by seven006 121 Replies latest jw friends
The fact that JWs didn't even register as a blip on the radar might offend some JWs who feel that their beliefs are of earth shattering significance.
Well, that's because this is the beginning of the attack of Babylon the Great. Satan doesn't turn the world on JWs until thay are the last religion standing.
I know that because the WT tells me so.
the notion that Horus was crucified comes from a Freemason publication from the 1920s (or so) that simply claimed this on the basis of a Maya sculpture (that has nothing to do with ancient Egypt). Other claims were originated without evidence by Theosophical and popular writers -- not actual scholars.
Did you find any evidence to support that Krishna is sanskrit for Christ (or "the christ")?
Did you find any evidence to support that Hesus was a Druid god?
Where do these theories originate?
Did you find any evidence to support that Krishna is sanskrit for Christ (or "the christ")?
Krishna is Sanskrit for "black, dark", probably referring to the dark skin color of Krishna as he is commonly depicted. It doesn't have anything to do with the Greek word for "anointed". A sort of folk etymology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_etymology) has been popular since the 19th century that has tried to derive Christ from Krishna or vice versa, resulting in novel spellings like Christna which attempt to assimilate Krishna to Christ (Wikipedia: "Folk etymology is particularly important because it can result in the modification of a word or phrase by analogy with the erroneous etymology which is popularly believed to be true"). There are many similar modifications in popular writings; I have seen Arjuna, the name of Krishna's companion, spelled as Ar-john by popular writers -- ostensibly to suggest a relationship with the biblical name John even though the names are wholly unrelated and the modification is quite a blatant attempt to create a similarity where none exists (as there is no philological reason for spelling the name that way).
Did you find any evidence to support that Hesus was a Druid god?
Sure, of course Esus/Aisus was a Celtic god. But what does a god from a distant foreign land who cuts down trees, who received human sacrifice, and who was identified with Mercury and Mars have to do with Jesus? (See http://www.geocities.com/chronarchy/mjournal/patrons/aboutesus.html which presents most of what is known about this poorly-attested god). I think the only reason why an obscure deity like Esus is even mentioned is that the name bears a superficial similarity with Jesus. Of course, the two names have entirely different etymologies and there is no linguistic connection between them. It would be like identifying the Canaanite rain god Baal with the Hawaiian goddess of fire Pele on nothing more than a superficial similarity of their names. The Society for instance has long claimed that the (putative) Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn Eostre is the same as the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. In fact, they are unrelated and the names have their own separate etymologies.
Where do these theories originate?
Probably from an eagerness to overstate things. There are indeed parallels and similarities between the traditions of Jesus and those in other mythologies, especially in terms of archtypes that can be quite widespread in different cultures. It is a tricky matter however to weigh the evidence and determine the specific relationship -- whether these are topoi (commonplaces) that may independently arise in unrelated mythologies or whether there is a historical influence of one mythology on another. Certain popular writers promoting the idea that the story of Jesus was taken lock-stock-and-barrel from other mythologies exaggerate the parallels by overstating things -- even inventing parallels where none exist. That is what gets me vocal about this; I don't care at all if there is a mythological basis of the Jesus story (indeed I believe there is, see below), I care if evidence is being distorted or simply made up. It is just the same thing with Tony Bushby's pseudohistorical fabrications about the Council of Nicaea. What I don't get is that these writers are so eager to attribute the Jesus story to foreign mythologies and yet overlook the one mythology that should be expected to have been most influential: the native mythic traditions of Judaism (whether derived from older Canaanite mythology or developed within the literature of the OT and the haggadah). Parallels with pagan mythologies pale in comparison to the direct influence that can be demonstrated in the case of OT exegesis in the gospels. The nativity story in Matthew is transparently modelled on that of Moses in Exodus and especially in haggadaic writings. The water-to-wine miracle in John is similarly dependent on the miracles of Moses in Exodus. The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days is derived from the OT traditions of the wandering of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years. The feeding and resuscitation miracles in the synoptics are patterned after similar miracles in the Elisha cycle. Over and over again there are very specific parallels, even in verbatim wording between the OT source and the gospel narrative -- the kind of close similarities you would never find with Horus or Krishna or whatever other pagan god that might be mentioned. That is partly why I have been such a critic of the Horus = Jesus meme; people are looking for the literary origin of Jesus traditions in the wrong place.
Seeker,
Good to have you listen. Why are you and Sam picking on TopHat? I think I’ll have to read some of her past posts, I’ll be right back…………………………….
OK, never mind, I get it.
Mulan,
Julie F. (Alan F’s Ho) e-mailed me this link after they went to see it. She said they laughed their middle aged asses off. This link talks about it’s success over the weekend.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/maher-mangles-zucker-at-t_b_132064.html
Maybe one of the nice mods will make the above link live for me. My linker is broken.
Dave
Open,
Thanks.
One would think that if the JW message is of such earth shattering importance, that they would have been a target in this Maher film. Afterall, does not Satan the Devil control the media and Hollywood today? Is not Satan furious with the JW message - making it a prime target of his attacks?
Well, you see, that's just one of Satan's "machinations" ("crafty acts", footnote). The JW message would be so overwhelmingly popular, and so utterly devastating to Satan and his wicked world, that Satan's strategy is to make the JWs seem irrelevant. It's all a ruse. JWs are still the center of the universe.
This is all Bible-based, of course.
It came in second place as far as gross per screen goes... it wasn't playing here in Athens, so I didn't get to see it...
http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/
There are some genuine (broad) similarities between Jesus and the Osiris/Horus myths; the Typhonic conflict between Horus and Set for the kingship of Egypt, and Horus' trampling of Set's crocodiles, probably contributed to the stream of Christian tradition (found especially in the gospel of John, Revelation, and the Odes of Solomon) that portrayed Jesus' crucifixion as his triumph over Satan. The cult of Isis and Harpocrates definitely contributed to later mariology, and there are some dying-rising parallels are well. But the long lists of parallels that are often distributed online are largely modern inventions. I did quite a bit of research last year on this by tracking down the source materials claimed to support these claims; the notion that Horus was crucified comes from a Freemason publication from the 1920s (or so) that simply claimed this on the basis of a Maya sculpture (that has nothing to do with ancient Egypt). Other claims were originated without evidence by Theosophical and popular writers -- not actual scholars.
Hi Leolaia,
How do we know that the cult of Isis influenced later mariology? Can you help me out with that?
Neo
Congratulations! Happy 12,000th post, Leo. I just caught that.
Your nickname is "Prolific".
bebu
I think the real lesson from this film or any criticism of "belief" is this:
ONCE YOU BELIEVE SOMETHING YOU DON'T ACTUALLY THINK ABOUT IT ANYMORE.
It is a closed subject.
It is to be defended and not appraised in regard to evidence, facts, opinions or discoveries.
That YouTube clip with Bill Maher on The View is a case in point.
No matter what "evidence" (true or mythic) Maher was spouting; NOBODY WAS LISTENING. They were waiting for their turn to speak.
It is like that here very often:)
BELIEF spoils your intellect.
