Is Christianity based on older myths?

[Mudhammam]

There is little doubt that the meeting of Mr. and Mrs. ChadWooters foreshadowed the birth of baby ChabWoobers.

[Minimalist]

In Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Jesus" he makes this observation:

In Plutarch's biography of Romulus, the founder of Rome, we are told he was the son of god, born of a virgin; an attempt is made to kill him as a baby, and he is saved, and raised by a poor family, becoming a lowly
shepherd; then as a man he becomes beloved by the people, hailed as king, and killed by the conniving elite; then he rises from the dead, appears to a friend to tell the good news to his people, and ascends to heaven to rule from on high. Just like Jesus.

If anyone wants to read Plutarch to check up on Carrier it is available on line. Plutarch cites Diocles of Peparethus as his source and this man lived c 300 BC. You see, historians...unlike bible bullshitters....discuss their sources.

[robvalue]

Once you understand how it copied so many other things, it explains why the narrative makes little to no sense.

Which further explains why people don't tend to actually "read" it as a book. Try it, it's hilarious!

[Minimalist]

Carrier discusses the Rank-Raglan list of heroic traits

Finally, the most ubiquitous model 'hero' narrative, which pagans also revered and to which the Gospel Jesus also conforms, is the fable of the 'divine king', what I call the Rank-Raglan hero-type, based on the two scholars who discovered and described it, Otto Rank and Lord Raglan. 188 This is a hero-type found repeated across at least fifteen known mythic heroes (including Jesus)-ifwe count only those who clearly meet more than half of the designated parallels (which means twelve or more matches out of twenty-two elements), which requirement eliminates many historical persons, such as Alexander the Great or Caesar Augustus, who accumulated many elements of this hero-type i n the tales told of them, yet not that many.

The twenty-two features distinctive of this hero-type are:
1 . The hero's mother is a virgin.
2. His father is a king or the heir of a king.
3. The circumstances of his conception are unusual.
4. He is reputed to be the son of a god.
5. An attempt is made to kill him when he is a baby.
6. To escape which he is spirited away from those trying to kill him.
7. He is reared i n a foreign country by one or more foster parents.
8. We are told nothing of his childhood.
9. On reaching manhood he returns to his future kingdom.
10. He is crowned, hailed or becomes king.
11 . He reigns uneventfully (i.e., without wars or national catastrophes).
12. He prescribes laws.
13. He then loses favor with the gods or his subjects.
14. He is driven from the throne or city.
1 5. He meets with a mysterious death.
16. He dies atop a hill or high place.
17. His children, if any, do not succeed him.
18 . His body turns up missing.
19. Yet he still has one or more holy sepulchers (in fact or fiction).
20. Before taking a throne or a wife, he battles and defeats a great adversary (such as a king, giant, dragon or wild beast).
21 . His parents are related to each other.
22. He marries a queen or princess related to his predecessor.

"Jesus" ties with moses for second with 20 of the 22. Only Oedipus with 21 beats them. Romulus, by comparison, only hits on 18.

[robvalue]

But this religion really is true one this time! No, really! It's not just rehashed old nonsense that you'd dismiss without a second thought if it wasn't called christianity.

And after christianity is done, then the next true one will come in. If religion has any legs left by that stage and isn't just sitting in the corner making weird dolls out of hair and toilet rolls.

[Alex K]

Robert Price argues that parts of the Jesus story might actually be a creative retelling of moses, a Mitrash, or what it's called.

[The Grand Nudger]

There is little doubt that the advent of Christ was foreshadowed by pagan myths, like Mithras and Osiris, but that does not diminish the truth of our Lord and Savior's actual coming.

LOL, immediate batshit get out of jail free card. Gratz.

[robvalue]

That really is about as bad as an argument gets. Try that one in court on a copyright lawsuit.

[FatAndFaithless]

*Prepares his protracter and ruler to measure the radius and circumference of the massive circle of knotted logic that surely must currently be stewing under Steve's keystrokes.*

[Chad32]

There is little doubt that the advent of Christ was foreshadowed by pagan myths, like Mithras and Osiris, but that does not diminish the truth of our Lord and Savior's actual coming.

It's not foreshadowing unless the events are related. Unless you believe Gilgamesh was a real person, and there were multiple people in history who were born of virgins by different gods. The Epic of Gilgamesh doesn't lead into Jesus' story. They're unrelated.