Jesus is most likely derived from other mythologies

His contentions appear to be of great value. However, when examined more closely, it becomes apparent that they are simply ambitious in nature with no real authoritative evidence. C1 : THE HISTORICITY OF JESUS My opponent begins : "Firstly, I wish to mention that there are no known non-biblical references to a historical Jesus by any writer of the time during Jesus' purported existence. .. Nor do any of the many historians and writers who flourished during the first one to two centuries of the era, and even then, nothing comes up until the time of Irenius. " What first must be mentioned is that what my opponent presents is completely false. Out of all the documents of this particular time, only a minute portion managed to survive the era. However we are fortunate to have numerous manuscripts from the first two centuries, that survived, which account for the life of Jesus of Nazareth as told in the Gospels. These secular sources affirm the historicity of Jesus. One of the most revered historians of the time, Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37AD - 100AD) , put forward this account regarding Jesus of Nazareth : "About this time arose Jesus, a wise man, who did good deeds and whose virtues were recognised. And many Jews and peoples of other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. However, they who became his disciples preached his doctrine. They related that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Perhaps he was the Messiah in connection with whom the prophets foretold wonders. " [Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, XVIII 3.2] Another was the Roman historian Tacticus (56AD - 117AD) ,who is most respected by modern historians, had this to say regarding Jesus : "The author of the denomination was Christ[us] who had been executed in Tiberius' time by the Procurator Pontius Pilate. The pestilent superstition, checked for a while, burst out again, not only throughout Judea. .. But throughout the city of Rome also. .. " [Tacticus, Annals XV 44] For more secular references to Jesus by early historians, in the first two centuries AD, follow the link provided ----ï¿½ . http://www.users.binary.net... This places a severely tough task for my opponent as he now has to disprove the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth ,as reported in the gospels and supported by secular historians of the time, before he can even begin to attempt to compare the story of Jesus to any alleged pagan parallels. My opponent proceed to say : ". .. However the canon source of the Bible is what is of importance. The Bible, written in 325AD by the First Council of Nicea. " My opponent displays his inferior knowledge of Biblical and Church history by providing false information concerning the Bible and the Council of Nicea. The Bible was not written at one point in history as my opponent claims. Rather, the Bible was written over a period of approximately 1500year-- The first book being written around 1445BC and the last no later than 95AD. Secondly the Council of Nicea did not in anyway deal with the formation biblical canon. The Council was actually called to bring to attention and deal with the Heresy of Arianism. Also to decide on the date that easter would be celebrated. The First Council of Nicea had nothing pertaining to the establishment of Biblical canon. In actuality, the canon of the bible was decided at the various African synods in the late 4th and early 5th centuries AD. For more info : . http://www.en.m.wikipedia.org... C2 : THE GREEKS My opponent states : "the character I wish to recognise first is Prometheus. Prometheus is a Titan, a champion of mankind, known for his willy intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals. (Or mankind had fire, Zeus took it away, then Prometheus gave it back. ). Zeus then crucified him, but forgave the sins of man. " The only parallels to the story of Jesus, in the paragraph above, are my opponents reports Prometheus' alleged crucifixion, and Zeus allegedly forgiving the sins of mankind. A) Prometheus was crucified? This is false! The truth is that Prometheus was in no logical way crucified! The only 'evidence' to support the idea of such an event is from the Diegisis by Robert Taylor written in the 19century while he was imprisoned for heresy by the Church. Taylor never gives one piece of evidence for his account of Prometheus' story and it could be safely assumed that his controversial account of Prometheus was simply an attempt to get back at the Church. The actual Greek mythological account tells us that Zeus, ". .. Had Hephesites shackle Prometheus to the side of a crag, high in the Caucasus mountains. There, Prometheus would hang until the fury of Zeus subsided. .. Each day, Prometheus would be tormented by Zeus' eagle