Did Christianity Steal from Pagan Myths? (Full Article)
“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
—2 Peter 1:16
Do you have a favorite story? Maybe it is a movie that really spoke to you, or maybe it was a novel with a surprise ending that really made you think. When you think about the stories you enjoy, what is it that makes them great stories? Many of them have a hero who embarks on a fateful journey, undergoes a process of growth and change, and sacrifices a great deal in order to overcome evil.
To be sure, many of our greatest stories have similar elements, but of course that does not mean that their authors copied one another. Yet this is exactly what some skeptics claim about the greatest story ever told, i.e. the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In this article, we will address the accusation that the Gospel was copied from ancient pagan (non-Christian) myths.
We will face this challenge by using a three-step method for defending the faith: first, we will reduce the non-Christian position to absurdity. Then, we will perform an internal critique on the Christian worldview, by showing how the Bible accounts for the very conditions needed to make the objection—and does not violate those conditions—and then we will make our evangelistic appeal (come back to the Gospel).
Step One: Reduce the Unbiblical Position to Absurdity.
Let us begin with step one of our three-step method: reductio ad absurdum. We must show that the non-Christian position reduces to absurdity, because the very Gospel itself is under attack. We are commanded to always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks us about the reason for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15), and the truth of the Gospel is the reason of that hope.
As the Gospel story states, Jesus Christ really did die for our sins. He really was buried, and he really was raised to life on the third day. He truly appeared to the apostles and many others, before returning to Heaven. Further, Jesus actually does rule—right now—over the whole universe, and he truly grants forgiveness and eternal life to all who repent and believe in Him.
If you are a Christian, then this is the message that brings you hope, and you pray that it will also bring hope to your non-Christian friend. If he believes the Gospel was ripped off of pagan myths, then why would he accept it? So, by reducing the argument to absurdity, you can help clear the way for him to come to faith in the Gospel.
Let Us Clarify the Challenge
With this challenge, what exactly is being alleged? It is that the Gospel is not true; it was an invention of the apostles and early Christians, who pieced it together by taking elements from various pagan myths—the stories of gods, goddesses and heroes from pre-Christian, polytheistic cultures.
More often than not, you are most likely to see this argument cropping up on the internet in meme form, comparing supposed details of ancient myths with the story of Jesus Christ. It will typically look something like the following (which I copied directly from a meme I found online).
Horus – 4000 BCE
Born on Dec 25
Born of a virgin
Star in the east
12 disciples
Walked on water
Crucified
Dead for 3 days
Resurrected
Mithra – 559 BCE
Born on Dec 25
Born of a virgin
Star in the east
12 disciples
Dead for 3 days
Resurrected
Dionysus – 1500 BCE
Born on Dec 25
Born of a virgin
Water into Wine
ResurrectedKrishna – 400 BCE
Born of a virgin
Star in the east
Resurrected
Son of carpenter
Called son of God
Attis – 1200 BCE
Born on Dec 25
Born of a virgin
Crucified
Dead for 3 days
Resurrected
Jesus – 7 BCE
All of the above
Merry Christmyth!
You can see what the argument is, right? Apparently, the authors of the Gospel took the elements of Jesus’ life story straight from these earlier myths (which also all seem to have copied one another, too, but that never seems to be mentioned). Therefore, we are meant to conclude, Jesus’ story was made up; it is false. How can you answer this?
A Few Problems With the Argument
Of course, there may be some similarities between pagan myths and the Gospel. However, that would not make the Gospel false.
Parallels Do Not Equal Falsehood
Put simply, the mere existence of similarities between an earlier story and a later one does not automatically mean that the later story copied the earlier, or that the later story is false.
As an example, say I told you about a huge ship. It was over 800 feet long, carried thousands of passengers, and was equipped with only the minimum number of lifeboats. It was said to be unsinkable, but sank after striking an iceberg on its starboard bow, about 400 miles from Newfoundland, at midnight one night in mid-April, tragically killing many hundreds of people.
You might think I am talking about the Titanic, but actually I'm describing the Titan, a cruiseliner from the story Futility, written in 1898, 14 years before the Titanic actually sank. Do the parallels between these two stories mean that the Titanic never really happened? Of course not! Just because you can show that two stories are similar, that does not mean you have proven them to be false.
The Parallels Are Overblown Anyway
Anyway, makers of memes like this greatly overstate the case—they even outright lie—when it comes to the supposed similarities between myths and the Gospel. As it turns out, while there might appear to be some surface-level similarities between the Gospel and certain pagan myths, the similarities seem to evaporate upon closer examination. Let us take a closer look.
