{"id":83666,"date":"2025-01-26T16:03:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T22:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=83666"},"modified":"2025-01-26T16:03:17","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T22:03:17","slug":"meme-makers-myth-informed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/meme-makers-myth-informed\/","title":{"rendered":"Meme Makers Myth-informed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

by Richard Blackford<\/p>\n

Meme makers are trying to discredit Jesus again. It’s difficult to find more falsehood in such a small space. This was making the rounds on social media during the holidays.<\/p>\n

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  1. One of the first things mentioned is Jesus’ “Birthday is celebrated on December 25th. “But notice the title: “THE BIBLE. Not as original as you’d think…” The Bible says nothing<\/b>(!) about the date when Jesus was born. They myth-read the Bible and immediately myth-represented it.
    \n

    “But early Christians did not celebrate his birth, and no one knows on which date Jesus was actually born (some scholars believe that the actual date was in the early spring, placing it closer to Easter, the holiday commemorating his Resurrection)…… The church in Rome began formally celebrating Christmas on December 25 in A.D. 336, during the reign of the emperor Constantine. As Constantine had made Christianity the effective religion of the empire, some have speculated that choosing this date had the political motive of weakening the established pagan celebrations. The date was not widely accepted in the Eastern Empire, where January 6 had been favored, for another half-century, and Christmas did not become a major Christian festival until the 9th century” [“Why Is Christmas in December?<\/a>,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online].<\/p><\/blockquote>\nAlso, the meme maker asserted no proof that Horus was born on December 25. He gave no evidence because there was no evidence. So, the meme maker’s argument is with the Roman church (which changed the date several times before choosing December 25 in the 4th century), not <\/b>with the Bible.<\/li>\n

  2. We’re told Horus was born of a virgin. This lacks any Egyptian historical or archeological support, especially from the 3000 years between when Horus was supposed to have lived and the coming of Jesus into the world. In fact, the story of Horus is that the body of Osiris (Horus’ father) had been dismembered into 14 pieces by his murderous brother, Typhon, and he hid the pieces throughout Egypt. Isis, the consort and brother of Osirus, went throughout Egypt and found the pieces, except for his reproductive apparatus, which a fish had eaten. She made a replica and brought Osiris back to life, and they cohabited. Still, it’s not <\/b>a virgin birth. Another version was that Horus was conceived when Osiris and Isis (brother and sister) were still in the womb(!) of Rhea. It is still <\/b>not a virgin birth, but it does show the desperation of fans of Horus to make Horus the basis for the account of Jesus in the gospels.<\/li>\n
  3. The meme says the North Star led wise men to Jesus when he was born. There is no issue with the Bible, for the North Star is not mentioned in connection with the birth of Jesus. The wise men said, “We have seen his star in the east<\/b>” (Matthew 2:2). There is no evidence in the Horus story of three wise men, and we’re not told how many wise men came to see the baby Jesus.<\/li>\n
  4. There is no archaeological evidence that the Egyptians believed Horus was crucified and then resurrected. We could continue this same point with all the information about Horus in the right column. The info on the meme about Horus doesn’t appear in ancient Egyptian documents, and there is no archeological support. But we can’t blame Horus. He was a” real myth” (oxymoron). It looks extremely like his fans are the copycats in their efforts to bring down Jesus. They are myth-guided and are trying to myth-lead others. Documentation is myth-ing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Stories of these mythical gods are filled with murder, fornication, adultery, incest, debauchery, and self-indulgence. There is no evidence that this mythical creature cared for the welfare of humans on Earth. Things that skeptics ridicule in the Bible look very tame compared to the farfetched claims for the gods of paganism. For example, Horus got his brother, Set, pregnant when Set was fed a piece of lettuce!<\/p>\n

