| Aren’t there some striking parallels between the Jesus and Balder stories? |
| Not really. Balder (aka Baldur) was a Norse god whom critics frequently
name as a possible influence on the Jesus story, but they never say exactly
what Balder's influence is supposed to have been. It should first be
noted that there were no Norsemen in Jesus' time, and therefore no Norse
gods to influence other religions of that day. The earliest references
to Balder are from over a thousand years after Jesus' time. And besides
that, there are no strong parallels between Jesus and Balder. The closest
parallels are that both were essentially non-violent and both were slain.
Balder wasn't born of a virgin, he had no apostles, and he wasn't crucified or resurrected. About all we know about Balder is his method of demise, which itself bears little resemblance to Jesus' death. Balder dreamed that he would be killed, and asked the gods to protect him. The god Frigg asked all of the world's creatures and materials (such as water, metal, fire, etc.) to take an oath not to harm Balder. However, Frigg didn't take any oath from mistletoe, apparently figuring it was harmless. A villain named Loki tricked Frigg into revealing the mistletoe thing, then fashioned a spear out of mistletoe. Loki then tricked a blind man into throwing the spear at Balder, killing him. While there was no resurrection, there was a failed attempt to resurrect him. Balder's father, Odin, pleaded to Hel, the goddess of death, to let him live again. Hel said that she would only resurrect Balder if everything on earth wept for him. Well, everything did, except for Loki. Since Loki did not weep for Balder, he stayed dead. You can probably see now why the critics don't mention what the parallels between Jesus and Balder are, since there aren't any.
Links: |