A Refutation of Mythicism

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” – 2 Peter 1:16 (ESV)

The claim that Christianity is merely a repackaging of pagan myths—known as mythicism—is historically baseless and collapses under scrutiny. Skeptics argue that Jesus is just another “dying-and-rising god” and that His life, death, and resurrection were borrowed from earlier myths like Osiris, Mithras, or Horus. However, this argument ignores Christianity’s Jewish origins, distorts pagan mythology, and disregards the historical evidence for Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Christianity did not arise in a pagan vacuum. It emerged from Second Temple Judaism, a fiercely monotheistic belief system that rejected idolatry and syncretism. The idea that devout Jews—who refused to even say “Caesar is Lord”—would merge their faith with pagan myths is not only improbable but absurd. The earliest Christians were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-7), and their testimony is historically attested. The question is not whether Jesus’ resurrection is like pagan myths but whether it actually happened.

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1. The Collapse of Pagan Parallels

Mythicists claim Christianity borrowed from dying-and-rising gods, but a closer look at these myths reveals superficial similarities at best, outright fabrications at worst.

• Osiris (Egyptian Mythology): Osiris was murdered, dismembered, and his body parts scattered. His wife, Isis, reassembled him, but he did not return to life—he became king of the underworld (Plutarch, Isis and Osiris365B)¹. His story is not a resurrection but a myth about the afterlife.
• Mithras (Roman Mystery Religion): Mithras was never crucified, never rose from the dead, and his cult had no concept of atonement for sins (Franz Cumont, The Mysteries of Mithra)². Claims that Mithras’ followers had a “Last Supper” are misinterpretations of artwork.
• Horus (Egyptian Mythology): Mythicists claim Horus was “born of a virgin” and “resurrected,” but this is completely false. Horus’ birth involved the sexual union of Osiris and Isis after Osiris’ death (The Pyramid Texts)³. There is no death and resurrection narrative for Horus (E.A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians)⁴.

The alleged “parallels” fall apart when examined in historical context. Furthermore, Christianity’s core message is utterly unique—not a seasonal cycle of death and rebirth but a once-for-all historical resurrection (Hebrews 9:26).

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2. Why Christianity Could Not Have Borrowed from Paganism

If Christianity had pagan roots, its earliest adherents would embrace syncretism. Instead, the New Testament repeatedly condemns pagan influence (1 Corinthians 10:14, Galatians 4:8-9). The Jewish historian Josephus confirms:

“The Jews never had any diverse gods among them, nor do they suffer their customs to be changed by the ways of others.” (Against Apion 2.261)⁵

Early Christian writers explicitly rejected pagan influences:

• Irenaeus (c. 180 AD) – Against Heresies (Book 2, Chapter 22.4): “For their [pagan] gods are but the invention of men, whereas our Lord Jesus Christ was truly born, and truly suffered, and truly rose again.”⁶
• Eusebius (c. 4th century AD) – Demonstratio Evangelica (Book 3, Chapter 6): “Among the Greeks, there is nothing approaching the doctrine of resurrection.”⁷
• Tatian (c. 165 AD) – Address to the Greeks (Chapter 21): “We do not reverence the old myths, nor accept their fables; rather, we have found the truth.”⁸

If Christianity had pagan roots, why did early defenders of the faith deny any connection to mystery religions?

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3. The Resurrection of Jesus Is Historically Unique

Pagan “Resurrections”	Jesus’ Resurrection
Cyclical, seasonal, tied to fertility myths	One-time event in history
No eyewitness accounts	Multiple eyewitnesses (1 Cor. 15:3-7)
Gods return to the underworld	Jesus’ body glorified, never dies again
Not tied to historical evidence	Attested by early creeds, Tacitus, Josephus

Even non-Christian historians confirm Jesus’ crucifixion and early Christian belief in His resurrection:

• Tacitus (Annals 15.44)⁹: Mentions Jesus’ execution under Pontius Pilate.
• Pliny the Younger (Epistles 10.96)¹⁰: Describes Christians worshiping Jesus “as a god.”
• Lucian of Samosata (2nd century)¹¹: A satirist who acknowledges Jesus’ crucifixion.
• Celsus (2nd century, hostile witness)¹²: Admits Jesus’ miracles, though attributing them to “sorcery” (Origen, Contra Celsum 1.38).

Unlike myths, Christianity is rooted in verifiable history.

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4. Why Does This Myth Persist?

Mythicism thrives because it is an internet-era conspiracy theory, not a serious historical position. Even secular scholars reject it:

• Bart Ehrman (agnostic NT scholar): “The view that Jesus existed is held by virtually every scholar of antiquity of every kind.” (Did Jesus Exist?)¹³
• Maurice Casey (atheist historian): “The ‘pagan copycat’ theories are an embarrassment to serious historical study.” (Jesus: Evidence and Argument or Mythicist Myths?)¹⁴
• J.Z. Smith (historian of religion): “The category of dying-and-rising gods must be understood as a misnomer.”(Drudgery Divine)¹⁵

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5. Final Challenge to Mythicists

Unlike Osiris, Mithras, or Horus, Christianity stands alone—grounded in history, verified by testimony, and proven by the transformation of those who encountered the risen Christ. The resurrection was not a borrowed myth—it was the turning point of history.

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Footnotes

¹ Plutarch, Isis and Osiris, 365B.

² Franz Cumont, The Mysteries of Mithra (New York: Dover Publications, 1956).

³ The Pyramid Texts, trans. Samuel A.B. Mercer (New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1952).

⁴ E.A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians, vol. 1 (London: Methuen & Co., 1904).

⁵ Josephus, Against Apion, 2.261, trans. H. St. J. Thackeray (Harvard University Press, 1926).

⁶ Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 2.22.4, trans. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1867).

⁷ Eusebius, Demonstratio Evangelica, 3.6, trans. W.J. Ferrar (London: SPCK, 1920).

⁸ Tatian, Address to the Greeks, 21, trans. J.E. Ryland, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1867).

⁹ Tacitus, Annals, 15.44, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (London: Macmillan, 1876).

¹⁰ Pliny the Younger, Epistles, 10.96, trans. William Melmoth (London: Harvard University Press, 1915).

¹¹ Lucian of Samosata, The Passing of Peregrinus, trans. H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905).

¹² Origen, Contra Celsum, 1.38, trans. Henry Chadwick (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953).

¹³ Bart Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth (New York: HarperOne, 2012).

¹⁴ Maurice Casey, Jesus: Evidence and Argument or Mythicist Myths? (London: Bloomsbury, 2014).

¹⁵ J.Z. Smith, Drudgery Divine: On the Comparison of Early Christianities and the Religions of Late Antiquity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990).