Anunnaki

I`ve had this for a while and I`m just getting around to reading it two days ago. I have to admit that I`ve only gotten to page 70,but I`ve already seen enough to convince me that the myth of Jesus is almost a total rip off Osirus-Dionysus and Greek philosophy.
I always figured it was a myth since secular history has nothing to report about Jesus,but I never realized there were so many similarities to earlier mythology.
The names and places have been changed,but the stories are almost indentical. The first set of conclusions reached on page 60 are:

1. Jesus is the savior of mankind,God made man,the son of God is equal with the Father;so is Osirus-Dionysus.

2. Jesus is born of a mortal virgin who after her death ascends to heaven and is honored as a divine being; so is Osirus-Dionysus.

3. Jesus is born in a cave on December 25 or january 6; as is Osirus-Dionysus.

4. The birth of Jesus is prophesied by a star;so is the birth of Osirus-Dionysus.

5. Jesus is visited by the Magi,who are followers of Osirus-Dionysus.

6. The Magi bring Jesus gifts of gold,frankincense,and myrrh, which a 6th century BCE Pagan tells us is the way to worship god.

7. Jesus is baptized, a ritual practiced for centuries in the mystery religions.

8. The holy man who baptizes jesus with water has the same name as a pagan god of water and is born on the summer solstice celebrated as a Pagan water festival.

9. jesus offers his followers elemental baptisms of water,air,and fire as did the Pagan mysteries.

10. Jesus is portrayed as a quiet man with long hair and a beard; so is Osirus-Dionysis.

11. Jesus turns water into wine at a marriage on the same day that Osirus-Dionysus was previously believed to have turned water into wine at a marriage.

12. Jesus heals the sick,exorcises demons,provides miraclulous meals,helps fishermen miraculous catches of fish, and calms the water for his disciples; all of these marvels were previously been performed by Pagan sages.

13. Like the sages of the Mysteries,Jesus is a wandering wonder-worker who is not honored in his home town.

14. Jesus is accused of of licentious behavior,as were the followers of Osirus-Dionysus.

15. Jesus is not at first recognized as a divinity by his disciples,but then is transfigured before them in all his glory; the same is true of Osirus-Dionysus.

16. Jesus is surrounded by 12 disciples; as is Osirus-Dionysus.

17. jesus rides triumphantly into town on a donkey while crowds wave branches; as does Osirus-Dionysus.

18. Jesus is a just man unjustly accused of heresy and bringing a new religion; as is Osirus-Dionysus.

19. Jesus attacks hypocrites,stands up to tyranny.and willingly goes to his death predicting he will rise again in 3 days; as do Pagan sages.

20. Jesus is betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, a motif found in the story of Socrates.

21. Jesus is equated to bread and wine; as is Osirus-Dionysus.

22. Jesus` disciples symbolically eat bread and drink wine to commune with him; as do the followers of Osirus-Dionysus.

23. Jesus is hung on a tree or crucified; as if Osirus-Dionysus.

24. Jesus dies as a sacrifice to redeem the sins of the world; as does Osirus-Dionysus.

25. Jesus` corpse is wrapped in linen and anointed with myrrh,as is corspe of Osirus-Dionysus.

26. After his death Jesus descends to hell,then on the third day resurrects before his disciples and ascends into heaven,where he is enthroned by god and waits to reappear at the end of time as a divine judge,as does Osirus-Dionysus.

27. Jesus was said to have died and resurrected on exactly the same dates that the death and resurrection of Osirus-Dionysus were celebrated.

28. Jesus` empty tomb is visited by three woman followers; Osirus-Dionysus also has three women followers visit an empty cave.

29. Through sharing in his passion Jesus offers his disciples the chance to be born again, as does Osirus-Dionysus.

(All the above conclusions are discussed in greater detail earlier in the book. I can`t see how they could all possibly be coincidence.)
Early Christian bafoons like Justin Matyr and Tertullian seem to also agree that it could not be coincidence when they concocted the ridiculous accusation that these earlier Pagan simularities were caused by the "diablical mimicry" of demons.

It`s also shown on page 40 how the symbol of the Jesus fish is taken from Pagan sacred geomtry. A formula known to Archimedes in the third century BCE as the "measure of the fish".

