Unraveling the Pagan Christ proposition: An in-depth analysis of Tom Harpur's controversial theory.

"The Pagan Christ proposition" is a controversial theory put forward by Tom Harpur, a former Anglican priest and journalist, in his book titled "The Pagan Christ." The theory suggests that the figure of Jesus Christ as portrayed in the Bible is merely a mythological character derived from various ancient pagan gods and myths. Harpur argues that Christianity borrowed heavily from earlier pagan religions and that Jesus of Nazareth never actually existed as a historical figure. According to Harpur, the story of Jesus is essentially a retelling of older myths and legends from ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Greece. He claims that concepts such as the virgin birth, crucifixion, and resurrection were not unique to Christianity but rather were common themes found in pagan traditions predating the life of Jesus. Harpur argues that the early Christian Church deliberately incorporated these pagan elements into its teachings in order to make Christianity more appealing and accessible to a wide range of believers.

It was also believed that pagan mystery religions found in the Greco-Roman world focused upon “dying-rising” gods who offered salvation to those initiated into them, as Sir James G. Frazer asserted in The Golden Bough, an influential study in comparative folklore, magic, and religion. But scholars in the mid- and late-twentieth century challenged and eventually rejected these assumptions, demonstrating that the pagan mystery religions of the Greco-Roman world were quite different from those found in the ancient Far East. The Oxford Dictionary concludes that “their prominence in modern scholarship is quite disproportionate to their ancient profile.”

He found that even though Graves claimed that he had relied on 200 works, these were all filtered through a short list of primary sources, all of which overtly propagandized a Deist, atheist, or occultist agenda. Rigorous studies demonstrated that the pagan mystery religions of the Greco-Roman world were different in essential ways from those religions of the ancient Far East.

Harpur argues that the early Christian Church deliberately incorporated these pagan elements into its teachings in order to make Christianity more appealing and accessible to a wide range of believers. He suggests that the Church transformed Jesus from a purely mythical figure into a historical person in order to give the new religion more credibility and to encourage conversions. The main idea of Harpur's "The Pagan Christ" is that the story of Jesus is not a unique revelation but a continuation of ancient pagan myths and legends.

The pagan roots of Christianity: a Reply

In the introduction of his book "The Pagan Origins of Christianity" Andre Knighton wrote: "…. The Catholic Church did not recognize her pagan roots and origins up to this day…… the time has come to look today at Christianity in the light of the emerging studies on paganism" In fact, the first to put these theories is Godfrey Higgins (1772-1833), followed by Kersey Graves, who published his famous book "The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors", in 1875, after that, there have been writings by John G. Jackson , Tom Harpur , Acharya S , and others. But the accuracy and validity of the information of these writings had been questioned not only by Christian scholars, but also by atheists, with the general consensus that these writings are non-scientific and non-credible, and among those who issued these books including Higgins, none of them is specialized in history or theology or religions, or even ancient civilizations. This theory, which is called the copycat, (means: copy or imitation) is trying to put all the similarities between Jesus and Horus, Attis, Krishna, Mithra and Dionysius and others, on the basis that Christianity had adapted the personal details and the life of Jesus from them.

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Expanding out of Palestine and into the wider Roman world, Christian missionaries as early as Paul himself encountered a wide array of pagan beliefs and practices. However, as the Church became centered in Rome and strove to establish itself as the official religion of the empire, it had to compete with those forms of paganism that predominated in the very heart of the empire and that enjoyed official support. While several gods and their associated beliefs and rituals enjoyed official recognition, worship of the sun god in the form of Sol Invictus was later superseded during the third century CE by devotion to Mithras. As Christianity spread throughout the empire and became increasingly dominant in Rome itself, Mithraism formed the foundation of Roman paganism. It was, thus, with this religion that the emerging Roman Church had to most directly compete and against which it directed much of its anti-pagan hostility, while at the same time incorporating many of its beliefs and rituals. including placing the celebration of Jesus' virgin birth on December 25th.

Mithraism is one of the most mysterious religions in the World. In fact, it was a mystery, a cult where initiates were supposed to remain silent about it to the profanes. These cults also offered the promise of eternal salvation them. Little is known about Mithras and its cult, and so it remains more than a mystery. We could say almost the same about Arthuriana and some of its most important characters: they are a mystery in History, Folklore and Literature. However, British author Bernard Cornwell has mixed up both mysteries into one in his thrilling and mind-boggling trilogy The Warlord Chronicles, published between 1996 and 1998. This kaleidoscopic trilogy retells Arthur's deeds and miseries from the moment his nephew Mordred is born until his final departure to Camlann, through the eyes of his best friend, Derfel Cadarn, a Mithraist. Derfel shows how Christianity triumphs over the rest of the pagan religions, most of the times with no fair play. The aim of this paper is to s.

This study will seek to investigate the evidence of mystery-cults found in Roman Britain in an attempt to understand their place within the religious realm of the province. Attention will be given to the cults of Isis and the Egyptian gods, of Cybele and Attis, Bacchus, and Mithras. Considered will be questions of how these cults were organized, who engaged in them, and how the evidence from Britain effects the greater understanding of the cults within the Empire.

