Chili

He is great for words but not for content.

Toto

Where is the positive review of Kersey Graves? He appears to be sympathetic but does not endorse Graves as a source.

He discusses the possibility of the tale of Krishna' death by an arrow being a version of an earlier legend of Krishna being crucified.

The moon aspects of John the Baptist have been noted by Joseph Campbell.

I suspect that you would like to be able to dismiss every discussion of myth in Christianity as intellectually flawed, but it looks like you have been too quick here.

Dave Roberts

Try the link again, use the "contents" on the header

Toto

What is this in reference to? Graves? The link on the top takes you to a comment on Graves, but it hardly endorses his mistakes the way Acharya S does.

Dave Roberts

To the sun gods. When you hit the contents header on the link you'll see it.

Here we go
http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/0300Christmas.html

Toto

you mean


Sun Gods
Sun Gods as Atoning Saviours
The Virgin Birth I
The Virgin Birth II
The Virgin Birth III
Christmas

What did you want to point out about this?

Dave Roberts

The "Christmas" will give information related to the OP.

Better yet, try the link on I posted on #25

GakuseiDon

Well... fair points, Toto, damn you! You're right, he doesn't really positively endorse Graves. I was being a bit unfair to the author there. Still too much use of Graves for my liking, but I should have read a bit more carefully before commenting.

Magdlyn

To the OP,

Gakusei Don likes to blast newbies with enthusaistic yet vague ideas about the origins of the Jesus Myth.

It is perfectly obvious to me and many on this board that Jesus has a lot in common with dying gods such as Tammuz, Osiris (and in Europe, the John Barleycorn story). Campbell and Jung acknowledge these are all common archetypes earthlings come up with when confronted with our cycle of seasons.

This Mediterranean type of myth was conflated (incorrectly) with the idea of messiah popular in Judaism at the time. (Jesus does not meet the true criteria for Jewish messiah).

If Jesus is not strictly a sun god, he is indeed associated with fire. And linked with YHWH, Moses and Elijah who had their own fire associations, of course.

Chili

Would it be fair to say that there is only one archetype and that all religions (except those that miss the mark) are different expressions of the original?

I will agree that certain stages along the way are part of this original and are therefore archetypal but not the archetype itself. The four seasons are not part of this (not even close), are not archetypal but just convenient stages to be used as metaphor.