2nd Tim, that was closer to what I was talking about, and you answered half of it.
I didn't really mention this part, so excuse me.
The second part is the reason people made other gods, which is another reason I pointed out the Greeks. They believed that, for example, Posiedon controled earthquakes and tidal waves. Everyone knew that THAT was the cause, but scientists know today that earthquakes are caused by plates shifting in the earths surface. Is God just some way of dealing with the unknown? Another example would be the ancient salamander. Salamanders would be seen leaving a burning forest, thus geniuses made the assumption that salamanders were the cause. They blew their observations out of proportion. I believe that Jesus was a real person and did beautiful things, but were some of His deads unexplainable at the time and thus expanded to a Godly proportion?
Please, I want to learn, it's just hard with this amount of doubt.
Ryan
Hello Ryan.
If I'm reading you correctly, you seem to be relating Greek mythology to the Judaeo/Christian God. In other words, I believe you are not as interested in what the Greeks did, but rather, was Jesus just a man who Jews (early Christians) subscribed "Godly" attributes to, because of a lack scientific learning and understanding, much in the same manner as the Greeks apparently did.
Well, there is substantial secular evidence, which corroborates the Biblical record. There are historical records, scientific evidence and archaeological evidence. The same cannot be said of Greek, or any other mythology, or religious belief system from antiquity.
There is actually excellent evidence, which tends to lead us to believe some ancient civilizations were strongly influenced by the Old Testament. Take the Egyptians for example;
The story of Joseph...
Gen 42:6 And Joseph [was] the governor over the land, [and] he [it was] that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him [with] their faces to the earth.
Joseph was a Jew, who became second in command in Egypt.
Exd 1:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
The Jews multiplied and became numerous in Egypt. We see strong evidence and parallels between the Judaeo God and Egyptian Myth. The two are intermingled.
Of course, it went sour for the Jews as the following verses describe. The Egyptians turned the Jews into a great slave work force. There is very good evidence which shows how the Jews from that point onward fro over 400 years of captivity, actually began to take on more of the Egyptian mythological religion. God, through Moses rebuked them severely for this, and that is the main reason why they laboured for forty years in the desert.
Exd 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
Exd 1:9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel [are] more and mightier than we:
Exd 1:10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and [so] get them up out of the land.
Exd 1:11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
Exd 1:12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
Exd 1:13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
Exd 1:14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, [was] with rigour.
Exd 1:15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
Exd 1:16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see [them] upon the stools; if it [be] a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it [be] a daughter, then she shall live.
You can find the same intermingling of Old Testament and local, or regional mythology in almost every nation, which conquered and took Jewish captives. Ancient Babylon is another great example. There are to this day, monuments and ancient literature, which retell Biblical events such as Jonah and the whale, and Noah's Ark. In many instances the names are changed and locals are switched in order to give the prestige to the conquerors.
Bronzesnake
