Did Jesus Plagiarize Horus?

8/8/2019 Did Jesus Plagiarize Horus?

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Comedian Bill Maher and other critics claim that there are some striking parallels

between the Jesus and Horus stories. Let us now take at look at the facts first hand. Forthose who are unfamiliar with the Horus story, he's a character in Egyptian mythology,

the son of the gods Isis and Osiris. There actually appear to be multiple deities named

'Horus,' but the one who is the son of Isis and Osiris is the one the critics claim influenced

the Jesus story. For a quick as well as unbiased debunking of this story, simply go to anysearch engine and find a site on Egyptian mythology to read the Horus story for yourself

(or check the mythology section at your local library).

Here are the claims of parallels between Jesus and Horus coupled with accurate

responses:

1) Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Meri on December 25th in a cave or manger with his

birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men.

Lets take this one apart and deal with each separate issue:

Horus mother was not a virgin. She was married to Osiris, and there is no reason tosuppose she was abstinent after marriage. Horus was, per the story, miraculouslyconceived. Seth had killed and dismembered Osiris, then Isis put her husband's dead body

back together and had intercourse with it. In some versions, she used a hand-made

phallus since she wasn't able to find that part of her husband. So while it was amiraculous conception, it was not a virgin birth.

Horus was given three different birth dates in mythology, one of which does correspondto December 25th. But since Jesus wasn't, per the evidence, born on December 25th, this

isn't a parallel. Probably Jesus was conceived or implanted then (by the Holy Ghost) but

no where does it state within the Scriptures that He was born then..

"Meri" (technically "Mr-ee") is the Egyptian word for "beloved" and was apparentlyapplied to Isis prior to Jesus' time as a title; not as part of her name. But since there were

probably thousands of women between Horus' time and Jesus' with a name or title thatwas a variation on "Mary," there's no real reason to suppose that Jesus' mother was

named after Isis in particular. Even if, hypothetically, the Gospel authors themselves

fabricated Jesus' mother and decided to name her "Mary," it's far more likely that theynamed her after other women from around their time named "Mary" than it is that they

named her after "Isis-Meri".

Horus was born in a swamp and not a cave or manger. His birth was not announced by a

star in the east.

There were no "three wise men" at Horus birth nor at Jesus for that matter (the Biblenever gives the number of these men specifically called Magi). They showed up at Jesus

home later on and not at the manger, probably when Jesus was a year or two old.

Some critics have said, "the Star in the East that arose to announce the birth of the babe

(Jesus) was Orion, which is therefore called the star of Horus. That was once the star of

the three kings; for the 'three kings' is still a name of three stars in Orion's belt . . . " Thesecritics are simply mislabeling and lack proper understanding. Orion is not a star, but a


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constellation of which there are three stars in a row making up the belt of Orion.

However, there is no evidence that these three stars were called the "Three Kings" prior

to Jesus' time or even prior to the 19th century for that matter. And even if there is aspecific star named 'the star of Horus,' there's no legend stating that it announced Horus'

birth (as the critics are claiming) or that the three stars in Orion's belt attended Horus'

birth in any way.

2) His earthly father was named "Seb" ("Joseph").

First of all, there is no parallel between the Egyptian name "Seb" and the Hebrew name

"Joseph" other than the fact that theyre common names. Also, Seb was Osiris father and

not Horus.

3) He was of royal descent.

This ones true! But it's not really a comparison to Jesus. When followers speak of Jesusbeing of 'royal descent' they usually mean His being a descendant of King David, an

earthly king. Horus was according to the myth descended from heavenly royalty (as Jesus

was), being the son of the main god.

4) At age 12 he was a child teacher in the Temple, and at 30 he was baptized, having

disappeared for 18 years.

He never taught in any temple and was never baptized. Also, Jesus didn't just 'disappear'

in the years between His teaching in the temple and baptism. He worked humbly as a

carpenter.

5) Horus was baptized in the river Eridanus or Iarutana (Jordan) by "Anup the Baptizer"

("John the Baptist"), who was decapitated.

Again, Horus was never baptized. There is no "Anup the Baptizer" in the story.

6) He had 12 disciples, two of whom were his "witnesses" and were named "Anup" and

"Aan" (the two "Johns").

Horus had four disciples (called Heru-Shemsu). Theres another reference to sixteenfollowers, and a group of followers called mesnui (blacksmiths) who join Horus in

battle, but are never numbered. But theres no reference to twelve followers or any of

them being named "Anup" or "Aan".

7) He performed miracles, exorcised demons and raised El-Azarus ("El-Osiris"), from the

dead.

