More PARALLELOMANIA: part 4
I continue about Parallelomania and this is really all....
Remember that Parallelomania is: The supposed links and parallels between Christianity and Pagan Links
“If Christianity was something we were making up, of course we could make it easier. But it is not. We cannot compete, in simplicity, with people who are inventing religions. How could we? We are dealing with fact. Of course, anyone can be simple if he has no facts to bother about.” CS Lewis (Mere Christianity p. 165)
Charge: The December 25 Date Was Stolen
“The Bible says nothing about the specific date or time of Jesus’ birth. Most scholars think it was in the spring due to the description of the shepherds being in the fields with their sheep.” Witherington
" that it was not until about 336 A.D. that the December 25 date became the official date to celebrate Jesus’ birth. The sheer absence of any date in the New Testament documents is sufficient enough to overturn Zeitgeist’s claim; Yamauchi’s word on the matter is another nail in the coffin.” Edwin Yamauchi
“The Bible says nothing about the specific date or time of Jesus’ birth. Most scholars think it was in the spring due to the description of the shepherds being in the fields with their sheep.” Ben Witherington
Charge: The Time of Jesus' Birth Is Connected With The Astrological Cycle
“Much is made by Mr. Joseph [producer of Zeitgeist] about how in 1 A.D. a new ‘age’ or astrological cycle begins, after the age of the Ram. Unfortunately for Mr. Joseph, Jesus was born somewhere between 2-6 B.C. He was not born in 1 A.D." Ben Witherington
ICHTHUS (fish in Greek, was used as an Acrostic in certain Christians circles)
Insous, Christos, Theos, Uios and Soter
Jesus Christ, God, Son, Savior
"Zeitgeist goes on to claim that “probably the most obvious of all the astrological symbolism around Jesus regards the 12 disciples,” which, the movie states, are “the 12 constellations of the Zodiac, which Jesus, being the Sun, travels about with.” Why anyone would consider this “the most obvious” of such evidence I don’t know—I’ve never heard it until now. Were it so obvious you would expect it to be widely claimed. Further, what makes it so “obvious”? The only similarity between the two is the number twelve, for which examples can be found anywhere. The most “obvious” of these, to any “real” researcher is the twelve tribes of Israel. Since Jesus was fulfilling the Old Covenant, and was instituting the New Covenant, He was choosing the “New” twelve tribes. Jesus himself said that the disciples would sit as judges over the twelve tribes (Matt. 19:28). This is a genuine historical parallel which is reinforced in the book of Revelation, when these two twelves are joined together in New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:12–14). Why stretch for such wild parallels in the stars when the Bible is self-consistent in its symbolism? Biblical theology needs no help from the astrologers that it despises anyway. The movie even notices that “the number 12 is replete throughout the bible,” but then misses the impact of that fact and concludes arbitrarily, “This text has more to do with astrology than anything else.” If the Bible contains the number twelve throughout, why go outside the Bible to interpret what significance “12 disciples” may have? To do so betrays a desire to impose a non-Biblical meaning onto the Biblical text." Joel McDurmon
, “What about the claim that the twelve disciples represent the 12 constellations of the Zodiac? Well once again, Mr. Joseph [the producer of Zeitgeist] has not bothered to do his homework. There was this little entity called the 12 tribes of Israel, going back to Jacob and his 12 sons. Those stories in Genesis are not astrological in character at all, but rather are explanations of a historical origins of a people. The 12 disciples are chosen by Jesus, not because he was a stargazer, but because he was attempting to reform, and indeed re-form Israel. The twelve disciples represent the 12 tribes of Israel, and you will remember that Jesus promised that at the eschaton [Jesus’ coming kingdom] they will be sitting on 12 thrones, judging those 12 tribes [see Matthew 19:28]. Once more, this is a sort of historical and eschatological thinking, not a sort of astrological thinking, and the claim that the Bible has more to do with astrology than anything else, can only be called a category mistake. Clearly, Mr. Joseph has done no work whatsoever in the study of the various genre of Biblical literature which he could have gotten from any standard introduction to the Bible, even those written by agnostics and skeptics.” Ben Witherington
Charge: Horus Was Born Of A Virgin On December 25th, Resurrected, ETC.
“There was no such thing as the concept of bodily resurrection in Egyptian religion, and certainly not of a mythological deity, Horus, was not believed to have a human body. Sometimes commentators will use the term resurrection to speak loosely about an afterlife in another world, not a bodily return to this world.” Ben Witherington
Charge: The Story Of Noah's Flood Is Plagiarized From Other Sources
"Zeitgeist tells us that the story of Noah’s Ark and the Flood is not unique: The concept of a Great Flood is ubiquitous throughout the ancient world, with over 200 different cited claims in different periods and times.” It is nice to see the Zeitgeist gang finally catching up to Christian scholars on an issue. We have been pointing out the world-wide phenomenon of flood stories for decades now, trying to make people realize that the flood actually happened! Now Zeitgeist comes along and tries to use this fact against us? These guys are so eager to find parallels that they haven’t stopped to think: sometimes parallels may actually work in support of the Bible, not against it. After all, if there really was a world-wide flood thousands of years ago, finding multiple traditions of the same story all over the world is exactly what we should expect. This is what we do find. Almost all these flood traditions record a universal flood in which only a tiny remnant of the population is saved. Some add the building of an ark and saving of the animals. Some recall the ark landing on a mountain; some the sending out of birds, etc. It only stands to reason that a few older legends, especially ones that remained geographically close to and close in language, might just have a similar tradition to that of the Bible. Joel McDurmon
"it's the other way around with over a 100 Flood Stories, exactly what we should expect if there was a Universal Flood" -Tom Sigley
All of this reminds me of why someone , somewhere answered the questions why Fire Engines were Red
Why are Fire Engines are Red?
Fire Engines are re because
They have four wheels and eight men;
Four plus eight is twelve;
Twelve inches makes a ruler;
A ruler is Queen Elisabeth
Queen Elisabeth sails the seven seas;
The seven seas have fish;
The fish have fins;
The Finns hate the Russians;
Russians are red;
and Fire engines are always rushin’;
Therefore Fire Engines are Red! Q.E.D.
The apostle Peter wrote, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain" (2 Peter 1:16-18).