"This book will probably be the most difficult piece of reading you will ever read because in this book I demonstrate with overwhelming proof that Christianity is the great lie foretold in The Bible . You will be tempted to shut down, stop reading, to turn away from it in total denial. The "god" behind this false religion, The Dragon, has a firm hold on the mind of humanity and this lie is so powerful that if possible could even deceive the elect of YHUH (YAHUAH ALAUHYM). if possible". - Rev Sha'ul Chapter 1 - From Dagon to The Dragon, The Spirit behind Christianty Chapter 2 : The Great Deception Chapter 3: The Great Apostasy Chapter 4: The Pagan History of the Christian Church Chapter 5 : How Christianity was created Chapter 6: The Foundation and Birth of Christianity Chapter 7: How the new "god" was created and called "Jesus" Chapter 8: Christianity is born with a new "god" called "Jesus" Chapter 9: The name "Jesus" Chapter 10 : Easter replaced Passover (Pasach) Chapter 11: The Sabbath is changed to Dies Solis (Day of the Sun aka Sunday) Chapter 12: Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Christmas)

The sacrifice of the sacred bull/calf deep in the underground cave, underlines the dualistic nature of the Mitraic Cult. The sacred bull was in its true nature a fetishist manifestation - phallus, of a multitude-form creator solar deity, a symbol of the sky and heavens, which through this ritual sacrifice ejaculates its seeds (blood) of life. While the underground cave , where Mitra was born from a stone, symbolized the interior (uterus) of the mother earth, which is about to be fertilized by the blood/seed of the celestial bull deep inside her. The death was the symbolic rebirth in the same time, as the sexual culmination is often compared with the “small death.” This symbolic sexual “penetration” of the celestial bull/phallus deep into the underground womb of the mother earth, can be deduced also from the unmistakably Phallus-like shape of the Mitraeums, the cave-like shrines of Mitra, where at the end of each the altar represented the ‘glans’ of these penis-shaped structures, and where the “celestial sperm” was spilled in the form of the bull’s blood. Moreover, in the famous Ostia’ Mitraeum in Italy, where was performed the symbolic “ejaculation” of the sacrificial seed (i.e. bull’s blood and most probably the real ejaculation of the adepts and Paters, which was mixed with the “celestial seed” of the slain bull), there’s a very intuitive and proper inscription in Latin: “FELICISSIMUS EXVOTO” - ‘a maximum felicity from a vow’, with an urn-vessel (a mosaic image on the floor) for the ejection of the spilled blood/semen. Mitraism was actually the most Chauvinistic and primitive predecessor of the 10th century dualistic movements, Bogomilism/Catharism and later Protestantism.

The philosopher Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694-1768) believed in a deist God who did not intervene in any way in history. Reimarus therefore denied miracles and the Incarnation, arguing that Jesus was "a Jewish reformer who became increasingly fanatical and politicized, and he failed." His work is often cited as the beginning of the division between the "historical Jesus" and the Jesus of faith supposedly created by the early Church. The theologian Christian Baur (1792-1860 rejected all supernatural elements in the Gospels, presenting Jesus as a mere mortal combining Jewish religious beliefs with Greek philosophy. He concocted the influential theory that Peter and Paul led radically opposed wings of early Christianity, neither of which was true to Jesus' higher (but only mortal) consciousness.

While many scholars dismiss his theory as speculative and lacking solid evidence, Harpur's work has sparked debate and discussion among theologians and historians. Critics argue that the historical evidence for the existence of Jesus is strong, pointing to multiple early Christian and non-Christian sources that mention him. They also argue that the similarities between Jesus and pagan gods can be explained by the universal human tendency to create myths and symbols that reflect common themes and archetypes. Despite the controversy surrounding his ideas, Tom Harpur's "The Pagan Christ" proposition has generated interest among those who are open to exploring alternative interpretations of religious history. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his theory, it serves as a reminder of the complexity and diversity of human spiritual traditions and the ongoing search for meaning in a rapidly changing world..

Reviews for "Sacred connections: The Pagan Christ theory and its insights into religious syncretism."

1. John - 2/5: I found "The Pagan Christ Proposition" by Tom Harpur to be quite misleading. While the concept of exploring pagan influences on Christianity intrigued me, Harpur failed to provide substantial evidence to support his claims. His arguments came across as speculative and lacking in historical accuracy. I was left disappointed and unconvinced by his assertions.

2. Sarah - 1/5: "The Pagan Christ Proposition" by Tom Harpur was a complete waste of time for me. His writing style was convoluted and difficult to follow, making it hard to grasp the points he was trying to make. Additionally, I found his ideas to be quite far-fetched and lacking credible sources. I expected a more scholarly and well-researched examination of the topic, but instead got a book filled with baseless speculations.

3. Mark - 2/5: As someone who was genuinely interested in exploring the potential pagan roots of Christianity, I was disappointed with "The Pagan Christ Proposition" by Tom Harpur. While some of his arguments were intriguing, the lack of solid evidence left me questioning the validity of his claims. Harpur often relied on subjective interpretations and cherry-picked historical references to support his thesis. I was hoping for a more balanced and rigorous analysis, but found the book lacking in that regard.

4. Emily - 1/5: I found "The Pagan Christ Proposition" by Tom Harpur to be a highly speculative and poorly researched book. Harpur seemed more interested in promoting his own theories than providing well-substantiated evidence. His arguments often relied on loose connections and assumptions, making it hard to take his claims seriously. Overall, I was dissatisfied with this book and would not recommend it to those seeking a thorough exploration of the topic.

Exploring the ancient roots of Christ in Tom Harpur's Pagan Christ theory.