All religions borrow from other older religions. This isn't news, it just isn't broadcasted... isn't even mentioned when taught. I think that understanding gets lost, buried in time and forgotten until the curious and interested decide to go digging again.

Bart Ehrman has many You Tubes and Books. His discussions with other Historians are also on You Tube. From there you can find many other avenues of exploration. Nag Hammadi Bibles and other recent findings from the mountains of Iraq and surrounding arenas. Very facinating and not boring. Then there is a weekly raidio show out of Austin, Texas hosted by Matt Dillahunty and host of others who will also be a great source of reference.

Yes!!! But I've been on here for an hour and I'm tired of writing. So I'll write later. But...yes!!!

Yes! Crazy, fascinating, disturbing. Try Constantine's Sword. That'll blow you away. I'll give you a little synopsis: Jesus, if he existed at all, was Jewish living in a fractionalized Jewish world under Roman rule. It appears his goal, in a religious sense, was to unify the Jews. The first Christians were Jews, Jews led the services, Jews made up the congregation. Up to 300 CE (common era), pagans, Jews, Christians met and mixed, worshipped together. Then Constantine gains power and realizes religion is a useful tool. He chooses Christianity and the bloodletting...well, continued, really. Rome was a wild place to be apparently. I'm so sorry to have butchered this great book and all the research involved and after all these years I am sure MY focus of the book is off from the author's intent. It really is a fascinating read about military might and religion. It's just appalling to me how history gets warped to suit power.
Also here's a documentary to check out: The God who wasn't there. I think I streamed it on Netflix. Looks like curiositystream has a lot on religious docs. There's so much out there NOW. Not so when I was a growing up 60s and 70s. Enjoy and hope you keep posting.

You want to find out more about interpretations of the ancient Babylonian myths that became the bible, check out the 11 or books written by Zechariah Sitchin. He may be off on a few details, but when you hear about the similarities between Adam, Edin, and the whole Genesis myth and what happened to the ancient Sumerians, you'll be floored. And woke lol.

What about origin of Mary as a goddess?

Sounds fascinating, do tell more

My BA is in Anthropology and Religious Studies. There are a lot of places the Bible cribbed heavily from other mythologies in the region, almost all the Noah Myth is literally copied from the much older Babylonian story of Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

No not at all

that was the turning point for me. I was reading everythig mythology when I was a kid and when I hit the Egyptians and Osiris , Jesus just never was the same

I've always been interested in the relationship between religious and political power. No matter when or where, the two are always closely intertwined.

Very interested in all religions

Read the Oxford History of Christianity. I know they don't mean to but they spell out exactly how it evolved from other religions and cultures. That is what every religion is, a lawyer would call it precedent. Religion was (is) the science of the time, simple explainations for people too weak or lazy to face truth.

I think religion began with cave men sitting around their campfires discussing things like lightning and thunder. There must be some guy up in the clouds causing all this right?

Some worshipped the Sun, which makes more sense to me.

My newest theory is that the Sun (father) and Mother earth "combined" to make man - and that this idea led to "the trinity"

You might be interested in the (several) works of Joseph Campbell...particularly a book series "The Power of Myth.." A brilliant man, he compared religions and wrote of them in a way which fascinated me DECADES ago! Look for him on Amazon.

Yes there are some who have done that and I am one of them.

Yes there are.