they were,or healing the sick and raising dead people,etc. So this was all incorporated in. Folks ate it up. Ta da! New religion born. Historians say that there were probably around 200 'Jesus" living when the story takes place.

Now however right or wrong I am,I take full responsibility for. I know that MANY will not agree with me and think I am blasphemous by saying such things. I don't think there is a single religion out there that has the truth of its own religion right. I think all of them have some of it right,and all of them have a lot of it wrong,when we all die,I think a lot of people are in for a HUGE surprise. Those things they thought were so important,will mean nothing,and those things they pushed aside will make a large impact on their fate.




*The statements in here are neither to insult or offend any religion.Read with caution.The beliefs put forth here may not be the beliefs of ATS,its mods,other members,or any other human being on earth.

a reply to: BlueJacket

Thanks

ATS has a large member population that's aware of these similarities. You're most certainly not alone.

a reply to: Ghost147

and prevents the progression of humanity.

Progression of humanity.... to what end?

In the end, it really doesn't matter.
Humans are doomed. We are just lucky that a dinosaur killer asteroid hasn't happened along yet.
If the dinosaurs hadn't got wiped out, they would have evolved to the point where we are now, building cars, living in rat race cities.

a reply to: Ghost147

A lot of the information out there that discusses similarities between Jesus and others (Mithra, Horus, etc) are fabricated lies.

Especially those involving Horus.

The following link is a very in depth study. It's too much to copy and paste so it's better just to read it, fyi- it's not a Christian source(maybe it is)
beginningandend.com...


The next is from a Christian source that also clarifies some of the lies regarding Horus
link for below

Claim: Horus was conceived by a virgin mother named Meri, and had a stepfather named Seb (Joseph)
Truth: Horus was NOT conceived of a virgin. In fact, mural and textual evidence from Egypt indicates Isis (there is no evidence that “Meri” was ever part of her name) hovered over the erect penis (she created) of Osiris to conceive Horus. While she may have been a virgin before the conception, she utilized Osiris’ penis to conceive. She later had another son with Osiris as well. There is no evidence of three wise men as part of the Horus story at all. Seb was actually the “earth god”; He was not Horus’ earthly father. Seb is not the equivalent of Joseph and, in most cases, Seb is described as Osiris’ father.

Claim: Horus was born in a cave, his birth announced by an angel, heralded by a star and attended by shepherds.
Truth: There is no reference to a cave or manger in the Egyptian birth story of Horus. In fact, none of these details are present in the ancient Egyptian stories of Horus. Horus was born in a swamp. His birth was not heralded by an angel. There was no star.

Claim: Horus attended a special rite of passage at the age of twelve and there is no data on the child from the age of 12 to 30.
Truth: There is no continuous effort in the Horus mythology to account for all these years, so there are no real gaps in the chronology. Horus never taught in any temple at twelve (as did Jesus).

Claim: Horus was baptized in a river at the age of 30, and his baptizer was later beheaded.
Truth: Horus was never baptized. While conspiracy theorists often point to “Anup the Baptizer” (claiming he was later beheaded), there is no such person in Horus’ story.

Claim: Horus had 12 disciples.
Truth: Horus had only four disciples (called ‘Heru-Shemsu’), but at some point in his story there is reference to sixteen followers and a group of unnumbered followers who join Horus in battle (called ‘mesnui’).

Claim: Horus performed miracles, exorcized demons, raised someone from the dead, and walked on water.
Truth: Horus certainly performed miracles (he was, after all, described as a god). But there was no mention of exorcizing demons, raising people from the dead or walking on water.

Claim: Horus was called “Iusa”, the “ever-becoming son” and the “Holy Child”.
Truth: No one in Egyptian history was ever called “Iusa” (the word does not exist) nor was anyone called “Holy Child”.

Claim: Horus delivered a “Sermon on the Mount”, and his followers recounted his sayings. He was transfigured on the Mount.
Truth: Horus never delivered a “Sermon on the Mount”, nor was he transfigured.

