Parallels suggested between Jesus & Horus

Background material
about Jesus and Horus

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Background material about Yeshua of Nazareth:

He is commonly referred to as Jesus Christ, although Yeshua or Joshua would be a more accurate name. "Christ" is not his last name; it is simply the Greek word for "Messiah," or "anointed one."

Theologians have discovered about 50 gospels which were widely used by Jewish Christian, Pauline Christian and Gnostic groups within the early Christian movement. Only four of these were chosen by the surviving group -- often called Pauline Christianity because of its basis in the teachings of Paul. It was these four that were included in the Bible. Those four Gospels describe Jesus as:

	An observant Jew,
	An itinerant native healer,
	An exorcist,
	A magician, 1
	A Jewish prophet, specially adopted by God
	A rabbi/teacher who followed the liberal school of Jewish philosophy promoted by Hillel the Elder.
	A god-man who is Lord and Savior.

Yeshua is said to have been born in what are now the occupied territories -- formerly called Palestine - circa 4 to 7 BCE. Two of the Gospels say that Yeshua was born of a virgin; John seems to deny the possibility, and Mark is silent on the virgin birth.

Yeshua's ministry lasted for one year largely in the Gallilee (according to the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke) or a three year largely in Judea (according to the Gospel of John) ministry, starting when he was about 30 years old.

Most Christians believe that he was executed by the Roman occupying army, visited the underworld, was resurrected, spent either one or 40 days with his disciples (Gospel sources differ), and then ascended to heaven.

Most Christian denominations view Jesus as God, and as the Son of God, the second person in the Trinity. Muslims view him as a great prophet, second only to Muhammad. They believe that God is indivisible and that the Trinity concept is perhaps the greatest blasphemy one can believe in.

Many evangelical Christians view the four Gospels and the rest of books in the Bible as being inerrant and that their authors were inspired by God. The Gospels and other passages in the Bible are mostly interpreted literally, unless this is obviously not intended.

Background material about Horus:

Various ancient Egyptian statues and writings tell of Horus, (pronounced "hohr'-uhs;"
a.k.a. Harseisis, Heru-sa-Aset (Horus, son of Isis), Heru-ur (Horus the elder), Hr, and Hrw), a creator sky God.

He was worshipped thousands of years before the first century CE -- the time when Jesus was ministering in the Galilee and/or Judea. ₂ Horus was often represented as a stylized eye symbol, symbolizing the eye of a falcon. He was also presented "in the shape of a sparrow hawk or as a man [or lion] with a hawk's head." ₃ He is often shown as an infant cradled by his mother Isis.

He was considered to be the son of two major Egyptian deities: the God Osirus and and the Goddess Isis. In adulthood, he avenged his father's murder, and became recognized as the God of civil order and justice. Each of the Egyptian pharaohs were believed to be the living embodiment -- an incarnation -- of Horus. ₄

   Isis with Horus ₅         Horus ₅       

Tom Harpur, author of "The Pagan Christ; Recovering the Lost Light," ₂ suggests that ancient Egyptian religion was henotheistic. That is, they recognize a single deity, Ra. They view other Gods and Goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God. [We use the present tense in these sentences because the ancient Egyptian religion is still in existence in the form of a Neo-Pagan reconstruction.

Harpur writes:

"A list of the names of all the gods of Egypt would fill pages. But all these gods were only forms, attributes or phases of Ra, the solar god, who himself was the supreme symbol or metaphor for God....Horus, the son of Osirus and Isis, is himself an aspect of Ra." ₆

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. The term "magician" has multiple meanings. It is used here to refer to a person capable using supernatural forces to perform works of wonder, like walking on water, curing people who could not hear, walk, or see, etc. He allegedly brought people back to life, and left Earth by ascending towards Heaven.
2. Tom Harpur, "The Pagan Christ; Recovering the Lost Light," Thomas Allen, (2004), Page 5. Read reviews or order this book.
3. "Egyptian god Horus, The Louvre, Paris," at: http://ancienthistory.about.com/
4. Information taken from essays linked to "Horus - Egyptian God," at: http://ancienthistory.about.com/
5. Images copied from the web site of the Dark Forest of Ulcron, a supplier of Pagan and New Age items, from Athames to Tarot Cards. See: http://www.ulcron.com/ Images used by permission.
6. Op Cit., Tom Harpur, Page 69.

Copyright © 2004 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
Originally written: 2004-APR-25
Latest update: 2009-APR-01
Author: B.A. Robinson

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