Evidence for God from Science

Below was a posting on Yahoo. Does anyone know how to answer the below statements.

HERE IS THE CHOICE OF WHERE THE FAKE HISTORY CAME FROM. WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO PREACH ABOUT? THOSE GODS WERE WORSHIPS MANY YEARS BEFORE YOUR FAKE CHRIST.

The Truth about Christmas- Pagan Legacy

Okay Christians, let's take a little quiz...WHO IS THIS?

This God:
-was born on December 25th.
-was considered a great traveling teacher and master.
-had 12 companions or disciples.
-performed miracles.
-was buried in a tomb.
-after three days he rose again.
-his resurrection was celebrated every year.
-was called "the Good Shepherd."
-was considered "the Way, the Truth and the Light, the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah."
-was identified with both the Lion and the Lamb.
-his sacred day was Sunday, "the Lord's Day,".
-he had his principal festival on what was later to become Easter, at which time he was resurrected.
-his religion had a Eucharist or "Lord's Supper."

If you guessed Jesus Christ, well, YOU'D BE WRONG!! HE WAS... MITHRA, a Roman-Persian God who existed hundreds of years before Christ.
("He who will not eat of my body and drink of my blood, so that he will be made on with me and I with him, the same shall not know salvation." This inscription to Mithras, which parallels John 6:53-54, is inside the Vatican in the tomb of Saint Peter.)

Time for another quiz, fundies!

WHO WAS THIS GOD?
- God was his father
- He was born in a cowshed.
- A human woman, a virgin, was his mother.
- His birth was prophesized by a star in the heavens.
- At a marriage ceremony, he performed the miracle of converting water into wine.
- His followers were born-again through baptism in water.
- He rode triumphantly into a city on a donkey. Tradition records that the inhabitants waved palm leaves.
- He had 12 disciples.
- He was accused of licentious behavior.
- He was killed near the time of the Vernal Equinox, about MAR-21.
- He died "as a sacrifice for the sins of the world."
- He was hung on a tree, stake, or cross.
- After death, he descended into hell.
- On the third day after his death, he returned to life.
- The cave where he was laid was visited by three of his female followers.
- He later ascended to heaven.
- His titles: God made flesh. Savior of the world, Son of God.
- He is "God made man," and equal to the Father.
- He will return in the last days.
- He will judge the human race at that time.
- Humans are separated from God by original sin. The godman's sacrificial death reunites the believer with
God and atones for the original sin.

Did you guess Jesus Christ? Well, again you'd be WRONG!! HE WAS... OSIRIS-DIONYSUS, an Egyptian God that existed thousands of years before Christ allegedly came around

Here are two webpages that might help you.

Mighty Mithraic Madness

Refuting the Myth the Jesus Never Existed

The first deals directly with the list you copied, and discusses each supposed similarity, one by one.

The second has a section titled "Pagan Similarities" which likewise addresses this issue, although in a more general manner.

EDITED TO ADD:

Here are some of my own views:

1 - I was struck by the use of "Christian" terms. I found this to be leading and deceptive. For example, the term "messiah" is a very specific Hebrew idea of "the annointed one". Mithra was a sun god; therefore, I'm sure he was considered to be the "light". But to say he was "the Way, the Truth and the Light, the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah" is just plain not true. (Likewise, the addition of the term "The Lord's Day" when explaining that the sun-god was worshipped on sun-day.) LIkewise, the sun was thought to have 12 satellites circling it. The author of this list cleverly adds an intermediate step (calling these satellites "companions"), and from here, completes the link by jumping from "companions" to "disciples".

2 - In addition to deceptive termonology, some of the details are likewise manipulated. For example, the author says that Mithra was burried in a cave. Actually, the only reference to a "cave" I could find in my search was the fact that Mithra was thought to be born from a rock.

3 - Some of the similarities are just plain stupid. For example, God was Osiris's father. Well, duh. In ancient mythology the god's had many sons and daughters. So what?

4 - Some of the similarities are very suspicious. Every single website that I could find about Mithra, for example, says that the cult was very secretive, and there are NO existing written manuscripts explaining the details of Mithra worship. This author claims that Mithra died, was buried in a tomb, and rose in 3 days. Supposedly, this event was celebrated by Mithra worshippers ever year. I could not find one single reference to this belief in all the papes I read about Mithra worship. (Excluding sites which simply copied verbatim the list presented here. These sites, however, were not sites about Mithra worship, per se. They were all sites whose purpose was to "prove" that Jesus was a myth.)