Claim: Horus was crucified between two thieves, buried for three days in a tomb, and was resurrected.
Truth: Horus is not reported to have died at all in the vast majority of Egyptian narratives. There is also no crucifixion story. Instead, Horus is usually described as eventually merging with Re (the Sun god) after which he “dies” and is “reborn” every day as the sun rises. There is a parallel account describing Horus’ death and detailing how he was cast in pieces into the water, later fished out by a crocodile at Isis’ request.

Claim: Horus was called “Way”, “the Truth the Light”, “Messiah”, “God’s Anointed Son”, “Son of Man”, “Good Shepherd”, “Lamb of God”, “Word made flesh”, “Word of Truth”, “the KRST” or “Anointed One”.
Truth: None of these titles are in Egyptian history, but Horus is called by several names you might expect for any god in mythology: “Great God”, “Chief of the Powers”, “Master of Heaven”, and “Avenger of His Father”. Horus was not called “the Krst”. This word in Egyptian means “burial” (it wasn’t a title at all).

Claim: Horus was “the Fisher” and was associated with the Fish, Lamb and Lion.
Truth: Some of conspiracy theorists associate Horus with fish (by virtue of the fact that Horus was a fish in some portion of the ancient narrative), but there is no evidence Horus was ever called a “fisher” or was ever associated with the Lion or the Lamb.

Claim: Horus came to fulfill the Law, and was supposed to reign one thousand years.
Truth: There was no Egyptian “law” for Horus to fulfill, and there is no mention of a thousand year reign in Egyptian mythology.

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: Ghost147
Why not?
Why do you care if someone else does something that you think is silly if it doesn't make any difference in the end for either you or them?
Seems like the ultimate waste of time.

We all have to live together and what someone believes can affect every decision they make to some degree, which can then affect others. Wouldn't you want to help live in a world with less irrationality?

I enjoyed the read but just be ready for believers to come in and dismiss all of these facts as either "inconsequential" or "Satan put these myths in place to weed out the true believers".

Jesus is hardly unique in any way, about the only unique thing about him is that all these myths were conglomerized under his name.

Rome was infamous for taking other people's cultures and myths whom they conquered and turning them into their own. It's a technique called "cultural diffusion" and it is no more obvious than Rome's reworking of the Greek pantheon into their own version.

originally posted by: Dimithae
a reply to: Ghost147
I don't think there is a single religion out there that has the truth of its own religion right.

A while ago I posted a nifty little image that showed the Evolution of Religions over the span of Human History. I think you'll find it very interesting. They all stem from somewhere

a reply to: Prezbo369

Wouldn't you want to help live in a world with less irrationality?

You would be better off telling all the politicians out there that Muslims are irrational. Or go to Walmart and convince all the trash there they aren't getting a great deal for their money and that they dress funny.

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: Ghost147

and prevents the progression of humanity.

Progression of humanity.... to what end?

In the end, it really doesn't matter.
Humans are doomed. We are just lucky that a dinosaur killer asteroid hasn't happened along yet.
If the dinosaurs hadn't got wiped out, they would have evolved to the point where we are now, building cars, living in rat race cities.

Not necessarily. Evolution doesn't occur on a linear timeline to an ever more progressive creature. But, that's another topic.

Humans have a chance to surpass our 'doom' if only we had the ability to escape Earth and inhabit other celestial bodies. However, Religion has a history of suppressing scientific advancement.

Ghost, is there a full-size image anywhere of the tree online, please?

Nice synopsis. I think I've read of all of this at one time or another, but you've put it all together in one piece very well.

Thanks.

But so what?

These points "against" Christianity are superficial and missing the point. All religions have a mythology that has no basis in reality. Except for a few fundamentalists who actually believe literally and superficially themselves, you're not telling a Christian anything much he doesn't already know. OF COURSE God didn't make the Earth in six days and rest on the seventh. OF COURSE God didn't make woman from a rib of Adam. OF COURSE the elements of these myths are found in various cultures throughout the world, some of which pre-date Christianity, but does that mean they are "plagiarized," really? Did someone intentionally lift the myth of Heracles and say, "We'll just steal this passage here from this source and pretend we invented it ourselves to fool all these believers out there."

