Christian Mythology and Norse Mythology have some striking similarities. [I Love Myths and Legends From All Cultures]

For example:

• Both have an achievable afterlife. However Christianity got its concept of Hell from the Norse belief of Hel.

• Both Jesus and Balder (Norse god of all that is good) die and come back from the dead.

• While the Old Testament doesn’t support the idea of an after life, the Christian Church adopted the idea of Syncretism from the pagans because it was a common belief of the pagans it was trying to convert.

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SatyrService · M

[b]Since you mentioned it.[/b]

Ancient Pagans as early as 600 BC believed in various levels of divinity, with miraculous powers, coming down and going up to its home in the sky. Divine beings cared about people, listened to and answered their prayers and gave them the power to prophesy. Even gave them a better deal in the eternal life that comes after death.

Christianity is a product of it’s time and place. Christianity is an ancient Pagan religion.

When Osiris is said to bring his believers eternal life in Egyptian Heaven, contemplating the unutterable, indescribable glory of God, we understand that as a myth.

When the sacred rites of Demeter at Eleusis are described as bringing believers happiness in their eternal life, we understand that as a myth.In fact, when ancient writers tell us that in general ancient people believed in eternal life, with the good going to the Elysian Fields and the not so good going to Hades, we understand that as a myth.

When Vespatian’s spittle healed a blind man, we understand that as a myth.
When Apollonius of Tyana raised a girl from death, we understand that as a myth.

When the Pythia , the priestess at the Oracle at Delphi, in Greece, prophesied, and over and over again for a thousand years, the prophecies came true, we understand that as a myth.When Dionysus turned water into wine, we understand that as a myth.

When Dionysus believers are filled with atay, the Spirit of God, we understand that as a myth.
When Romulus is described asthe Son of God, born of a virgin, we understand that as a myth.

When Alexander the Great is described as the Son of God, born of a mortal woman, we understand that as a myth.

When Augustus isdescribed as the Son of God, born of a mortal , we understand that as a myth.

When Dionysus is described as the Son of God, born of a mortal woman, we understand that as a myth.

When Scipio Africanus is described as the Son of God, born of a mortal woman, we understand that as a myth.

[i][center]So how come when Jesus is described as the Son of God,born of a mortal woman,according to prophecy,turning water into wine,raising girls from the dead, andhealing blind men with his spittle,and setting it up so His believers got eternal life in Heaven contemplating the unutterable, indescribable glory of God, and off to Hades—er, I mean Hell—for the bad folks...how come that’s not a myth. [/center][/i]

And how come, in a culture with all those Sons of God, where miracles were science, where Heaven and Hell and God and eternal life and salvation were in all the temples, in all the philosophies, in all the books, were dancing and howling in street festivals, how come we imagine Jesus and the stories about [i]him developed all on their own[/i], all by themselves, without picking up any of their stuff from the culture they sprang from, the culture full of the same sort of stuff?It is a clear fact that ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, at LEAST 900 years before Jesus, shared standard ideas about Gods and their powers and place in the universe and Christianity simply adopted those ideas, and applied them to Jesus.

[b]BTW my REAL NAME is a figure in Norse Myth.[/b]

Straylight · 31-35, F

Unfortunately, most of what we know of norse mythology was from sources written after christianity had established itself in the region. Unless an older text arises, we have no way to know if the similarities were always there, or added by Christian authors.

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TakingBackMidgaard · 26-30, M

@Straylight just looked that up and you’re right. For some reason this copy of a german version of the prose Edda says 789 was when he was born...

Straylight · 31-35, F

@TakingBackMidgaard Curious. I just checked wikipedia, so it could be wrong. I have a copy of the prose edda somewhere, I'll see what mike says later.

Straylight · 31-35, F

@TakingBackMidgaard Side note, I really like your user name.

Pfuzylogic · M

Brush up on your Holy Bible reading.
An afterlife is not an achievement. It is a gift by grace. You might know Norse mythology but that is the limit of your knowledge.

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Pfuzylogic · M

@TakingBackMidgaard
I grew up Lutheran and became confirmed.
What you stated was not accurate at any level.
We are saved by grace.
There was no Faith before Jesus.
He was promised to Adam and Eve in Genesis.
There is no pagan religion that predates Jesus.

TakingBackMidgaard · 26-30, M

@Pfuzylogic What Synod were you part of?

The church in its syncretism in its desire to convert as many people as possible to Christianity in order to increase its wealth and prestige absorbed many local beliefs. In so doing they became overwhelmed by the pagan religions they were trying to overcome. The Church would allow any pagan custom as long as these pagans would recognize the supremacy of Jesus Christ as the head god, with the Pope as his agent on earth.
An example of this syncretism: in Christianity, as well as Judaism and Islam, there is only one God. The angels were only heavenly manifestations, while the saints were just human intermediaries to the one true god. To accommodate the local religions based in polytheism, the pagan gods became Christian saints. The local population was allowed to worship them as intermediaries to the Trinity of Jesus, Jehovah God, and the Holy Ghost, the Three in One: three parts to the same god.

What’s the difference between polytheism paganism and monotheistic Christianity? Only words. All gods, or saints, or angels, are just manifestations of the one true god, who has at least three acknowledged forms, in Christianity, at least. As we shall see the syncretism of the Christian Catholic Church became a point of contention with Islam as well as Protestantism.
While it is easy for Biblical literalists, whether Jewish, Islam, or Protestant, to criticize the syncretism of Catholicism, it enabled Western European culture to survive and spread. A commonalty of beliefs constitutes a culture. This common belief system is much more important than are the sources of the beliefs. As we’ve seen Christianity has very little to do with the pacifism of Jesus and much more to do with creating a cultural identity. This differentiation creates the illusion of Us and Them that has proven to be so devastating for humankind.
It was politically pragmatic to abandon the pacifism of Jesus when cultural survival was at stake. Cultural survival became more important than beliefs. Thus the beliefs that furthered survival and growth came to the fore. Those beliefs that were true to the founder of the religion were quickly abandoned when they were perceived to be counter-productive to survival.

As we shall see the aggressive belief system of the invaders from the North was quickly overlaid on the indigenous belief system of the European Christians. This cultural syncretism, while untrue to the beliefs of Jesus, allowed the culture to thrive and survive, while, as we shall see, those that held onto the pacifism of Jesus perished.

Pfuzylogic · M

@TakingBackMidgaard
The saved appear as lambs that are helpless. That is why Jesus is the Shepherd.
That symbolism that came first from King David And shows how when you find Christians to be helpless pacifists that there is a person that saves us from our sin and enemies.
There is a lineage in the Holy Bible that paganism hasn’t been able to attack or replace. Matthew shows the line of Jesus to King David to Noah to Adam.
I believe in the truth of the Bible.
I was confirmed Missouri Synod but attended Wisconsin Synod in my teens and attended ELCA with my children.
You are on the outside looking in.
There is a gift God gives through salvation.
I am sorry you missed it.

johntomSWPhd · 36-40

Yeh, because Christ is Mithra and Mithra, the Indo Europeans conquered pre IE Europe when the Mitanni Empire ruled over the Syria-Turkey region. More likely the Norse adopted the Mithraic faith, so nothing wrong in Christians doing it.

Tortok · 18-21, M

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

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