The stories of the death and resurrection of Jesus were clothed so as to suite the pagan beliefs of the period so that the new religion would be easily appealing to the masses.
About 2000 BC there were so many mystery cults in which the young gods died and resurrected again. There was death and rebirth of the gods and the possibility of receiving new life. Osiris fro instance, was successively a god of justice, love and finally a resurrected god who ruled the after life. He was killed by the god of darkness, Seth. His wife Isis mourned his death and afterwards gave the body a burial. But while she was tending to her son, Seth exhumed the body, dismembered it and scattered the parts throughout the land. His wife again collected the entire parts and gave another burial. He then resurrected and went to live on the high skies.
Attis was an Egyptian cult god who was born of a virgin and he died annually and rose up again. Their festivals began as a day of mourning and ended as a day of rejoicing. There is a close resemblance between the Attis festival and that of the Christian Easter.
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