- Maybe you've
heard somebody say,
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"The Bible
can't possibly be true
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because it's just a
ripoff of much older
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and much more pagan documents."
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That's what we're
gonna look at on today's
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episode of "Authentic".
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[upbeat music]
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[upbeat music]
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[upbeat music]
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You know, there are all
kinds of reasons somebody
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might question the
claims of the Bible
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or the claims of Christianity,
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and some of those reasons
are perfectly understandable.
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As one cheesy
tabloid used to say,
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"Inquiring minds want to know."
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And if anybody is
guilty of questioning
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just about
everything, well it's me.
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I'm not about to accept
your claims at face value,
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and I expect that
you would do the same.
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In fact, one of the
reasons I do this show
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is because I'm convinced
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that the Bible
holds up under scrutiny.
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So obviously, I can
deal with honest questions,
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but what I don't waste my time
on is dishonest questioning.
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And what do I mean by that?
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Well, I'm talking
about the questions
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that obviously
come with an agenda.
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The asker has already
made up his or her mind
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about what
they're going to believe,
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and there's
really nothing I can say
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that's ever
going to change that.
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In fact, it wouldn't even
matter if an angel from heaven
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suddenly appeared to them.
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They're still not going
to accept what it says in the
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Bible. There's a
certain way of questioning
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that's really
just a game of gotcha.
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Like the questions
the Pharisees ask Jesus
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in an attempt to embarrass him.
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Like this one that you
find in John chapter 8,
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where the Pharisees take a woman
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they caught committing adultery,
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and they threw her on the
ground in front of Christ.
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"Teacher," they say,
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"This woman was caught in
adultery in the very act."
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Which kind of makes you wonder
where the Pharisees happened
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to be when this was going on.
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"Now Moses," they said,
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"In the law commanded us
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that such should be
stoned, but what do you say?"
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It's really a
disingenuous question
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because they couldn't care less
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about what
happened to the woman.
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It was a trick question,
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and they thought
it had no good answer.
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If Jesus said they should
exercise mercy and let her go,
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they could run to
the Sanhedrin and say
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that Jesus of
Nazareth is undermining
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the teachings of Moses.
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But on the other hand,
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if Jesus said, "Look, if
the law says put her to death,
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then I mean, put her to death,"
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then they could run to the
Romans and tell them that Jesus
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was making decisions
about capital punishment.
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And that was something
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that the Roman
government reserved to itself.
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So you can see
there was no good answer.
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And you probably know
the rest of the story.
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Instead of taking the bait,
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Jesus bent down and
started to write in the dirt.
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Now, the Bible
doesn't explicitly tell us
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what he was writing,
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but the rest of the
passage kind of gives it away.
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"He who is
without sin among you,"
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he said as he created
some of his dirt doodles,
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"Let him throw a
stone at her first."
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Now we think he was writing
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because he was
God in human flesh.
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He was writing a list of
the Pharisees' personal sins,
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their deep, dark secrets.
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So what did Jesus do
with disingenuous questions?
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He refused to answer them.
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And because I tend
to use Jesus as a model
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for how I should conduct myself,
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I usually refuse to deal
with disingenuous questions.
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I mean, if the
questions are honest,
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if they're coming from somebody
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who's actually
trying to understand,
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I'd probably be all over that,
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time permitting because well,
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I usually get more
questions in a week
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than I can possibly answer.
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But if I suspect
it's a game of gotcha,
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I'm not gonna play,
except for what we're gonna talk
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about today
because unfortunately,
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some people have taken the
work of disingenuous hucksters
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and believed it.
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So these are people who
do have honest questions,
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even though they're
questioning something they heard
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from a really unreliable source.
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And now I'm talking
about this absurd idea
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that somehow early Christians
borrowed their stories
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from ancient pagan sources.
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This idea that the gospel
accounts found in the Bible
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are nothing more
than a sloppy retelling
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of the Egyptian God Horus
or the Persian God Mithras.
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It's a claim that
falls apart really quickly
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once you start to
actually examine it.
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But unfortunately, a
lot of people just assume
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that the people
teaching this nonsense
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know what they're talking about.
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Or worse, they believe this
stuff because they saw a video
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on the internet.
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And a lot of people
still subconsciously assume
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that if somebody
went to the trouble
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of making a
so-called documentary,
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well there must
be some truth to it.
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Look, I can tell
you, there isn't.
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What these folks are doing
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is taking even the
slightest parallel,
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the slightest
similarity with pagan belief,
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and they make it seem very
compelling by adding details
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they quite literally invented.
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And sometimes,
they'll throw in something
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that's actually
true to make their claims
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seem a little more believable.
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For example,
reputable scholars know
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that we really do
have some pagan artifacts
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in our Christian religion
that are cultural hangovers
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from the years when
the Pagan Roman Empire
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was
transitioning to Christianity.
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The Emperor Constantine
was the political catalyst
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for that transition.
