Mummification and Baptism

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
Post Reply
nightshadetwine
Posts: 253
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:35 am

Mummification and Baptism

Post by nightshadetwine »

It seems to me that mummification in ancient Egyptian religion and baptism in Christianity play a very similar role. They are both a purification ritual and have an effect on the future of the person's soul. In Christianity the person being baptized is identified with Jesus and his death and resurrection. In ancient Egyptian religion the person is identified with Osiris and his death and resurrection. The sun god would also go through a baptism. He would enter the waters of the underworld where he would die and then resurrect or be reborn when he came out of the waters.

Romans 6:3-4:
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
From "Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt" By John H. Taylor:
The first stage was the purification of the corpse by washing...According to Egyptian belief, water held important purifying and life giving qualities. Each dawn was a repitition of the orginal birth of the sun god from the watery chaos of Nun. Hence lustration came to be closely associated with rebirth...A ritual purification was necessary before the dead king could ascend to heaven...The 'hery seshta' was closely linked with the god Anubis, who had mummified Osiris, according to mythology. In the ritualized process of mummification the deceased was identified with Osiris.
From "Les fêtes d'Osiris à Abydos au Moyen Empire et au Nouvel Empire" by M. Christine Lavier:
It is always about the source of life, the fresh water in which the divinity (Re, Osiris) immerses himself, in prelude to his (re) birth.
From "The Amduat Papyrus of Panebmontu" by John H. Taylor
During his passage it was believed that the sun god and his entourage of deities fought and overcame the forces of chaos (embodied chiefly as the giant serpent Apep), and experienced rejuvenation, enabling him to be re-born the next morning. By placing the text and images of the Amduat on the walls of the king’s tomb, it was believed that the dead ruler was identified with the sun god and would himself share in the rejuvenation which the deity experienced."
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amduat:
In hours 2 and 3 he passes through an abundant watery world called 'Wernes' and the 'Waters of Osiris'...Once this has been done the sun god opens the doors of the tomb in hour 8 and then leaves the sandy island of Sokar by rowing vigorously back into the waters in hour 9. In hour 10 the regeneration process continues through immersion in the waters until in hour 11 the god's eyes (a symbol for his health and well being) are fully regenerated. In hour 12 he enters the eastern horizon ready to rise again as the new day's sun
Another interesting correlation between Jesus and Osiris related to baptism is that they both had purifying waters flow from their bodies.

From https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ ... sus-Christ:
To understand the point being made by the use of this phrase, it will be helpful to examine the use of "water" and "blood" in the Gospel and the epistles of John. While water is mentioned in the epistles only here, several significant references to it are found in the Gospel. The Baptist baptizes with water (1:26, 31, 33), as does Jesus (3:22; 4:1-2), and the water symbolizes cleansing. Jesus changes water set aside for the Jewish rites of purification to wine (2:1-12). He speaks of the necessity to be born of "water and the Spirit" (3:5, 8), where "water and Spirit" probably connotes one idea, namely, cleansing by the Holy Spirit (compare Ezek 36:25-27). Thus water also symbolizes the gift of the Spirit (4:13-14; 7:3739) given by the risen Jesus. Together these references stress the idea of purifying, and particularly the purifying effected by the Spirit of God.

One passage in the Gospel of John does bring together the images of water and blood. When the soldiers pierce Jesus' side at the crucifixion, it is said that "blood and water" flowed from it (19:34). This is under stood as evidence that Jesus had indeed died, a necessary corroboration since the soldiers had not expected to find him already dead. It is likely that this story has symbolic importance as well. In light of the imagery of water and blood in the Gospel, the water and blood from Jesus' side signify that his death releases the gift of the Spirit (water) and purifica tion from sin (blood), which together confer eternal life. As Barrett aptly phrases it, John intends us to see in this event that "the real death of Jesus was the real life of men"
From "For the Living and the Dead: The Funerary Laments of Upper Egypt, Ancient and Modern" by Elizabeth Wickett:
... deceased king and subsequently all deceased, male or female, are to become 'the god Osiris' and are symbolically 'drowned' (Pyr 24d, 615d, 766d). Osiris was believed to embody the source of the inundation: "You have your water, you have your flood, the fluid which issued from the god, the exudation which issued from Osiris"(Pyr 436)
From "Waters of Death and Creation: Images of Water in the Egyptian Pyramid Texts" By Greg Jones:
The element of purification is present in the statement:"the waterways are flooded by means of the purification which issued from Osiris".
User avatar
Joseph D. L.
Posts: 1405
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:10 am

Re: Mummification and Baptism

Post by Joseph D. L. »

I need to go to bed, but just as a quick response, compare this to the raising of Lazarus in John, who is described almost as mummified.
nightshadetwine
Posts: 253
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:35 am

Re: Mummification and Baptism

Post by nightshadetwine »

Joseph D. L. wrote: Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:57 am I need to go to bed, but just as a quick response, compare this to the raising of Lazarus in John, who is described almost as mummified.
Yeah, I've noticed the similarities between Jesus raising Lazarus and Horus raising Osiris. I also see some parallels between John the Baptist and Anubis the god of mummification.
User avatar
Joseph D. L.
Posts: 1405
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:10 am

Re: Mummification and Baptism

Post by Joseph D. L. »

nightshadetwine wrote: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:26 am
Joseph D. L. wrote: Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:57 am I need to go to bed, but just as a quick response, compare this to the raising of Lazarus in John, who is described almost as mummified.
Yeah, I've noticed the similarities between Jesus raising Lazarus and Horus raising Osiris. I also see some parallels between John the Baptist and Anubis the god of mummification.
Joseph of Arimathea would serve a better candidate for Anubis, but I can definitely see both Joseph and John playing a dual role in the meta-narrative.

Paul seems to iterate Plutarch's notes about Osiris's drowning in the Nile as representing his death and resurrection in his exegesis about baptism being an emulation of Christ's own death and resurrection.
nightshadetwine
Posts: 253
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:35 am

Re: Mummification and Baptism

Post by nightshadetwine »

Joseph D. L. wrote: Sun Sep 16, 2018 5:12 am Joseph of Arimathea would serve a better candidate for Anubis, but I can definitely see both Joseph and John playing a dual role in the meta-narrative.
The reason I see some similarities between John the baptist and Anubis is because John is associated with baptism and Anubis is associated with mummification which plays a similar role to baptism. John baptized Jesus and Anubis mummified Osiris. Also, in Luke John's mother Elizabeth is said to be a relative of Mary the mother of Jesus. In Egyptian myth Anubis is the son of Nephthys who is the sister of Isis mother of Horus. Horus and Osiris are closely connected seeing as it was sometimes said that Horus was Osiris reborn and Jesus in the Gospels in my opinion plays the role of Osiris and Horus(and other sons of gods like Dionysus, Asclepius, and Hercules).
Post Reply