Horus: was the child of Isis and Osiris, after Isis pieced Osiris back together. Horus had no virgin birth, never died, was never buried, and never resurrected.
Dionysus: was the child of Zeus and Semele. He was not born of a virgin. He died when he was torn to pieces, boiled, and eaten. According to one account, he was put back together and returned to heaven, but this was written by a Christian over 200 years after Christ (I wonder where he got the idea!).
Mithra: emerged fully grown from a rock (not a virgin). He never died, nor was he resurrected. Most information about Mithra comes from after the time of Christ, which means that the Gospel may have influenced the Mithra myth, rather than the other way around!
Krishna: was not born of a virgin (a post-Christian source attributes his mother’s pregnancy to “mental transmission”). His body did not resurrect from the dead. Krishna was not the son of a carpenter. I could not find a reference to a star rising at his birth—in the east or anywhere else.
Attis: was born from an almond implanted in his mother’s womb. He does not seem to have been born on December 25, nor was he crucified. Rather seems to have died from self-mutilation. He was said to have resurrected again every spring (it would be better to say reborn) symbolizing the cyclical nature of the seasons.
It has helpfully been pointed out elsewhere that much or most of the information we possess today about these pre-Christian pagan religious cults actually comes from post-Christian sources. Because of that, it is difficult to determine what the actual adherents of these religious sects believed in the pre-Christian era. It is possible, and even probable in many cases, that the spread of Christianity around the world influenced the mythologies of other religious groups. This is of course ironic, given the claim of some skeptics that it was Christianity which was influenced by pagan myths, rather than the other way around.
Push Toward the Absurdity
What about the rest of the myths from the meme? We can lay them to rest. Historian and author J. Z. Smith has stated conclusively that, “There is no unambiguous instance in the history of religions of a dying and rising deity. This means that the claims of Krishna and Attis dying and being resurrected are simply false.
Conclusively, we can say that the evidence is not on the skeptic’s side here. He has appealed to pagan myths in order to undercut Christianity, but those same pagan myths reveal the complete emptiness of his claim. The argument is absurd, and embarrassingly so. Now let us move forward to our internal critique of the Christian position.
Step Two: Do an Internal Critique of the Christian Perspective.
So far, you have seen that the supposed parallels between ancient, pagan myths and the Gospel have been exaggerated. When we are doing an internal critique of the Christian message, then, we need to think about what conditions must be in place, for the objection to even make sense.
What Conditions Are Needed for the Objection to “Stick?”
As far as I can tell, those conditions are this: we need to be able to investigate where the Gospel actually comes from. Remember, the skeptic is saying that the authors of the New Testament stole their ideas from pagan myths. This means that they assume we can know who wrote the Gospel accounts, and we can analyze what their motives were. In fact, we can do this. That is because the Bible is very clear about where the Gospel story comes from, and who the first Christians were who spread it.
We can look into the authors of the Gospels and the New Testament, and when we do, we find out two startling facts. The first fact makes it unthinkable that they would have stolen their ideas from pagan myths. The second fact reveals some amazing parallels to ancient writings, but not in the way the skeptic thinks. Take a look at the two facts, and see for yourself.
Fact #1: Jesus and the First Christians Were Jewish
Most importantly, you have to understand that Jesus, as well as his first disciples and all the earliest Christians, were Jewish, not pagan. Why does this matter? It matters because this objection claims that these Jewish believers cobbled their belief system together using pagan, non-Jewish mythology. In addition, they expected other Jewish people to believe it too!
Although we call them “pagan deities,” in the Bible they have another name: idols. In Jesus’ day, no devout Jewish person would be caught dead having anything to do with idols. The reasons for this are fascinating.
Primarily, it was because of their exile. 586 years before Christ, the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and deported the Jewish people. They then spent 70 years in exile—an experience that would shape the Jewish identity for many generations to come.
By the time the Gospels were written, the Jews had been back in their homeland for 400 years, but they had not forgotten the reason that their ancestors had been brutally and violently expelled from that land. Namely, it was because they had turned away from God and toward pagan idols and myths. As you can imagine, when they returned to the land, they solemnly committed themselves to never going down that road again.
Surely, they had their share of sins in the First Century (the time of Jesus), but worshiping pagan gods, believing pagan myths, bowing down to idols, and adopting the belief systems of the Gentile nations around them were not among them.
