Skeptics will claim that Yeshua's resurrection is just a variant of other resurrection accounts.
Reported miracles abound in other religions, including stories of risen saviors. Skeptics frequently cite Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, Attis, and Marduk as examples of dying and rising gods. Did Christians copy or get inspiration from these pagan accounts?
Why is Yeshua's resurrection more credible?
First, most of these other resurrection accounts seem to be incredibly unclear. There is very little data to examine and when there is any data, there is usually more than one version of it. These other accounts look nothing like the account of Yeshua's resurrection. If we were to consider them parallel accounts we would have to look at every ghost story out there.
Next, any written evidence we have dates to after the resurrection account of the disciples. The disciples couldn't possibly have been influenced by these accounts.
Do accounts such as those mentioned by Justin Martyr merit the conclusion that Christians copied, or were influenced by, them? The majority of critical scholars today say no. While some skeptics like to celebrate these vague similarities, they fail to recognize the great chasm of differences that exist in these accounts.
We can note that the ancient Egyptian cult of Osiris is the only account of a god who survived death that predates Christianity.
According to one version of the story (and there are several) Osiris was killed by his brother, chopped up into fourteen pieces and scattered throughout Egypt. The goddess Isis collected and reassembled his parts and brought him back to life. Unfortunately, she was only able to find thirteen pieces. Moreover, it is questionable whether Osiris was brought back to life on earth or seen by others as Yeshua was. He was given status as god of the gloomy underworld. So the picture we get of Osiris is that of a guy who does not have all of his parts and who maintains a shadowy existence as god of the mummies.
This story is nothing like that of the account of Yeshua's resurrection. If anything Osiris should not be compared to Yeshua, but held responsible for all the zombie shows we have to deal with now.
Accounts of miracles and rising gods in other religions lack evidence and can easily be accounted for by opposing theories. For example, the first miracle accounts of Muhammad do not appear until approximately seventy-five years after his death and are found in sources that many Islamic scholars regard as untrustworthy. These rank in the file of "likely influenced by developing legend".
Miracle reports from other religions are usually not multiply attested, and the first manuscript that reports the miraculous event is usually far removed in time from when the event allegedly took place.
Unlike the New Testament writers, these stories were not written and circulated at a time when eye-witnesses were alive to discern the truth in the claims. Not only the eye-witnesses, but their audience would have been able to examine the claims.
With the "other resurrections" we have lack of evidence, late reports of the alleged events, and the fact that opposing theories against the alleged event can otherwise explain the event in question.
In the case of Yeshua - we have exactly the opposite. In previous blogs we've discussed a plethora of evidence, reports within an extremely close time range. Paul's writings came first and most scholars date his first letter to less than 20 years of Yeshua's resurrection. Last, where is the evidence proving that Yeshua did not rise from the dead? What other opposing theories stand up to the test?
Furthermore, if the New Testament faithfully reports Yeshua's words, He predicted that false christs and false prophets would come and deceive others. Based on His words, competing resurrection claims in non-Christian religions should not be a surprise.