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And from what we can tell,
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he adopted Christianity
as the new state religion
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because he believed that
Christians were so united,
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they could serve
as a kind of glue
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to hold his empire together.
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Constantine came to power
at a time when the Roman Empire
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was anything but unified.
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And in the years leading
up to his imperial takeover,
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he had worked with
the Emperor Diocletian,
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a man who ruthlessly
persecuted Christians,
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especially during the
decade between 313 and 323 AD.
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What Constantine
noticed is that Christians
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can be really stubborn people,
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and most of them
refused to change their beliefs
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even though they were
being threatened with death.
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"Maybe I could use
that to my advantage,"
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Constantine thought,
"to help unify this empire."
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And of course,
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his mother also happened
to be a practicing Christian.
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And so Constantine
adopted the faith of Christ.
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After
conquering the City of Rome
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at the Battle of
the Milvian Bridge,
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he actually refused to
offer the usual sacrifices
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to the pagan gods.
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And he even
granted the Lateran Palace
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to the Roman
Bishop who essentially
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had been living in a shack
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on the other side
of the Tiber River.
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This was a really
pivotal moment in the history
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of Western Christianity,
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but simply declaring
the empire to be Christian
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doesn't magically make it so.
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Most of Constantine's
subjects continued life
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with their pagan beliefs.
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And so in the decades
and centuries that followed,
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all kinds of pagan customs
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slowly made their
way into the church.
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Like December 25,
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the date we still use to
celebrate the birth of Christ.
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We actually borrowed that
date from pagan Roman festivals
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that were tied to
the Winter Solstice.
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So some of these
critics will use that history
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to prove their point.
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"If we borrowed
the 25th of December,"
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they say, "we probably
borrowed everything else,
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and Jesus is just a
rehash of pagan mythology."
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This idea really dates
back to the 19th century
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when higher criticism
was coming into vogue.
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In some academic circles,
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there was this assumption
that the story of the Bible,
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the way it appears in
our modern English versions,
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was probably just a
work of religious propaganda
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and couldn't be trusted.
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The scholar's default
assumption was that the Bible
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isn't true, at
least not entirely.
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So for example,
there was a lot of scoffing
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for a little while
at the Bible's mention
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of this near Eastern
tribe known as the Hittites.
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"There was no such
thing," these people said.
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So the Bible,
obviously, was making them up.
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But then in 1880, a scholar
by the name of Archibald Sayce
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proved that some of the ruins
uncovered during that century
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were absolutely
the work of Hittites.
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They proved to be real.
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And it was roughly during
this same historical period
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that a guy by the
name of Gerald Massey
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suddenly proposed
that the Egyptian God Horus
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was really the inspiration
for the stories about Jesus.
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"From the virgin birth to
the resurrection," he said,
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"it was all just ripped
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right out of
ancient pagan mythology."
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And I'll be right back
after this to explore that idea.
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[gentle music]
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- [Announcer] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:08:38.55\00:08:40.95
Sometimes, we don't
have all the answers,
00:08:40.95\00:08:43.99
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:08:43.99\00:08:46.72
It's our guide to a
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Here at The Voice of Prophecy,
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we've created the
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to be your guide to the Bible.
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00:09:05.01\00:09:07.31
- A few years ago, the
famous comedian, Bill Maher,
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released a movie
called "Religulous",
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a work quite literally designed
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to undermine religious faith.
00:09:15.45\00:09:17.39
And at one point, you
see him taunting a believer
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with this idea that
Jesus is nothing more
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than a rebranded Horus.
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And it's an idea that he
really took from the work
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of Gerald Massey.
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"Written in 1280 BC," he says,
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"the 'Book of the
Dead' describes a God, Horus.
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Horus is the son
of the God, Osiris,
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born to a virgin mother.
00:09:36.84\00:09:38.51
He was baptized in a
river by Anup, the Baptizer
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who was later beheaded.
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Like Jesus, Horus was tempted
while alone in the desert,
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healed the sick, the
blind, cast out demons,
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and walked on water.
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He raised Asar from the dead.
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Asar translates to Lazarus.
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Oh yeah, he also
had 12 disciples.
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Yes, Horus was crucified first.
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And after three days,
two women announced Horus,
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the savior of
humanity had been resurrected."
00:10:02.13\00:10:05.90
Now the problem with that
is that it's absolute baloney.
00:10:05.90\00:10:09.84
There is no "Book of the Dead"
00:10:09.84\00:10:11.21
that describes the
God Horus that way.
00:10:11.21\00:10:13.64
To be sure, there is
a "Book of the Dead".
00:10:13.64\00:10:15.64
In fact, there's more than one,
00:10:15.64\00:10:17.18
but none of
them tell that story.
00:10:17.18\00:10:20.02
So either Bill Maher
hasn't been doing his homework
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or he's being dishonest.
00:10:22.18\00:10:23.69
His version of Horus is
nothing but a fabrication.
00:10:23.69\00:10:28.16
I mean, let's just
unpack that story a little bit.
