Jesus Myth #3: Santa and Pasta

Some atheists can't help but get into the holiday mocking spirit. An atheist group set up a large billboard In Time Square comparing Santa and Jesus Christ. The caption says, "Keep the MERRY! Dump the MYTH!" This sort of objection to God's existence is a favorite for atheists that manifests itself in various ways. God is often compared to the many pagan gods of the past, an invisible pink unicorn, or a flying spaghetti monster that benevolently extends its noodily appendages to bless the inhabitants of earth (yes, atheist geeks apparently laugh at the words noodle and appendage).

This “God is like any other myth” objection fails because it is a faulty analogy. While all analogies limp in some way, this one fails for a couple of reasons. God is in a different category than Santa or spaghetti. One is physical and the other is not. One is contingent on something else while the other is not. If we are to compare God and pasta we would have to lower God to the physical realm in order to make the comparison – thus debunking him. The common question of "Who created God?" is another example of this category mistake. Asking who created God actually redefines God into a being that needs creation. This is sort of like denying the existence of Shakespeare for the same reason that someone may deny the existence of Hamlet or Othello.

The other main failure of this argument is that it gives an excuse to not examine the evidence for God. A person can indeed compare the God of the Bible to the mythical gods of history. There is a reason why one has lived on while the others have not. The reason is evidence and the convincing power of that evidence. There are various arguments for the existence of God but more specifically, for the Christian God there is the prophetic Scripture. The Bible is a collection of testimonies that give a great amount of historical and prophetic evidence of God. The prophet Isaiah often challenged skeptics to consider their mute gods to the God of Judah who alone is able to predict the future. Consider also the resurrection of Jesus Christ – without which Christianity would never have started. The evidence for the event is compelling: multiple trustworthy witnesses, an empty tomb, transformation of the disciples, etc. Alternative evidence for the non-resurrection of Jesus is lacking. 

An atheist may think they are being rational by dismissing Jesus as a myth but they are actually being very irrational by ignoring the evidence. What is the evidence for a pink unicorn, Santa, or a Flying Spaghetti Monster? What is the evidence against such things?  An atheist must admit that there is evidence for the Christian God and for the person of Jesus Christ. At best they can say that there is no convincing evidence for God, which says more about their bias than it does about God.

Religion is a matter of faith. I have faith in Jesus Christ for the same reason that I have faith in my spouse and the chair that I’m sitting on. I trust those things because they all convince me of their trustworthy nature and there’s a pile of evidence that supports my trust.

Jesus Myth #2: Zeitgeist

On occasion I receive questions from students concerning a film called Zeitgeist. I decided to show it to my high school seniors. Part one of the film attacks religion and specifically targets Christianity connecting it with all of the worlds problems today. The film was released in 2007, created and narrated by Peter Joseph. Joseph contends that Christianity is derived from astrological myths and pagan religions. Most of the information he received was from D.M. Murdock author of The Christ Conspiracy.

For a Christian unfamiliar in this territory (pretty much every high school aged Christian that heads off to his secular institution of humanistic learning) the immediate response to this video might be "Oh crap, am I believing a lie?" - but upon further inspection they'll quickly realize the movie is nothing but a house built upon sand. A quick perusal of the atheists on the website Reddit demonstrates their disappointment with the movie as it sent their hopes sky high only to be dashed to pieces by historical reality. I like showing this to my kids in high school because it demonstrates some important truths. 1. There's a lot young Christian adults need to learn. 2. The attacks on Christianity are fierce. 3. It's easier to defend your faith than you might think.

Rather than picking apart any minute detail I like to point out the systemic errors that flow throughout this film.

1. "The Bible is an astrotheological hybrid." This is like saying that the Satanic Bible is really a Christian book. The Bible is firm throughout that the heavenly bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars should not be worshiped. One of the supporting facts that Zeitgeist cites is that Jesus was born on Dec. 25th. The problem is that Jesus wasn't born on De.c. 25th. The Bible says nothing of when he was born - in fact it probably was not winter since their were sheep in the fields.

2. "Jesus is plagiarized from other mythical Saviors." The film relies on apparent similarities between astrological myths and pagan saviors. The problem is that once one explores these general claims it becomes apparent that these claims are stretched. The dozens of gods that were born of a virgin are mere supernatural births resulting from the dirty old gods like Zeus. The virgin birth of Horus hardly resembles the birth of Christ as his mother hovered in falcon form over her dead husband's erection in the underworld.

