By Paul Derengowski
Yep, that is right. We need to be thankful for all the pagan movements of yesteryear (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, etc.) for the person of Jesus and the formation of Christian origins.
Jesus is a pagan construct along with all the stories about his conception and birth, as well as his death and resurrection.
At least that is what one person—“Robert T.”— recently argued with me when he responded to an article of mine dealing with an unrelated topic.
“Considering that Christianity, it’s traditions, and it’s God were plagiarized from paganism you are one to talk.”
Of course, when pressed for proof on the accusation, Robert could not come up with any specific instances where Christianity had “plagiarized” anything, much less traditions relative to paganism.
And just why could he not provide those instances? Because they do not exist.
Robert has bought into the liberal lies and distortions that seek to either diminish or destroy Jesus’ distinction as the only one God has ordained to redeem fallen humanity from its sinful ways.
Those lies and distortions have their origins in the German History of Religion School developed in the nineteenth century or something that is not really studied in today’s version of modern education.
Today, even after their unsubstantiated theories have long since been rebutted, their legacy carries on in liberal universities, theatre and books (e.g. the Da Vinci Code, the Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and The Laughing Jesus), and organizations like the Jesus Seminar.
Since too many persons, like Robert, are biblically illiterate to begin with, and given the wide spread accessibility of the eccentric to media marketing, it is no surprise that the lies and distortions continue to be recycled.
The reality, though, is that Jesus and Christianity are not pagan reconstructs. They are unique in their address of the human condition and if anyone actually did any borrowing, it was the pagans (at least the later ones) from Christianity—and that with a significant amount of perversion as well!
Early pagan beliefs were too isolated, fragmentary, or incomplete as systems to influence later Judeo-Christian doctrine and tradition.
Add to that the decisive monotheism of Christianity along with the exclusivity of Jesus and there is zero possibility that the first apostles and disciples borrowed or stole anything of an ideological nature from the lost Gentile world.
So, the next time you hear, read, or see someone arguing that the pagans had a hand inventing Jesus and biblical doctrine, simply stop and ask that person for specifics.
If that person cannot provide any, first of all, do not be surprised. Too many people frequently repeat only things they have heard and have never studied the subjects.
Secondly, and this will require some advance preparation on your part, if the person doing the arguing is naïve enough to start offering specifics, seize the opportunity to point out that whatever specifics are being offered are foreign to Christian beliefs.
If you have done your homework, identifying the haphazard or piecemeal effort will be easy.
Of course, that will also mean you must know your Christian history and doctrine.
But at the end of the day, you will be thanking God for Jesus and Christianity and not some pagan entity, whether it was the Egyptians and Isis, the Greeks and Cybele, or the Romans and Mithra.
