Along with Apollonius of Tyana there were several other Christ-like figures with different cults at various different times.
There are various different stories about the life of Christ.
I am no bible scholar, but it seems to me that it's pretty unlikely that Jesus was a historical figure, at least as we know him.
It's just through the machinations of men and chance that we have Christianity as it is today and not something else. People think that things as they are are such because it was destined in some way, but I seriously doubt that is the case.
What little study of the bible I have done has shown me that it's the work of man and not God... and the stories it presents are a collection taken from many similar stories found in various cultures at various times. The history of these stories is quite telling, too.
For instance, I forget which part of the bible it is, but there are parts where there are invocations to God that are basically phrases yoinked from the Canaanite's rituals to their god Baal.
The Hebrews came to live with the Canaanites. Hebrews were nomadic and not agricultural, so their god Yahweh had little to offer in terms of helping with the crops. So, the Hebrews, when it came to crops, would appeal to Baal.
As luck would have it, the Hebrews went from being politically, socially, and economically inferior to the Canaanites to being superior. As this occurred, Yahweh assimilated the characteristics of Baal and became a superior god. As typically happens, the gods of the winners become the more powerful and beneficent while the gods of the losers become demonized.
The bible, new testament and old, is more about man than it is about god, in my opinion.
I mean, you look at the history and what do you find? Not the glory and influence of god, but politics, social influences, etc. Humans.
Last edited by babayada; 12/13/06 05:12 AM.
