Yahweh Inspired FALSE Religions to Prepare for Jesus?? (feat. Dr Dennis MacDonald)
Jan 23, 2024
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Dr. Dennis MacDonald joins to discuss the claim that false religions were inspired by Yahweh to prepare for Jesus and explores parallels between biblical stories and Greek mythology, comparing gods and Jesus, analyzing feeding stories in the Bible and the Odyssey, and discussing meeting expectations and exploring perspectives on Jesus.
God met human expectations by presenting Jesus as a true myth, encompassing divine characteristics shared by non-Jewish cultures.
The Gospels strategically used literary imitation of Greek epics to portray Jesus as superior to mythological figures.
Deep dives
Jesus personified and embodied every expectation
Jesus encompassed all 15 divine expectations shared by non-Jewish cultures. He also epitomized the attributes of ancient Israelite leaders. This suggests that God, if real, met the expectations of humans by presenting Jesus as a true myth. The image of Jesus, a composite of these culturally familiar figures, emerged in the lives of Jewish leaders and prophets. This collective picture of Jesus is found not just in the New Testament, but also on the pages of the Old Testament.
Common characteristics between ancient mythologies and Jesus
Many ancient gods shared similar characteristics with Jesus, which were also common across various mythologies. These characteristics included being foretold or predicted before arrival, having royal or imperial heritage, being born through supernatural means, being insulated or protected as a child, and performing miracles. The similarities between these characteristics in Jesus and ancient mythologies are attributed to a universal human interest in god concepts, rather than a divine preparation for the arrival of Jesus.
The presence of literary imitation in the Gospels
The Gospels, particularly the Gospel of Mark, exhibit extensive literary imitation of Greek epics like the Odyssey and the Iliad. Jesus' feeding of the 5,000 is imitated from the Feast of Nestor and the Feast of Menelaus in the Odyssey. The calming of the storm narrative in Mark imitates the shipwreck story of Odysseus. These instances demonstrate how early Christian authors strategically used literary models to portray Jesus as superior to the mythological figures referenced, such as Nestor and Odysseus.
The necessity to recalibrate theological perspectives
Understanding the presence of literary imitation and creative production in the composition of the Gospels challenges traditional theological perspectives. It illuminates the human authorship and cultural context of the Gospels rather than attributing their narratives solely to divine influence. Recognizing the intentional use of imitation and the cultural competition among various religious traditions encourages a more informed and comprehensive understanding of early Christianity.
For @ColdCaseChristianity J Warner Wallace, he used to consider the Bible to be more like mythology than history... and not even original mythology at that. But now, the good detective seems to think that God inspired all the false religions before Christianity as a way to signal how really-real Christianity is.
Dr Dennis MacDonald is probably known best for a methodology called mimesis criticism. That's the use of imitation of classical Greek poetry in particular in the composition of the gospels and the acts of the apostles. He's joining me today to see if Wallace's claims make sense.
=== SIGN-UP FOR THE COURSE - READING THE GOSPELS WITH ONE EYE ON GREEK POETRY with Professor Dennis R. MacDonald http://www.tinyurl.com/GreekMacDonald ===
The Bible Did NOT Copy Other Religions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B94TB74Pwic
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