Christian Origins in Egyptian Mythology

A pattern of similar themes between Christianity and Egyptian Mythology, along with
proof the early Gospel writers had access to it, shows that Christianity has no more
credibility than Egyptian Sun God worship.
Let me put my biases on the table: I’m an atheist. To me, all gods are myths. I’m not,
however, a "christ-myther." I believe that Jesus was a real person; I’m convinced that certain
passages in the gospels portray a real man. I’m also convinced that Jesus was a man who
hoped to be a non-divine Messiah, and that he was certainly no deity.
Horus, Isis and Osiris: Significant and material similarities exist between Egyptian
Myth and Christian Theology

Civilization in Egypt developed about 4,000 years b.c., with the development of hieroglyphics,
a kind of picture writing, about 3,000 b.c. By 2,500 b.c., Re was the principal god of Egypt,
typically represented in Egyptian art as a falcon-headed man crowned with a sun, and
holding an Ankh. Osiris was the god of life, death, and resurrection; he was the god of grain,
and of the Nile river.
In Egypt, the entire economy was dependent on the regular flooding of the Nile river. Its
waters created lush farmland which would otherwise be barren, lifeless desert. The fear of
the Egyptians was that the Nile would dry up permanently. In contrast, in Mesopotamia, the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers would flood violently and unpredictably, making course changes
within a single year that would destroy everything in its path, while leaving other areas
subject to drought and famine. The Egyptian gods were therefore more benign and
predictable than were the Mesopotamian gods.
Egyptians prayed to their gods, like most other primitive god-believing cultures. They prayed
for success in hunting, for generous production of crops, for the health of their children, and
for eternity in an afterlife in the "other world". From the most ancient times, the Egyptians
believed in an afterlife: When a human died, he or she would leave this earth, and travel to a
different world. They also believed their Pharaoh was both human and god, in a single form,
no different than Jesus was viewed as a combined god-man. The great pyramids are vivid
testimony to the Egyptian belief in an afterlife. (This is quite a bit different from Judaism,
where one is hard pressed to find any indication of an afterlife in the Old Testament. The
Sadduccees were a class of Hebrew priests who specifically denied an afterlife.)
Just as the Nile would flood, and revive the farms and vegetation along its banks, Osiris lived,
suffered, died, and would be reborn again. His life represented the annual flood cycle, and
his suffering and death represented the death of the vegetation when the Nile dried up. His
regeneration represents the regeneration when the Nile flooded, and the vegetation was
reborn.
The story (as related by Budge in his introduction to the "Book of the Dead" and others) goes
like this: Re, the Sun God and creator of all things, was the husband of Nut, the Goddess of
the Sky. Re became furious when she was caught schtoinking Geb, the earth God, and
Thoth, god of Justice. Re cursed Nut, and decreed that she could not give birth during any
calendar year.
Nut then had to play card games with the moon God Selene and gradually won enough
"light" from the moon (which explains why the moon is dimmer than the sun) to create five
extra days during the end of the year, which had been only 360 days. Nut then gave birth to
five children, first Osiris, then Horus the Elder (not to be confused with Horus son-of-Isis),
then the evil Set (who was so mean, he dug himself out of his mother's body), Isis (who fell in
love with Osiris while in the womb) on the fourth day, and Nephthys (future wife of Set) on the
fifth day. Literally the son of two gods, Osiris' birthday falls five days before the end of the
calendar year, and is celebrated traditionally on December 25th.
Osiris, typically shown as a dead king in mummy wrappings in Egyptian art, was the son of a
god, the Sun god Re. He became a King of Egypt, and is therefore as allegedly historical as
Jesus. Osiris was the King who united the wandering tribes of Egyptians, taught them the art
of farming, and brought the Egyptians from a nomadic life, to a highly civilized society. As
with Jesus, Osiris had the reputation as a teacher.
