By Steven Bancarz| Is Jesus a copy of pagan god myths like Zeitgiest and Religulous claim? Â We often hear that Jesus is just one of many saviour figures of the ancient world, and that dying-and-rising gods populated the Mediterranean for almost 1000 years before Jesus was born.
It’s suggested that Jesus is just a mishmash and knock-off of gods like Horus, Mithra, and Dionysus, who the early Jews constructed and deified to give themselves a saviour figure of their own.  These claims, while popular on the blogosphere, receive no serious consideration from experts.
In this video, Dr. Gary Habermas, a historian and lecturer who specializes in New Testament studies, faces off with Tim Callahan, an editor for Skeptic Magazine. Â This debate takes place on Lee Strobel’s former show called “Faith under Fire”, which started airing in 2005.
Habermas, who holds a Ph.D. in history from Michigan State, repeatedly corrects Tim who keeps asserting that we have pre-Christ stories of gods who were resurrected from the dead as Jesus was. Â Being a professional historian certainly helps when you are a Christian apologist.
They then proceed to get into a fascinating discussion on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, ranging from the post-resurrection appearances to Paul’s early creed written in 1 Corinthians 15.
Hope you enjoy this debate: