Horus, Mithra, Krishna and others had similar birth stories to Jesus?

[Timi]

Good morning,

My brief question is based on the Zeitgeist movie that showed a list of figures and deities that were born or worshipped before the birth of Jesus, but who had similar birth and life story lines in general: claims of them being born of a virgin, born on December 25th (I know Jesus wasn’t born on Dec 25th), either beginning ‘ministry’ at 12, or had 12 disciples, died and were resurrected from the dead… among other claimed similarities.

How do I explain the authenticity of Jesus’ story to Confirmation and Religion Students ( and to my own children) who can fall for the claim that Jesus was just one of a long list of deities with similar but not historical/factual life stories. The movie claims that Christianity is based on Astro-Theological adoptions, linking it heavily to the story of the Egyptian Horus. How do I disprove that without saying simply that the Devil was the Mastermind behind it all?

Timi:

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

What you are asking would require a pretty in depth analysis of ancient mythology and religious traditions. They are out there on the internet if you want to search them. Here is one: Debunking the Jesus/Horus Connection

For brevity sake I will just address the birth stories:

• Horus was said to be born when Isis retrieved all the dismembered body parts of her murdered husband Osiris and became pregnant in the “usual” manner. It’s a little more graphic than that but you get the point.
• Mithra is described as being born out of a rock.
• While Krishna is described as being conceived without relations (via divine mental transmission) his mother was most definitely not a virgin, she already had 7 children before giving birth to Krishna.
• As Catholics we don’t actually claim Jesus was born on December 25th, its simply the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

As you can see there is very little in common between the Gospels and other ancient religious traditions. People who claim there are similarities either are misinformed or are deliberately deceitful.