Because it certainly wasn't atheists. We're not that stupid and/or underhanded.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtrZNTbBuiFHDjK8.wwxqabty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20130306131725AAjbYXE
@going ftw
That's rubbish. Go get a real education please.
The Christians stole the egyptian myth. This is not the first time that a god rose form the dead, cured people from demonic possessions, forgave people's sins, etc.
Similarities of Jesus and the Egyptian god Horus.
Horus even contributing the name of Jesus Christ. Horus and his once-and-future Father, Osiris, are frequently interchangeable in the mythos ("I and my Father are one"). The legends of Horus go back thousands of years, and he shares the following in common with Jesus:
· Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Meri on December 25th in a cave/manger, with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men.
· He was a child teacher in the Temple and was baptized when he was 30 years old.
· Horus was also baptized by "Anup the Baptizer," who becomes "John the Baptist."
· He had 12 disciples.
· He performed miracles and raised one man, El-Azar-us, from the dead.
· He walked on water.
· Horus was transfigured on the Mount.
· He was crucified, buried in a tomb and resurrected.
· He was also the "Way, the Truth, the Light, the Messiah, g*d's Anointed Son, the Son of Man, the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of g*d, the Word" etc.
· He was "the Fisher," and was associated with the Lamb, Lion and Fish ("Ichthys").
· Horus's personal epithet was "Iusa," the "ever-becoming son" of "Ptah," the "Father."
· Horus was called "the KRST," or "Anointed One," long before the Christians duplicated the story.
In fact, in the catacombs at Rome are pictures of the baby Horus being held by the virgin mother Isis--the original "Madonna and Child"--and the Vatican itself is built upon the papacy of Mithra, who shares many qualities with Jesus and who existed as a deity long before the Jesus character was formalized. The Christian hierarchy is nearly identical to the Mithraic version it replaced. Virtually all of the elements of the Catholic ritual, from miter to wafer to water to altar to doxology, are directly taken from earlier pagan mystery religions.
The "Son" of g*d is the "Sun" of g*d
The reason why all these narratives are so similar, with a godman who is crucified and resurrected, who does miracles and has 12 disciples, is that these stories were based on the movements of the sun through the heavens, an astrotheological development that can be found throughout the planet because the sun and the 12 zodiac signs can be observed around the globe. In other words, Jesus Christ and all the others upon whom this character is predicated are personifications of the sun, and the Gospel fable is merely a rehash of a mythological formula (the "Mythos," as mentioned above) revolving around the movements of the sun through the heavens.
For instance, many of the world's crucified godmen have their traditional birthday on December 25th ("Christmas"). This is because the ancients recognized that (from an earthcentric perspective) the sun makes an annual descent southward until December 21st or 22nd, the winter solstice, when it stops moving southerly for three days and then starts to move northward again. During this time, the ancients declared that "g*d's sun" had "died" for three days and was "born again" on December 25th. The ancients realized quite abundantly that they needed the sun to return every day and that they would be in big trouble if the sun continued to move southward and did not stop and reverse its direction. Thus, these many different cultures celebrated the "sun of g*d's" birthday on December 25th. The following are the characteristics of the "sun of g*d":
· The sun "dies" for three days on December 22nd, the winter solstice, when it stops in its movement south, to be born again or resurrected on December 25th, when it resumes its movement north.
· In some areas, the calendar originally began in the constellation of Virgo, and the sun would therefore be "born of a Virgin."
· The sun is the "Light of the World."
· The sun "cometh on clouds, and every eye shall see him."
· The sun rising in the morning is the "Savior of mankind."
· The sun wears a corona, "crown of thorns" or halo.71
· The sun "walks on water."
· The sun's "followers," "helpers" or "disciples" are the 12 months and the 12 signs of the zodiac or constellations, through which the sun must pass.
· The sun at 12 noon is in the house or temple of the "Most High"; thus, "he" begins "his Father's work" at "age" 12.
· The sun enters into each sign of the zodiac at 30°; hence, the "Sun of g*d" begins his ministry at age 30