Therefore, the idea that the apostles all got together and developed this new religion based on pagan, idolatrous mythology is not realistic at all. In fact, the most prominent New Testament writer, the Apostle Paul, vehemently warned the early Christians not to turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3–4)! Pagan idolatry and mythology was so detestable to the apostles and early Christians, that the idea that they invented the Gospel based on such myths is truly unthinkable.
Fact #2: The Gospel Followed 1,500 Years of Jewish History and Scripture
Now all this is not to say that the Gospel was not influenced by ancient stories and ideas. In fact, the Gospel story has countless parallels to the Old Testament Scriptures. is the fulfillment of hundreds of years of Scripture, prophecy and foreshadowing.
This is no accident. The writers of the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—as well as the other authors of the New Testament, believed that Jesus was the fulfillment of everything that had been prophesied to Israel in the Old Testament Scriptures. And they were constantly pointing this out. It should blow your mind to realize just how many details of the life of Christ mirror Old Testament predictions.
21 Times Jesus Fulfilled Old Testament Predictions
Here is a list of 21 parallels between the life of Jesus and the Old Testament prophetic writings. Granted, most of these are not outright prophecies (i.e. saying, “The Messiah will do this,” but they are examples of foreshadowing. In each case, an event from Jesus’ life parallels a statement from the Old Testament in an astonishing way.
He was betrayed by a friend who ate his bread.
Foretold: Psalm 41:9 - “Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me.”
Fulfilled: Mark 14:10, 32-42 - “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them… “Jesus said, ‘...one of you will betray me - one who is eating with me… the one who is dipping bread in the bowl with me.”
He was Lord, but He was valued at just 30 silver coins.
Foretold: Zechariah 11:12-13 - “Then I said to them, ‘If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.’ So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver’ ...the Lord said to me--this magnificent price I was valued by them.’”
Fulfilled: Matthew 26:15 - “‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him.”
Those silver coins would be thrown into the temple and would go to a potter.
Foretold: Zechariah 11:13 - “‘Throw it to the potter,’ the Lord said to me… so I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the LORD, to the potter.”
Fulfilled: Matthew 27:5, 7 - “So he threw the silver into the temple and departed… They conferred together and bought the potter’s field with it….”
He remained silent while being treated unjustly.
Foretold: Isaiah 53:7 - “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.”
Fulfilled: Matthew 27:12 - “While he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he didn’t answer.”
He would be hated for no good reason.
Foretold: Psalm 69:4 - “Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head….”
Fulfilled: Luke 23:4 - “Pilate then told the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no grounds for charging this man.’”
He was surrounded and mocked by strong, pagan men.
Foretold: Psalm 22:12 - “Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me; Psalm 22:16 - “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me
Fulfilled: Mark 15:16-19 - “The soldiers led him away… and called the whole company together. They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him. And they began to salute him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him.”
His hands and feet were pierced.
Foretold: Psalm 22:16 - “They pierced my hands and my feet.
Fulfilled: Mark 15:24 - “Then they crucified him.”
He would commit his spirit to God.
Foretold: Psalm 31:5 - “Into your hand I entrust my spirit”
Fulfilled: Luke 23:46 - “And Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.’ Saying this, he breathed his last.’”
He would be scourged (brutally whipped).
Foretold: Isaiah 53:5 - “By his wounds [scourging] we are healed.”
Fulfilled: Matthew 27:26 - “Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified.”
He would be placed among criminals.
Foretold: Isaiah 53:12 - “...he was counted among the rebels….”
Fulfilled: Luke 23:33 - “When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.”
His bones would not be broken.
Foretold: Psalm 34:20 - “He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken"; Exodus 12:46 - “You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones” [referring to the Passover lamb].
Fulfilled: John 19:33-36 - “When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead...For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken.”
He would gain the approval of God by going to his death willingly.
Foretold: Isaiah 53:12 - “Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death….”
Fulfilled: John 10:18 - “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again.”
He would be condemned to death with the wicked, but he would be with a rich man at his death instead, because he had taught and lived righteously.
Foretold: Isaiah 53:9 - “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully.”
Fulfilled: Matthew 27:57-60 - “When it was evening, a rich man… named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus… So Joseph took the body… and placed it in his new tomb….”
He would be gazed at by residents of Jerusalem who would pierce him.
Foretold: Zechariah 12:10 - “...the residents of Jerusalem… will look at me whom they pierced.”
Fulfilled: John 19:20, 34 - “Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city…. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear….”
He would be mocked for not being saved.