00:10:28.16\00:10:30.99
Horus was the son of
the Egyptian goddess, Isis,
00:10:30.99\00:10:34.36
who was, well, let's
just say she was not a virgin.
00:10:34.36\00:10:38.03
The real story is a
little too salacious
00:10:38.03\00:10:40.14
to repeat on this show.
00:10:40.14\00:10:41.97
But let's just say that Isis
was impregnated by her husband
00:10:41.97\00:10:45.87
and he was dead at the time.
00:10:45.87\00:10:47.88
So really the only similarity
with Jesus is that Horus
00:10:47.88\00:10:50.65
had an unusual origin.
00:10:50.65\00:10:53.25
Secondly, there's absolutely
no record of a character
00:10:53.25\00:10:56.38
by the name of Anup
the Baptizer anywhere.
00:10:56.38\00:11:00.16
In fact, the first mention
of this guy that I'm aware of
00:11:00.16\00:11:03.09
is from Gerald Massey
back in the 19th century,
00:11:03.09\00:11:05.53
which makes me
suspect he made the story up.
00:11:05.53\00:11:09.10
Anup is a Coptic name
for the Egyptian God Anubis
00:11:09.10\00:11:12.77
who never baptized anybody,
and he was never beheaded.
00:11:12.77\00:11:16.27
The story is a complete lie.
00:11:16.27\00:11:19.71
So what about the claim
that Horus was somehow tempted
00:11:19.71\00:11:22.41
by the devil in the wilderness?
00:11:22.41\00:11:24.31
Well, Egyptian records do
tell us that Horus did battle
00:11:24.31\00:11:27.52
with an
Egyptian God known as Set
00:11:27.52\00:11:29.92
who was said to be
the god of the wilderness.
00:11:29.92\00:11:32.72
But there is no story of Horus
being tempted by the devil.
00:11:32.72\00:11:36.69
And we're talking about
Horus having a tough time out
00:11:36.69\00:11:39.23
in the desert.
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That's a far cry
from the story you
00:11:40.56\00:11:42.53
find in Matthew Chapter 4.
00:11:42.53\00:11:44.30
And I mean, come on, big deal,
00:11:44.30\00:11:45.93
a desert story from Egypt?
00:11:45.93\00:11:48.54
What a surprise.
00:11:48.54\00:11:50.11
Furthermore,
mythology tells us that Horus
00:11:50.11\00:11:52.54
made peace with Set,
00:11:52.54\00:11:54.34
which is the opposite of
what happened between Jesus
00:11:54.34\00:11:57.08
and the devil.
00:11:57.08\00:11:58.58
Horus also never raised a
man named Asar from the dead.
00:11:58.58\00:12:02.42
He never had 12 disciples or
any disciples that we know of.
00:12:02.42\00:12:06.69
He never walked on water
and he was never crucified.
00:12:06.69\00:12:10.53
At best, we have a
handful of pictures of Horus
00:12:10.53\00:12:13.40
with his arms spread out,
which is not the same thing
00:12:13.40\00:12:16.46
as a crucifixion.
00:12:16.46\00:12:17.73
It's just a guy
with his arms spread out.
00:12:17.73\00:12:21.00
It's a fabricated story,
00:12:21.00\00:12:23.27
but a lot of people
have been tempted to think
00:12:23.27\00:12:25.34
that it's true for
a number of reasons.
00:12:25.34\00:12:28.18
First of all,
00:12:28.18\00:12:29.64
they simply don't have
the historical background
00:12:29.64\00:12:31.05
to know the difference,
00:12:31.05\00:12:32.55
and they don't have the
time to sit in the library
00:12:32.55\00:12:34.62
and check these
claims out for themselves.
00:12:34.62\00:12:37.39
Secondly, because
the Bible tells the story
00:12:37.39\00:12:39.49
of the Israelites
coming out of Egypt,
00:12:39.49\00:12:42.09
it seems
plausible to some people
00:12:42.09\00:12:44.26
that they might have
taken some Egyptian religion
00:12:44.26\00:12:47.23
along with
them, which of course,
00:12:47.23\00:12:49.63
in a small, way they did.
00:12:49.63\00:12:51.17
I mean, they actually
built a golden calf in the style
00:12:51.17\00:12:53.74
of an Egyptian God.
00:12:53.74\00:12:55.64
But as you might remember,
00:12:55.64\00:12:57.51
they were roundly
condemned by God for doing that.
00:12:57.51\00:13:00.84
So it seems highly unlikely
that the Jews would admit
00:13:00.84\00:13:04.28
to being punished
for a golden calf,
00:13:04.28\00:13:07.15
but then quietly write the
rest of the Bible as a work
00:13:07.15\00:13:09.62
of Egyptian idolatry.
00:13:09.62\00:13:11.59
The whole concept
doesn't make sense.
00:13:11.59\00:13:15.09
But then there's a third reason
00:13:15.92\00:13:17.36
that people might be
tempted to believe this stuff,
00:13:17.36\00:13:20.00
and that's a personal need
00:13:20.00\00:13:21.86
to dismiss the
claims of the Bible.
