Here is my next entry in my series of posts answering the charges that many people have leveled on Twitter that Jesus is not unique, but at best Christianity borrowed and at worst, stole, key characteristics from other myths and legends to come up with Christian doctrines about Jesus the Christ. This installment will directly address the character of Apollonius of Tyana. Just how serious of a charge is it that Jesus and Apollonius are similar enough to say that Jesus is a copy of Apollonius? Well, no threat at all.
First and foremost when you look up the records that we have of what was said of Apollonius, anyone must confess that he and Jesus lived very different lives. The details don't just match up. Instead of enumerating each of these, I'd like to instead focus on a very important counter point.
We have only one source for the life of Apollonius written by a man named Philostratus and can't be dated any earlier than 217 AD! That almost 200 years that the Christian Church had been around and more than 100 years since the last book of the New Testament was written, no matter how you choose to date the New Testament. If there had been any borrowing or stealing, I'd say that it was Philostratus taking from Christianity not the other way around! It's far more likely. There are way fewer secular attestation for Apollonius than for Jesus. We can't even be sure that Apollonius was a real person. So what motive would Philostratus have for embellishing Apollonius' life. He was commissioned by an empress, Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus, to write a biography for Apollonius most likely to counter the influence of Jesus on Roman civilization. If you want to read the biography of Apollonius it is online.
Sources
Apollonius of Tyana: A Rival to Christ?
Was the story of Jesus stolen from Apollonius of Tyana?
Apollonius of Tyana also did miracles and rose. What about him?
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