as it tore at his mortal flesh and tried to devour his liver. Each night, as the frost but it's way into his sleep, the torn flesh would mend so the eagle could begin anew at the first touch of Dawn. " . http://www.en.m.wikipedia.org... Also see link [1] in references. Now I pose the question: how is being tied to a rock crag for days on end, in any stretch of the imagination, the same as being crucified? Prometheus was not crucified but rather tied/chained to a rocky crag and tormented ,for days on end, by an eagle in the Caucasus mountains because he stole fire from Zeus and. Gave it to man. NOTE : Crucifixion was invented by the Persians in 300-400BC and was popularised by the Romans. Prometheus could not possibly have been crucified because the myth originated in the 8th century BC---meaning death crucifixion did not exist at the time. B) Zeus forgave the sins of man? There is not one shred of evidence for such a claim. Greek mythology never accounts for such an event. Thus question is brought upon the sources my opponent uses to present his case as their is no evidence, anywhere, that Zeus forgave the sins of man. I ask my opponent to provide credible sources for this claim. My opponent proceeds to say : "Firstly, Prometheus descended from heaven as a deitous being in order to give mankind fire and was punished for doing so by Zeus" The flaw of this contention is that unlike Prometheus, who was a Titan- a demigod at most, Jesus was God! Jesus was the full expression of God bodily - he was God incarnate or better yet, God who took on the form of a man to act as an eternal sacrifice as a means to atone for the sins of the world. Secondly Prometheus was one amongst many deities in the Greek pantheon. Further Prometheus was not even part of those known as 'lesser gods'. In contrast to this, Jesus is God in a monotheistic faith. Jesus is the Highest in all heavens and is in complete agreement with God the father. .. Unlike Prometheus who was in constant conflict with Zeus. Consequently, Prometheus and Jesus are evidently completely different! My opponent goes on to say : "Fire was allegorical, as were many things in the play, but the fire was one that was an "obvious and transparent symbol". The fire according to sparknotes, represents the gift of artistic and technological advancement, however the limiting scope to these two things is undesirable. .. " This arguments is based on speculatory interpretations that are solely rooted in the opinion of the interpreters mentioned in my opponents arguments. In simple, it is an argument from opinion. This is unauthoritative to the debate as opinion is nothing more than theory and can never be treated as anything pertaining to authority on a particular issue. The only certain understanding of the play of Prometheus is the literal understanding. My opponent is guilty of using an argument from opinion as evidence. The only surety is the literal understanding as that is Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it back to mankind. I will deal with the appeal the Lucian next round. #THE PLAIN TRUTH ABOUT THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS Prometheus was not "God". The Greek equivalent to the Judeo-Christian God was Zeus. There are also many lesser gods in greek mythology. However Prometheus was merely a Titan. Further Prometheus was neither aligned with Zeus as Jesus is with God the Father, rather Prometheus was frequently in conflict with Zeus. Prometheus did, however, save mankind but did not do so in the manner that Jesus did. Prometheus did not save humanity from sin or eternal damnation like christ did, but simple stopped Zeus from destroying mankind! Prometheus was not crucified. Well, he suffered at least. Prometheus, like all Titans, was physically immortal. And could NOT die. In Greek mythology, Zeus sentences Prometheus to eternal torment, shackling him to the side of a rocky crag in the Caucasus mountains. Zeus' Pet eagle attacks Prometheus every day, inflicting terrible wounds that heal throughout the night. Prometheus was eventually rescued by Herakles, who kills the eagle. This is the only incident that can be compared to the crucifixion. But since there is no crucifix, no death and no resurrection, this hardly compares to what happened to Jesus. For a complete debunking of the alleged inspiration that Prometheus had on Christianity, follow the link : . http://www.kingdavid8.com... My opponent has the burden of proof. I have effectively disqualified and falsified his arguments. Consequently I still lay claim to my position that it is highly unlikely that the story of Jesus was inspired by pagan mythologies. REFERENCES : [1] . http://www.mythweb.com... [2] . http://www.en.m.wikipedia.org... [3] . http://www.tektonics.org... [4] . http://www.bbc.co.uk... [5] . http://www.en.m.wikipedia.org...