00:13:21.86\00:13:24.13
Because if you
read the Bible honestly,
00:13:25.27\00:13:26.80
you quickly discover that it
makes some claims on your life.
00:13:26.80\00:13:30.31
It says that you and I
are the work of a creator,
00:13:30.31\00:13:33.24
and as such, he has some
moral claims on this universe.
00:13:33.24\00:13:37.05
So if what the
Bible says is true,
00:13:37.05\00:13:39.58
it means something about
the way you're going to choose
00:13:39.58\00:13:42.58
to live your life.
00:13:42.58\00:13:44.22
And after being
exposed to what the Bible says,
00:13:44.22\00:13:46.55
if you really don't like it,
00:13:46.55\00:13:48.52
you're probably
gonna leap at any theory
00:13:48.52\00:13:50.39
that proposes that the claims
of the Bible are mere fiction.
00:13:50.39\00:13:54.60
Now, again, I'm not
really addressing people
00:13:54.60\00:13:56.46
who have honest questions
00:13:56.46\00:13:58.27
because there are honest
questions about the Bible,
00:13:58.27\00:14:01.07
and I have some myself.
00:14:01.07\00:14:03.10
But right now, what
I'm driving at is people
00:14:03.10\00:14:05.94
who want the Bible to be
falsified for personal reasons.
00:14:05.94\00:14:09.71
They're not really interested
in an honest exploration.
00:14:09.71\00:14:14.12
So now let's move
on to another claim.
00:14:14.12\00:14:17.09
And that's this
idea that the Jesus story
00:14:17.09\00:14:19.42
we find in the Bible was stolen
00:14:19.42\00:14:20.99
from the Roman cult of Mithras,
00:14:20.99\00:14:23.19
which was
really just a reworking
00:14:23.19\00:14:24.96
of an Ancient
Persian mystery religion.
00:14:24.96\00:14:27.66
This is probably one of
the most popular versions
00:14:27.66\00:14:29.90
of the pagan Jesus theory.
00:14:29.90\00:14:31.67
And so it really merits
a little bit of thought.
00:14:31.67\00:14:34.70
There are a few
points of similarity,
00:14:34.70\00:14:37.71
but they're superficial.
00:14:37.71\00:14:39.51
The Roman Cult of
Mithras was really popular
00:14:39.51\00:14:42.21
from the first to
the fourth century's AD.
00:14:42.21\00:14:45.08
In other words, after Christ,
00:14:45.08\00:14:47.62
which makes it seem highly
unlikely that the Christians
00:14:47.62\00:14:50.32
actually borrowed
their stories from this cult
00:14:50.32\00:14:52.69
because, well, it's
hard to plagiarize something
00:14:52.69\00:14:55.29
that hasn't happened yet.
00:14:55.29\00:14:56.93
In reality, it's more
likely that the Cult of Mithras
00:14:56.93\00:15:00.43
borrowed some
ideas from the Christians
00:15:00.43\00:15:02.86
because they came later.
00:15:02.86\00:15:04.97
But that
doesn't stop some people
00:15:04.97\00:15:06.37
from making the claim.
00:15:06.37\00:15:08.00
Mithras, they say,
was born to a virgin
00:15:08.00\00:15:10.11
on the 25th of December.
00:15:10.11\00:15:12.01
He also had 12 disciples.
He performed miracles.
00:15:12.01\00:15:14.64
He was dead for three days
and then came back to life.
00:15:14.64\00:15:17.65
So on the surface,
00:15:17.65\00:15:18.81
it does seem like
somebody was plagiarizing,
00:15:20.08\00:15:21.72
and the skeptics love to
say it was the Christians.
00:15:21.72\00:15:24.59
They just stole the
story of Mithras wholesale.
00:15:24.59\00:15:27.36
But the problem with
this theory is it's not true.
00:15:28.72\00:15:31.59
There is no record
of Mithras being born
00:15:31.59\00:15:33.53
on the 25th of December.
00:15:33.53\00:15:35.26
And even if there was,
00:15:35.26\00:15:36.73
that wouldn't mean much
because he's a pagan deity.
00:15:36.73\00:15:38.73
And there's just no
question that December 25
00:15:38.73\00:15:41.30
was a significant
date in the pagan world.
00:15:41.30\00:15:44.47
The Bible never says
Jesus was born on that day,
00:15:44.47\00:15:47.78
and most
Christians are perfectly aware
00:15:47.78\00:15:49.68
that we borrowed that
date from the pagans of Rome.
00:15:49.68\00:15:52.41
It was a celebration of
the return of the Sun God,
00:15:52.41\00:15:55.18
once the day
started getting longer again
00:15:55.18\00:15:57.42
after the Winter Solstice.
00:15:57.42\00:15:59.69
But the only connection we
even have with that concept
00:15:59.69\00:16:03.46
is the story that Mithras
was a friend of the sun god.
