Abandon Christianity? Reason 20: It Is Unoriginal

The Final Challenge

            We’ve reached the end at last. The final reason to abandon Christianity is because it is just a “copycat” religion. There is little to nothing original to it, therefore it’s not worth entering. Worship of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Mithras, etc. all influenced Christianity to the point it just isn’t legitimate.
            Bogus.
            This “problem” with Christianity was popular from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Then Bible scholars demolished all the arguments, and the issue died. Then, in the late 1900s and early 2000s, some people decided to raise the issue again. This time they had the internet to help. Now Christians have to deal with this issue again. Oh well, this is how it will be until Jesus comes back.
            Before we get to it, let’s look at what is essential for a religion to have had before  it could’ve influenced Christianity: 1) it had to have been older than Christianity, 2) it had to have a god dying and raising from the dead, 3) it has to be literal history.
            If the religion doesn’t predate Christianity, the whole discussion is pointless. You can’t influence something if you don’t exist yet.
            Also, if it predates Christianity but doesn’t have its god dying and rising from the dead, it’s nothing like Christianity anyway. 
            Finally, if the cult isn’t claiming to be based off real history, then it isn’t like Christianity at all. Jesus didn't die to explain why nature is the way it is, but for people. I’ll start with this point first.

Cyclical religions

            Christianity is rooted in real, physical history. As in, dates and chronology. You know, with eyewitnesses and such (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
            Most of these “mystery religions” are based on the cycles of vegetation. For instance, when the fall/winter rolls around, the deity “dies”. Then, in the spring/summer, the deity “resurrects”.
            This is completely opposite Christianity. Jesus died once for sins (1 Peter 3:18), and rose once. He didn’t die to explain the weather and seasons. No, Christianity makes its stake in history, not the vegetation cycle.
            This eliminates the cults of Baal and Adonis among many others.

Does It Have a God Dying and Resurrecting?

            If a religion’s god doesn’t die and rise again, it is not like Christianity. It’s as simple as that. Let’s go through some religions that do not have gods that have done that.
            Attis: though this myth is older than Christianity, the first story we have of Attis rising from the dead comes after the first century. No, Attis couldn’t have influenced Christianity.
            Tammuz: there is uncertainty as to whether this god even died. No dispute with Jesus, we can say.
            Osiris: oh, Osiris sure died. In fact, he was chopped up. Oh, and he “rose” again in the underworld. But he never came back to the world like Jesus. So no, this wasn’t a resurrection because he stayed in the underworld after he died. “Zombification”, you could say*.
            Mithras: Mithras didn’t die. But he killed a bull. (How that could’ve influenced Christianity is beyond me)
            So you see, this also eliminates a lot of these mystery religions.

Does It Predate Christianity?

            Yes, some of the afore-mentioned religions do predate Christianity. Notably Tammuz and Baal. However, their gods didn’t die and rise again. If they did, it was to explain the seasons, not to make a claim in physical history.
            For an example of a religion that came after Christianity, I’ll use Mithraism. This religion is often used against Christianity because of some of the parallels in the birthdate (December 25th), secret meal (communion), and promise of immortal life (salvation).
            There is a small problem, however. Mithraism as a religion has no attestation before AD90. So… yeah, that doesn’t work.

Conclusion

            As anyone can guess, I am not an expert on this subject**. However, all one generally needs to know is the basics. To be like or to influence Christianity, a religion has to be older than Christianity, it has to make a claim on physical history (dates and chronologies, not the vegetation cycle), and it has to have a god that dies and resurrects. As I’ve shown, these three criteria together eliminate most “mystery religions”, including the main one used against Christianity (Mithraism).

*I borrowed this term and most of the information in this post from the fourth chapter (or Challenge Number 4, as it is called in the book) of Lee Strobel’s The Case for the Real Jesus. An amazing book, I recommend it.
**I barely scratch the surface of what I do talk about in this post.