Most antiquities scholars think that the New Testament gospels are "mythologized history." In other words, based on the evidence available they think that around the start of the first century a controversial Jewish rabbi named Yeshua ben Yosef gathered a following and his life and teachings provide...
Seriously, Joshua? I’m willing to give you a pass for including a resurrection in your foundational myth, but this is… No one sees it happen, there’s nothing particularly impressive about it that stays afterwards, it’s just- some women find the corpse is no longer there, and they tell the men, and the men confirm that the corpse is indeed no longer there. What am I even suppose to do with this? It’s not just that you’re using the most tired trope there is, it’s that you don’t do ANYTHING with it. And I don’t mean anything new or innovative, I mean anything at all! What’s even the purpose of this resurrection? It even works against your narrative! You’re telling me that the father kills the son as a sacrifice for humankind, but then the son just resurrects? Then what’s even the point of the sacrifice? Does the son even have ANYTHING to do afterwards? No…?
I’m sorry, Joshua, but I’m going to have to give you an F. This might have been interesting before Osiris or Zagreus, but you’re literally thousands of years late. Try better with your next religion.
BTW, there’s a theory that Judaism has been heavily influenced by Akhenaten’s attempt at introducing monotheism in Egypt. It really feels as its skeleton is not Semitic, though it of course includes lots of things reminiscent of Semitic religions too.
That makes sense. So much of the spread of religions is the changing of the religion to fit the converted.
Yes, I think I’ve heard that, say, Coptic church has some traits of ancient Egyptian religion, Syriac churches have more of Judaism in then than in other kinds of Christianity.
I definitely can see that Armenian church has some local pagan and Zoroastrian remnants (more of the latter, I think that’s because during conversion cults of local deities associated with Greek gods or treated similarly to them would be considered the main enemy).
And when I sometimes hear which things Catholics in Latin America often believe, feels wild too.
Yeah the example that comes to mind for me is that in Pakistan and Bangladesh there are Muslim Hijra. Also the number of catholic saints who are eerily similar to gods in areas they’re revered must be acknowledged. St Nicholas in Turkey is very different from the odinesque version of him in the Germanic and Nordic traditions. St Bridget is extremely similar to Brigid. Hell, Christmas is on the feast of Sol Invictus.
I particularly love Santa Muerta. The idea that death is the patron Saint to pray to for protection when you’re being persecuted regardless of how just it is is a powerful thing.
These changes can be small to large and they’re one of the most beautiful aspects of religion speaking as a pagan.