00:16:03.46\00:16:06.80
Was Mithras born to a
virgin? No, absolutely not.
00:16:06.80\00:16:09.80
Ancient pagan artworks
show him being born from a rock
00:16:09.80\00:16:13.10
with a sword in his hand.
00:16:13.10\00:16:14.54
There's also no record of
Mithras having 12 disciples,
00:16:15.90\00:16:18.91
although I've been
given to understand
00:16:18.91\00:16:20.44
that we have found one
image of Mithras surrounded
00:16:20.44\00:16:23.01
by the 12 signs of the Zodiac.
00:16:23.01\00:16:25.35
But the only
thing that has in common
00:16:25.35\00:16:26.95
with the biblical
story is the number 12.
00:16:26.95\00:16:30.05
That's a bit of a stretch.
00:16:30.05\00:16:31.49
I mean, give me a break.
00:16:31.49\00:16:33.02
Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio
are not Peter, James, and John.
00:16:33.02\00:16:37.09
And this idea that
Mithras died and was resurrected
00:16:37.09\00:16:39.53
on the third
day, go look for it.
00:16:39.53\00:16:42.00
It's a story that
doesn't exist anywhere.
00:16:42.00\00:16:45.63
And so it goes with
all the other comparisons.
00:16:45.63\00:16:48.57
There are people who say
that Jesus is just a retelling
00:16:48.57\00:16:50.97
of the Hindu God, Krishna,
00:16:50.97\00:16:52.71
but about the only
thing that Krishna and Jesus
00:16:52.71\00:16:54.71
have in common is
the vague similarity
00:16:54.71\00:16:57.21
between the words
Krishna in Christ.
00:16:57.21\00:17:00.22
Other people say
that the story of Jesus
00:17:00.22\00:17:02.02
is just a retelling of
the Phrygian god Attis.
00:17:02.02\00:17:05.35
And others say
he's just Dionysus.
00:17:05.35\00:17:08.06
But under even basic scrutiny,
all these stories fall apart.
00:17:08.06\00:17:12.16
They're nothing more
than wishful thinking.
00:17:12.16\00:17:14.46
Listen, across all
cultures and all times,
00:17:15.46\00:17:18.03
there are lots of
ideas and experiences
00:17:18.03\00:17:20.17
that are common to everybody,
00:17:20.17\00:17:22.20
like the problem of
suffering and death,
00:17:22.20\00:17:24.71
the meaning of life.
00:17:24.71\00:17:26.98
All of us hurt, all of us weep,
00:17:26.98\00:17:30.28
and we all experience fear.
00:17:30.28\00:17:32.48
Once upon a time,
00:17:32.48\00:17:33.98
most of us had to figure out
where our food was gonna come
00:17:33.98\00:17:35.92
from every single day.
00:17:35.92\00:17:37.35
And if you had a bad harvest,
00:17:37.35\00:17:39.19
it meant that people
were going to starve to death.
00:17:39.19\00:17:42.22
So really, is it a
mystery that so many stories
00:17:42.22\00:17:46.13
from so many cultures
dwell on those themes?
00:17:46.13\00:17:49.63
Absolutely not.
00:17:49.63\00:17:51.07
It's exactly
what you would expect.
00:17:51.07\00:17:53.37
I'll be right back after this.
00:17:53.37\00:17:55.64
[bright music]
00:17:58.14\00:17:59.41
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[bright music]
00:18:25.93\00:18:28.94
- You know,
sometimes, I really struggle
00:18:28.94\00:18:30.47
to understand why anybody
would want the story of Jesus
00:18:30.47\00:18:34.88
to be untrue.
00:18:34.88\00:18:36.48
I mean, we've already
touched on the idea that if God
00:18:37.78\00:18:39.71
is real, it makes
us accountable to him.
00:18:39.71\00:18:42.35
But I think that's
only part of the picture.
00:18:42.35\00:18:44.92
Paganism and Christianity
existed side-by-side
00:18:44.92\00:18:48.16
in a really uneasy relationship
for a really long time
00:18:48.16\00:18:52.43
in Western Europe.
00:18:52.43\00:18:54.13
In fact, judging
by some accounts,
00:18:54.13\00:18:56.30
that coexistence
between pagans and Christians
00:18:56.30\00:18:59.37
may still be happening, at
least in places like Iceland,
00:18:59.37\00:19:03.44
where construction on the
country's first pagan temple
00:19:03.44\00:19:05.91
in 1,000 years has been
underway now since 2017.
00:19:05.91\00:19:10.58
And you know, it's
actually in Scandinavian culture
00:19:10.58\00:19:13.52
that we find a
really good example
00:19:13.52\00:19:15.42
as to why some
people today find themselves
00:19:15.42\00:19:18.45
wishing that
Christianity would just go away.
