After taking a dig into mythology, we can confirm that it records many dying and rising gods -- or so it seems. The more astounding fact is that these mythological figures predate the accounts of Jesus Christ leaving many people to assume that His story is rooted in paganism. The claim was initially proposed in the 1800's by School of Religion intellectuals. However, Christian scholars refuted this theory in the early 20th century. With releases such as Zeitgeist: The Movie and The Da Vinci Code, these claims have resurfaced that Jesus is merely a copycat savior of mythological gods.

Although there are quite a few, the two most popular comparisons are Jesus/Horus and Jesus/Mithras. After reviewing actual sources, we will notice that the beings are very different and distant.

Horus & Mithras Claim: Born of a virgin on December 25th.
Horus was not born of a virgin, but was the son of Osiris and Isis born between August 24th and August 28th. Mithras, on the other hand, emerged out of a rock with no date of birth noted. Also, the Bible nor Christianity dates December 25th as Jesus' birthday. Western tradition typically celebrates His birth on December 25th, while Eastern Orthodox and other churches opt for January 6th and 7th. None are claims to be His actual birthday.

Horus & Mithras Claim: Had 12 disciples.
Horus had 4 disciples and 16 human followers. There is not any evidence that Mithras had 12 disciples. Ironically, the 12 signs of the Zodiac are often linked to Mithrasism. However, zodiac signs are not disciples.

Horus & Mithras Claim: Performed miracles.
Generally speaking, this is true. However, the miracles were not of the same nature as Jesus. There are no mentions of walking on water or the raising of anyone from the dead.

Horus & Mithras Claim: Was crucified, buried for three days in a tomb, and resurrected.
There is no account of Horus' death. It is stated that he eventually merged with the sun god. Mithraic tradition doesn't indicate Mithras' death at all. Therefore, resurrection on his behalf is impossible. Also, crucifixion as we know it is a Roman (and surrounding cultures) method of execution that was put into practice thousands of years after these mythologies.

Horus Claim: Baptized by Anup the Baptizer.
Anup does not exist in ancient Egyptian mythology.

Mithras Claim: Called The Good Shepherd, Redeemer, The Messiah, The Way, The Truth, and The Light.
There is no evidence that he was ever called any title that is attributed to Jesus.

Perhaps these claims are semi-convincing because theorists adopted Christian concepts and used it as the language that compares the deities. "Ministry" and "Baptism" are Christian terms that are being used to describe pagan beliefs. It makes it easier for viewers and readers to draw biased conclusions based upon the terminology.

Let's entertain the idea that these pagan gods had been born of a virgin, had 12 disciples, been crucified, and resurrected. Would that nullify Jesus' existence? Would that diminish His credibility? Based upon this logic, President John F. Kennedy did not exist, and was only a copycat of President Abraham Lincoln. There are many accounts of their lives that eerily parallel one another.

President Lincoln became a part of Congress in 1846; President Kennedy in 1946. Lincoln became President in 1860; Kennedy in 1960. Both men were shot in the back of the head on a Friday. They were both succeeded by Vice President Johnson, respectively.

Accuracy of an event, person, or place is not based on convenience or coincidence, but evidence. Distinctiveness does not determine precision.

Christianity is influenced by Judaism, not mythological paganism. Not only is some of the information provided by the theorists inaccurate, some data actually postdates Christianity itself. Most of the claims lack solid foundation to form a fair argument. The account of Jesus is an actual historical document that is accepted by many scholars. Comparing reliable history to baseless mythology does not provide credible conclusions.

Conscious and Christian,
Simultaneously.