Out of Horus and Eostre
He was born of a virgin, begotten by the supreme God. His mother was Meri-Mariam-Mary. His earthy "father" was Seph or Joseph, who was of royal descent. He was born in a lowly place after having been announced to his mother by an angel. His birth was heralded by a bright star and more angels, near the winter solstice, witnessed by shepards and visited by three wise or profound beings.
The ruler of the land tried to have him murdered in his infancy. He received a rite of passage at age 12. He only lived about 30 years. He was baptized by a holy man who was later beheaded. He was tempted by the devil upon a mountain top, but he resisted the temptation. He later assembled a small band of disciples and preformed such miracles as walking on water, casting out demons, healing the sick and making blind men see. His key sermon was held upon a mountain top.
Later, he was crucified along with two thieves and laid to rest in a tomb. After three days, he was resurrected from the dead, this miracle was discovered by women caring for the tomb. His role is the savior of men, part-human, part-God. He is commonly depicted as an infant in the arms of a virgin and is known as "the anointed one."
His name is Horus.
Most Christians are unaware that "Easter" is a word derived from a pagan fertility goddess. Easter comes to us on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. It is a lunar-based festival. It is highly likely that the timing of Easter after the equinox was due so as to allow European pagans (particularly large Germanic tribes) to hold their traditional fertility rituals while still attending Christian Easter festivities held at the end of the fertility celebrations.
The Judeo-Christian heritage is very much history-based. I do not doubt that a man such as Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure. But, virtually all of the teaching and traditional wisdom of the ancient Near East, though history-based, was recorded and communicated inside acceptable mythical traditions that were many centuries old. To say the Hebrew bible is a history book outside of the mythical traditions of the entire region in which it was conceived strikes me as rather shallow.
Everyone can believe whatever they wish or need to believe, of course. That is their individual freedom. The individuality of the freedom of religion perhaps makes it our best example of why freedoms are individual and not collective.
Personally, I have discovered during the course of my life that the desire to believe something does not make it true. And just because you have a thought or feeling that you later find validated through a source unknown to you at the time of your original experience doesn't make that experience any more or less "true" or "meaningful" or "insightful". It is just a coincidence. My own belief is that even coincidences are karmic in nature. But, that's just me.
Was the Jesus story based upon the myth of Horus? Probably not directly. But, the history of the region was always wrapped in rather common myths of the region. Significantly, nothing was written about Jesus as Christ until two or three decades after his crucifixion. This is not conjectural, it is historic fact. The initial transfer of teaching took place in an oral tradition. Apparently multiple traditions even at this time.
Cultures borrowed from one another that way and the Jewish culture was no exception to outside cultural influences. Nor was the Greek culture that later served as the catalyst for the rise of Christianity.
I think it is more accurate to postulate that there is some Horus in the Jesus story. And the timing of easter was originally just another way for the church to attract pagans with the greatest fertility story of all...the rather child-like promise of life after death granted by a god who became human for awhile.
The ruler of the land tried to have him murdered in his infancy. He received a rite of passage at age 12. He only lived about 30 years. He was baptized by a holy man who was later beheaded. He was tempted by the devil upon a mountain top, but he resisted the temptation. He later assembled a small band of disciples and preformed such miracles as walking on water, casting out demons, healing the sick and making blind men see. His key sermon was held upon a mountain top.
Later, he was crucified along with two thieves and laid to rest in a tomb. After three days, he was resurrected from the dead, this miracle was discovered by women caring for the tomb. His role is the savior of men, part-human, part-God. He is commonly depicted as an infant in the arms of a virgin and is known as "the anointed one."
His name is Horus.
Most Christians are unaware that "Easter" is a word derived from a pagan fertility goddess. Easter comes to us on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. It is a lunar-based festival. It is highly likely that the timing of Easter after the equinox was due so as to allow European pagans (particularly large Germanic tribes) to hold their traditional fertility rituals while still attending Christian Easter festivities held at the end of the fertility celebrations.
The Judeo-Christian heritage is very much history-based. I do not doubt that a man such as Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure. But, virtually all of the teaching and traditional wisdom of the ancient Near East, though history-based, was recorded and communicated inside acceptable mythical traditions that were many centuries old. To say the Hebrew bible is a history book outside of the mythical traditions of the entire region in which it was conceived strikes me as rather shallow.
Everyone can believe whatever they wish or need to believe, of course. That is their individual freedom. The individuality of the freedom of religion perhaps makes it our best example of why freedoms are individual and not collective.
Personally, I have discovered during the course of my life that the desire to believe something does not make it true. And just because you have a thought or feeling that you later find validated through a source unknown to you at the time of your original experience doesn't make that experience any more or less "true" or "meaningful" or "insightful". It is just a coincidence. My own belief is that even coincidences are karmic in nature. But, that's just me.
Was the Jesus story based upon the myth of Horus? Probably not directly. But, the history of the region was always wrapped in rather common myths of the region. Significantly, nothing was written about Jesus as Christ until two or three decades after his crucifixion. This is not conjectural, it is historic fact. The initial transfer of teaching took place in an oral tradition. Apparently multiple traditions even at this time.
Cultures borrowed from one another that way and the Jewish culture was no exception to outside cultural influences. Nor was the Greek culture that later served as the catalyst for the rise of Christianity.
I think it is more accurate to postulate that there is some Horus in the Jesus story. And the timing of easter was originally just another way for the church to attract pagans with the greatest fertility story of all...the rather child-like promise of life after death granted by a god who became human for awhile.
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