00:19:18.45\00:19:22.29
Go back about 1,000 years
00:19:22.29\00:19:23.73
to the golden
age of the Vikings,
00:19:23.73\00:19:25.66
and you'll find
Norwegian kings doing something
00:19:25.66\00:19:28.06
that had been
going on for centuries
00:19:28.06\00:19:30.13
in the Germanic
countries further to the South.
00:19:30.13\00:19:33.27
Some of these kings attempted
to force their subjects
00:19:33.27\00:19:35.90
to become Christian.
00:19:35.90\00:19:37.61
There were a
number of Viking kings
00:19:37.61\00:19:39.31
who lived in England growing up
00:19:39.31\00:19:41.28
because there was a
massive Viking settlement there.
00:19:41.28\00:19:44.61
And some of them
adopted Christian beliefs early
00:19:44.61\00:19:47.18
because, well,
England was largely Christian.
00:19:47.18\00:19:50.42
Take for example, a Christian
king known as Olaf Tryggvason
00:19:51.82\00:19:54.42
who came to power in AD 995
after being raised in England.
00:19:54.42\00:19:59.49
As was customary, the
pagans living at Trondheim
00:20:00.83\00:20:02.66
invited him to participate
in a heathen festival
00:20:02.66\00:20:05.43
traditionally
attended by every king.
00:20:05.43\00:20:08.64
When he arrived, however,
00:20:08.64\00:20:10.11
he told the gathering of pagans
that he wanted to go inside
00:20:10.11\00:20:13.41
their pagan temple,
which raised some eyebrows
00:20:13.41\00:20:16.64
because they knew
the king was Christian.
00:20:16.64\00:20:18.98
"I just wanna go inside and
see how you sacrifice," he said.
00:20:18.98\00:20:23.28
So he went inside the
temple with some of his men,
00:20:23.28\00:20:25.62
and to the horror of
the people standing outside,
00:20:25.62\00:20:28.16
they could hear him
smashing their idols.
00:20:28.16\00:20:31.66
When the king came out,
00:20:31.66\00:20:32.89
he had the leader of
the local pagans executed
00:20:32.89\00:20:35.63
in front of everybody,
00:20:35.63\00:20:36.93
and then he gave
the pagans two choices,
00:20:36.93\00:20:38.90
either convert to Christianity
00:20:39.80\00:20:41.90
or fight the king in his army.
00:20:41.90\00:20:44.41
It was conversion by force,
00:20:44.41\00:20:46.44
and he was hardly
the only Norwegian king
00:20:46.44\00:20:48.71
to do something like that.
00:20:48.71\00:20:50.68
In reality, the Vikings
were probably somewhat open
00:20:50.68\00:20:53.82
to examining the
claims of Christ,
00:20:53.82\00:20:56.42
but if there was one
thing they were not open to,
00:20:56.42\00:20:59.52
it was being forced.
00:20:59.52\00:21:01.36
They were far too independent,
far too strong-willed
00:21:01.36\00:21:04.53
to have somebody
coerce them into anything.
00:21:04.53\00:21:07.83
So while they really
didn't have a choice,
00:21:07.83\00:21:10.23
their so-called
conversion was not heartfelt.
00:21:10.23\00:21:13.40
And when Olaf Tryggvason died,
00:21:13.40\00:21:15.84
they all went back to
observing their pagan rituals.
00:21:15.84\00:21:18.74
And sadly, that's
the story of Christianity
00:21:19.87\00:21:22.61
across much of Western Europe.
00:21:22.61\00:21:24.81
And it really started
in the days of Constantine.
00:21:24.81\00:21:27.58
In fact, there's an
old story about Constantine
00:21:27.58\00:21:29.72
marching his army
through the Tiber River
00:21:29.72\00:21:31.72
and then declaring them
all baptized Christians.
00:21:31.72\00:21:35.66
After the conversion
of the Frankish Kings,
00:21:35.66\00:21:37.83
and especially after
the rise of Charlemagne,
00:21:37.83\00:21:40.13
or Charles the Great,
00:21:40.13\00:21:41.73
we suddenly had French armies
converting barbarian tribes
00:21:41.73\00:21:45.70
at the point of a sword.
00:21:45.70\00:21:47.60
After the Spanish
Inquisition was launched
00:21:47.60\00:21:49.80
in the early 13th century,
00:21:49.80\00:21:51.94
it became very dangerous to
hold what the official church
00:21:51.94\00:21:55.81
considered to
be heretical views.
00:21:55.81\00:21:58.81
The Jews who lived
in Spain were faced
00:21:58.81\00:22:00.85
with a really difficult choice,
00:22:00.85\00:22:03.05
convert to Christianity or
face extreme punishment up to
00:22:03.05\00:22:07.79
and including the death penalty.
00:22:07.79\00:22:11.13
And I guess the reason
I'm telling these stories
00:22:11.13\00:22:14.46
is because I
think it has a lot to do
00:22:14.46\00:22:16.73
with why people want to
dismiss the claims of the Bible.
00:22:16.73\00:22:20.47
To their way of thinking,
00:22:20.47\00:22:22.10
the religion of this book is
some kind of moral monstrosity.
