Refutation of Infidels

Part one of Zeitgeist, the Movie goes into detail of alleged parallels between Christianity and paganism in an attempt to show that Jesus Christ is no different from a pagan god. Peter Joseph, the film producer has put in a lot of work trying to give the impression that Christianity is a copycat religion of older cults of the distant past. So far, these claims have turned out to be false. — The best candidate so far has been Attis, but even the links beetween he and Jesus are shakey at best because the best evidence shows that the most important similarities between them are post-Christian.

The next pagan deity covered in Zeitgeist is the Greek god Dionysus. According to Greek mythology, Dionysus was one of many children of Zeus, though there are differing accounts about who his mother actually was. He was the god of wine, agriculture, and of fertility in nature. Apparently, some historians believe that he is a combination of two previous gods, one of them being a pre-historic deity from Turkey. About this particular God, Zeitgeist says,

Dionysus of Greece, born of a virgin on December 25th, was a traveling teacher who performed miracles such as turning water into wine, he was referred to as the “King of Kings,” “God’s Only Begotten Son,” “The Alpha and Omega,” and many others, and upon his death, he was resurrected.

There are two accounts of how Dionysus was conceived. In one version, Zeus had a secret sexual relationship with Semele, a mortal woman. Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife, paid Semele a visit and tricked her into asking Zeus into appearing to her in his true form. He did, and she got roasted. Zeus then saved the unborn baby from his mother’s ashes, sowed him into his thigh, and left him there until he was ready to be born. From this, Dionysus was said to be “twice born.” According to the other account, Zeus had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Persephone who conceived Dionysus. Either way, Dionysus’ birth does not fit the bill of a virgin birth that Zeitgeist claims.

Besides the fact that the date of December 25th has absolutely no relevance to the origins of Chritianity, there is no evidence for Dionysus’ birth being on that particular date, so this claim is moot. . .

There is some semblance of correctness of Dionysus being a “teacher,” though the impression given by Zeitgeist is misleading. According to Diodorus Siculus, he “taught mankind how to cultivate the vine.” (Library of History 4.2.3) He was certainly not a “teacher of righteousness” like Jesus was, so this particular “parallel” is far from relevant. — Also, as for Dionysus turning water into wine, I can find no scholarly or encyclpedic reference which confirms this. He seems to have been the god of wine in the sense that he discovered it and taught man how to make it, not that he actually turned water into wine.

It’s pretty curious that Zeitgeist claims that Dionysus was called the “king of kings” and “god of gods.” — It is well know in Greek mythology that Zeus was the king of the gods, so if any Greek god would have borne such titles, it would have been Zeus, not Dionysus. Of course, Jesus-Mythers could probably claim that Dionysus took the titles for himself despite his father, but that would leave the question as to why there is no reference to it, and not to mention why Zeus didn’t put Dionysus in his place.

Also, it’s such an obvious lie to say that Dionysus was the “only beggotten son,” because his father Zeus had several children, both divine and mortal such as Perseus, Apollon, Hermes, Minos, and Hellen. Peter Joseph has either not done his research well, or he is lying through his teeth. The title “Alpha and Omega” is nowhere to be found, so it should be assumed that this is just another bogus claim. — If anyone reading this can produce a primary source which confirms these titles as belonging to Dionysus, please let me know.

The claim that Dionysus died and was resurrected is true as far as it goes, however it is misleading to link this with Jesus’ passion. — Hera was still jealous of Semele, so she had the Titans murder him. When they found him, they tore the newborn Dionysus into shreds, and they had his pieces boiled in a coudron. But later. Rhea, the mother of Zeus, reassembled the pieces and brought Dionysus back to life. Considering that the two stories of the deaths and revivals of Dionysus and Jesus are pretty different from eachother, it really cannot be said that one inspired the other. The reasons for their deaths, for example, are far from similar.

So far, the trend for the claims being made by Zeitgeist is that they are largely unsubstantiated, misleading, and downright false. The ones that have at least some semblance of correctness are badly distorted or worded in a misleading way. So far, every pagan god used as an example to show Jesus as a copycat deity has failed. Apparently, the makers of Zeitgeist do not care about academic correctness as much as they do about their own agenda.

References:
Encyclopedia Mythica, Dionysus.
Encyclopedia Mythica, Semele.
Dionysus, from TheMystica.com
Library of History 4.2.3, by Diodorus Siculus.
Zeus: Greek king of the gods, from Theoi.com
The Family of Zeus: Greek Mythology, from Theoi.com
DIONYSUS (Roman - Bacchus)