Jesus
It has been compared with pagan “rebirth” beliefs, yet the Gospels make it clear that not only did Jesus believe in resurrection but he also attempted to create his own. The evidence for this is his own forecast that he would be entombed for three days and three nights. The fact that this prophecy was not fulfilled, and the fact that he was not resurrected, show the reliability of the accounts (a fictional account would naturally be self-consistent).
This was not an attempt to demonstrate spring rebirth, but an attempt to show that he really was the expected Messiah and future King of Israel.
Steuart Campbell
Dovecot Loan
Edinburgh