00:22:22.10\00:22:26.84
It's a religion of force.
00:22:26.84\00:22:29.04
And if Christians were
perfectly honest about this,
00:22:29.04\00:22:31.21
we'd have to admit
00:22:31.21\00:22:32.71
they kind of have a
point, historically speaking.
00:22:32.71\00:22:35.68
In direct opposition to
the teachings of Christ,
00:22:35.68\00:22:37.89
we use the Bible to justify
political power grabs, wars,
00:22:37.89\00:22:42.36
and the utterly
brutal treatment of people
00:22:42.36\00:22:44.33
who didn't live
or think like us.
00:22:44.33\00:22:47.60
It's a phenomenon
that continues to this day,
00:22:47.60\00:22:50.20
to the point where you can
see well-meaning Christians
00:22:50.20\00:22:53.03
attempting to pass legislation
that favors their beliefs,
00:22:53.03\00:22:56.81
or even makes them
compulsory for everybody else.
00:22:56.81\00:23:00.28
And if there's one thing I've
learned over the 5 1/2 decades
00:23:00.28\00:23:03.14
that I've been
alive on this planet,
00:23:03.14\00:23:05.08
it's that people do
not like being forced.
00:23:05.08\00:23:08.45
In fact, our natural
reaction is to push back.
00:23:08.45\00:23:13.12
So while it's
certainly not the whole picture,
00:23:13.12\00:23:15.86
I'm convinced it's part of
why so many people work so hard
00:23:15.86\00:23:19.19
to get rid of Christianity.
00:23:19.19\00:23:21.13
It's because
Christians have distorted
00:23:21.13\00:23:22.96
the teachings of
Christ and left a bad taste
00:23:22.96\00:23:25.53
in just about everybody's mouth.
00:23:25.53\00:23:27.97
We've created this situation
where people do not hear God
00:23:27.97\00:23:31.34
wooing them in the
pages of the Bible.
00:23:31.34\00:23:34.34
They assume the voice
of God is forcing them.
00:23:34.34\00:23:37.88
We've gotten nearly 2,000
years of really bad preaching,
00:23:37.88\00:23:41.05
telling people that God is
angry and vindictive and eager
00:23:41.05\00:23:45.05
to destroy you if
you don't toe the line.
00:23:45.05\00:23:47.96
And that is an idea we
did take from pagan mythology.
00:23:47.96\00:23:52.79
I'll be right back after this.
00:23:52.79\00:23:54.86
[ominous music]
00:23:58.60\00:23:59.87
- [Announcer] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:23:59.87\00:24:03.41
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:24:03.41\00:24:07.98
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation,
00:24:07.98\00:24:10.15
and come away scratching
your head, you're not alone.
00:24:10.15\00:24:13.21
Our free "Focus on Prophecy"
guides are designed to help you
00:24:13.21\00:24:16.69
unlock the
mysteries of the Bible
00:24:16.69\00:24:18.39
and deepen your understanding
of God's plan for you
00:24:18.39\00:24:21.36
and our world.
00:24:21.36\00:24:22.56
Study online or
request them by mail
00:24:22.56\00:24:24.93
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:24:24.93\00:24:27.86
- At the close of the
Bible on the very last page,
00:24:29.16\00:24:32.60
you find these
important words, John writes,
00:24:32.60\00:24:35.64
"And the Spirit and
the bride say, 'Come!'
00:24:35.64\00:24:38.11
And let him who
hears say, 'Come!'
00:24:38.11\00:24:40.74
And let him who thirsts come.
00:24:40.74\00:24:42.81
Whoever desires, let him
take the water of life freely."
00:24:42.81\00:24:47.32
Now, you'll notice it's not
a threat, it's an invitation.
00:24:47.32\00:24:51.35
There's just no question
that a creator would have moral
00:24:51.35\00:24:54.02
claims on his creation,
00:24:54.02\00:24:55.72
and that you and I would be
accountable to that kind of God.
00:24:55.72\00:24:59.09
That much is true.
00:24:59.09\00:25:00.66
And it's a key part of
why some people work so hard
00:25:00.66\00:25:03.43
to dismiss the story of Jesus,
00:25:03.43\00:25:05.70
including these dishonest people
00:25:05.70\00:25:07.97
who push
ridiculous conspiracy theories
00:25:07.97\00:25:10.17
about a so-called
heathen Christ borrowed
00:25:10.17\00:25:13.48
from the archives
of pagan mythology.
00:25:13.48\00:25:16.24
Other people have pushed
even more ridiculous theories
00:25:16.24\00:25:18.75
like Erich von Daniken who
suggested back in the 1960s
00:25:18.75\00:25:22.45
that God was some
kind of an alien astronaut
00:25:22.45\00:25:25.49
who came to this
world in a spaceship.
