World Religions Presentation Report – Group 6, Week 14 :
Jesus : Myth or Messiah?
“Religions are easy to invent. Most traditional religions have little or nothing to do with reality, are dependent on obfuscation, interpretation, guilt, and unreasoning faith—some more than others.”
-Anton SzandorLavey
Christianity is one of the major religions in the world today. But how much DO we know of the origins of this faith held by nearly two billion people (Hopfe & Woodward, 2001) in the world today?. Or, more specifically, how much do we know of Jesus Christ, who is arguably the most important figure in Christian belief? We have been told many things of this messiah, this saviour of Man. But how much of it is fact, and how much is fiction? That was the purpose of our presentation; and in this paper, I will be discussing the origins of Christianity from the Literalist/Gnostic standpoint and further into the documented life of Jesus.
In the century before Christ, Jerusalem was a kingdom surrounded by hellenized (Adoption of Greek language and culture) cities. The process of hellenization also brought about a wave of Pagan philosophers who were said to have spread their teachings of the Mysteries, which will be discussed later, as far as Rome (Freke & Gandy, 1999). Therefore Jewish interaction with the Pagans was inevitable, through interactions with the philosophers, and especially through conquest by other nations - Egypt in 922 BCE, the Assyrians in 700 BCE, the Babylonians in 586 BCE, the Greeks in 332 BCE, the Syrians in 198 BCE, and finally by the Romans in 63 BCE (Freke & Gandy, 1999). It is not surprising to say that Pagan beliefs were in one way or another adopted by Jews. Many Jews became hellenized, and some even abandoned their faith in favour of the Pagan Mysteries (Angus, 1925, as cited by Freke and Gandy, 1999).
The Mysteries consisted of two levels, in which a follower (called an Initiate) had to first master one before going to the other. The first was the Outer Mysteries, which consisted of myths and rituals designed for commoners or laymen wanting to participate. The second is known as the Inner Mysteries, where the meanings of the myths and rituals of the Outer mysteries are revealed (called Gnosis), bringing about personal transformation and spiritual enlightenment. As such, the Inner Mysteries are not open to the general public, and is considered sacred.
In 66 CE, Jews in Judea revolted against the Romans, and were eventually defeated. They were further oppressed and many were spread throughout the Roman Empire as slaves and refugees. Unfortunately, many were barely initiated into the Mysteries, and many more had not gone further than the Outer Mysteries. So was it possible that this group, left with only the metaphors and myths of the Outer Mysteries, took these stories as fact? Freke and Gandy (1999) conclude that this scenario is highly possible, and thus Literalist Christianity was born. On the other hand, the Jews who had remained in Alexandria continued on their process of initiation, and went on to form Gnosticism.
A central theme in the Outer Mysteries is of a mystical dying and resurrecting Godman. “Each mystery [was] centered around a myth in which the deity either returned to life after death or else triumphed over his enemies. Implicit in the myth was the theme of redemption from everything earthly and temporal.” (Nash, 1994). Therefore, it can be said that the Literalists took this myth as historical fact and began to preach of a universal saviour of mankind, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
A quick comparison between the documented life of Jesus with the myth of Pagan Godmen brings about questioning similarities. Details of his birth, baptism, life and death, teachings, and miracles are similar to those of Mithras, Osiris-Dionysus, Aion, and Attis whose myths have preceded those of Jesus. But a question was posed to me that unless there was a 100% similarity between Jesus and another Godman, it is still not proof enough to say that Jesus was not the Son of God as claimed, especially since these Godmen were from different parts of the world. My answer is that Christianity, being a syncretic religion, probably adopted different versions of the Jesus myth and compiled it into a unified whole. This is because, as mentioned earlier, Literalist Christians were spread as slaves all over the Roman empire, and were exposed to different, localized versions of the same basic myths. This would also explain the differences in accounts of Jesus, such as him being either born on December 25th (The birth of Mithras, Persian) or January 6th (The birth of Aion, Alexandrian) (Freke & Gandy, 1999).
Joseph Campbell (1968, cited by Colbert, 2001) wrote of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, a common character central to cultures all over the world. The common themes (described halfway, since Jesus died at the crossroads of the script, where the hero either dies, or returns) in the hero’s journey are :
1. The hero is called to adventure
2. The hero may refuse the call, but will eventually have no choice in the matter
3. The hero meets a protector and guide who offers supernatural aid
4. The hero encounters the first threshold with the help of the guardian, but must cross it alone. He may have to fight a guardian who wants to prevent the crossing.
5. The hero follows a road of trials, and may encounter companions to aid him
6. The hero is abducted or has to take a journey by night or by sea
7. The hero fights a symbolic dragon, and may suffer death or dismemberment.
8. The hero is recognized or reunited with his father
9. The hero becomes nearly divine
A quick glance of this sequence of events does seem like a basic script for the life of Jesus, but it can also be seen as a script for Harry Potter, Star Wars, or even Disney’s Hercules. So can we really say that the life of Jesus is unique?
In conclusion, from the points brought forward in the presentation and in this paper, a number of conclusions can be reached. One is that Christ never existed and Christianity is merely a shallow misinterpretation of deeper teachings. Another is that Jesus was a real man, possibly a philosopher or healer who gained followers, and had divine elements added into details of his life after his death. Or maybe early Church Fathers were right, and the Devil somewhat succeeded in his diabolical mimicry, causing us to question the existence of Christ by giving this presentation. My personal opinion is that while we should question the teachings and history of Christianity (or any other religion for that matter), it is only for the sake of knowledge and argument, as it is undeniable that Christianity has provided inspiration and hope for many, and that by itself is a great achievement going beyond the validity of its origins.
“Religion is the most important thing in a person’s life. If electric trains are the most pervasive thing in one’s life, that is his religion. Anything can be a religion if it means a lot. If your present religion isn’t the most important thing in your life, then skip it. Find whatever impels you most and make that your religion.”
- Anton Szandor LaVey
Bibliography
Colbert, D. (2001). The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter. London: Penguin Books. Freke, T. & Gandy, P. (1999). The Jesus Mysteries. New York: Three Rivers Press
Hopfe, L. M. & Woodward, M. R. (2001). Religions of the World. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
LaVey, A. S. (n.d.). The World’s Most Powerful Religion. Retrieved April 12, 2004 from the World Wide Web : http://www.churchofsatan.com/home.html
Nash, R. (1994). Was the New Testament Influenced by Pagan Religions? Retrieved March 26, 2004 from the World Wide Web : http://www.psalmsinger.org/paganinfluence.htm
