The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidences of His ExistenceRemsburg, John E. (John Eleazer)
Religion
The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidences of His Existence
Remsburg, John E. (John Eleazer)
Jesus Christ -- Historicity; Jesus Christ -- Rationalistic interpretations; Rationalism
One of the most ancient and one of the most renowned of all the gods
was Osiris, the Savior of Egypt. He was the son of Seb (earth) and Nu
(heaven). He appears in the hieroglyphics of Egypt as early as 3427
B. C. Two thousand years before Christ his worship was universal in
Egypt, and during the succeeding centuries spread over much of Asia
and Europe, including Greece and Rome. Its priests looked confidently
forward to the time when all men would be brought to Osiris, just as
Christian priests today look forward to the time when all men will
be brought to Christ.
Osiris was slain by Typhon (Satan), but rose again and became the
ruler of the dead. He presides at the judgment of the departed where
the good are rewarded with everlasting life, and the wicked are
destroyed. The Osirian Bible is called the "Book of the Dead."
Christians are indebted to this religion largely for their views
concerning immortality and a bodily resurrection. They believe that
through the death and resurrection of Christ they have inherited
eternal life, that when their earthly career is ended they will live
again in him. Regarding the Egyptians' belief, the "International
Encyclopedia" says: "Just as Osiris died and lived again, so the
spiritual personality of the deceased lived again and was merged in
Osiris." Of Osiris the Rev. Dr. Charles Gillett, of Union Theological
Seminary, says: "The belief in him and in the immortality which he
symbolized was the deepest in Egyptian religious thought." Sir John
Gardner Wilkinson, one of the most eminent Egyptologists, says: "The
peculiar character of Osiris, his coming upon earth for the benefit
of mankind, with the titles of 'Manifester of Good' and 'Revealer
of Truth'; his being put to death by the malice of the Evil One;
his burial and resurrection, and his becoming the judge of the dead,
are the most interesting features of the Egyptian religion." John
Stuart Glennie, another English writer, notes the following analogies
between the religion of Osiris and the religion of Christ: "In
ancient Osirianism, as in modern Christianism, we find the worship
of a divine mother and child. In ancient Osirianism as in modern
Christianism, there is a doctrine of atonement. In ancient Osirianism,
as in modern Christianism, we find the vision of a last judgment,
and resurrection of the body. And finally, in ancient Osirianism,
as in modern Christianism, the sanctions of morality are a lake of
fire and torturing demons on the one hand, and on the other, eternal
life in the presence of God" (Christ and Osiris, p. 14).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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