As an investigative originemologist, I always assert that any information or idea known to man always has its own root of origin. It can be traced way back from the time of its invention or conception.
The story of Jesus the Christ has its own ancient origin too which can be traced back way ahead Jesus recorded historical appearance. From the Mediterranean to its neighboring countries, there were other messiahs or savior-gods who were adored - like Apollo or Dionysus among the Greeks, Hercules among the Romans, Mithra among the Persians, Adonis and Attis in Syria and Phrygia, Osiris and Isis and Horus in Egypt, Baal and Astarte among the Babylonians and Carthaginians, and many more. Most of the messiah stories --if not identical-- were so remarkably similar to Jesus' story.
Edward Carpenter has published a book that invokes parallelism with all the deities (sun-gods) mentioned above. Here are some of the similarities between Jesus and the sun/savior-gods:
(1) They were born on or near Christmas Day.
(2) They were born of a Virgin-Mother.
(3) And in a cave or underground chamber.
(4) They led a life of toil for Mankind.
(5) And were called by the names of Light-bringer, Healer, Messiah, Savior, Deliverer.
(6) They were however vanquished by the Powers of Darkness.
(7) And descended into Hell or the Underworld.
(8) They rose again from the dead and became the pioneers of mankind to the Heavenly world.
(9) They founded Communions of Saints and Churches into which disciples were received by Baptism.
(10) And they were commemorated by Eucharistic meals.
A brief story of each savior-god:
Osiris was born on the 361st day of the year, say the 27th December. He was betrayed by Typhon, the power of darkness, and slain and dismembered. His body was placed in a box, and on the 19th, came again to life. His sufferings, his death, and his resurrection were enacted year by year in a great mystery-play at Abydos.
Mithra was born in a cave and on the 25th of December. He was born of a Virgin. His great festivals were the winter solstice and the Spring equinox (Christmas and Easter). He had twelve companions or disciples. He was buried in a tomb, from which however he rose again; and his resurrection was celebrated yearly. He was called Savior and Mediator and sometimes figured as a Lamb.
Adonis or Tammuz, the Syrian god of vegetation, was a very beautiful youth, born of a Virgin (Nature). He was killed by a boar (Typhon) in the autumn. In the spring a festival of his resurrection was held--the women set out to seek him and having found the supposed corpse placed it (a wooden image) in a coffin or hollow tree, and performed wild rites and lamentations, followed by even wilder rejoicings over his supposed resurrection.
Attis was a fair young shepherd or herdsman of Phrygia, beloved by Cybele (or Demeter), the Mother of the gods. He was born of a Virgin--Nana--who conceived by putting a ripe almond or pomegranate in her bosom. He died, either killed by a boar, the symbol of winter, and bled to death at the foot of a pine tree. The sacrifice of his blood renewed the fertility of the earth, and in the ritual celebration of his death and resurrection, his image was fastened to the trunk of a pine-tree (like the Crucifixion). The worship of Attis became very widespread and much honored and was ultimately incorporated with the established religion at Rome.
The following two legends, Hercules and Krishna, were regarded as great benefactors of humanity; the former more on the material plane, and the latter on the spiritual plane.
Hercules or Heracles was, like other Sun-gods and benefactors of mankind, a great Traveler. He was known in many lands as the Saviour. He was miraculously conceived from a divine Father. His many labors for the good of the world were ultimately epitomized into twelve, symbolized by the signs of the Zodiac. He conquered death and ascended into Heaven. On all sides, he was followed by the gratitude and the prayers of mortals.
Krishna, the Indian god, was also born of a Virgin (Devaki) in a cave and his birth announced by a Star. It was sought to destroy him, and for that purpose, a massacre of infants was ordered. Everywhere he performed miracles, raising the dead, healing lepers, and the deaf and the blind, and championing the poor and oppressed. He had a beloved disciple, Arjuna, before whom he was transfigured. His death is differently related--as being shot by an arrow, or crucified on a tree. He descended into hell; and rose again from the dead, ascending into heaven in the sight of many people. He will return at the last day to be the judge of the quick and the dead.
Jesus the Christ was born in a manger on the 25th of December (Christmas). He was born of a Virgin. He had twelve disciples. He was crucified, buried in a tomb, rose again; and resurrected. He sitted at the right hand of his father in heaven. He was called Savior or Messiah and figured as a Lamb, Bread or Fish.
