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View Full Version : is christianity original?

Evolutionist
August 23, 2003, 11:00 AM
i came across this on another thread:

on a side note, the christians got where they are by stealing every myth they came across.

this made me think- i know many myths accociated with christianity which are blatant thefts from other religions/myths at the time- but are there any original ideas in christian dogma, and the bible?

these are the plagerisations that i can think about off the top of my head

the virgin birth
date for easter and xmas
the great flood
the resurrection
the "god man" (one parent human, the other a deity)

etc

are there any myths in the bible which are originals?
conkermaniac
August 23, 2003, 11:42 AM
Yeah, the gory details of the Hebrews' massacre of their enemies is probably unique to the Bible, and these passages could very likely have been used by Hebrew leaders to rally their people into war.

Is the story about David and Goliath original? Hmm...
JaeIsGod
August 23, 2003, 12:02 PM
Originally posted by conkermaniac
Yeah, the gory details of the Hebrews' massacre of their enemies is probably unique to the Bible, and these passages could very likely have been used by Hebrew leaders to rally their people into war.

Is the story about David and Goliath original? Hmm...

Im sure some hero in some myth has killed a giant =p
SiliconWolf
August 23, 2003, 12:47 PM
What about the stuff in Revelation? How many other religions have the strong end times beliefs that are common in much of Christianity?
Heathen Dawn
August 23, 2003, 01:53 PM
NO religion is original. They all evolve, just like languages (and living organisms - though here evolution is Darwinian rather than Lamarckian) do.
Doctor X
August 23, 2003, 04:29 PM
Indeed, similar cultures had masacre stories as well as eschatology. Granted, John may have spent a bit longer out in the Sun after he went mushroom hunting. . . .

--J.D.

[Edited for various scribal errors.--Ed.]
Shinobi
August 23, 2003, 06:12 PM
Siliconwolf: Regarding end of the world in myths the Norse mythology has Ragnarok which foretells the end of the world and the death of most gods.
EGGO
August 23, 2003, 09:26 PM
If memory serves me correct, the Bible isn't the originator of our lovely angels.
Jeremy Pallant
August 23, 2003, 11:43 PM
Originally posted by Shinobi
Siliconwolf: Regarding end of the world in myths the Norse mythology has Ragnarok which foretells the end of the world and the death of most gods.

I seem to recall some speculation that Ragnarok was the result of the monks doing the translating incorporating Revelation into the Norse myths.

Sorry, no source that I can readily recall.