At the beginning of my post entitled “Polygamy, incest and gang rape in the Bible?”, I mentioned that the post originated from dialogue I had via e-mail with an agnostic friend. In this post I’ll cover another issue that we discussed. My friend also asked:
“There are an awful lot of stories about ‘saviors’ before the time of Christ that have VERY similar parallels. How do we know the one that came after (Jesus) all these others is the ‘right’ one?”
She also gave me a link to a list of these others saviors, which included: Buddha, Krishna, Odysseus, Romulus, Dionysus, Heracles, Glycon, Zoroaster/Zarathustra, Attis of Phrygia, and Horus.
To answer, I must take us back to Genesis. In Genesis 3, we read about the “fall of man” – Satan tempted Adam and Eve and humankind fell into sin. Judgment was pronounced on Satan. Genesis 3:15 is often called the “protoevangelium” as it is considered the first announcement (hint) of the Gospel. It states that the seed of the woman would one day crush Satan, giving us a hint that a Savior would come forth to bring redemption and deal with the sin that had entered the world.
I think this hope was planted in the psyche of Adam and Eve and eventually became a part of the culture at large. And I think this is one reason we observe other savior figures before Christ. When a hope is there, some might hope a certain woman and her child could be this hope and a false story could be created that gains mythological proportions. More significantly, I think fear was struck in the heart of Satan and Satan may have influenced these other savior stories to develop in order to bring confusion and uncertainty about the true and real Savior.
For me, all these other savior stories point to an underlying truth behind it all and point us to the true Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Also, despite some similarities, these other saviors are not as unique as Jesus Christ. For example, Christ is historically rooted in a real place and time in history. While there are some obscure scholars who might argue Jesus Christ never existed, the vast majority of scholars (whether conservative or liberal) believe that the person of Jesus Christ existed. The question is not “did he exist?” but “who was he?”. This is in distinct contrast to most of the other saviors on the list who are nothing more than myth or legend with no grounding in reality or history.
Since this dialogue with my friend, I came across an essay by CS Lewis entitled “Myth Became Fact” in which he took some of the objections against Christianity and turned them into supporting evidence. Since this relates to our current topic, here is an excerpt:
The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. The old myth of the Dying God, without ceasing to be myth, comes down from the heaven of legend and imagination to the earth of history. It happens – at a particular date, in a particular place, followed by definable historical consequences. We pass from Balder to Osiris, dying nobody knows when or where, to a historical Person crucified…under Pontius Pilate. By becoming fact it does not cease to be myth: that is the miracle….God is more than god, not less: Christ is more than Balder, not less. We must not be ashamed of the mythical radiance resting on our theology. We must not be nervous about “parallels” and “pagan Christs”: they ought to be there – it would be a stumbling block if they weren’t.
I know that the explanation in this post is not the only way to see this issue. Others see similarities to demonstrate that there is nothing unique about Christianity at all, and that all religion is just a big similar jumble of beliefs indicating that there is either no God (atheism) or that all religions lead to God (universalism). Yet, for myself the explanations shared in this post make sense and other savior stories can point to the underlying truth behind it all – that of the true Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
**Update: Please see this informative article written by one of my readers: Was Jesus a copy of pagan Gods? If the issue in my post concerns you at all, this article provides much more research, and shows that so-called parallels between Christ and other saviors are exaggerated or outright inaccurate. Worth the read!
I believe CS Lewis isa correct, that we should expect to see hints of God’s reconciling work in many cultures. But it is also worth noting that the scholars tell us that most of the alleged parallels between Jesus and these ancient figures, whether mythical figures or historical ones, are exaggerated – see Was Jesus a copy of pagan gods?. CS Lewis wrote at a time when these parallels were thought to be greater than they are now believed to be.
Thanks Unklee! Your article is exceptional! I have updated my blog post and put a link to your article encouraging others to read it. When I looked at some of these other saviors when my friend asked me about it, some of the parallels seemed stretched or contrived to me. I also noted that some of the other saviors were clearly mythological – no one ever thought the god to be real. That is in such stark contrast to Christ who was a real historical person. But I like how we can rest assured that even if there are some parallels, we need not panic! : )
I’m replying again with thoughts about Bart Ehrman Unklee. Just rambling here. You quote him in your article. Ehrman is such a fascinating person. He has contributed to believers or nominal believers losing their faith. But on the other hand, some of his research can also be used to prove or back up things about Christianity. He really is a top-rate scholar, even if he has sadly abandoned faith.
Thanks for this!! This topic has actually been on my mind lately.
You are welcome! Since it has been on your mind, check out unklee’s article which he shared with us. I’ve added a link to it at the end of my post as well.
Christ is always copied. There are many “another Jesus, another gospel, and another spirit…” 2Co 11:4 . Within Christendom are many counterfeits… Nice post.
Thanks! And you share another good point – the Bible warns us that even after Christ, there will be counterfeits, false Christs, etc.
Laura, these are excellent points. They remind me of Paul’s insights in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 – “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.” I think the first recorded instance of Satan’s masquerade fooling people is that passage in Genesis 3 you mention. He masqueraded as someone bearing good will when he convinced Eve and Adam that he had a gospel of knowledge for them. Good thing God provides us with the true gospel, the gospel of salvation.
Thanks for helping me think through these things today, Laura.
Tim
Laura, I agree re Bart Ehrman. In his blog and books he seems like a genuine, honest and pleasant person as well as being a respected scholar. His books on the inaccuracies in the Bible are a little misleading I think. His own information shows less problems than his conclusions suggest. I think he causes problems for those who believe the Bible is totally without error but not other christians, and he says the same.