Why Christianity?

[Randy Carson]

(It is also funny that dying and resurrection stories that predate the Christian story are, according to you, copies of the Christian story!  You should be a comedian!)

T.N.D. Mettinger — a senior Swedish scholar, professor at Lund University and member of the Royal Academy of Letters, History, and Antiquities of Stockholm admits in his book, The Riddle of Resurrection, that the consensus among modern scholars — nearly universal — is that there were no dying and rising gods that preceded Christianity. They all post-dated the first century. In the end, after combing through all of these accounts and critically analyzing them, Mettinger adds that none of these serve as parallels to Jesus. None of them.

These accounts are far different from the reports of Jesus rising from the dead. They occurred in the unspecified and distant past and were usually related to the seasonal life-and-death cycle of vegetation. In contrast, Jesus’ resurrection isn’t repeated, isn’t related to changes in the seasons, and was sincerely believed to be an actual event by those who lived in the same generation of the historical Jesus. In addition, Mettinger concludes that “there is no evidence for the death of the dying and rising gods as vicarious suffering for sins.”

Mettinger caps his study with this statement: “There is, as far as I am aware, no prima facie evidence that the death and resurrection of Jesus is a mythological construct, drawing on the myths and rites of the dying and rising gods of the surrounding world.”

In short, this leading scholar’s analysis is a sharp rebuke to popular-level authors and Internet bloggers who make grand claims about the pagan origins of Jesus’ return from the dead. Ultimately, Mettinger affirmed, “the death and resurrection of Jesus retains its unique character in the history of religions.”

Unique—as in "one of a kind."

Mettinger, however, is not unique. Dr. Ronald H. Nash wrote:

During a period of time running roughly from about 1890 to 1940, scholars often alleged that primitive Christianity had been heavily influenced by Platonism, Stoicism, the pagan mystery religions, or other movements in the Hellenistic world. Largely as a result of a series of scholarly books and articles written in rebuttal, allegations of early Christianity's dependence on its Hellenistic environment began to appear less frequently in the publications of Bible scholars and classical scholars. Today most Bible scholars regard the question as a dead issue." (Ronald H. Nash, The Gospel and the Greeks, 81)

Dr. Edwin Yamauchi, was a professor at the University of Miami (Ohio), fluent in 22 languages, attendee at the Second Mythraic Congress held in Tehran in the 1970's, and a world-renowned expert in middle-eastern pagan religions. In chapter four of Lee Strobel's book, The Case for the Real Jesus, Yamauchi explains the differences between Jesus and Mithras, Marduk, Dionysius, Tammuz (Dumuzi), Adonis, Cybele, Attis, Osiris, Zeus, Perseus, Alexander the Great, Buddha, Zoroaster and more.

Regarding the popularity of the copy-cat argument, Yamauchi notes:

"First, be careful of articles of the web. Even though the Internet is a quick and convenient source of information, it also perpetuates outdated and disproved theories. Also, check the credentials of the authors. Do they have the training and depth of knowledge to write authoritatively on these issues. and be sure to check the dates of sources that are quoted. Are they relying on anachronistic claims or discredited scholars? And finally, be aware of the biases of many modern authors who may clearly have an axe to grind." (Edwin Yamauchi as quoted in The Case for the Real Jesus, Lee Strobel, 184-185)