Posted: Mar 03, 2010 6:58 am
I've got a question for Tim.
Ignoring similarities and looking at the stories as a whole, were there any other ancient cults besides Christianity that formed around a specific god figure, with similar themes of "salvation," possibly even "rebirth?" I know that the "similarities" often found between Christianity and other ancient cults do not match up as perfectly as some would like to paint them (if indeed they exist at all), but I wonder if an argument can be made that the phenomenon of apotheosis and attribution of such themes are not unique to Christianity in that particular region and era.
Additionally, while I'm sure many agree with me that Zeitgeist was in a similar vein of bullshit, it does prompt an intriguing thought. Is there anything to suggest that maybe some of the symbology found in Christianity and other Mediterranean cults were adapted from older forms of sun-worship? And I don't mean this consciously, like "early Christians knew Jesus didn't exist and that the gospels are really a bunch of metaphors for astronomical phenomena," but that maybe simple things like the cross symbol and the celebration of the winter solstice just happened to weasel into their stories and culture by the mere virtue of being vestigial traditions from even earlier religions?
Just thinking out loud, I suppose.
Ignoring similarities and looking at the stories as a whole, were there any other ancient cults besides Christianity that formed around a specific god figure, with similar themes of "salvation," possibly even "rebirth?" I know that the "similarities" often found between Christianity and other ancient cults do not match up as perfectly as some would like to paint them (if indeed they exist at all), but I wonder if an argument can be made that the phenomenon of apotheosis and attribution of such themes are not unique to Christianity in that particular region and era.
Additionally, while I'm sure many agree with me that Zeitgeist was in a similar vein of bullshit, it does prompt an intriguing thought. Is there anything to suggest that maybe some of the symbology found in Christianity and other Mediterranean cults were adapted from older forms of sun-worship? And I don't mean this consciously, like "early Christians knew Jesus didn't exist and that the gospels are really a bunch of metaphors for astronomical phenomena," but that maybe simple things like the cross symbol and the celebration of the winter solstice just happened to weasel into their stories and culture by the mere virtue of being vestigial traditions from even earlier religions?
Just thinking out loud, I suppose.