Set and Osiris apparently never got along well, and was jealous of Osiris' successful rule of
Egypt. Set eventually murdered Osiris by tricking him into entering a coffin, which was then
sealed shut with molten lead, to insure his death by suffocation. The box was then placed
adrift in the Nile, and settled in a bush which, over time, grew into a great tree surrounding
the coffin. Isis searched for the body of Osiris, and found it, in the tree trunk, which was now
a column supporting the ceiling of a palace. She retrieved the body, and hid it. With a little
magic, Osiris was breathed back into life. However, Osiris soon died for a second time, and
was left hidden in the box. Soon, it was found by the evil Set, who dismembered the body
into fourteen pieces, scattering them all over Egypt. Isis then traveled about with, of all
people, Nepthys (Set's wife) and found all the pieces--including the all-important penis.
Isis had a child from the dead Osiris, Horus, typically represented by a falcon-headed male
figure. Isis became pregnant in a miraculous manner: Taking Osiris’ dismembered penis with
her, Isis traveled to the underworld with it. An ancient Egyptian relief depicts this conception
by showing his mother Isis in a falcon form, hovering over an erect phallus of a dead and
prone Osiris in the Underworld.As with Jesus, Horus is the result of a miraculous pregnancy.
Isis was the great goddess of Egypt, depicted in Egyptian art as a female with a vulture
headdress, sitting on a throne. Isis protected young Horus, the earthly future king of Egypt,
by concealing him in a swamp, to be kept away from danger while he was being raised,
hidden away in the papyrus plants.
By now, Isis had recovered all the body parts of Osiris, and she got to work. She
reassembled Osiris, using wax to attach the body parts. Linen wraps and ointments were
used to preserve the corpse, which was buried. Horus (the result of the miraculous union
between Isis and her dead husband's penis) took Isis to the Underworld, where they found
Osiris. Magical words gradually brought the god back to life. Re now helped, by building a
ladder so tall, they could climb to the "Other World," and be with the rest of the gods, which
they did. Osiris was promoted to "King of the Gods," and Horus inherited Osiris' earthly rank
as King of the Egyptians. The themes of suffering, dying a gruesome death, descending into
Hell, resurrection, and ascending into heaven are common with Christianity.
Osiris suffered a cruel death of mutilation, after which he resurrected bodily. This became the
basis, for Egyptians, of a belief in a personal bodily resurrection. Just as with Jesus, Osiris’
resurrection gave the ancient Egyptians hope that they, too, who had led good lives, would
return to life after death. For the ancient Egyptian, the key to eternal life was leading a good
life on earth. The theme of overcoming death through god-given immortality parallels
Christian theology. (One must struggle to find the concept of sin being punished in the
afterlife in the Old Testament: Yahweh punishes sin immediately, during the sinner's life.
Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc.)
The Egyptian festival of Osiris celebrates in a dramatic manner the death of Osiris, the
finding of his corpse, and his return to life-- just as Easter and the passion plays celebrate
the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Osiris was appealing to the common Egyptian because, having once been human, he could
understand the common sufferings of humans, and sympathize with them. As a god, he could
help humans in this world, through prayer. The same is true for Jesus. As with Christians, the
attainment of a renewal of life in the "other world" was the intent of every Egyptian believer.

In ancient Egypt, the pharoahs actually became Horus in life, somewhat similiar to the beliefs
of the Catholics that the Pope is god's agent on earth.
Horus was a resurrected form of Osiris, and acted as an intermediary between Osiris, who
could grant immortality, and Egyptians who were about to die. It worked like this: The spirit of
the recently deceased would appear before Osiris, and would tell the god about all the good
deeds during his life. Osiris would weigh the person’s heart, and the God Thoth, god of
Justice, would record the result. If the heart weighed less than a feather, the person would be
granted immortality. If the heart was heavy, the person would be thrown to jackals. As with
Christianity, evil was punished in the afterlife.

The Isis cult was popular outside of Egypt, throughout the area of Egyptian influence. A
Greco-Roman sanctuary existed on Philae, an island, now submerged, off the coast of Egypt,
which temple has been relocated in Agilqiya. Isis sanctuaries have also been found on the
island of Delos, Greece, and in Roman city of Pompeii. Strong arguments have been made
that the portrayal of the Christian Virgin Mary was based upon the Isis cult, as the portraits of
Isis with the child Horus are strikingly similar to those of the Virgin Mary with the Christ child.

