Refuting the claims the disciples copied mythology
One of the arguments I regularly come across when discussing the Gospels and New Testament scriptures is that much of the writings of the Apostles were in fact just copies of mythology and other pagan religions. Many Christians do not know how to respond to the challenge that ancient mythology is full of dying saviors’, resurrections, virgin births and baptismal initiations.
Did the early church make up the story of Jesus being divine and His miracles with all the supernatural elements that are also found in the mystery religions of the day?
An alleged example of resurrection in the mystery religions is the familiar story of the Egyptian cult of Isis and Osiris. The myth actually has Osiris being murdered by his brother Seth who buries his brother’s body in a coffin in the river Nile. Then Isis the wife of the murdered god finds that her husband has been murdered, she then returns it to Egypt. Seth then obtains the body again and cuts it into fourteen pieces sending all the pieces around out of Egypt. Isis then goes and collects all the pieces of her husband and puts them together. Now at this point the skeptic will say see we have a resurrection of gods and the disciples copied this mythology. The only problem with this is that Osiris is put back together to live like a zombie in the shadowy underworld; he is not raised again in all his glory to finally rule the world.
Another myth often mentioned in universities is the myth that Dionysus the Greek god of wine actually turned the water into wine and the disciple’s of Jesus copied this mythology from the pagans. That’s all good and well the only problem is that Dionysus never turned any water into wine, the skeptic who ever mentions this is either a liar or