atheists: why does it bother you that christianity has similarities with other religions?

Q. why does christianity have to be original to have any credence?

A. Because it looks very much like what it very probably IS: mankind 'moving the goalposts' little by little as redundant ideas get replaced with more 'fashionable' ones. For instance, the Pagans believed in many gods then the Jews came along with the idea of 'The Father' who was said to have a wife called 'Asherah'. Then she got written out for whatever reason because opinion was it's better to just have a 'big man' style God probably. Anyway, this example (& I could give others) demonstrates that in order for a religion to succeed it has to adapt like the common cold virus: old static ideas run out of steam so newer more 'interesting' ones come along to keep people under their spell. The 20th century / early 21st century version of Christianity is Mormonism where Joseph Smith becomes added to the mix to interest another generation with an alledged 'special new truth' to make their ideas sound more compelling. This has always happened: Jesus was God's son - WOW! The Muslims decided he wasn't but Mohammed was his last prophet blar blar blar. Everyone is adding their own 'spin' on the god claim thinking their version is special & different but actually that's what makes them all rather banal because NONE can be demonstrated to be true. This is not an insignificant shortcoming.

A. also why does the fact that the resurrection and jesus story has similarities in other religions mean its false?

A. Well it can't definitively 'prove' it is false but it certainly points to a conclusion that it's not very original & very probably trying to bring believers of the previous faith into the new one. In that respect religions are a lot like new political parties formed from discredited old ones e.g. Blairs 'New' Labour reinvented from the old 'Labour' model. Surely religious truths should be totally fixed & unyielding to fashion or which way the wind blows. Tony Ben called that 'Weather Vain' politics. The same could be said of religions. By rights humanity should have stuck with ONE 'truth' but even today religion is STILL evolving to public outlooks for example the new Pope who is softening is stance on homosexuals & atheists saying they may still gain access to heaven if they are good people. Well what has changed? Is God indecisive or something?

If a person claimed to have met an eccentric scientist working on a time traveling car, went back in time, met his parents, and made sure his socially awkward father hooked up with his mom at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, to ensure his own birth would take place in the future, would you be more or less likely to believe him knowing that that is the exact plot of a well known movie?

Well, if the idea of Jesus being resurrected was borrowed from another religion which was not true, then that means the resurrection of Jesus was also not true. I would have thought it is pretty obvious what the problem is.

Christians act like their story is original. They want people to believe their story is the best one ever told except it is just stolen material from other performers.

It doesn't bother me, in fact I embrace those similarities to illustrate that Christianity is basically a plagiarized religion.

It doesn't. It's similarities point to them being wrong.

It doesn't concern me in the least...

But it sure does pissoff the xians when you point out that

NOTHING about xianity is original.

It's just recycled myths.

~

I like Pi.