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