John Oxenham Goodman

Jesus' Birth Story Comes from Greco-Roman, Chinese and Indian Sources John Oxenham Goodman

This book compares the story of Jesus' birth in the Gospel of Matthew with the version found in Luke's gospel. Differences and discrepancies are examined and then an attempt is made to find alternative sources of these stories. Mary's husband Joseph was not the father of the baby and similar stories from ancient China are presented and suggested as origins of the Christian nativity. Further examples with similarities to the Jesus birth story are found in ancient Greece and Rome. The birth of the Greek god Zeus is examined and the similarities discussed. Then a reading of the story of Romulus and Remus shows obvious similarities to an ancient Chinese myth as well as to the Jesus birth story. The mother of the twins in the Roman story is the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia and her love affair with the god Mars is analysed. A large colour picture of the affair is also included. Mary, the woman at the centre of this discussion, is compared to the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele and similarities noted. A love affair involving Zeus and a mortal woman is scrutinized where their son Dionysus founds a religious cult much as Mary's child Jesus founds a new religion. Other aspects of this love affair are also discussed. Buddhism comes into the picture with the birth of Gautama Buddha. His saintly mother Maya compares somewhat with the Virgin Mary and there are other similarities. Then contact between ancient China and Rome is brought into the picture with a discussion of both the Maritime Silk Road and the overland route. A conclusion is that similar birth stories across the Eurasian continent are related partly to the Silk Road but that there are possibly other more ancient causes. I have created large colour images of women in these birth stories which give an enhanced understanding of the themes involved.