    Much of the info about Horus comes from a book by Gerald Massey, a 19th-century skeptic, amateur historian, and wannabe Egyptologist. This attempt to smear Jesus has been promoted by TV celebrity Bill Maher and the 2007 movie Zeitgeist. Ironically, the movie claims to be a documentary, but it, too, is scant in documentation. Zeitgeist was directed by, produced by, narrated by, edited by, and the music by – Peter Joseph. Tens of millions of viewers have viewed it. Mr. Massey appears to be the myth-ing link who contrived this myth-chief. Those who have helped circulate these memes have not bothered to verify their claims and have become partakers of his evil deeds. It appears that the only reason anyone would want to do that is that they, too, would like to destroy Jesus. Jesus said, “He that is not with me, is against me<\/em>” (Matthew 12:30).<\/p>\n

    But why do they desire to destroy Jesus?<\/strong>\u00a0It could be because he has a moral standard. Jesus went about doing nothing but good (Acts 10:38). He taught that “it is more blessed to give than to receive<\/em>” (Acts 20:35). He helped the poor and had compassion for widows and orphans. He healed the sick, raised the dead, comforted the afflicted and bereaved. His love for everybody far surpassed anything that has ever been known. He went to the cross in a desperate effort to save as many as would come to Him. He was the Master Teacher who taught many wonderful and valuable lessons, including the Golden Rule, which cannot be improved upon (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). His teachings were so lofty and sublime that no one could compare to Him. Certainly not Horus or any of the mythical gods. He truly cared about you, me, and everyone.<\/p>\n

    If you would like to know more about the One who is offering you hope in this life and victory and blessing in the future life, and who genuinely loves you, we offer home Bible studies at your convenience. We can come to you, or you to us. You will be truly enlightened by the word described as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path<\/em>” (Psalms 119:105). In these studies, there are no tests and no coercion. When you honestly seek Jesus and see Him for who He really is, no coercion is needed. Please contact us. It is urgent. We only have limited time here.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Richard Blackford Meme makers are trying to discredit Jesus again. It’s difficult to find more falsehood in such a small space. This was making the rounds on social media during the holidays. One of the first things mentioned is Jesus’ “Birthday is celebrated on December 25th. “But notice the title: “THE BIBLE. Not as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[37,73,907],"class_list":["post-83666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-apologetics","tag-jesus","tag-myths"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14346,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-buddhism-prove-jesus-to-be-a-myth\/","url_meta":{"origin":83666,"position":0},"title":"Does Buddhism prove Jesus to be a myth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I recently stumbled onto a web site where the author talks about how Christianity borrowed from other religions and that Jesus was a mythical figure. She tries to make similarities between Jesus and Buddha, Horus, etc. One example from her web site claims that Buddha had 12 disciples just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48091,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/myth-or-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":83666,"position":1},"title":"Myth or History?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Forrest D. Moyer The Bible is either the product of God or the product of men. Christians believe that the Bible is from the hand of God and that it is to be believed and obeyed in order to have a good life now and in Heaven in eternity.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55344,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-birth-of-christ-fact-or-myth\/","url_meta":{"origin":83666,"position":2},"title":"The Birth of Christ: Fact or Myth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abraham Smith This is a time of year when many of us will enjoy time with our loved ones. It is also a time of year when some people will take the opportunity to share with us how wrong they think the Bible is in its record of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0018_tif-1-300x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14553,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-skeptics\/","url_meta":{"origin":83666,"position":3},"title":"How do I deal with skeptics?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been looking at material from skeptics recently and I've noticed that I have a big problem with approaching their material. I find myself getting really anxious and worked up in my mind. For example, if I find myself reading an article claiming that Jesus was a myth, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38161,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-prove-that-jesus-exists-and-the-bible-is-true\/","url_meta":{"origin":83666,"position":4},"title":"How do I prove that Jesus exists and the Bible is true?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do I prove to an atheist that Jesus exists and that every word in the Bible is true? He believes in \"om\" and the energy runs the world. That life is made of energy. Answer: This person is not an atheist. An atheist does not believe in any\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-was-jesus-born\/","url_meta":{"origin":83666,"position":5},"title":"When was Jesus born?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have known Bible scholars to teach that Jesus was born in the Spring or maybe the month of April!? What say ye? Answer: The day of Jesus' birth gives rise to endless speculations. 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