[quote]jonnyblaze wrote:
To determine the validity of Christianity, you need not waste your time offering "proof for a particular belief system). There’s really only one question that needs to be answered - Was Jesus or was he not God (like he claimed to be)?[/quote]
How do you objectively answer that question then? Historical accounts of many different religious myths are dismissed as false, so why should the account of Jesus be any different?
For example, you mentioned the resurrection of Jesus. In reality, there are many accounts of non-Christian religious figures predating Jesus, that were similarly brought back from the dead. Why should these accounts be dismissed, without holding the Christian account to the same objective standard?
Life Events Shared by Osiris, Dionysus and Jesus
The following stories appear both in the bible and in religions that predated Jesus:
Conception
God was his father. This was believed to be literally true in the case of Osiris-Dionysus; their God came to earth and engaged in sexual intercourse with a human. The father of Jesus is God in the form of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18).
A human woman, a virgin, was his mother.
Birth
He was born in a cave or cowshed. Luke 2:7 mentions that Jesus was placed in a manger - an eating trough for animals. One early Christian tradition said that the manger was in a cave.
His birth was prophesized by a star in the heavens.
Ministry
At a marriage ceremony, he performed the miracle of converting water into wine.
He was powerless to perform miracles in his home town.
His followers were born-again through baptism in water.
He rode triumphantly into a city on a donkey. Tradition records that the inhabitants waved palm leaves.
He had 12 disciples.
He was accused of licentious behavior.
Execution/Resurrection
He was killed near the time of the Vernal Equinox, about March 21.
He died “as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.”
He was hung on a tree, stake, or cross.
After death, he descended into hell.
On the third day after his death, he returned to life.
The cave where he was laid was visited by three of his female followers.
He later ascended to heaven.
Titles
God made flesh.
Savior of the world.
Son of God.
Beliefs about the God-Man
He is “God made man,” and equal to the Father.
He will return in the last days.
He will judge the human race at that time.
Humans are separated from God by original sin. The god-man’s sacrificial death reunites the believer with God and atones for the original sin.
These accounts had been circulating for centuries before the birth of Jesus (4 to 7 BC). It is obvious that if any copying occurred, it was the followers of Jesus incorporating into his biography the myths and legends of Osiris-Dionysus, not vice-versa.