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What are the fringe theories around Jesus Christ?
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Jesus was an Ancient Greek philosopher

Some claim that shocking similarities between the lives of Jesus and Apollonious, including being born in miraculous conditions, indicate they were the same person.
Christianity Conspiracy Religion

Context

A controversial documentary was filmed in 2016 that suggested that Christ was actually a Greek philosopher. The documentary, titled "Bible Conspiracies", claims that the figurehead of the Christian religion has been confused with Greek philosopher Apollonius. Many religious scholars have found many parallels between the lives of Christ and Apollonius, whose origins can be traced back to a small village in modern-day Turkey.[1]

The Argument

Apollonius of Tyana was a Pythagorean philosopher, teacher, traveler, and miracle worker, and so it is evident that there were great parallels between him and Jesus. It is widely known that both men were alive in the 1st Century BC and considering they were both prominent figures with similar appearances and teachings, it is strange that there are no crossovers in their stories. We never hear of Jesus in tales of Apollonius, and never hear of Apollonius in tales of Jesus. This is likely because they are the same person, and the true identity of Jesus Christ has been lost over time. It is worth noting that the existence of Apollonius is supported by numerous letters and pieces of work by him, and therefore we have more reason to believe that he existed than the version of Jesus Christ we have been taught.[2] Apollonius was a preacher, just like Jesus, and he urged his followers not to commit violence, drink alcohol or have sex. Jesus is similarly portrayed as a preacher of morals and a defender of purity. The miracles that Apollonius performed are as impressive as those attributed to Jesus and begs the question of how many men around this time were witnessed performing miracles. It is a unique and godly power to be able to heal the sick and bring back the dead, yet supposedly both men could do this. There are stories of Apollonius saving the city of Ephesus from plague and bringing the daughter of a Roman Senator back to life, both events that can clearly be defined as miraculous.[3] It seems unlikely that more than one man had such a powerful ability, and even more unlikely that they would never have heard of each other or referred to each other. Even reports of Apollonius' death are extraordinarily similar to what we know about the death of Jesus. Opponents of Apollonius fabricated charges against him and he was executed as a result. After his death, some of his disciples claimed he had appeared before them and touched them, or that they witnessed his ascension to heaven.[4] There are countless similarities between Jesus Christ and Apollonius of Tyana that prove they are in fact the same person; their identities have split throughout history due to different eye witness accounts of his supernatural and godly abilities.

Counter arguments

Apollonius and Jesus Christ had different fundamental beliefs and teachings about God. Apollonius of Tyana believed in a God who was pure intellect and taught his followers that the only way to converse with God was through intellect.[2] He believed that prayers, rituals, and sacrifices were not required by the one true God – he thought meditation could achieve a mystical union instead. Many believe his teachings were influenced by religions from India, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, and this eradicates the possibility that he was Jesus Christ, the embodiment of Christianity. He was a scientist and even believed the earth moved around the sun. Some people have attributed the miracles Apollonius performed to his scientific knowledge.[3] Philostratus, who wrote the biography of Apollonius which contains nearly all of the information we have on him, wrote it in the 3rd Century AD, after followers of Jesus had already written the 4 gospels of the New Testament. This suggests that Apollonius was an entirely separate person to Jesus and that Jesus must have existed first.[4]

Proponents

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.newsweek.com/jesus-conspiracy-theory-greek-philosopher-bible-conspiracies-1330418
  2. https://www.historicmysteries.com/apollonius-of-tyana/
  3. https://classicalwisdom.com/people/philosophers/apollonius-of-tyana-the-pagan-jesus-christ/
  4. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jesus-v-apollonius-the-ancient-debate-over-the-real-son-of-god?ref=scroll
This page was last edited on Thursday, 29 Oct 2020 at 11:40 UTC