Odin and Jesus?

[TrueChristian]

Hello, I have a question that both Christians and atheists are free to answer.

Today is a sad day for me. Really Sad.   

I was browsing through wikipedia and was reading about Norse mythology.

I read about Odin, and apparently he suffered a fate rather similar to that of Jesus of Nazareth.

Apparently, he "sacrificed" himself upon Yggdrasil (the world tree) for the sake of the betterment of mankind. Like Jesus, he too was wounded by a spear.

Observe the following prose...

"e I know that I hung on a windy tree, nine long nights,  wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,  myself to myself!! on that tree which no man knows from where its roots run."

Were the Norse in contact with Christians? Keep in mind that this story was only written in about 1000 A.D. Who is to say some Christian monk didn't plagiarize Odin's death with christs.

It just seems so tricky. thoughts please?

[Minimalist]

[drfuzzy]

The dying, sacrificed (and sometimes rising again) gawd was OLD OLD OLD in the Mediterranean region thousands of years before Jesus.  You don't think his story was anything new, do you?

[GrandizerII]

Most Norse gods end up dying at the end. It's not just Odin ...

[Aoi Magi]

All religions in the world are plagiarized from each other. It is vital that they do so if they don't want to lose followers to a rival religion.

[Joods]

I read about Odin, and apparently he suffered a fate rather similar to that of Jesus of Nazareth.

Apparently, he "sacrificed" himself upon Yggdrasil (the world tree) for the sake of the betterment of mankind. Like Jesus, he too was wounded by a spear.

Watch How it really happened. 

[url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981115/?ref_=nv_sr_5][/url]

[loganonekenobi]

i believe the time of which the story was written has more to do with the fact that the pagan peoples usually didn't have a written language or thought that sacred teachings would be profaned if written. The myths and stories where likely handed down for generations.
As has already been said the sacrifice story is in many cultures before Christianity.

[Jenny A]

Odin didn't die. His purpose was to gain personal knowledge and power. For that he paid with nine days of agony and an eye. I don't see much in common with the Jesus myth.

[Aoi Magi]

Odin didn't die. His purpose was to gain personal knowledge and power.  For that he paid with nine days of agony and an eye. I don't see much in common with the Jesus myth.

Jesus didn't die. His purpose was to be the eternal ruler beside his dad. For that he paid with umm two/three-ish days of coma inside a cave and a few holes on his body. Yep, I don't see much in common with the Odin myth.

[TrueChristian]

You know the more I read Norse mythology the more I like it. It is perhaps my favorite mythology.

Celtic Mythology (Welsh, Irish etc.) just seems.. idk... too strange? A lot of people turned into animals for years at a time, hard to tell difference between "Gods" and powerful mortal/heroes. Also, too much xtian influence.

I do like classical mythology but the Gods seem somewhat crueller toward humans than the Norse ones, and more likely to engage in pedophilia... so another strike against them..