# Origins of the Christ Myth

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-the-christ-myth/370581>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [August 28, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-the-christ-myth/370581 "2006-08-28T21:48:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![baronsabato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@baronsabato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baronsabato)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-the-christ-myth/370581/41 "2006-09-02T22:14:18Z")

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[QUOTE=CJJ\*]  
Kind of a poor way to compare Jesus with a god if you ask me; I really think there’s other reasons why the author of John includes this story.  
[/QUOTE]

A.N. Wilson focuses on the interesting detail that the water jars used in the miracle were in fact “jars for the Jewish rite of purification”, something that John certainly didn’t just toss in there for no reason. Wilson suggests that the story has more to do with the idea of a “new covenant” and the transformation of Christianity (“new wine”) from Judaism. This seems to fit better, in my mind, with the little details John mentions, although I don’t completely discount other interpretations.

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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-the-christ-myth/370581/42 "2006-09-07T23:30:32Z")

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[QUOTE=SiXSwordS]  
I’m sure this is not the forum for quibbling over the possibility of miracles, and I think the general drift of this thread is, what-does-who-wrote-the-bible-and-when-tell-us-about-who-Jesus-was-or-was-not, however…

Isn’t the _idea_ of Jesus, son of God, vastly more important? More so even than the _idea_ of Dionysus?

[/QUOTE]

Well, this may be another example of **Diogenes** point. Semi-divine mythical beings (like Heracles) and even historical figures (like Alexander) were quite common. The Roman Emperors were commonly deified. Thus, in the same vein of telling stories showing Jesus was more powerful than Poseidon, it is not surprising that Jesus would be promoted to godhood also. Remember the Gentile audience actually believed in these gods.

This suggests another explanation for the virgin birth story. The conception of these heros was important, but the Jewish God could not be given the sexual predator nature of the Greek gods. Given this and the Pauline dislike of sex, a virgin birth story (which already had a precedent) made sense. Perhaps the mistranslation in Matthew was deliberate, and not accidental.

Pure speculation, but the Messiah being a true son of God is so out of character with anything in the OT (not counting the pre-Deluge and not very pure sons of god) that it must be explained in some way.

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