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Christ is not a name. Emmanuel is not a name. They are words in the form of titles or labels. The phrase "God is with Us" is equivalent to the word Emmanuel. The title "the messiah" is equivalent to the word Christ. Christ is not a lastname and Emmanuel is not a firstname. They are adjectives. They are titles. They are labels.
In ancient civilizations, the construction of names is usually done not by a naming system but by a Label System. The label distinguishes one person from another person. A person could be named "father of the family" or "the son of a carpenter" or "the wife of a fisherman".
These labels or titles eventually transformed into proper nouns - from Titles to Names like "God is with us" is a label transliterated to the word Emmanuel. In Hebrew, "El" means God while "Imanu means "With Us". If we combine El and Imanu, the two words will read El-Imanu, a label which means "God-with us". When read in Hebrew from right to left the label becomes Imanu'el, pronounced Emmanuel, a word confused to be a name of a person.
Meanwhile, the messiah that the Jews were waiting for even to this day was called " The Lord of Salvation". In Hebrew, the words "YH or Yah" means "lord" and, "Sh or shua" means "salvation". So the equivalent title of "the lord is my salvation" is "Yah'shua". Yahshua or Yehoshua was the savior the Jews were waiting for to bring them back to the promised land. But, the literal word was distorted when the Hebrew scripture was added to the greek new testament and the label became the proper name: Iesous which sounds similar to the Greek deity Zeus. When the bible was translated to Latin the name Iesus was formed. And when the letter "I" in Iesus was introduced to the English letter "J", the name became "Jesus".
Now, keep in mind that the bible was first written in Hebrew as a compilation of stories. They were not considered as histories since the word history was not yet conceptualized in the Hebrew vocabulary. And in the Hebrew Alphabet there was no such thing as the letter "J". So, the name "Jesus" was actually "esus" without the letter "J". However, the word Jesus was not in the Hebrew vocabulary as well. The correct interpretation of the title "Lord of Salvation" was "Yh'shw" or "Yah'shua". Its english counterpart is Joshua". Therefore, the true name of the biblical messiah was Joshua and not "Jesus". Jesus Christ was a fake name invented by the Romans.
Moreover, Christ is not Jesus' lastname, I mean Joshua's last name.
Even to this day, there are some parts of the world where people do not have a lastname. These remote places use unique identification systems to distinguish themselves from one another. If there are three or more persons in the community with the same names, most likely they will be identified through their families or attributes. Like, if Joe's father is a farmer, the boy will be called "Joe, the son of the farmer". If Joe is cross-eyed, he will probably be called "Joe the cross-eyed", if Joe is tall, he will be labeled as "Joe the giant". Whatever the case, these titles eventually became lastnames over time.
In the New Testament, the messiah of the jews was added in the scripture and was named Iesus Kristos or Jesus Christ. The word Messiah in Hebrew is Moschiach. If we literally translate the words "Joshua the messiah" in Hebrew, the equivalent correct form would be "Yehoshua Moschiach", the combination of the titles "the lord of salvation" and "the messiah".
Yehoshua was also called as "the anointed one". And people during those days who were anointed were called Khristos. Hence, " Yehoshua the anointed one" can be translated as "Yehoshua Khristos " or Joshua Christ but not Jesus Christ.
So, when you pray to Jesus tonight, make sure you do it now in the correct way, like:
"Thank you Yehoshua Moschiach, for leading us not into temptation, and delivering us from evil. For this is your kingdom … forever and ever. Amen!"
Isn't it weird? after all the years you thought you were praying to Jesus Christ. Now, it turns out the true real name of the messiah is Yehoshua Moschiach.
Well, now you know why all your prayers were never answered. You are praying to the wrong guy.
And the funny thing, Mary was told by an angel to name her unborn son Jesus, "Emmanuel". But she did not listen! Oops, poor Yehoshua!
Now, if Jesus did not exist, it is so unimaginable why there are so many stories about him. Well, remember that there are other people who never existed in real life but have been revered by so many as well like Superman, Darna, Santa Claus, and Perry Mason to name a few.
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah:
During the times of the ancient Rome, a calendar system was used where the first year is equivalent to 1 AUC ("ab urbe condita"), the year when Rome was founded or 753 years before the birth of Christ. This old system was later replaced where the year came to be known as 1AD ("Anno Domini"), the year when Jesus was born; and, BC (before Christ), the years before Jesus was born.
