Bible Question:
The following is an extract from an online discussion, I've looked around for information on much of this and I'm finding very little Christian material addressing the issue. I feel that there must be a reasonable explanation. I am wondering if any one here may have information that would clarify this for me. (I've cut out some of his explanation due to space issues here) "As near as I can tell, the concept of personified good and evil originated with Zoroastrianism and influenced the Jews around 480 BC. It starts much earlier than this, however. There are a few odd similarities between Jesus Christ and the Egyptian god Horus Krst. For instance: Horus was the "Light of the World" Horus was the "Way the Truth and the Light" Horus was baptized with water by Anup Horus was born in Annu "the place of bread" (Bethlehem means "the house of bread") Horus was the "Good Shepherd" and was depectided with a crook on his shoulders Horus was the "Lamb of God" Horus was identified with the Tat or Cross The first Horus was born of a virgin The Star announced the birth of Horus Horus was crucifed and ressurected from the dead Horus the Krst (Christ?) Similarities between Jesus and Virishna (keep in mind that Virishna mythology dates back to 1200 BC): Virishna was immaculately concieved Virishna was conceived by a spirit (Holy Ghost) Virishna was threatened in infancy by a ruling tyrant, Cansa All young male children under 2 years of age were ordered to be killed He was saluted as the "Saviour of Men" He healed the sick, blind and cast out demons He was crucified He rose from the dead I want to make something clear at this point, all this is simply my interpretation of the data I have gathered. Did you also know that the Hebrew name for Jesus is Yahshua or Joshua? A good 2 thousand years before Jesus Christ was dreamed up the ancient Cannanites (this is before the birth of the Hebrew people) worshiped the god El Yashua. This was their god who was born of a virgin and crucified upon a cross and resurrected from the dead with 12 disciples and so forth. Yashua was a Cannanite version of Horus the Krist from Egypt. This sort of comparative religion gets more and more bizarre every time I learn something new. There's more though, let's have a look at Lucifer: "Lucifer" is the Latin term originally used by the Romans to refer to the planet Venus when that planet was west of the sun and hence rose before the sun in the morning, thereby being the morning star. This same planet was called Hesperus, Cesperugo, Vesper, Noctifer, or Nocturnus, and a whole slew of other names when it appeared in the heavens after sunset. Lucifer as a personification is called a son of Astraeus and Aurora or Eos, of Cephalus and Aurora, or of Atlas. He is called the father of Ceyx, Daedalion, and of the Hesperides. Lucifer is also a surname of several goddesses of light, such as Artemis, Aurora, and Hecate. Confused? Hell, I don't blame you. Playing connect-the-mythological-dots is a very sorted process. The word appears to have entered the religious lexicon when the Hebrew expression in Isaiah 14:12, "HeYLeL BeN-ShaCHaR." (meaning "bright son of the morning,dawn," "bright (and) morning star," "glowing morning star," or "shining one, son of the dawn."). It was translated to "Phosphorus" (the Greek word for Venus as the morning star) in the Septuagint, and then translated into "Lucifer" in the Vulgate (from the Greek Septuagint). Isaiah 14, taken as a whole, is a parable, or prophecy of denunciation against the Kings of Babylon, specifically Tiglath pileser III (circa 716 BCE). In verse 12, the prophet characterizes the arrogance of Tiglath-pileser III as if the king had thought himself fit to appear in the sky as the morning star, but has fallen to earth, being brought low by the vengeance of the Lord against those who would exalt themselves and persecute the Lord's people (i.e., the Israelites). Origenes Adamantius (185 CE - 254 CE), an important Christian scholar of the early Greek Church, and Augustine of Canterbury (d. May 26 604/605 CE), founder of the Christian Church in southern England, both interpreted the use of the term Lucifer as a reference to the Devil. The name Lucifer was applied to Satan by St. Jerome and then to the demon of sinful pride by Milton in Paradise Lost. This was fanciful development of an original reference confused in translation. Lucifer is the title and principal character of the epic poem by the Dutch Shakespeare, Vondel (who uses Lucifer in lieu of Satan), and a principal character in the mystery play by Imre Madach, "The Tragedy of Man". Blake pictured Lucifer in his illustrations to Dante. George Meredith's sonnet Lucifer in Starlight addresses the "fiend" as Prince Lucifer. To Spenser in An Hymne of Heavenly Love, Lucifer is "the brightest angel, even the Child of Light." |
Bible Answer: I think the data you presented is a bit flawed....The real "horus" legend follows. Horus (Egyptian Har or Hor) Egyptian sky god. Usually depicted as a falcon or in human form with the head of a falcon. The sun and the moon are said to be his eyes. Son of Isis and the dead Osiris. He was born at Khemmis in the Nile Delta, and Isis hid him in the papyrus marshes to protect him against Seth, his father's murderer. Horus later avenged the death of his father against Seth. Horus lost his left eye (the moon) in the contest between the two. Horus was identified with Lower Egypt and Seth with Upper Egypt in this battle, which lasted eighty years. The gods judged Horus to be the winner, and Seth was either killed or castrated. The consequence of Horus's victory was the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. The Egyptian pharaoh was believed to be an incarnation of Horus, and the name of Horus formed part of his name. The pharaoh was said to become Horus after death. Seth restored the eye he had torn from Horus, but Horus gave it instead to Osiris. The image of the "eye of Horus", a human eye combined with the cheek markings of a falcon, became a powerful amulet among the Egyptians. Among the various manifestations of Horus were: Harpokrates (Heru-Pa-Khret, Harpakhrad): "Horus the child". This refers to his birth and secret rearing by Isis. In this form he is often depicted as a naked child seated on Isis's lap. Haroeris (Har Wer): "Horus the elder". In this form Horus battled against Seth. Harakhte (Harakhti, Heraktes): "Horus of the horizon". Horus at Heliopolis, linked with Ra in the sun cult. In this form he is associated with the rising sun. Harendotes (Har-nedj-itef, Har-End-Yotef): "Horus the saviour of his father" A reference to the avenging of his father's murder. Harmachis (Heru-Em-Akhet, Harmakis): "Horus in the horizon". Horus as symbol of resurrection, linked with the setting sun. Harsiesis (Harsiese, Har-si-Ese, Hor-Sa-Iset): "Horus, son of Isis". Harsomtus (Har-mau): "Horus the uniter" This is a reference to his role in uniting Upper and Lower Egypt. Hor Behdetite (Behedti): "Horus of Behdet". Originally a local form of Horus as Behdet in the Delta region. In this form he was symbolized by the winged solar disk. Also Horus was not"crucified"....... The principal incident is the death of her son Horus, which took place whilst she was absent in a neighboring city, and was caused by the bite of a scorpion; in spite of all the care which Isis took in hiding her son, a scorpion managed to make its way into the presence of the boy, and it stung him until he died. When Isis came back and found her child's dead body she was distraught and frantic with grief, and was inconsolable until Nephthys came and advised her to appeal to Thoth, the lord of words of power, She did so straightway, and Thoth stopped the Boat of Millions of Years in which Ra, the Sun-god, sailed, and came down to earth in answer to her cry; Thoth had already provided her with the words of power which enabled her to raise up Osiris from the dead, and he now bestowed upon her the means of restoring Horus to life, by supplying her with a series of incantations of irresistible might. I suggest the people who posted such things distorted facts and read into things WAY beyond any accurate comparison of pagan gods with Jesus of Nazareth. When you look into the actual myths you find a world of difference with the historical Jesus. |