Did the Bible Copy Some of its Stories from Other Religious Myths and Legends?
Some of the stories and themes of the Bible are similar to the traditions and events of other religions. We will look at some points to explore this. Discussing this is a complex process because we are dealing with different traditions of different religions. We will look at different angles and compare different stories in the Bible so that we can see the difference between them.
Understanding The Allegation
If we talk about the accusations in the Bible, there are many stories in it that are also found in the events of other religions. Such as the creation of Adam and Eve, the birth of Jesus, the flood of Noah, all these events are in the Bible as well as exist in other religions. So this allegation has been researched by many scholars because it is very important to discuss it.
Bible’s Similarities With Others
Bible Story | Other Religious Myth | Similarities |
The FloodNoah’s Ark(Genesis 6-9) | Epic of Gilgamesh (Mesopotamian) | The story is similar in both these books, in which a ship is ordered to be built to save humanity. |
Creation of Adam And Eve(Genesis 1-2) | Enuma Elish (Babylonian) & Prometheus (Greek) | The basis of their similarity is that man is born from clay. |
Resurrection of Jesus(1 Corinthians 15:3-4) | Resurrection of Osiris (Egyptian) & Dionysus (Greek) | Re-life after death has been discussed here. |
Virgin Birth of Jesus(Matthew 1:18-25) | Birth of Horus (Egyptian ) | Horus and Jesus were born to a virgin, without a father. |
The Story of The Flood in The Bible And Other Texts
A story of the storm is also found in the Bible and in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Both of them detail that a huge ark was built and humanity was saved. But the difference in the story is that, in the Bible, Noah was ordered by God to build an ark so that good people and speechless animals could be saved, because there was a storm that God sent for those people who were disobedient to God. On the contrary, according to the Epic of Gilgamesh, there was a storm and many gods built a boat to save the people. Reference: (Genesis 6-9)
Creation Stories
In addition to Noah’s ark, the story of the creation of Adam and Eve is similar to many other religious stories. As God said in the Bible, he created Adam from dust and Eve from his rib, gave them a life and sent them to the earth so that they could live a life. Apart from this, if we talk about the traditions and stories of other religions, there are all these things in it that the gods created humans from clay. They created humans so that they can serve Gods. Now the purpose of these two stories is different but the method is the same. Similarity is that, the man was created from dust but the difference is that the purpose of man who was created in the Bible is to live according to God’s instructions, while in the books of other religions; the purpose to create the man is to serve gods. Reference: (Genesis 1-2)
The Virgin Birth
In the Bible, there is the story of the birth of Jesus that the angel of God gave the good news to Mary (the mother of Jesus) that she was going to give birth to a prophet and she gave birth to Jesus without marriage and this happened miraculously which proved the prophecies of Jesus. Apart from this, there is a story in other religions like Horus that a virgin girl gave birth to a god. A goddess named Isis had a son who was a god. Isis gave birth to her own son out of wedlock. Therefore, this belief which is present in the Bible is also found in the books of other religions, so many people criticize it and argue that the Bible copied these stories from other religions. Reference: (Matthew 1:18-25)
Resurrection Myths
According to Jesus, there is a story in the Bible that when Jesus died, three days later he was resurrected. This gives a message of salvation. In addition, there are similar stories in the books of other religions. There is also the fact that the gods were killed there but they came back to life. Similarly, the stories of the Bible are very similar to the stories of other books. The difference is that the Bible’s story is considered authentic and true while other stories are fabricated. Reference: (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
The Uniqueness of The Bible
Many people criticize the Bible saying that the stories in the Bible are copied from other religions but this is not true. It gives the message of morality and of the existence of God. The God of the Bible is one God and there is a deep message in every story. Every story has a purpose. Therefore, it is wrong to say that the stories of the Bible are copied from the stories of other religions.
Comparative Analysis
When we read the Bible and the books of other religions, we find common examples in both of them, such as resurrection, man being born from clay, Noah building the ark, and prophet or god being born from a virgin woman. Of course, these stories are common to us. But if we read them and analyze them deeply, we will find that when they are in the Bible, they teach us a lesson, while the other stories seem to be fiction, they have no purpose by which they are expressed. But the stories of the Bible have a purpose and they have to explain things to humanity. How are these stories in other books? People of many cultures shared stories with each other and a story was spread to people of other cultures, so maybe that is why these stories are present in the books, but the stories that are in the Bible are told by God.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
There is no doubt that there are many events and stories in the Bible that are also present in the books of other religions, but the stories in other books are fabricated and the stories in the Bible have a special purpose. It conveys a special spiritual and religious message to the people. The reason why these examples are present in other books may be the connection between ancient culture and religious traditions. The stories of the Bible have a purpose and are a source of spiritual teachings.