Of course NOT, and you pointing out the similarities, which are actually very well known, is not in any sense a revelation. It's all been done before. So what you have done is point out some superficialities of the Christian religion, show how they could not possibly be literally true, and luxuriate in how smart you are.

In fact, every single one of your points and a lot more are well known and studied in every Christian seminary in the world. In fact, seminarians are the most cynical people ever about Christianity, so much so that they have some time-worn sayings of their own about the Bible. For example.

"The New Testament, in which God was in a much better mood."

"Jesus was a charismatic man with a message."

In other words, not divine, not ascended to Heaven, not any of the rest of this crap. And the Old Testament? A nice succinct mythological history of a few desert tribes in a remote corner of the world not particularly hospitable to human life, including some very, very old myths from cultures even further back in time, such as Noah's Flood, something that really did happen 12,000 years ago, but not quite the way the story is told. Oftentimes that's what a myth is.

Now what was Jesus' message? Live a good and charitable life, basically. And that was different than the usual message of the time, which was to support your God by raiding the next village over and slaughtering all the men, taking all the women for your own, all because your supporting Baal, or whatever nasty God you believed in.

So what is a newly ordained minister going to do when he gets out onto the world and finds a church? Well, he's not going to immediately prepare a sermon and say, "You know, guys, all this mythology about Christianity, all these myths about Adam and Eve, all this crap about Jesus ascending to heaven, is horse pucky. Really, that's not the point. The point is to reflect on your own character and do the right thing by your fellow human."

They're not going to say, "You know, Santa isn't real." What would be the point? Instead they incorporate the mythology into their teaching hoping the real point will get through and their congregation will understand that living a good and charitable life is the real point, and seek to do so.

Now I'm not claiming every minister in the world has gone through what I have sketched out here. I am saying that anyone who actually studies Christianity and religion deeply is more likely to come to an understanding about the superficial myths regarding religion and realize not only that they are myths, but that the myths themselves, though perhaps providing some comfort to some people, are not the point.

So for you to come along and say, "Hey! The world did not begin in 4004 BC on October 23rd at 9:00 in the morning, therefore all religion is bunk!" may be an exciting revelation to you, it's completely superficial,

and it misses the point entirely.

a reply to: ghostrager

A lot of the information out there that discusses similarities between Jesus and others (Mithra, Horus, etc) are fabricated lies.

Isis was the mother of Horus, and she was, traditionally, indeed a virgin, regardless of Christian interpolation.

Claim: Horus was conceived by a virgin mother named Meri, and had a stepfather named Seb (Joseph)
Truth: Horus was NOT conceived of a virgin.

FALSE!

According to the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, at the Abydos Temple of Seti, Isis claims that she is "The Great Virgin" Ptolemaic text require that women acting, for ritual purposes, on behalf of Hathor, Isis or Nephthys must be virgins.



Isis is the "perpetual" virgin who "No man hath unveiled". She can only be impregnated by a god. She is Mother Earth who is perpetually pregnant and perpetually a virgin maiden.

Here's how Plutarch explains her essence:

THE PROPER REASON ACCORDING TO PLUTARCH

LIII. 1. For Isis is the feminine [principle] of Nature and that which is capable of receiving the whole of genesis; in virtue of which she has been called “Nurse” and “All-receiving” by Plato, 1 and, by the multitude, “She of ten-thousand names,” through her being transformed by Reason (Logos) and receiving all forms and ideas [or shapes].

2. And she hath an innate love of the First and Most Holy of all things (which is identical with the Good), and longs after and pursues it. But she flees from and repels the domain of the Bad, and though she is the field and matter of them both, yet doth she ever incline to the Better of herself, and offers [herself] for him to beget and sow into herself emanations and likenesses, with which she joys and delights that she is pregnant and big with their generations.

3. For Generation is image of Essence in Matter and Becoming copy of Being.
www.sacred-texts.com...

Sounds an awful lot like that Christian Mary.

This is from a satire page, but I think it addresses many of your theories.