The mystery religions of the ancient Greco-Roman world were based on myths that were stories of alleged battles and other activities among the gods. The mystery religions developed elaborate rituals to celebrate or reenact the content of the myths.

The written source material of the mystery religions is very sketchy and many myths are retold in differing versions. Most of the relevant source materials on the mystery religions are dated after 200 AD which is more than a century after the New Testament was written.

The attack on Christianity comes from liberal scholars who examine the source material (dated in the 200s AD) and assume that the mystery religions held to those doctrines in the first century. These scholars then choose a version of a myth that has some vague parallel with the resurrection of Christ and then boldly claim that Christianity got the resurrection story from the mystery religion! This tactic, when cloaked in sophisticated scholarly jargon can have a devastating impact on young college students who respect the instructors of comparative religion classes.

The "scholarship" however is mere guesswork and broad assumptions. Their conclusions are based on the flimsiest of evidence. It's another case of educated men making educated guesses.

Let's look at what would be perhaps the closest pagan parallel to the resurrection. It is a myth associated with the Egyptian cult of Isis and Osiris. (This myth actually comes from a time before the cult of Isis was changed into a mystery religion.) In this myth Osiris is murdered by his brother who puts Osiris's body in a coffin and sinks it in the Nile River. Osiris's wife, Isis, finds the body and returns it to Egypt. Osiris's brother then cuts Osiris's body into fourteen pieces and scatters them. Isis then searches for the parts of the body and recovers them and places them in the Nile and Osiris comes back to life.

If the above myth is the closest pagan parallel to the New Testament account of the resurrection of Christ you can imagine that other myths are even more tenuous. To say that the early Christians got the resurrection story from the Osiris myth is a stretch of monstrous proportions. Some versions of the Osiris story don't even have him coming back to life. By some accounts he simply became king of the underworld.

Many liberal scholars retell ancient mystery religion myths using Christian terminology such as referring to Osiris' body being placed in the Nile as a "baptism." All of this stretching of the actual content of the myths and reading between the lines by liberal scholars seems to suggest that they approach this work with a strong preexisting bias against Christianity.

It is beyond the scope of this short article to give anything approaching a full rebuttal to the blasphemous allegation that mystery religions are precursors of Christianity. Much of my source material came from an article titled Was the New Testament Influenced By Pagan Religions? by Dr. Ronald Nash; Christian Research Journal, Winter 1994 8-15 (available online at www.equip.org/free/DB109.htm. I recommend the above article for further study. I also recommend Dr. Nash's book The Gospel and the Greeks which counters this attack against Christianity in a fuller, more technical way.

The resurrection of Christ was foretold by the Old Testament prophets centuries before it occurred. The Old Testament prophesies were written long before most or perhaps all pagan mystery religion myths were composed. The resurrection of Christ stands as a true historical account that was both foretold by the prophets and written down by eyewitnesses.

The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.  

Steps to salvation: Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)

1. Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
2. Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
3. Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
4. Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
5. Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)

To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:

"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!

Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA

(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given

DEFENDING THE FAITH APOLOGETIC ARTICLES Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world. The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel. All Defending the Faith articles are © 2009 William P. Nugent, permission is granted to email or republish if credit given. To receive these articles which are sent out once per month fill in your email address below and click the SUBMIT button. *Security: Write the characters in the image above (Case sensitive)