Set is the evil brother of Osiris. He represents evil, catastrophes, destruction and death. Set
plots against Osiris, Isis and Horus, who represent the forces of good. Set cannot destroy the
good gods, nor can they destroy Set; therefore, evil remains a force in the world. The
parallels between Set and Satan should be obvious. (In the Old Testament, Satan isn't much
of a bad guy. It's usually the Hebrews themselve who irritate Yahweh. It's a Christian
assumption that the serpent in Genesis is Satan, and in Job, it's arguable that, in Job, Satan
doesn't nothing but report to Yahweh the current situation.)
Horus finally battles Set, in the form of two men, then in the form of a bear. The battle lasts
three days and three nights. Horus finally wins, takes Set prisoner, only to have Isis suddenly
feel pity for Set, and orders Set freed.
The Christianization of Egypt:
A Historically Plausible Scenario for How the Borrowing Occurred.
Both Greece and Israel traded extensively with Egypt, both importing beer, papyrus, jewelry,
and exporting various products. As I mentioned earlier, there were temples of the popular
Egyptian god Isis outside of Egypt, in Greece and Rome. There is little doubt that both the
Jews and Greeks of the 1st century had access to Egyptian religious ideas.
Egypt was converted to Christianity very early, perhaps in the times of the apostles of Jesus.
Mark, the alleged author of the first gospel, is traditionally credited as the founder of Egyptian
Christianity, referred to as the "Coptic" church. The Coptics adhered to the "monophysite"
heresy, which held that Jesus has but one nature, an idea consistent with ancient Egyptian
theology, where a distinction between the human and the divine was unnecessary. That
doctrine was held heretical by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 a.d.
Is it possible that Christianity originated in Egypt? It seems realistic that Christianity may have
existed prior to the official conversion in 69 a.d. by Mark, and this is therefore a realistic
possibility. If Egypt became Christian, it didn’t happen overnight. It seems a reasonable
inference that there was significant contact between the early Christians, perhaps even the
apostles themselves, very early in the evolution of Christianity. Religious ideas probably went
in both directions.
The timing, prior to that of the earliest known gospels, seems appropriate for this to have
happened. There was therefore an opportunity for the early Gospel writers to be influenced
by the Egyptian themes of a man-god suffering, dying, descending into hell, resurrecting, and
ascending into Heaven, with the result that common people could achieve immortality in the
afterlife.
According to almost all critical scholars, the Gospel of Mark is the oldest of the four gospels,
probably authored somewhere around 70 a.d Is it not possible that this original gospel writer
took the story of a Jewish messiah wannabe, who faked a death on the cross, allegedly rose
from the dead, and added to it the Egyptian theme of a man-god who died to enable eternal
life?. Mark is caught with his hands in the proverbial cookie jar of Egyptian mythology.
Christianity, in its earliest days after the death of Jesus, must have been a struggling idea.
On the other hand, the very popular religious ideas of Egypt had been around for about 2,500
years. To fuse the very popular core themes of Egyptian religion with the story of Jesus, the
wannabe messiah who allegedly rose from the dead, would have improved the story, making
it more popular with the common people. Tell them that not only did Jesus die and rise from
the dead, proving he was the Messiah, but also his death gives you all a ticket to eternity in
Paradise! Tell them Jesus was born under miraculous circumstances. Add a villain, Satan,
who is responsible for all evil, whom Jesus fights and now you add drama to the story. Tell
them Jesus will intercede in your prayers in this life, keep that nasty Satan away from you,
and insure your immortality in the next. All this is from Egyptian mythology. (Christians
couldn’t steal the whole thing, hook line and sinker, or people would recognize it as
Egyptian.) Early Christians therefore had a sufficient motive to steal ideas from the
Egyptians.
Egypt eventually converted to Islam about 450 a.d., but the Coptic Christians still exist in
Egypt as a group never having been influenced by Roman Christianity.
Below: The Eye of Horus

CONCLUSION:
There are clear, substantial & material similarities between the core teachings of
Christianity and Egyptian myth, the totality of which cannot be explained away
as mere coincidence, or vague similarity.
These similarities undisputedly predate Christianity by at least 2,000 years.
A historically plausible mechanism exists to explain how the borrowing occurred,
both in the Christianization of Egypt prior to the first gospels being written, and
in the existing Isis cults outside of Egypt.
