As the story of Jesus goes, he was born on December 25 through immaculate conception, could turn water into wine, walk on water, was betrayed by one of his 12 followers, and then crucified, died and subsequently resurrected three days later. However, Biblical scholars controversially believe that these claims are directly stolen or heavily influenced by stories of other ancient deities. One of the most prominent claims that the story of Jesus is a fake is when he is compared to the ancient Greek God Dionysus. According to greek-gods.org, “Dionysus was a descendant of Zeus and mortal woman Semele,” a stark similarity of Jesus, who was a descendent of God and the mortal Mary.

GETTY The story of JESUS was 'copied from prior religions to CONTROL the people'

GETTY There are similarities between Jesus and Dionysus

Additionally, Dionysus was considered the God of the wine and could turn water into wine. He was also identified with the Ram – whereas Jesus was known as the lamb of God. Website Truth Be Known adds that his “sacrificial title of ‘Dendrites’ or ‘Young Man of the Tree’ indicates he was hung on a tree or crucified,” before he descended to the Underworld after being resurrected three days after his death. In his book ‘Clash of the Gods’, former New York University historian Dr Thomas claims that early Christians recognised the influence that the story of Dionysus had on that of Jesus’.

GETTY There are also similarities between Jesus and Mithra

He writes: "Early Christian art is rich with Dionysiac associations, whether in boisterous representations of agape feasting, in the miracle of water-into-wine at Cana, in wine and vine motifs alluding to the Eucharaist, and most markedly...in the use of Dionysiac facial traits for representations of Christ." Another God is the deity Mithra, who was worshipped in ancient Persia and even by ancient Romans hundreds of centuries before Christ. This God was also allegedly born on December 25, and once again to a virgin birth. Gerald Berry wrote in Religions of the World: “Both Mithras and Christ were described variously as 'the Way,' 'the Truth,' 'the Light,' 'the Life,' 'the Word,' 'the Son of God,' 'the Good Shepherd.'

GETTY Jesus has been likened to a Sun-God

“The Christian litany to Jesus could easily be an allegorical litany to the sun-god. Mithras is often represented as carrying a lamb on his shoulders, just as Jesus is. “The virgin mother...was easily merged with the virgin mother Mary. Petra, the sacred rock of Mithraism, became Peter, the foundation of the Christian Church." The significance of December 25 in religion is that it is the day when days finally begin to get longer in the northern hemisphere and stems from the days when people used to worship the sun as a God. It is also three days after the shortest day of the year, which some claims represent the three kings, according to Stellar House Publishing. Several other Gods have similar stories to Jesus, including claims that ancient Egypt’s Horus and Osiris heavily influenced the story of Christ, leading some to believe that Jesus was not a real person.

So what would be the purpose of reinventing the myth of the Son of God coming to Earth? One scholar claims that it was a Roman hoax designed to control the people. Biblical scholar Joseph Atwill wrote on his website: "Christianity may be considered a religion, but it was actually developed and used as a system of mind control to produce slaves that believed God decreed their slavery.” The scholar argues that at the time, Jewish sects in Palestine were awaiting a ‘warrior Messiah’, which became an increasing problem after the Roman Empire failed to deal with the problem with traditional means. As a result, the rulers resorted to psychological warfare which would appear to give the citizens what they wanted, while at the same time making sure they followed their rules.

Russia's ice plunge for Epiphany Mon, January 19, 2015 Epiphany feastday commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. Orthodox believers marked Epiphany on January 19 by immersing themselves in icy waters regardless of the weather. Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 17 A man immerses himself in an ice hole in the Sea of Japan during celebrations for Russian Orthodox Epiphany in Vladivostok