5 - Some of the similarities are, perhaps, true. For example, we know that the Bible does not tell us the date of Jesus' birth. It is accepted by many Christians that Dec. 25 was probably not His actual birthday, and, in fact, could well have been choses simply because it was the winter soltice. Whatever the early church's reasons for doing this, it has no bearing whatsoever on whether Jesus is who He says He is.

people really need to stop listening to Achayra S.

HA! Do you know what ... it's a good job I've studied these deities at degree level, and can I tell you all - I've never heard such propoganda and lies in my life.

Mithra (or Michra/Mezrah/Mithrainia) was an old-Iranian god of light, contracts and friendship. He also maintains the cosmic order. Sometimes mentioned as the son of Ahura Mazda, he assists him in his struggle against the forces of evil, represented by Angra Mainyu. Mithra was born from a rock (or a cave). He fought with the sun and managed to capture the divine bull and slayed it before he ascended to heaven. From the blood of the bull came forth all the plants and animals beneficial to humanity.

With the emerging of Zoroastrianism, he was reduced to the status of Yazata. In the Avesta he was portrayed as having ten thousand ears and eyes, and he rides in a chariot pulled by white horses. In the 4 century BCE his popularity rose and again he held a high position in the Persian pantheon. Eventually his cult spread beyond Iran and Asia Minor and gradually became a mystery cult. The ascetic religion of Mithraism (to which only men were allowed) became increasingly popular among the Roman soldiers around 100 CE and at that time Mithra was known in Rome as 'Deus sol invictus' ("the unconquered sun"). Even the Roman emperor Commodus was initiated into Mithra's cult. When Constantine the Great was converted to Christianity in 312 CE, Mithraism started to decline and after a temporary revival under Julius the Apostate (331-363) the cult disappeared for good.

Mithra was worshipped in Mithraea, artificially constructed caves that represented his birth-cave. The ceiling looked like the starry sky and at the sides benches where placed for the ritual meals. In the center of the Mithraea was a niche which held a relief of the god, dressed in Phrygian clothing (short tunic and cloak, long trousers and a hat with a curled tip), who kills a bull. The Mithraea were spread all over the Roman empire and some 50 of these caves still exist in Rome today.

He is also known as Mitra in the Indian Veda.
Please also note ... that contrary to the crap written in that source, Mithra was a persion god under Roman influence hundreds of years AFTER Christ.

There are three historical documents that describe the life of Mithra. If anyone is in doubts about Christ because of this false myth, I will supply the neccessary exerpts. Can I also mention, that not a lot at all is known about Mithra - Mithra's life was recorded a little, although the actual miracles and other stuff formulated through the cult of Mithra hundreds of years after Mithra died.

I just read the name osiris, and remembered that he wasn't hanged or crucified, he was cut to pieces and spread all over the world by set. He didn't sacrifice himself, he was ruler of the world and married to isis when his brother set kicked his ass all over the place. He never ascended into heaven again, he remained in hell to judge the dead. Most of this stuff is ridiculous. I'm not familiar with mithra but osiris is pretty well known, and I'm surprised anybody would be stupid enough to write something like that.

In any of these sorts of debates, I have found it useful to ask the poster of stupid claims to back it up with credible sources, since we already have one! I suspect in this case it was merely a chain e-mail going around, and that the poster has no idea where the information came from, he was just to happy to pass it on. Don't go on the defensive immediately, ask for references etc. Otherwise blow it off as urban legend, and expose the poster.

August wrote:In any of these sorts of debates, I have found it useful to ask the poster of stupid claims to back it up with credible sources, since we already have one! I suspect in this case it was merely a chain e-mail going around, and that the poster has no idea where the information came from, he was just to happy to pass it on. Don't go on the defensive immediately, ask for references etc. Otherwise blow it off as urban legend, and expose the poster.

I concur. And just a side note of little importance: given 4,000 years people will make up a lot of foolishness. Odds are some of that will randomly be right in some way or another. Odds say most of it will be wrong, but occasionally...