Was Jesus copied from pagan gods like Horus or Mithras?

The Objection

The ancient world was full of divine sons, miraculous births, sacred meals and saviours who died and returned. Christianity arose in a Roman world soaked in such stories, and its central rites, baptism and a meal of bread and wine, resemble those of the mystery cults. Even early Christians like Justin Martyr admitted the likeness. Isn’t the simplest explanation that Jesus’ story was shaped, or even invented, from ideas already circulating?

Put as its strongest advocates would put it.

The Christian Case

1. Historical evidence

   In Egyptian sources Horus is the son of Isis and Osiris, conceived after Osiris’ death, who fights the god Seth. They do not describe a virgin birth on 25 December, twelve disciples, a crucifixion or a return after three days. These lists trace back to nineteenth-century writers such as Gerald Massey and Kersey Graves. They were revived online, notably in the film Zeitgeist (2007), usually without citing primary sources.

2. Historical evidence

   Evidence for the Roman cult of Mithras begins around the late first century AD and mostly dates from the second and third centuries. That is after Paul’s letters. The cult left no scriptures, so its beliefs are reconstructed mainly from temples and images. Mithras is shown born from a rock and killing a bull. There is no clear evidence that he died and rose again.

3. Historical evidence

   Jesus’ first followers were Jews who rejected idol worship. They described him in Jewish terms: Messiah, Son of Man and resurrection, drawn from their own scriptures. The Gospels place him in a named time and place, under Pontius Pilate. A first-century inscription found at Caesarea confirms that Pilate governed Judea. The myths of seasonal gods, by contrast, are set in a timeless past.

   Daniel 7:13–14Daniel 12:2Luke 3:1–21 Corinthians 15:3–8
4. Philosophical argument

   Similarity alone does not show borrowing. To show copying, you need evidence of contact, the right order of dates, and close, specific details rather than broad themes. Birth, death, renewal and shared meals appear in many cultures because they are part of human life. Broad likenesses are what we would expect whether or not one story borrowed from another.

5. Christians differ

   Christians differ on what real parallels mean. Justin Martyr, writing in the second century, saw them as demonic imitations meant to confuse people (First Apology). C. S. Lewis, in his essay “Myth Became Fact”, saw pagan stories of dying gods as dim anticipations that came true in history in Jesus. Others treat most parallels as coincidence and simply stress the differences.

6. Scripture

   The New Testament presents Jesus’ story as recent, public events reported by people who knew the eyewitnesses. It explicitly denies following “cunningly devised fables”.

   Luke 1:1–42 Peter 1:16

Where the Evidence Is Weaker

Arguments to Avoid

• Repeating the popular Horus list (virgin birth on 25 December, twelve disciples, crucifixion, three days) as if it were ancient Egyptian belief.
• Claiming there are no similarities at all between Christianity and other ancient religions.
• Insisting that pagans always copied Christians: for many cults the dates are too uncertain to say who influenced whom, if anyone.
• Mocking ancient religions or people who find the copycat claim persuasive.