Did Christianity Borrow From Ancient Pagan Religions?
Did Christianity Borrow From Ancient Pagan Religions?
A recurring claim, especially on the internet, is that Christianity borrowed its core beliefs from ancient pagan religions. Critics argue that elements such as the virgin birth, the divine Son of God, his death for humanity, and resurrection were all borrowed from earlier myths. Authors like Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, in “The Laughing Jesus”, argue that various ancient cultures had their own versions of a "dying and resurrecting godman" – from Osiris in Egypt to Dionysus in Greece, and Mithras in Persia. These parallels have led some to suggest that Christianity was not unique, but rather a product of adopting and adapting the myths of surrounding cultures. This idea was further popularized by scholars like James G. Frazer in his book, “The Golden Bough” (1914) and has been echoed in various documentaries such as The God Who Wasn’t There (2005), Zeitgeist (2007), and Religulous (2008). This claim has been largely discredited by modern scholarship.
What Do Modern Scholars Say?
Modern scholarship generally dismisses the notion that Christianity copied its core beliefs from pagan religions. Dr. Tryggve Mettinger, a Swedish scholar, noted that there is a scholarly consensus against the concept of "dying and rising gods" being relevant to Christianity. Similarly, Bart Ehrman, a well-known atheist/agnostic scholar, asserts that there are no ancient sources that speak of a divine man who was crucified as an atonement for sin and then resurrected. He emphasizes that the claims of parallels between Christianity and pagan myths are unfounded and not supported by credible evidence. The notion that Christianity borrowed from pagan religions was popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the History of Religions School, but has since been abandoned.
Scholars like Ron Nash have pointed out that by the mid-20th century most academics had rejected the idea that Christianity was significantly influenced by these pagan religions. For instance, there are major differences between Christianity and pagan myths when describing a resurrection. First, none of the resurrections in pagan myths involve the God of the universe dying a voluntary death for his creation. Only Jesus died for sins of the world. The gods in pagan myths die by compulsion, not by choice; sometimes they died in bitterness and despair rather than in self-giving love.
Second, Jesus died once for all (Hebrews 7:27, 9:25-28) while pagan gods repeat the death and rebirth cycle annually with the seasons. Third, Jesus’ death was not a defeat, but a triumph over sin and death, a redemptive act in history. The New Testament’s mood of victory and joy (1 Cor. 15:50-57 and Col. 2:13-15) stands in contrast to pagan myths whose moods are dark and sorrowful over the fate of their gods. Finally, Jesus’ death was an actual historical event. Christianity insists upon and defends the historical credibility of the gospel accounts while the pagan cults make no such attempt to establish their historical accuracy.
Specific Claims about Mithras
One of the most cited pagan myth examples is Mithras, a deity worshipped in Persia 400 years before Jesus, that critics claim shares striking similarities with Christ. For example, the myth claims Mithras was born of a virgin in a cave on December 25th, that he was a traveling preacher with 12 disciples, performed miracles, sacrificed himself for world peace, and rose from the dead after three days. It’s even claimed that his followers celebrated this event annually, which later became Easter, and that he was called titles like the Good Shepherd, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and celebrated the “Lord’s Supper” on Sundays. These parallels make Mithras sound remarkably similar to Jesus.
However, most of these claims are inaccurate or fabricated. For instance, Mithras was born from solid rock, not from a virgin. While his birth was celebrated on December 25th, this date wasn’t initially linked to Jesus’ birth; it was a later adoption by Christians from earlier winter solstice traditions and was a later addition to the Mithraic tradition as well. Furthermore, the earliest versions of Mithraic mythology that align with these claims appear more than 100 years after the New Testament was written, indicating that if any borrowing occurred, it was Mithraism borrowing from Christianity, not the other way around.
There is no credible evidence that Mithras was a traveling preacher or that he had 12 companions; some traditions mention Mithras had 4 or 16 companions. While many deities in various religions promise immortality or perform miracles, there is no evidence of Mithras performing miracles or being a historical figure—he remains purely mythological. Likewise, Mithras was never buried in a tomb, didn’t rise after three days, and there’s nothing in his tradition to suggest he even died, let alone resurrected. The titles attributed to him, like Good Shepherd, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Logos, Redeemer, Savior, or Messiah, came from Roman adaptations well after the New Testament and have no basis in Mithraic tradition. The idea of celebrating Sunday as a sacred day only appears in the Roman version of Mithraism, which developed after the New Testament, suggesting this was borrowed from Christianity, rather than the other way around. While Mithras' followers did share fellowship meals, these were nothing equivalent to the Christian concept of the Eucharist.
Similar mythological comparisons with other deities like Bacchus/Dionysus, Osiris, and Horus also fall short. For example, Bacchus was born from an affair between Zeus and a mortal woman, Semele; Osiris was dismembered by his brother and became ruler of the underworld, not through his own resurrection; and Horus was born from the union of Osiris and his sister-wife Isis, with no credible historical basis for claims of his crucifixion.
Even if some mythological figures did share similar stories with Jesus, this wouldn’t invalidate the Gospel accounts. Historical accuracy is determined by evidence, not by uniqueness. For example, a novel written around 1900 described a fictional ship, the Titan, that was unsinkable but it sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage—strikingly similar to the real-life Titanic disaster 15 years later. The existence of an earlier story with parallels to the Titanic does not make the Titanic’s sinking any less real. The truth of historical events is established by evidence, not by whether similar stories exist.
Conclusion
The claim that Christianity borrowed its core ideas from pagan religions is not supported by credible historical evidence. The supposed parallels either do not exist or are too superficial to undermine the distinctiveness of the Christian message. Christianity's roots are firmly planted in Judaism, not in pagan mythology. Its key doctrines – such as monotheism, the sinfulness of humanity, salvation through grace, and bodily resurrection – are unique and do not find true parallels in the pagan religions. Moreover, the central figure of Christianity, Jesus Christ, is a historical figure, with His life, death, and resurrection supported by historical evidence. The pagan religions, by contrast, are largely legendary, with little to no historical foundation. Therefore, the claim that Christianity borrowed its core beliefs from pagan myths does not hold up under scrutiny. Christianity remains distinct, with its teachings emerging from the Jewish tradition and historical events, rather than from the myths of surrounding cultures.
