Discover more in these hand-picked books Tell me what you think; read what others say.  
Stuff you need to know before the POCM makes sense. Ideas, rituals and myths Christianity boosted from the Pagans. Some of the Pagan's dying-resurrected godmen The Triumph of Christianity Discover mainstream scholarship about Christianity's Pagan origins What did the Christians borrow? So what?
the ideas, myths and rituals christianity borrowed from the pagans Jesus saves -- Pagan Gods saved first gods whose dad was a god and whose mom was a mortal woman Christianity has baptism -- Paganism had it first Christians share a sacred meal with their God -- Pagans did it first Christians believe in eternal life -- but Paganism believed in it first
home > pagan origins > getting started
Jesus did miracles -- Pagan Gods did them first Jesus fulfilled prophecy -- Pagan Gods fulfilled prophecy first God and the immortal soul -- Paganism had 'em first Christianity thinks it has monotheism -- Paganism had it first Jesus' God lives in Heaven on High -- Pagan Gods lived there first pagan dead went to the underworld Jesus made clever quips -- Pagan cynic philosophers made them first
More than Jesus

 

Why do we argue about names? Is this not really a difference over names? . . . Whether one addresses these divine beings as gods or angels matters very little, since their nature remains the same.
[Porphyry of Tyre, Against the Christians]

Was Christianity new? Was Christianity unique?
From the idea of one supreme God, to the soul ascending to heaven, to the Son of God sacrificed as the Savior of mankind, the key elements of Christian theology evolved or were taken directly from earlier Ancient cultures and religions.

Pagan Origins is an outline of what and how.

More than Jesus
We believe in Christianity (or not) because we believe the stories about Jesus are true (or not).  Christianity is Jesus' story, right?   Well, not really.  Here's something you maybe haven't thought about (at least it took me a long time to see it ) -- there's more to Christianity than Jesus.

Besides Jesus, Christianity believes in one God -- and more than that, in a personal God who steps in to make people's lives better, or not, and who punishes us for doing bad things, and rewards us for being good.  Christianity believes in prayer, in eternal life, in miracles, in prophecy, in a human soul, in heaven and hell. 

And you know what, Pagans believed in all those things generations before Jesus. Christianity was not new.  Christianity was not unique.  Christianity borrowed way more than the story of a Godman with magic powers who came back to life after he died. The first Christians took the basic ideas of their culture and adapted them to their new faith. Like all the ancient Pagans, they built a new religion out of old parts.

There's more.  Don't forget the Christian sacraments.   Christians are initiated into their faith by baptism.  They share a sacred meal of wine and bread, which they believe become the blood and flesh of Jesus.

And generations before Jesus, Pagans practiced baptism and pagans shared sacred meals with their Gods.  Pagans even ate sacred meals that were the body of their Gods. The first Christians took the basic ideas of their culture and adapted them to their new faith.  They built a new religion out of old parts.

Wow!

 
 

The next time you're in Church
ask yourself:"What about what I'm hearing was new and unique with Christianity, and what was already part of other religions in a culture where over and over again new religions were built with old parts?"

Next time you're in church... When they get to the part about one one God, in heaven, whose Son, born of a virgin, came to earth as a man, was baptized, performed miracles, established a holy meal for his followers, died, rose again on the third day for the salvation of mankind, remember the pagan origins of each of these myths and rituals. You'll know you're hearing about stuff that predated Christianity by hundreds of years -- in a culture where over and over people built new religions out of old parts.

Wow!

What other people think about POCM

Dear Greg,
Wow, you really rocked my world there buddy. Now that I've been "enlightened" I almost feel like I've been "born again". HAHA In a different sence, of course! You've pointed out some crazt "NEW" insights that are really going to shock the world buddy.

But, I've noticed that these plagerising christians are only accepting a free gift of eternal life according to Ephesians Chapter 2. "For salvation is by grace and not by works so that no man shall boast". That's what's different about christianity, but I don't expect that to rock your world. In fact, none of the truth you will ever hear in your whole life will change that, unless you want it to. I honestly hope you spend some time with God and ask him what the truth is.
Sincerely,
Andrew