Why is this news?
Accounts of deities dying/sacrificing themselves and returning after 3 days both pre and post date Jesus. Obvious examples include Mithras, Woden on Yggdrasil, etc. There are plenty of early ones. This is nothing new.
The point about faith is that it is not invalidated by argument/evudence. Faith does not requre evidence. Personally, I need to see a lot more dayta on this discovery before I take it on trust. Howvere I do believe that pleanty of similar resurrection stories predate Jesus, but they don’t affect my beliefs one iota.
“Accounts of deities dying/sacrificing themselves and returning after 3 days both pre and post date Jesus. Obvious examples include Mithras, Woden on Yggdrasil, etc. There are plenty of early ones. This is nothing new.”
CS Lewis spoke of these legends as actually the working of God’s spirit upon even the consciences of the pagan folks over millenia who, while ignorant of God, still groped for him. He “winked” at them and wanted even the gentiles to have hope of his coming in the fullness of time. So while their notions of God were distorted, God still took the miss directed arrows of the most devoutly moral of them for faith...”their consciences accusing them or excusing them”...as the Bible states.
God has always loved all men...and I think will be most wise and just in his judgments of us all! These legends contained the heart cry of God...”I am coming for you my lost lambs, no matter what nation or tongue you hail from!”