There are 340 pages in the book and the last 84 pages are all references and notes.

On the II home page the synopsis for this book says it should be read with caution. Who here has read this book and what,if anything does not check out?
Btw, Theists need not respond to this thread. I`m looking for facts,NOT more distortions of history. Save you weak "evidence" for someone else.


[ December 21, 2001: Message edited by: Anunnaki ]</p>

Polycarp

Quote:

Originally posted by Anunnaki: On the II home page the synopsis for this book says it should be read with caution. Who here has read this book and what,if anything does not check out? Btw, Theists need not respond to this thread. I`m looking for facts,NOT more distortions of history. Save you weak "evidence" for someone else.

You've proven a point I've tried to make on many occasions. Thank you.

I was about to discuss the issue with you until I noticed your complete unwillingness to interact with the views of those with whom you disagree. Such open-mindedness is commendable.

Peace,

Polycarp

P.S. I did not pay Anunnaki to do this.

Marduk

"On the II home page the synopsis for this book says it should be read with caution. "

I think this has to do with the credentials of the author, not a big time reputable scholar of either ancient mythology or NT studies.

"he may be the 'Sitchin' of Jesus research, ie. an amateur, Though I haven't read this book myself. Earl Douherty's "The Jesus Puzzel" is more credible IMHO.

[ December 22, 2001: Message edited by: marduck ]</p>

Amos

Hello Anunnaki, thanks for the effort. You proved that the description is very accurate of a metaphysical event that is native to mankind.

Your closing remark "christians need not respond" is equal to the phrase "a wandering wonder-worker is not honored in his home town." It means that your conscious mind is not ready to accept it and never will until you drown in your own mire (home town).

Amos

Liquidrage

Also, there are many books with similiar topics such as "Myths and Deceptions of the Bible" that start off decent before the author turns it into his very own "Chariots of the Gods".

Anunnaki

Polycarp,
In my haste to type all that out I was not very clear at the end. Theists of course can apply (can`t seem to stop them),but I`m not interested in hearing anymore nonsense about the "witnesses" of the resurrection or other shabby evidence like Josephus etc...

And No. You could not pay me to do anything.

On another note,It looks like NO thread is free from a pearl of wisdom from the confusing world of Amos.

Anunnaki

Have you read the book in question? I see people jumping to conclusions,but I don`t see anyone saying they have actually read the book and checked out it`s sources.

[ December 22, 2001: Message edited by: Anunnaki ]</p>

Pantera

Mendeh discussed some of the stuff about Horus/Osiris <a href="http://ii-f.ws/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=9&t=000223&p=" target="_blank">here</a>.

Mendeh

Bear in mind, though, that I was talking about Osiris from the Egyptian religion, whereas Isis and Osiris cults in Rome worshipped gods who bore practically no resemblance to their Egyptian counterparts. E.g. the Egyptian Osiris wasn't born of a virgin in the Egyptian myth, he didn't have a long white beard and he was anything but a quiet man. I don't know enough about Roman mystery cults to say whether the original post is right or wrong in its assertions, but I can say that, as far as Egyptian religion is concerned, Osiris bears little resemblance to Jesus.

Anunnaki

To clear up any confusion I should add the authors explanation for using the term Osirus-Dionysus.

From page 4 of The Jesus Mysteries,
"At the heart of the Mysteries were myths concerning a dying and resurrected godman,who was known by many different names. In Egypt he was Osirus,in Greece he was Dionysus, in Asia Minor Attis,in Syria Adonis,in Italy Bacchus,in Persia Mithras. Fundamentally all these godmen are the same mythical being. As was the practice from as early as the third century BC (3,4),in this book we will use the combined name Osirus-Dionysus to denote his universal and composite nature,and his particular names when referring to a specific Mystery tradition."

Notes:
3.)Taylor,L.R.(1931),27. Within a generation of the death of Alexandria,Hecateus of Abdera,in Aegyptiaca,and Leon of of Pella were using the composite name Osiris-Dionysus.

4.)Please note that in line with the modern convention all dates are given as BCE or CE-"Before common era" or "Common era". These religiously neutral terms replace the more usual BC and AD.

I of course realize there is no need to mention BCE and CE,but since nobody has read the book I felt it was only fair to quote the authors exactly and include the references and notes exactly as found within the book.