According to Matthew 2:1, Jesus was born during the time of Herod the Great (37BC-4BC). If Jesus was born in 1AD or 1BC, then it is impossible that he existed during the reign of Herod, who died in 4BC. Something is wrong here.
The Duo-Messiah Conundrum:
The OT tells us that the Messiah would be both a Priest and a King. As a priest, he will descend from Joseph, the tribe of Levi. As a King, he will descend from David, the tribe of Judah. Because of this stalemate, the bible is speaking of two messiahs. The first messiah can be called Messiah ben Joseph while the second can be could Messiah ben David. The first will suffer and die while the second will conquer the world.
So, what is really the purpose of the Messiah? To be a king? To be a Priest? Who are these two messiahs?
Remember, Jesus Christ is not the only Messiah:
Aside from the above messianic names (Yehoshua Moschiach of the Jews and Iesus Kristos of the Romans), here is a list of names of other historical people who claimed they were the coming savior or son of god:
1. Gautama Buddha - 565 BC
2. Guan Yu - 210 BC
3. Simon of Peraea - 4 BC
4. Jesus of Nazareth - 1 BC
5. Dositheos the Samaritan - 1 AD
6. Simon Magus - 2 AD
7. Athronges - 3 AD
8. Menahem the Essene - 60 AD
9. Vespasian - 65 AD
10. Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah - 570 AD
And in conclusion, if Jesus was the son of god, who had the power to make miracles, then obviously the people who surrounded him those days especially the Romans, the Jews, the Muslims, the gnostics would be the very first people who would believe he was really the son of god. But since he was crucified because he was seen as a rebel more than a divine figure, it just shows that Jesus Christ is not the son of god.
Disclaimer: The articles on this site are intended for a balanced education. Since it is constantly edited, updated, and improved, therefore I recommend that you check back regularly for new items. If you want to use anything here for any scholarly study or educational purpose, please inform the author by email or cite the source as follows: A Journal of a Creative Mind, Joey Lawsin, 1988, USA.
The OT tells us that the Messiah would be both a Priest and a King. As a priest, he will descend from Joseph, the tribe of Levi. As a King, he will descend from David, the tribe of Judah. Because of this stalemate, the bible is speaking of two messiahs. The first messiah can be called Messiah ben Joseph while the second can be could Messiah ben David. The first will suffer and die while the second will conquer the world.
So, what is really the purpose of the Messiah? To be a king? To be a Priest? Who are these two messiahs?
Remember, Jesus Christ is not the only Messiah:
Aside from the above messianic names (Yehoshua Moschiach of the Jews and Iesus Kristos of the Romans), here is a list of names of other historical people who claimed they were the coming savior or son of god:
1. Gautama Buddha - 565 BC
2. Guan Yu - 210 BC
3. Simon of Peraea - 4 BC
4. Jesus of Nazareth - 1 BC
5. Dositheos the Samaritan - 1 AD
6. Simon Magus - 2 AD
7. Athronges - 3 AD
8. Menahem the Essene - 60 AD
9. Vespasian - 65 AD
10. Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah - 570 AD
And in conclusion, if Jesus was the son of god, who had the power to make miracles, then obviously the people who surrounded him those days especially the Romans, the Jews, the Muslims, the gnostics would be the very first people who would believe he was really the son of god. But since he was crucified because he was seen as a rebel more than a divine figure, it just shows that Jesus Christ is not the son of god.
About the Author :
Joey Lawsin is the author of the Creator Argument or Appeal to a Creator. He is a progressive atheist who wants to change the world by rewriting the textbooks with new concepts that debunk the old scientific, theological, and philosophical ideas of antiquity. He co-authored a book in Physics, engineered a living machine known as Autognorics, and conceived the theory on "The Caveman in the Box". The article is an excerpt from his book "Bible proves God doesn't exist".
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Disclaimer: The articles on this site are intended for a balanced education. Since it is constantly edited, updated, and improved, therefore I recommend that you check back regularly for new items. If you want to use anything here for any scholarly study or educational purpose, please inform the author by email or cite the source as follows: A Journal of a Creative Mind, Joey Lawsin, 1988, USA.