3. Who copied who? Interestingly some of these traditions from other religions probably post-date Christianity. For instance, the stories of Krishna's life that resemble the stories of Christ's life seem to postdate Christianity. There are Hindus today that still like to link Krishna and Christ as being different avatars of the same being - how does that Beetle's song go? Anyway, the resurrection of Jesus is of special importance in this point. A physical resurrection like Jesus' does not occur until well-after the resurrection of Jesus. The other resurrection myths were stories of the god or hero in the afterlife.

4. Similarities? So what? Why must similarities between religions be a result of them copying one another. One can find similarities in every belief system. The film claimed that the 10 commandments were copied from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. One could probably look at all sorts of law codes and find similarities. I'm pretty sure most will have statements against things like stealing and murder.

5. Should we expect seeds of the truth in false theologies? Why not? The Christian worldview believes that the ancestors of all humans at one time had the truth. Why wouldn't some of those ancient messages and prophecies have been handed down over time? Every ancient culture for instance has a flood story - the account in Genesis being the best put-together. The prophecy of a virgin birth and dying Messiah came from Isaiah's hand 700 years before Christ. Why wouldn't we expect more parallels especially since the Israelite's history of being exiled in places like Egypt, Greece and Babylon?

For more details on some of the more specific claims check out the following link: http://www.alwaysbeready.com/index.php?id=124&option=com_content&task=view

Also, here's a fun little video that deals with the same issue:

Atheist Psychology

I interacted with a young lady who attended a Christian college and shortly afterward decided to become an atheist. We had an interesting interchange in which we discussed the psychology of atheism. She used a study of the famous Myers-Briggs personality type index which indicated those with an ISTP (Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving) tend to be more represented by atheists. It was a bit amusing to tell her that I am an INTP (Intorverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving). INTP is also well represented in the atheistic community.

We also discussed Asperger and autism disorder since there seems to be a correlation between the disorder and atheism. Studies indicate that atheists tend to be higher on the autism spectrum than the religious. The reasoning behind this deals with the ability of humans to empathize and to see purpose. A lady with Asperger once described herself as being "thunderstruck" when she, as a child, realized that houses were planned, built, and didn't grow randomly like plants. Interestingly, INTPs and ISTPs may also be generally higher on the autism spectrum. According to Robert Chester  INTPs and ISTPs youths can be misdiagnosed as children with Asperger syndrome.

So is atheism to be chalked up to psychology or personality? No. There are plenty of INTPs, ISTPs, and those with various social disorders that are strong Christians. Atheism is rebellion, and even those who may not be as empathetic or have a harder time seeing purpose in things still have ample evidence for God's existence rendering them without excuse.

Godlessness will manifest itself in various ways. There are plenty of people who are godless but may not identify as atheist. To announce yourself as an "atheist" takes a thought process that many are simply unmotivated to do. I read somewhere that the godless can be divided into two categories "high atheist" and the "low atheists." The "high atheists" tend to be your higher thinking outspoken atheists. The "low-atheists" are simply the non-religious. High and low atheists may have different personalities and levels of intelligence. Theologically, rebellion is their common denominator and the ultimate source of their godlessness; their psychology is the vehicle through which the godlessness manifests itself.

There is no excuse (Romans 1:20).

Jesus Myth #1: History

Somehow, 2000 years after the fact, skeptics can declare with a straight face that Jesus Christ never existed. Imagine if we treated a historical figure like George Washington in a similar way. While admitting that there is some legend and mystery surrounding the life of George Washington it would be idiotic to declare him as a myth by placing him on a billboard next to Santa Claus. Relegating the existence of Jesus Christ to myth is just as idiotic, because...

History Needs an Explanation!

You're walking along the shore of a lake and you hear a loud splash. You turn and and you see the disturbed water along with ripples racing to the shoreline. 

"What was that!" You exclaim.

12 men, a handful of women and a group of 500 other onlookers tell you that it was a large stone that a youth had hurled in the water. 

"Give me evidence!" You demand, so that I may believe you. 

The witnesses look around at each other puzzled and give you a strange look. "We all saw it." 

"I don't believe you." 

"Why not?" They reply.

"Because I don't believe it was a stone that hit the water."

"Then what caused the splash? You yourself saw the disturbance in the water, you heard the ripples, you heard the sound, there are many witnesses that saw the stone. If it wasn't a stone then what was it and why would we lie about such a thing?"

"I don't know why you would be lying. I don't know what else it would be. But I know it wasn't a stone. Anyone who believes that it was a stone needs to have their head checked!"

The parable is silly. But so is the objection to the existence of Jesus Christ. Every man, woman and child in the United States has been given a four digit number by which they mark their birthday. Everyone's birthday, whether or not they are Christian, is marked by the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is as historically verifiable as any other person who has ever existed.

