Debunking Lies: Are Christians Copycats? Part 3: Mithras

In the past two parts of this series, I’ve debunked the claims that Jesus is a copy of the Egyptian god Horus or the Greek god Dionysus. Now for the first of these claims I ever heard: Jesus copied the Mithras cult.

Mithras was  a Persian god who supposedly was born of a virgin. Nope. Wrong. Most sources do not say virgin birth. There were three versions of Mithras, but since most of the claims are based on the Roman version of him, we’re sticking to that one. That virgin of Mithras came AFTER Jesus. If anything, they were the copycats, not the other way around.

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Debunking Lies: Are Christians Copycats Part 2: Dionysus

Last time, I broke down why Jesus is not a copy of Horus. But the atheists don’t stop with him. They’ve also proposed Dionysus. So for part 2, let’s continue debunking the meme.

Dionysus was a lesser god in Greek mythology, not even one of the major ones like Zeus. The whole thing started because someone wrote a book called The Jesus Mysteries, featuring an amulet that had an image of Dionysus on a cross. So does this mean we copied crucifixion from the Greeks?

Debunking Lies: Are Christians Copycats Pt. 1–Osiris and Horus

 

Some years ago, a so-called documentary called Zeitgeist circulated YouTube, supposedly exposing the myth of Jesus. It said that He was nothing more than a copy of various gods from ancient mythology: Horus, Osiris, Dionysus, Mithras, even Krishna. So-called comedian Bill Maher, host of the HBO series Real Time With Bill Maher used it as the basis of his satire, Religulous.  But how true is this, really? We’ll start with the supposed connection to Osiris and Horus.

First of all, the date’s wrong. Horus was not born in December, he was born in October. And even if it was December, the Bible does not give an exact date for Jesus’s birth, because we don’t have one.

Second, Isis, Horus’s mother, was not a virgin she conceived him. She was impregnated as a bird flying over Osiris’s corpse. (Yeah, mythology is weird, but fascinating) The text of the myth implies a sexual union, not what we see with the virgin Mary.

Horus did not have 12 disciples. He had followers, yes, but followers are not the same as disciples. And they were more than 12.

Nor was Horus crucified. Crucifixion was not only practiced by the Romans, they also invented it. And their civilization comes AFTER Egyptian civilization, not before it.

Debunking Lies: The Sex Abuse Scandal

Many times in autism groups on FB when I or someone else break the unwritten rule that the atheists there have specified–never mention Christianity in any way–the atheists there will use different tactics. There are some that I can just shrug off, but one tactic that is so misinformed really bothers me: the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church. So I’ve decided to talk about it. Originally, I wasn’t because I wasn’t quite sure how to address the issue. But I’ve recently learned some methods that I can use.

First of all, the media misrepresents the issue. The number of priests who are pedophiles is actually not as big as the media would like you to believe. The secular media has been against the Catholic Church for a very long time. I think it stems from the fact that the Catholic Church has always opposed many things that the secular media promotes, such as abortion. The media see Catholicism as an enemy, so they look for anything that happens within the church to use against us, whether it’s taking the pope out of context or the scandals. That’s not to say the scandals don’t exist at all; that just means it’s overblown. Also, there are steps being taken. Why isn’t that reported? Because why talk about a positive, when the negative is far more interesting and appears to be more damning.

Farewell Jack Chick

A few weeks ago, a rather reclusive man who was sort of a celebrity among evangelicals, especially anti-Catholic ones, died–Jack Chick. What? you never heard of him? Count yourself lucky.

Jack Chick was a comic strip artist who used his comics as a means to evangelize, or so he’d have you believe. In reality, he was spreading some of the most insane lies you ever heard. He though rock n roll–including Christian rock–was evil. He thought people who played Dungeons and Dragons were conducting séances and if their characters died in the game, the other players killed them.  I don’t know what he thought of Pokémon or Harry Potter, but I’m sure he made tracts about them too. These comics were distributed at Churches and Christian book stores for years. You can even purchase them on his website. (And no, I’m not going to provide a link.)

Debunking Myths: Do Catholics Worship Statues?

I am currently an administrator in a Facebook Group for Autistic Christians. I decided that as an administrator, I would do what I could to make sure that this was one Christian group that did not exclude Catholics. I made a rule that anyone who had anti-Catholic sentiments would be removed.  One day, a new member saw a post I typed up about the Virgin Mary and accused Catholics of being idolaters.  This is part of a myth that Catholics worship statues. On the surface, it may seem that way when you enter a Catholic church and see people kneeling in front of statues, especially if the statues are of saints rather than Jesus.  It’s particularly glaring when the First Commandment forbids worshipping false idols. Wouldn’t these statues be an example of the idolatry forbidden by this commandment?

Not necessarily.  In the Old Testament, David was instructed to construct the Ark of the Covenant. God told him to place statues of cherubim on it. (Exodus 25:22) So why is that allowed? Wouldn’t that be revering the cherubim?

the ark of the covenant, with kneeling cherubim on top.

