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Jesus was a pagan copy, and other Christmas myths

It's that time of year again when certain groups of people like to share memes and videos that apparently "prove" Jesus to be a carbon-copy of ancient Egyptian gods. This has been debunked so many times, yet it's still so pervasive on social media, mindlessly shared over and over again. This myth about Jesus being a copy of other pagan "dying-and-rising gods" doesn't have its roots in Egyptian legend, but rather in the claims of a film called Zeitgeist. A quick search online will bring up many websites which have gone through the claims of this film with a fine tooth comb, and debunked each one. Here's one such example, which lists out the major claims and giv...

Jesus, Mithras and Ancient Roman Cults: Separating Fact from Fiction

Welcome to the next instalment of my series looking at the ancient mythological gods and how they compare to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Mithras is yet another popular ancient god that people like to compare with Jesus and make wild claims about, proposing that they are the same deities with different names. But is this even remotely true? This article has ended up being a bit longer than anticipated as it’s one of the few ancient religions that was contemporary to the birth of Christianity which was seen as somewhat of a rival belief system, so there’s a lot of interesting things to cover! The Origins Mithras has his roots in ancient Persi...

Did St. Nicholas Really Slap Arius?

It’s nearly Christmas time again, and like clockwork, the internet memes come out all over social media about Saint Nicholas giving the heretic Arius a slap across the face at the Council of Nicaea! As it’s almost the end of November and coming up soon is the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6th, the original inspiration behind Santa Claus, I thought I’d address this long-standing myth about Nicholas of Myra (present-day Demre, Turkey), the fourth century bishop. St. Nicholas is often humorously portrayed in social media memes which playfully recount the infamous incident during the Council of Nicaea when the good bishop, provoked by Arius’s blasp...

Who was the real Santa Claus?

...ersistent myth (I’ve heard it repeated since I was a child!). In 2008, Phil Mooney, the then director of Coca-Cola Company’s Archives Department, clarified in an interview by saying, “Actually, we do not claim the color of Santa’s coat, though it has worked out well for us since red is so closely related to Coca-Cola! But we did not come up with the idea of putting Santa in red clothes.” Sinterklaas played by Bram van der VlugtBy Gaby Kooiman, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link It’s actually from the Dutch incarnation of St. Nicholas that we get the traditional red outfit and big white beard of Santa Claus. In the Dutch tradition, the Sinterklaas figure wears...

The Real St. Nicholas: A Man of Virtue, Not Violence

...aside the myth of the slap and focus on the virtues he truly embodied. Jesus’ call to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and pray for those who oppose us is as challenging now as it was then. Yet it is through living these principles that we reflect the heart of Christ to the world. The story of St. Nicholas is not one of fists but of open hands — hands extended in generosity, care, and unwavering faith. This Advent season, let us honour his legacy by embodying the love and compassion that defined his life, shining as beacons of hope in a world often darkened by division and strife. Further Reading Did St. Nicholas Really Slap Arius? | The Sa...

Does Easter Have Pagan Origins?

...internet myth, too, but that, again, has nothing to do with the generic catch-all “paganism” claim. In a similar way that aspects of Santa Claus originated in Dutch culture and were imported to the United States in the 17th century via immigrants, the Easter Bunny (or Oschter Haws) was imported from Germany to the United States around this era. And much like Christmas and Santa, the character was widely commercialised and used to make money and popularise the Easter holiday. The history of the decorated eggs is much older, but surprisingly, a medieval Christian tradition! During the Lenten fast during the Middle Ages, the restrictions on what you could or...