Nate weighs the Egyptian parallel to Jesus' story of Lazarus while 329 baptisms unfold at Belmont University.

329 Baptized at Belmont & Is the Lazarus Story Really Egyptian? (Ask A Christian)

What happens when 329 college students get baptized in one night, and a caller insists Jesus copied His most famous story from an Egyptian myth? Nate opens the Ask A Christian Podcast with a genuine headline from Belmont University, then spends the next hour untangling everything from the Lazarus and the Rich Man Egyptian parallel to the deity of Christ with a Muslim caller. The chat wanted variety; the episode delivered a whirlwind of revival news, Mormon apologetics, and a Revelation 19 mic-drop that left one skeptic saying, “I’ll look into that.”

Lazarus and the Rich Man Egyptian Parallel: The Biblical Bottom Line

The claim that Jesus borrowed the story of Lazarus and the rich man from the Egyptian Tale of Setme is a real argument used by LDS apologists, but it does not hold up under scrutiny. Scholar Richard Bauckham’s detailed comparison shows the two stories share only a general folkloric motif—a rich man and a poor man die, and their fortunes reverse. The Egyptian version hinges on contrasting burials and deeds weighed against one another; Jesus’ account mentions neither as the reason for the reversal, focusing instead on the rich man’s earthly comfort and Lazarus’s suffering. The purpose of the LDS argument is defensive: if Jesus could adapt Egyptian material, Joseph Smith’s use of Egyptian papyri becomes less problematic. For a deeper look at how Scripture handles these kinds of challenges, explore our Christian catechism for adults. When the Muslim caller challenged Jesus’ deity, Nate pointed to Revelation 19:13, where the rider on the white horse is called “The Word of God”—an unmistakable identification of the Logos as the Son.

The Wizard, the Baby, and the Fruit Basket

Between the heavy theology, the episode delivered moments that could only happen on a live stream. Nate read a headline about a leftist “wizard”—complete with hat, cape, and staff—who attacked TPUSA volunteers on a Texas campus. His assessment: “Magic’s not real, so he just has to beat them physically.” Later, a caller announced the birth of a child from the hospital, prompting Nate to joke about a “new little viper in a diaper.” And in the Mormonism discussion, the crew debated whether the one good fruit of LDS culture was VidAngel, the censorship streaming service. A brief oasis of wholesome content in an otherwise chaotic chat.