Foretold: Psalm 22:7-8 - “Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads: ‘He relies on the LORD; let him save him; let the LORD rescue him, since he takes pleasure in him.’”
Fulfilled: Mark 15:29-30 - “Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads, and saying, ‘Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross!’”
He would be mocked by those who accused him.
Foretold: Psalm 109:25 - “I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers”
Fulfilled: Mark 15:31 - “In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking him among themselves….”
He would be offered gall.
Foretold: Psalm 69:21 - “Instead, they gave me gall for my food….”
Fulfilled: Mark 15:23 - “they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink.”
He would be offered vinegar.
Foretold: Psalm 69:21 - “...and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
Fulfilled: Luke 23:36 - “They came offering him sour wine”
His garments were divided among those nearby.
Foretold: Psalm 22:17-18 - “People look and stare at me. They divided my garments among themselves….”
Fulfilled: John 19:23-24 - “When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier.”
They gambled for his clothing.
Foretold: Psalm 22:18 - “...and they cast lots for my clothing.”
Fulfilled: John 19:24- “They also took the tunic… they said to one another, ‘Let’s… cast lots for it, to see who gets it.’”
He was raised on the third day.
Foretold: Hosea 6:2 - “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him"; Psalm 16:10 - “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption"; Jonah 1:17; “And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.”
Fulfilled: Matthew 28:6 - "He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay."
The Gospel Is Rooted In Ancient Writings (Just Not Pagan Ones)
As you can plainly see by now, the events of Jesus life, death, burial and resurrection were carefully planned out, by God (who else?) to line up with elements of the Old Testament Scriptures. These parallels were noticed by the Gospel writers, who made sure to include them in their narratives (God was behind that, too). So the Gospel has nothing to do with pagan mythology, and everything to do with the plan and promises of God Almighty.
How Skeptics Miss the Point
Skeptics who accuse the Gospel of drawing on pre-Christian pagan myths are completely missing the point. Yes, the Gospel draws on pre-Christian writings, but they are the writings of God’s people, not idol-worshiping pagans. And the story of Jesus Christ is not a human invention but a true account of a real man who lived, died, and rose again, as reported by eyewitnesses. The one responsible for all the parallels between the Old Testament and the life of Jesus is not some sneaky human author but God Himself!
God gave his people those promises and predictions so that, when the Messiah came, they would be able to recognize Him. Then, when Jesus did come, God’s people did recognize Him. It is true that many Jewish people did not believe in Jesus, but all the first Christians were Jewish, and they looked to their Scriptures to determine that Jesus was the one they had been waiting for (Luke 24:27; Acts 17:2, 11).
Step Three: Make an Evangelistic Appeal
This is where you invite the person to repent and believe in the Gospel we have been talking about. You may say something like the following.
“Pagan myths may be entertaining stories, but the Gospel is the greatest story. The human heart loves a good story. We even love a good myth. J. R. R. Tolkien called the Gospel the "true myth." The story of Jesus Christ fulfills the best elements of all the greatest myths, and it fulfills the prophecies and foreshadowing of the Old Testament, and it is historically true.
“The Bible says Jesus came “in the fullness of time.” For centuries, God had been preparing Israel—and the world—for the coming of the Messiah. By this, we can see that God is in control of history. He is even responsible for this very conversation! I believe He wanted you to hear this good news.
“The Gospel satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart. Why do we create myths about life after death? It is because deep down we know we need to be rescued from death. We have sinned, and we deserve God’s punishment. Jesus is the King, and we have been rebels against Him. Yet we all want a happy ending. By sending Jesus to die for us(!) and raising Him from the dead, God has given us that happy ending! I want you to enter God’s story. Repent and believe the Gospel!”
Invite your friend to turn from sin and to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Conclusion
To wrap this up, let us look back on where we have been. We began by looking at the popular, if silly, claim that the Gospel is based on pagan mythology. I showed you five examples of myths that some skeptics claim are super similar to the story of Jesus, and why those claims are completely false (and ridiculous). We investigated why the apostles and early Christians would never have drawn their inspiration from pagan idols. Then we took a tour of 21 actual parallels between the Gospel and the Old Testament. Lastly, we looked at how to transition from a conversation like this to the Gospel.
This brings our unit on Scriptural challenges to a close. I hope you have enjoyed our tour through these seven objections, and that you feel more confident defending the authority and accuracy of the Bible. Do not expect that you will master these arguments overnight! Learning to defend your faith with confidence takes time, prayer, and practice.