Urban Myth: Christianity Stemmed from Ancient Paganism

 

Under the secular academic worldview there is no God, so all empirical data that appears spiritual is examined from that presupposition.  So if ancient pagan mystery religions that predated the historic life of Jesus Christ have something similar to a resurrection story or rebirth however defined, they assume they are all the same. But that is a false analogy: similar does not mean same.

 

For those who understand the Bible and its progressive revelation, it is no surprise at all that civilizations have some similarities in spiritual concepts as part of their collective memory. That does not discount the spiritual truth of the Bible, on the contrary, it establishes it.  These facts have to kept in mind:

 

  1. The first chapter of the book of Romans speaks of what theologians refer to as “general revelation”: information that God has put into the heart of all humankind.  This explains why all humans throughout history have a concept of god and an understanding about right and wrong in their consciences.  So some idea of God and some desire to know Him and to please Him are inherent in virtually all cultures past and present.

  2. As recorded in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were then clothed by God Himself with animal skins.  The first animals to be slain were killed by God to cover up the first couple’s nakedness that became apparent to them as a result of sin. Innocence lost.  And their sons Cain and Abel then instinctively offered sacrifices to God, and Cain’s sacrifice of fruit was rejected while Abel’s sacrifice of a lamb was accepted.  The idea of blood atonement was handed down to succeeding generations of Adam and Eve’s offspring and show up to some degree in most ancient religions.

  3. Another collective memory of a Bible event is of the worldwide flood – Gilgamesh, etc.

  4. Another one is the building of pyramids – from the Bible account of the building of the tower of Babel – which explains the similarities to Egypt’s pyramids and those of ancient Peru.

  5. And most importantly, the collective memory of the promise of eternal life and resurrection of the dead that predated Christianity and is seen in the oldest book of the Bible: the book of Job—a story that goes back to approximately 1600 BC.

 

Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to enter into heaven – but today it would be accurate to say that it is hard for a man educated in public universities to enter into heaven. That is because they have spent their entire life being programmed not to believe in anything that cannot be seen under a microscope.