The world's largest religion along with its impact on the last 2,000 years of civilization needs an explanation. The gospel of Christ has created the world's greatest cultural shift and we are still experiencing the ripple effect. What caused such a stir? What caused such a splash? For the Christian the answer is simple, the resurrection of Jesus. The ripples match the splash of the resurrection of Son of God. If Christ did not exist then what's the explanation? Such an explanation would need to account for an empty tomb and the early witnesses. The explanation would also need evidence. For those who relegate the resurrection of Jesus to myth, the evidence is lacking. Even more problematic is that they can't even come up with a consistent explanation for the big splash of Christianity and its subsequent ripples.

Apocalyptic Zodiac

Touring Israel, I was surprised to see ancient mosaic zodiacs on the floors of synagogues. Most of these mosaics were said to be dated a few centuries after Christ. One that caught my eye was a zodiac with Abraham replacing Helios in the center. With the exception of Maimonides, it seems that astrology was accepted by Talmudic and medieval Judaism.



Biblically, the stars are servants, not gods. The stars are secondary in the creation account as they are created on the fourth day to serve as signs. Astrology, or stargazing, is viewed by prophets such as Jeremiah (10:2-3) and Isaiah (47:13) as an unreliable way of gaining information. Sometimes Scripture records God using the sun, moon and stars in a miraculous way, such as the star of Bethlehem and the miracle of Hezekiah's cure and Joshua praying for the sun to stand still. For the Old Testament Jews and the New Testament Christian, whether or not there was anything to astrology was beside the point, it didn't matter, God ruled the universe. Our lives are written in God's book of life and not in the stars.

A fascinating vision in the book of Revelation may contain allusions to the zodiac an allusion that cements the Biblical view of the heavenly bodies. In Revelation chapter four the apostle John is taken in to heaven where he sees the throne room of God. Sitting upon a sea of crystal are four living creatures. The creatures are angelic being with wings. The have eyes everywhere. One creature looks like an ox, the other a lion, the other a man and the other an eagle. The angels worship God day and night.

The zodiac contains four creatures that may resemble these angels. These are the four "fixed" signs of the zodiac. Leo the lion sits opposite of Aquarius the man. Taurus the bull (or ox) sits opposite of Scorpio. Historically, it can be argued that Scorpio is also represented by the eagle or the phoenix. It then follows that the eyes are the stars of the constellation and the sea of glass is the firmament. The theological lesson is this: the heavens declare the glory of God. The stars are God's servants, they surround his throne and give him glory. This is a powerful message for those surrounded by paganism. God is above whatever forces a person think is at work above them and the stars along with the planets are not gods but servants of the one true God.

In Ezekiel's prophecy the cherubim are surround the throne of God  but have a slightly different appearance. Each creature has four faces, the faces include that of a man, bull, lion and eagle. The other two visions of God's throne room are in Daniel chapter seven and Isaiah chapter six. The angels are present in Isaiah chapter six minus the description. In Daniel chapter seven the throne of God is pictured with wheels, as it is in Ezekiel, but a river of fire flows from the throne of God. Some have interpreted the river of fire to be the milky way. Interestingly, the end of Revelation pictures the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of the lamb.

God compared Abraham's descendants to the stars. Later, Joseph receives a vision where the heavenly bodies represent his family. His brothers represent the stars and his father and mother represent the sun and the moon. In Revelation chapter twelve we see a vision of a woman clothed with the sun with the moon at her feet and a crown of twelve stars. This woman represents Israel as she gives birth to the Messiah. Many have tried to match Jacob's sons with the signs of the Zodiac. Below is an example.

Rueben                   "Turbulent as the waters."        Aquarius
Simeon                   "Brothers...violence."               Gemini
Levi                                                                          Libra
Judah                       "You are a lion..."                    Leo
Zebulon                   "Dwell at the shore..."             Pisces
Issachar                   "Donkey..."                              Bull
Dan                          "Viper..."                                 Scorpio
Gad                          "Raiders..."                             Sagittarius
Asher                       "Food..."                                 Virgo (stalk of grain)
Naphtali                                                                  Aries
Joseph                                                                     Cancer
Benjamin                  "Wolf"                                   Capricorn

While I see some theological richness in considering the constellation-like appearance in the angels of Revelation and Ezekiel, attaching the zodiac to the 12 tribes of Israel is a bit of a stretch. The number 12 is certainly used throughout Scripture to refer to people of God but the heavenly bodies are secondary. God chose to make his dwelling place with man and because of his love we will someday shine like stars (Daniel 12:3),