Borrowing the themes of immortality, justice in the afterlife, miraculous births, and
an evil villain would have improved upon the Christ story, over its original story
as a Messiah wannabe who claimed to have risen from the dead, and would
have improved the popularity of the gospels.
Since borrowing from Egyptian mythology is established, the credibility of the
gospel writers is fatally compromised. Christianity is no more real than Egyptian
sun god worship.

Typical Objections:
Typical Christian objections include "The concept of a dying and rising god is actually
more recent than Christianity." I’ve heard this one from several Christians. The fact is, the
myths of Osiris, Isis, Set and Horus are well formed from the most ancient of Egyptian
writings, dating back thousands of years before Christianity existed. References exist to the
stories in the Pyramid Texts and The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Depictions of these stories
exist on the walls of every major archeological find in Egypt; it is hardly contemporaneous
with Christianity.
I quote from Budges: "The essential beliefs of the Egyptians remained unchanged from the
earliest dynasties down to the period when the Egyptians embraced Christianity, after the
preaching of St. Mark the Evangelist in Alexandria, a.d. 69." The Book of the Dead, Budges
(p. 52).
Others have said, such as the web site on "CopyCat Myths" <http://www.christian-
thinktank.com/copycat.html> that: It is not simply enough to point to some vague
similarities and yell "copy cat!" The author of the above web site offers the following quote
in support:
"Osiris was murdered and his body dismembered and scattered. The pieces of his
body were recovered and rejoined, and the god was rejuvenated. However, he did not
return to his former mode of existence but rather journeyed to the underworld, where
he became the powerful lord of the dead. In no sense can Osiris be said to have 'risen'
in the sense required by the dying and rising pattern."
"In no sense can the dramatic myth of his death and reanimation be harmonized to the
pattern of dying and rising gods."
Osiris can’t be said to have risen from the dead, because he didn’t come back to earth, and
instead went directly to the "other world"? This is a trivial detail, and flies in the face of the
Egyptian worship of Osiris as a source of immortality. This isn’t just a "vague similarity" with
Christianity; the Osiris-Isis-Horus myths parallel the core teachings of Christianity: That a
man-god, born under miraculous circumstances, died, descended into Hell, resurrected, and
returned to Heaven (or the "other world"), so that the rest of mankind could have eternal life.
"Jesus’ death was an actual event in history." (Isn’t this begging the question?) I’m sure
Jesus died, so I agree it’s an actual event. Horus was the first Pharaoh of Egypt. As there
must have been a first Pharaoh, the death of Horus, also, MUST have been an actual event.
By the way, the title of the above Christian web site is a straw man argument, if you haven’t
noticed: I’m not saying the gospel writings "copied" the whole Jesus story from Egyptian
mythology; only that they borrowed enough so as to preclude the Gospels from being
original.
"Other Religions with Dying-rising gods are all talking about same god, since there is
just one god." I’ve heard this popular argument in a hundred variations. The simple truth is,
Egyptian mythology, while it shares core allegations with Christianity, is otherwise like night
and day. They cannot both be true. Sometimes Christians argue the other side of this
argument, without realizing it: For example, on the "CopyCat" Christian web site above, the
author argues that none of the other dying and rising gods died for your sins, Jesus’ death
was voluntary, Jesus died on behalf of others, when Jesus died, it was a victory, not a defeat,
Isis wasn’t really a virgin, etc. These details, argued with the intent to disprove the parallels
with pagan myths and Christianity, actually show that the two stories are so radically different
that both cannot be true.
"The Egyptian myths are really telling the story of Jesus." This is a variant of the above
objection. As I explained above, the Osiris-Isis-Horus stories, while retaining core ideas with
Christianity, are impossibly different. I’m curious, though, as to how, if the Egyptian myths are
really about Jesus, why couldn’t Yahweh properly inspire them? Doesn’t Yahweh speak
Egyptian well?
"There are dozens of Horus gods. No wonder you can find similarities." Actually, there’s
one main Horus god, the son of Osiris. He has different names to refer to himself as a child, a
specific name referring to the period of time when he was a king, and another name after his
resurrection. Technically, every Egyptian Pharaoh became a "Horus" after he died, so there
are as many Horus gods as there were pharaohs, but I’m not speaking of these in this article,
nor does the mythology refer to them.
