A new Amazon Prime documentary claims that Jesus’ identity has been confused with a Greek philosopher who is thought to have lived around the same time, and was reportedly able to bring the dead back to life.
The new film, titled Bible Conspiracies , suggests that the man the New Testament referred to as being able to perform miracles was in fact Preacher Apollonious of Tyana, who also shared a similar life story to Jesus. Aside from the fact that there is further evidence that Apollonius existed, it appears that he and Jesus also shared very similar physical features, per the Daily Mail . Bible Conspiracies doesn’t discredit the fact that the “son of God” existed, but rather claims that he and Apollonius were indeed the same person.
The Greek philosopher by the name of Apollonius of Tyana was born in 3 or 4 B.C.E., in Central Anatolia, and he was depicted as being a preacher with a long beard — one who was supposedly able to perform miracles. The movie claims that he performed miracles, and managed to rise to prominence and to gather followers in the first century C.E., much like the Bible’s biggest historical figure.
“He became a disciple of Pythagoras renouncing flesh, wine and women. He wore no shoes and let his hair and beard grow long.”
“He soon became a reformer and fixed his abode in the Temple of Aesculapius,” the documentary adds.
Bible Conspiracies claims that Apollonius eventually became “a wise sage,” and that his popularity grew as he preached to more people. Eventually Roman Emperor Aurelian would allegedly vow to build statues and temples in Apollonius’ honor.
Amazon Prime documentary Bible Conspiracies claims Jesus Christ was Greek not Jewish #RE #Christianity #news https://t.co/l6GIXf3MOf
— McCrimmons (@Mccrimmons) February 11, 2019
“He reportedly restored life to the dead and spoke of things beyond the human reach. And, unlike Jesus, there is evidence to prove that Apollonius actually existed,” the documentary continues to claim.
Most of the claims in the film go against the general idea that the Greek individual was no more than a philosopher. The explosive revelations have stirred up criticism and negative reactions, as many said that the documentary doesn’t “reveal any Bible ‘conspiracies’” — and that it is based on “pure conjecture” without any facts to back it up.
“Too bad because there is a lot of fascinating things revealed by the Bible. I skimmed ahead and lost interest and felt mislead and couldn’t finish but it all look pretty lame,” one online user wrote.
Others agreed that the movie lacked factual substance, and that its writers didn’t do proper research on what the Bible actually contains — as the documentary allegedly quotes myths that “are laughed at in theological circles.” Not only that, viewers also slammed it for being a “heavily biased opinion piece” instead of an objective analysis.
“Do not waste your time here, there are far better research documentaries on this particular subject out there,” one person said.