Jesus as the Solar Messiah

Much of my research is in the area of the Jesus myth theory.  Part of this theory is that Jesus was created as another solar messiah or god along the lines of Helios, Apollo and various Egyptian gods.  One of the most often claimed inspirations is that of Sol Invictus.

I have been listening to Mike Duncan’s History of Rome podcast and have found that there is indeed a connection, but not the one Jesus mythicists claim.  What seems to be the case is that Sol Invictus and other solar deities were an important links in the transition of worship of the traditional Roman gods to the Christian God in the fourth century Roman Empire.  Here is a link to his podcast on the Roman connection to Christmas.  Another episode of interest is his talk on Constantine’s conversion, which you can find here.

What we find is one of the major problems with Jesus mythicists.  They have no respect for chronology.  They find some solar connection between Jesus and Roman or pagan gods and see the inspiration for the creation of Jesus.  An examination of the context demonstrates that the connection is not in the first century, which would be required for dependence, but in the fourth century.  What we have is Constantine seeing in the relative monotheism of the popular Sol Invictus cult, an opportunity to transition the Roman Empire toward the Christian religion, or at least gather the various monotheists in the Empire to support him.  A far cry from the Jesus myth.

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