"You are ignorant on matters of Ancient Near East History, using out-dated scholars
who are rejected by all contemporaries knowledgeable in the area." This is a common
objection. Show me a modern scholar who disputes that the story of Osiris, Horus and Set as
I’ve described it. The "CopyCat" web site, a Christian author, admits Budge is a reliable
primary source.
"You have poor Logic. I don't understand how anyone, understanding that the Egyptian
mythology is about a man-god, son of God the creator of the universe, who suffered, died,
was buried, descended into Hell, resurrected, then ascended into heaven, who will judge
good and evil in the afterlife, who is responsible for the resurrection of the flesh and eternal
life--This is the complete theme of Christianity. You can't read the "Apostles Creed," after
understanding Egyptian mythology, and not see the parallels. (Okay, Pontius Pilate wasn't in
the Osiris myth.) Now that commonality of themes is established, what reasonable inference
can be drawn? Is any other explanation other than that the Gospels drew upon Egyptian
mythology possible? The gospels therefore are Egyptian mythology, rewritten. How can one
conclude the Gospels are believable?
Sources:
Encyclopedia of Gods, Michael Jordan (1993, Facts on File, Inc.)
Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, E.A. Wallis Budge, Vol. I, (Dover reprint)
Egyptian Religion, E. A. Wallis Budge (1900; 1959 Bell/Crown Reprint)(Budge was keeper of
the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum, and is acknowledged by
Christian scholars as a reliable primary source).
World Mythology, Donna Rosenberg (1994, NTC Publishing Group Reprint)(This is a college
level textbook on Mythology).
The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, R. O. Faulkner, (1969)
Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt, R.T.R. Clark (1960)
The Book of the Dead, The hieroglyphic translation of the Papyrus ANI, E. A. Wallis Budge
A prayer sums up Osiris: "Invocation of Osiris "I am Osiris Onnophris who is found perfect
before the Gods. I hath said: These are the elements of my Body perfected through
suffering, glorified through trial. The scent of the dying Rose is as the repressed sigh of my
Suffering. And the flame-red Fire as the energy of mine undaunted Will. And the Cup of
Wine is the pouring out of the blood of my heart, sacrificed unto Regeneration, unto the
newer life. And the bread and salt are as the foundations of my body, which I destroy in order
that they may be renewed. For I am Osiris Triumphant. Even Osiris Onnophris the Justified
One. I am He who is clothed with the body of flesh yet in whom flames the spirit of the eternal
Gods. I am the Lord of Life. I am triumphant over Death, and whosoever partaketh with me
shall with me arise. I am the manifester in Matter of Those whose abode is the Invisible. I
am the purified. I stand upon the Universe. I am it's Reconciler with the eternal Gods. I am
the Perfector of Matter, and without me the Universe is not." Inscription found at the temple of Isis at
Philae:
The pylon was built for the sungoddess the mistress
the lifegiving Isis
queen of the pure island
Queen of Philae and Abaton
From glowing sandstone it is built
Its height is wonderful
its width marvellous
Everything is used as it should
It gives life and domination
to the lord of the sun
the lord of the two lands
the hereditary god and lotus bud
Ptah´s chosen one
Son of Re, the master
appears in glory
Ptolemaios, beloved of Isis
the eternal life
The gods love what has been brought forth
Through the work of hands
the bread of eternal life is prepared

The following hymn is written on the walls in the pylon portal between the birth house and the outer court, at the
relocated Temple of Isis:
The Sunrise
The great god Edfu
The lord of Mesen
stands before the temple of Egypt
The great sun disc
rises in the sky
He sees the Horus falcons
which give life in all eternity
Horus protects the gods
in their sanctuaries
The winged sun-disc
shines over the two lands
The goddesses comes to life
at the sight of his radiance
Horus of the abodes of the gods
The gread god Edfu
the lord of the sky
the colourful feather
steps forth in the temple court
the place where the sun rises
before the temple of Upper Egypt
The Horus falcon that travels across the sky
is the life of Ma´at
All faces receives life
in all eternity