00:25:25.49\00:25:27.99
[gentle music]
00:25:27.99\00:25:29.16
And it seems to me
that all of these ideas
00:25:29.16\00:25:30.83
are nothing but
escape mechanisms,
00:25:30.83\00:25:32.56
deliberate attempts to
evade the God of the Bible.
00:25:32.56\00:25:36.46
And a lot of people wanna
dismiss the God of the Bible
00:25:36.46\00:25:39.07
because they're convinced
00:25:39.07\00:25:40.34
that he's some kind
of really unpleasant God.
00:25:40.34\00:25:44.17
And sometimes, they tragically
come to that conclusion
00:25:44.17\00:25:47.24
because of our
behavior, the Christians.
00:25:47.24\00:25:50.18
And here's what I find
so terribly unfortunate.
00:25:51.28\00:25:53.52
If people would
only take the time
00:25:53.52\00:25:54.98
to read the Bible honestly,
00:25:54.98\00:25:57.32
they'd find a God who defies
almost all of our expectations.
00:25:57.32\00:26:02.09
I mean, yes, he does
call sin by its right name,
00:26:02.09\00:26:05.96
and the human race really does
00:26:05.96\00:26:07.40
have a very
serious moral problem.
00:26:07.40\00:26:10.17
The Bible doesn't sugarcoat
the reality of our fallen nature
00:26:10.17\00:26:13.40
and our broken
relationship with God.
00:26:13.40\00:26:16.00
It doesn't hold back when
it tells us that we're guilty.
00:26:16.00\00:26:19.21
But at the same time,
we find this God of love,
00:26:20.31\00:26:23.45
a God who is
willing to risk everything,
00:26:23.45\00:26:25.35
and I mean absolutely
everything to save us.
00:26:25.35\00:26:29.38
You know, there's
another thing that happens
00:26:30.65\00:26:31.52
when you read this book,
00:26:31.52\00:26:33.02
and I'm going to encourage
you to give this a try.
00:26:33.02\00:26:35.22
I mean, go ahead,
read some pagan mythology,
00:26:35.22\00:26:38.03
immerse yourself in the
stories of Olympus or Valhalla,
00:26:38.03\00:26:41.03
and then come back
and read the Gospels.
00:26:41.03\00:26:43.23
Why?
00:26:43.23\00:26:44.73
Because the idea that
the story of Jesus was based
00:26:44.73\00:26:47.64
on pagan myths is going
to evaporate if you do this
00:26:47.64\00:26:50.84
because this book reads nothing
00:26:50.84\00:26:53.11
like those ancient pagan myths.
00:26:53.11\00:26:55.21
Even non-Christian scholars,
00:26:55.21\00:26:57.11
and I emphasize
the word scholars,
00:26:57.11\00:26:59.78
recognize that Jesus
is an historical reality.
00:26:59.78\00:27:02.85
He actually lived,
00:27:02.85\00:27:04.05
and there's no
getting around the fact
00:27:04.05\00:27:05.62
that he was the
most remarkable human
00:27:05.62\00:27:07.72
who ever walked
the face of the Earth.
00:27:07.72\00:27:09.69
In other words,
00:27:10.53\00:27:11.99
there's no rejecting Jesus
on historical grounds the way
00:27:11.99\00:27:15.50
that Gerald Massey and his
disciples would have you think.
00:27:15.50\00:27:19.20
You can only reject Christ
on the basis of philosophy.
00:27:19.20\00:27:22.94
And even that becomes
difficult if you're honest
00:27:22.94\00:27:25.04
with what the
Bible actually says.
00:27:25.04\00:27:27.31
And let's be honest,
00:27:27.31\00:27:28.88
if Jesus was just another
retelling of pagan mythology,
00:27:28.88\00:27:31.71
then why did the
Pagans of Western Europe
00:27:31.71\00:27:33.48
have so much trouble
adopting Christianity?
00:27:33.48\00:27:36.45
If it was practically the
same, that wouldn't make sense.
00:27:36.45\00:27:39.59
So maybe give the
Bible another try,
00:27:39.59\00:27:42.59
and we'll give you
a hand if you want.
00:27:42.59\00:27:44.06
Just go to biblestudies.com
00:27:44.06\00:27:45.66
and you'll find
a free Bible course
00:27:45.66\00:27:48.00
we just want you to have.
00:27:48.00\00:27:49.40
And I think you'll find
that the person of Jesus
00:27:49.40\00:27:51.37
we find in the Bible is
worlds apart from the heroes
00:27:51.37\00:27:54.57
and gods of the pagans.
00:27:54.57\00:27:56.17
And you'll quickly discover
00:27:56.17\00:27:57.57
it's not this book
telling lies about Jesus.
00:27:57.57\00:28:00.11
That's the work of
the conspiracy theorists.
00:28:00.11\00:28:02.71
Thanks for joining
me. I'm Shawn Boonstra.
00:28:02.71\00:28:05.48
You've been
watching "Authentic".
00:28:05.48\00:28:08.05
[upbeat music]
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[upbeat music]
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[upbeat music]
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