Superman vs. Jesus

[sexdrugsmoney]

Just on the subject of Jor-el & Ka-el; the creators of Superman were both Jewish and it may be interest to note that biblical names that end in "el" such as Ezekiel, Michael, Gabriel etc all mean "something of God". (with the "el" being God)

[RJT]

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Just on the subject of Jor-el & Ka-el; the creators of Superman were both Jewish and it may be interest to note that biblical names that end in "el" such as Ezekiel, Michael, Gabriel etc all mean "something of God". (with the "el" being God)

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Didn’t know that SDM. Interesting to know.

Cheers, buddy.

And to the OP. Big Daddy is correct, you will find many examples of such motifs in literature, film, art, etc. It always adds to the understanding and further enriches the work. Usually, it is not necessary to catch the allusions, but when one does it only enhances the enjoyment of the work. (And I don’t say this as related to Religion, but in the context of appreciation for the work.)

RJT

[jason1990]

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Just on the subject of Jor-el & Ka-el; the creators of Superman were both Jewish and it may be interest to note that biblical names that end in "el" such as Ezekiel, Michael, Gabriel etc all mean "something of God". (with the "el" being God)

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Didn’t know that SDM. Interesting to know.

Cheers, buddy.

And to the OP. Big Daddy is correct, you will find many examples of such motifs in literature, film, art, etc. It always adds to the understanding and further enriches the work. Usually, it is not necessary to catch the allusions, but when one does it only enhances the enjoyment of the work. (And I don’t say this as related to Religion, but in the context of appreciation for the work.)

RJT

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This I know from high school English class. I seem to recall Tale of Two Cities having a "Christ character." But I think a more interesting question in cases like that is, did the author intend it? One might just assume it was intended when it comes to "deep" piece of literature. But a comic book? Because of that, I find SDM's comment really interesting.

[RJT]

I think for the most part the author intends it. Although, every time one reads an interview, for example, the artist usually tries to feign that it wasn’t intentional (who knows why they do that - seems to me they often do that, anyway.)

This (if no intent) can lead to Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious. Which coincidentally was going to be a post I was going to inquire about: What is modern psychology’s (or other science’s) view of the collective unconscious.

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Literature, movies, and art are replete with figures who by design emulate Christ in one way or another.

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There are even stories before Christ that emulate Christ. (see: http://www.truthbeknown.com/origins.htm )

Examples (please excuse the long quote):

Buddha

Although most people think of Buddha as being one person who lived around 500 B.C.E., the character commonly portrayed as Buddha can also be demonstrated to be a compilation of godmen, legends and sayings of various holy men both preceding and succeeding the period attributed to the Buddha.37

The Buddha character has the following in common with the Christ figure:38

<ul type="square">[*] Buddha was born of the virgin Maya, who was considered the "Queen of Heaven."38a[*] He was of royal descent.[*] He crushed a serpent's head.[*] Sakyamuni Buddha had 12 disciples.38b[*] He performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick, fed 500 men from a "small basket of cakes," and walked on water.38c[*] He abolished idolatry, was a "sower of the word," and preached "the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness."38d[*] He taught chastity, temperance, tolerance, compassion, love, and the equality of all.[*] He was transfigured on a mount.[*] Sakya Buddha was crucified in a sin-atonement, suffered for three days in hell, and was resurrected.38e[*] He ascended to Nirvana or "heaven."[*] Buddha was considered the "Good Shepherd"39, the "Carpenter"40, the "Infinite and Everlasting."40a[*] He was called the "Savior of the World" and the "Light of the World."[/list]
Horus of Egypt

The stories of Jesus and Horus are very similar, with Horus even contributing the name of Jesus Christ. Horus and his once-and-future Father, Osiris, are frequently interchangeable in the mythos ("I and my Father are one").41 The legends of Horus go back thousands of years, and he shares the following in common with Jesus:

<ul type="square">[*] Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Meri on December 25th in a cave/manger42, with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men.43[*] He was a child teacher in the Temple and was baptized when he was 30 years old.44[*] Horus was also baptized by "Anup the Baptizer," who becomes "John the Baptist."[*] He had 12 disciples.[*] He performed miracles and raised one man, El-Azar-us, from the dead.[*] He walked on water.[*] Horus was transfigured on the Mount.[*] He was crucified, buried in a tomb and resurrected.[*] He was also the "Way, the Truth, the Light, the Messiah, God's Anointed Son, the Son of Man, the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, the Word" etc.[*] He was "the Fisher," and was associated with the Lamb, Lion and Fish ("Ichthys").45[*] Horus's personal epithet was "Iusa," the "ever-becoming son" of "Ptah," the "Father."46[*] Horus was called "the KRST," or "Anointed One," long before the Christians duplicated the story.47[/list]In fact, in the catacombs at Rome are pictures of the baby Horus being held by the virgin mother Isis - the original "Madonna and Child"48 - and the Vatican itself is built upon the papacy of Mithra49, who shares many qualities with Jesus and who existed as a deity long before the Jesus character was formalized. The Christian hierarchy is nearly identical to the Mithraic version it replaced50. Virtually all of the elements of the Catholic ritual, from miter to wafer to water to altar to doxology, are directly taken from earlier pagan mystery religions.51