He did perform miracles, but he never exorcised demons or raised his father from the

dead. Also, Osiris is never referred to as El-Azarus or El-Osiris (clearly an attempt to

make his name more closely resemble the Bibles "Lazarus").

8) Horus walked on water.

No, he did not.


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9) His personal epithet was "Lusa," the "ever-becoming son" of "Ptah," the "Father." He

was thus called "Holy Child."

Horus was never referred to as "Iusa" (nor was anyone in Egyptian history - the word

does not exist) or "Holy Child".

10) He delivered a "Sermon on the Mount" and his followers recounted the "Sayings ofIusa."

Horus never delivered such a sermon, and, as pointed out above, he was never referred to

as "Iusa".

11) Horus was transfigured on the Mount.

No, he was not.

12) He was crucified between two thieves, buried for three days in a tomb, and then

resurrected.

Horus was never crucified. Theres an unofficial story in which he dies and is cast in

pieces into the water, then later fished out by a crocodile at Isis request. This unofficial

story is the only one in which he dies at all.

As for resurrected, this one is at best a "maybe." The source for this claim is the

Metternich Stela (aka the Magical Stela), which dates to the 4th century B.C. It describes

Horus, while hiding in a marsh with his mother, Isis, being bitten by a poisonousscorpion. Isis cries out for help. In the Budge translation of the Stela, it says "In answer to

these words Thoth, turning to Isis and Nephthys, bade them to fear not, and to have no

anxiety about Horus, "For," said he, "I have come from heaven to heal the child for hismother." He then pointed out that Horus was under protection as the Dweller in his Disk

(Aten), the Great Dwarf, the Mighty Ram, the Great Hawk, the Holy Beetle, the Hidden

Body, the Divine Bennu, etc., and proceeded to utter the great spell which restored Horusto life." While this translation suggests a resurrection, the problem is that other sources

disagree with it, saying that the Stela claims that Horus was merely sickened, then cured.

Even Budge's translation says that Thoth came to "heal the child," and you don't heal a

corpse. The website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org), which is themuseum where the Stela is currently located, says the following about the inscription:

"Isis speaks and recounts that while she and Horus were still hiding in the marshes, the

child became ill. In her despair, she cried for help to the "Boat of Eternity" (the sun boatin which the god travels over the sky), "and the sun disk stopped opposite her and did not

move from his place." Thoth was sent from the sun boat to help Isis and cured Horus by

reciting a catalogue of spells." (source). Other sources also agree that the Stela says"sickened, then cured" rather than "killed, then resurrected," such as this one.

13) He was also the "Way, the Truth, the Light," "Messiah," "Gods Anointed Son," the

"Son of Man," the "Good Shepherd," the "Lamb of God," the "Word made flesh," the"Word of Truth," etc.

The only titles Horus is given are "Great God," "Chief of the Powers," "Master of


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Heaven," and "Avenger of His Father." None of the above titles are in any Egyptian

mythology.

14) He was "the Fisher" and was associated with the Fish ("Ichthys"), Lamb and Lion.

He was never referred to as "the fisher," and there's no lamb or lion in any of the stories.

15) He came to fulfill the Law.

There was no "law" he was supposed to fulfill.

16) Horus was called "the KRST" or "Anointed One."

He was never referred to by either of these titles. "KRST" in Egyptian means "burial" by

the way. It wasn't a title.

17) Like Jesus, "Horus was supposed to reign one thousand years."

No mention of this in Egyptian mythology.

IN CONCLUSION

We can see the differences between Jesus and Horus far outweigh any superficialcorrelations. Ward Gasque, a volunteer book reviewer for Amazon.com surveyed twenty

contemporary Egyptologists. He asked them about the origins of Jesus' name, the

relationship between Horus and Jesus, whether both experienced a virgin birth, andwhether the Egyptian religion considered Horus to be an incarnation of God.

Ten responded and agreed on the following:

Jesus' name is a Greek form of a very common Semitic name Jeshu'a, which is normally

translated into English as Joshua.

There is no evidence that Horus was born of a virgin, that he had twelve disciples, or that

he was considered incarnation of God.

Therefore we can safely say again that the critics and mockers of God need to do a more

thorough or in depth study before babbling from the mouth about some supposed "truth."

As Christians we are commanded by God to study to show ourselves approved unto Him.And since we love Him and feel His Holy Spirit or presence within in us, we obey His

word. We are constantly looking for the answers in a logical and truthful manner. Unlike

some who simply hate or reject God and cast whatever doubt that they possibly can

without first verifying the facts.

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Did Jesus Plagiarize Horus?