Debunking Lies–Catholicism: Is The Pope Biblical

When Pope Francis came to America for the first time, I followed the media’s reports.  While I disliked how the media covered the Pope’s visit because they twisted his words to suit their agendas, what saddened me most was how Protestants reacted. I left several Christian groups on FB because there were several anti-Catholic comments.  His arrival seemed to embolden the anti-Catholics in the group, and it wasn’t just the members, it was the admins–the people in charge of the groups! To these people, the Catholic Church was a cult, akin to Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witnesses. What’s most distressing is that in reality, the Catholic Church is the oldest denomination (in fact, it’s the FIRST). The Christian Church is like a giant tree. At the root of the tree is Jesus. The trunk of the tree is the Catholic Church, where all the teachings of the Fathers of the Church reside.  The branches of the tree are the Protestant denominations. If the Protestant churches attempt to sever themselves from Catholicism, they will wither like branches cut from a tree. All Protestant churches owe their teachings to the Catholic Church, whether they realize it or not.  Some Protestant churches have already started to drift away from Catholicism’s teachings. Believing that the Catholic Church is separate from Christianity is a path to disaster. When I started my Debunking Lies series, I was content to focus only on the lies atheists spread about Christianity. I did not wish to cover the lies spread within my own religion by those who refuse to learn the truth. And yet, here we are. I have decided to extend this series and instead of covering just atheist lies, I’m covering anti-Catholic lies as well. I’m starting with lies concerning the Biblical roots of the papacy.

Debunking Myths: Just How Many Atheists Are There, Anyway?

If you were to go on YouTube or Facebook, you would see a largely atheist presence. Go on any YouTube video about Christianity or atheism, and you will find the most vile attacks on Christianity from atheists. They seem to outnumber Christians comments. I’ve even seen a video once (it’s taken down by now, I think), where a vicious atheist claims victory, only by the sheer numbers of pro-atheist comments he’s seen on his own videos and the number of likes his videos have received. But are these a good gauge of the influence of Christianity vs. the influence of atheism? What is the reality?

According to a recent Gallup poll I looked up to research this post, 77% of the US identified as Christian (despite our current President saying that we “are no longer a Christian nation”), while 2.4% say they are atheist. Something seems wrong to me. The atheists are often saying that their arguments are winning, that Christians are leaving churches in droves. They say that in a matter of time, Christianity will be outmoded by atheist philosophy. I disagree. They are still a small segment of the population, and they can push us out of the “public square” all they like. Many other hostile groups have tried the same, and instead of Christianity dwindling, it has thrived.

So, why is it different online? Why do we appear to see a trend towards atheism? To be honest, I think the “trend” is a myth. I think what’s really going on is that these people see the advantage of the anonymity that the Internet gives them.  They can say things they wouldn’t dare say in public. You can troll all you like. No one will hunt you down.

Debunking Lies: Religion vs. Science

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Some months ago, Ken Ham, a scientist who supports the biblical model of creation, and Bill Nye, an atheist, had a debate on whether religion and science can co-exist.  I watched the debate and while I thought both sides presented their views well, I had disagreements, even with Ham.

The main problem I had with the debate is hat neither side considered the idea of compromise.  To hear Nye, accepting those who accept Christianity would mean taking us back to the Dark Ages.  I strongly disagree. Christianity is still just as relevant today as it has always been.

What Nye and others like him fail to acknowledge is that many scientists throughout history have accepted God and used that to drive their studies.  Christianity has played a great role in science’s history.  Georges Lemaitre, the physicist who first proposed the Big Bang Theory, was actually a monsignor (high ranking Catholic priest). Interestingly, Nye actually mentioned the Big Bang as part of his side of the debate. Gregor Mendel, the founder of genetics, was a Catholic monk. Louis Pasteur was a Christian, and his name is the root for the word pasteurization.  Blaise Pascal was a Catholic mathematician, physicist, and writer (ever heard of Pascal’s Wager?).  Nye’s dismissal of Christianity’s place in scientific discovery negates those and all other scientists who believe in God as well.  Heck, even Pope Francis has a degree in chemisty.

My point is that science shouldn’t rule out Christianity.  God cannot be objectively observed, but let’s not leave him out of the picture altogether.

Debunking Lies: Was Hitler Christian?

I believe that atheists have really stepped up their game in recent years.  They spread many lies to attempt to destroy Christianity.  So, I’ve come up with a new series of posts to debunk these lies.

We’ll start this one: Hitler was Christian. Yes, they dare to break Godwin’s Law.

Now, let’s give credit where it’s due.  Hitler was born into Catholicism, albeit a warped view. In his atrocious autobiography Mein Kampf, he even claimed he was “fighting for the Lord.”

First, let’s consider this Biblical verse: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16). Hitler could not have been following the Lord.  Jesus was born into the Jewish faith. Because of this, Christians can not be considered anti-Semitic.  Hitler considered equality and compassion–two tenets of Christianity–weaknesses.  His leading advisers were in fact atheist and sought to eradicate Christianity’s influence.  Hitler himself stated in 1941: “National Socialism and religion cannot exist together….The heaviest blow that ever struck humanity was the coming of Christianity.” (Heresy: Ten Lies They Spread About Christianity by Michael Coren, pg 108)

Let’s look at more quotes:

“The best thing is to let Christianity die a natural death.” (ibid)

“Christianity is an invention of sick brains.” (ibid, pg 110)

In 1932 before Hitler got into power, 65% of German youth went to Catholic schools. In 1937, it was 3%. Catholic youth groups were forbidden to compete in sports. Hitler set up a separate educational structure. He also said:

The most dangerous activity of countless Catholic clergy is the way in which they ‘mope about’, spreading despondency. Favorite topics are the “dangers of a new time”, “the present emergency”, “the gloomy future”. Prophecies are made about the speedy downfall of National Socialism or at the very least mention is made of the transience of all political phenomena, compared with the Catholic Church which will outlive them all. National Socialist achievements and successes are passed over in silence. … There is thus a deliberated undermining of the very basis of the National Socialist program of reconstruction, the people’s trust in leadership of the state.

–quote from http://www.catholicbridge.com/catholic/was_hitler_a_catholic.php

As you can see, Hitler was a politician. If it helped his cause, he would praise Christianity. But once Christians rose up to oppose him (and yes, they certainly did.), he changed his tune.