Mithra, Sungod of Persia

The story of Mithra precedes the Christian fable by at least 600 years. According to Wheless, the cult of Mithra was, shortly before the Christian era, "the most popular and widely spread 'Pagan' religion of the times." Mithra has the following in common with the Christ character:

<ul type="square">[*] Mithra was born on December 25th.[*] He was considered a great traveling teacher and master.[*] He had 12 companions or disciples.[*] He performed miracles.[*] He was buried in a tomb.[*] After three days he rose again.[*] His resurrection was celebrated every year.[*] Mithra was called "the Good Shepherd."[*] He was considered "the Way, the Truth and the Light, the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah."[*] He was identified with both the Lion and the Lamb.[*] His sacred day was Sunday, "the Lord's Day," hundreds of years before the appearance of Christ.[*] Mithra had his principal festival on what was later to become Easter, at which time he was resurrected.[*] His religion had a Eucharist or "Lord's Supper."52[/list]
Krishna of India

The similarities between the Christian character and the Indian messiah are many. Indeed, Massey finds over 100 similarities between the Hindu and Christian saviors, and Graves, who includes the various noncanonical gospels in his analysis, lists over 300 likenesses. It should be noted that a common earlier English spelling of Krishna was "Christna," which reveals its relation to '"Christ." It should also be noted that, like the Jewish godman, many people have believed in a historical, carnalized Krishna.53

<ul type="square">[*] Krishna was born of the Virgin Devaki ("Divine One") 53a[*] His father was a carpenter.54[*] His birth was attended by angels, wise men and shepherds, and he was presented with gold, frankincense and myrrh.54a[*] He was persecuted by a tyrant who ordered the slaughter of thousands of infants.55[*] He was of royal descent.[*] He was baptized in the River Ganges.55a[*] He worked miracles and wonders.[*] He raised the dead and healed lepers, the deaf and the blind.[*] Krishna used parables to teach the people about charity and love.[*] "He lived poor and he loved the poor."56[*] He was transfigured in front of his disciples.57[*] In some traditions he died on a tree or was crucified between two thieves.58[*] He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.[*] Krishna is called the "Shepherd God" and "Lord of lords," and was considered "the Redeemer, Firstborn, Sin Bearer, Liberator, Universal Word."59[*] He is the second person of the Trinity,60 and proclaimed himself the "Resurrection" and the "way to the Father."60a[*] He was considered the "Beginning, the Middle and the End," ("Alpha and Omega"), as well as being omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent.[*] His disciples bestowed upon him the title "Jezeus," meaning "pure essence."61[*] Krishna is to return to do battle with the "Prince of Evil," who will desolate the earth.62[/list]
Prometheus of Greece

The Greek god Prometheus has been claimed to have come from Egypt, but his drama took place in the Caucasus mountains. Prometheus shares a number of striking similarities with the Christ character.

<ul type="square">[*] Prometheus descended from heaven as God incarnate as man, to save mankind.[*] He was crucified, suffered and rose from the dead.[*] He was called the Logos or Word.62a[/list]
Five centuries before the Christian era, esteemed Greek poet Aeschylus wrote Prometheus Bound, which, according to Taylor, was presented in the theater in Athens. Taylor claims that in the play Prometheus is crucified "on a fatal tree" and the sky goes dark:

"The darkness which closed the scene on the suffering Prometheus, was easily exhibited on the stage, by putting out the lamps; but when the tragedy was to become history, and the fiction to be turned into fact, the lamp of day could not be so easily disposed of. Nor can it be denied that the miraculous darkness which the Evangelists so solemnly declare to have attended the crucifixion of Christ, labours under precisely the same fatality of an absolute and total want of evidence."63

Tradition holds that Prometheus was crucified on a rock, yet some sources have opined that legend also held he was crucified on a tree and that Christians muddled the story and/or mutilated the text, as they did with the works of so many ancient authors. In any case, the sun hiding in darkness parallels the Christian fable of the darkness descending when Jesus was crucified. This remarkable occurrence is not recorded in history but is only explainable within the Mythos and as part of a recurring play.

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When I saw the thread title, I was going to take Superman in the first round.

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