Christian Myths -- Why? One Myth Leads To Another
“Look out,” wrote the apostle Paul to Christians living in the latter half of the first century C.E. What was he warning against? “Perhaps there may be someone who will carry you off as his prey through the philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men.” --Colossians 2:8.
Colossians 2:8 Look out: perhaps there may be someone who will carry YOU off as his prey through the philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ;
Despite Paul’s warning, from the middle of the second century C.E., some Christians began using concepts borrowed from ancient philosophers in order to explain their beliefs. Why? They wanted to be accepted by the educated people of the Roman Empire and thus make more converts.
Justin Martyr, one of the most famous of these Christians, believed that God’s Spokesman had manifested himself to Greek philosophers long before the arrival of Jesus. According to Justin and like-minded teachers, the contribution of philosophy and mythology to Christianity made this form of religion truly universal.
Justin Martyr’s form of Christianity became very successful in gaining converts. However, the adoption of one myth led o the creation of others and produced what is now commonly believed to be Christian doctrine. To expose these myths, compare what the following reference works say with what the Bible actually teaches.
Christian Myth 1: The Soul Is Immortal
What is the Origin of this myth? “The early Christian philosophers adopted the Greek concept of the soul’s immortality and thought of the soul as being created by God and infused into the body at conception.” -- The New Encyclopedia Britannia (1988), Volume 11, page 25.
Regarding the creation of the first human soul, the Bible says: “Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul (Hebrew ne’phesh).” --Genesis 2:7.
The Hebrew word ne’phesh, translated “soul,” means ‘a creature that breathes.’ When God created the first man, Adam, He did not infuse into him an immortal soul but the life force that is maintained by breathing.
Therefore, “soul” in the biblical sense refers to the entire living being. If separated from the life force originally given by God, the soul dies. – Genesis 3:19; Ezekiel 18:20.
The doctrine of the immortality of the soul raised questions: Where do souls go after death? What happens to the souls of the wicked? When Christians adopted the myth of the immortal soul, this led them to accept another myth – the teaching of hellfire.
Compare these Bible verses: Ecclesiastes 3:19; Matthew 10:28; Acts 3:23.
Also, compare Genesis 2:17 But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.”
Genesis 3:4 At this the serpent said to the woman: “YOU positively will not die.
There is a simple choice here; either believe Almighty God as He spoke in Genesis 2:17, or, believe Satan the Devil as he spoke through the serpent calling God a liar.
FACT: At death a person ceases to exist.