Mitharaism and Christianity

[Azrael]

As Christianity gathered momentum and eventually became the Roman Empire's state religion, Mithraism was not tolerated. The Apologist saw it as a satanic transversty of the holiest rites of their religion. Nevertheless Catholicism has preserved some of the outer form of Mithraism to name some; the timing of Christmas, Bishops adaptation of miters as sign of their office, Christians priests becoming "Father" despite Jesus' specific proscription of the acceptance of such title. The Mithraic Holy father wore a red cap and garment and a ring, and carried a shepherd's staff. The Head Christian adopted the same title and outfitted himself in the same manner. While the outer appearance of Mithraism can be detected in Catholicism, some traces of the inner teachings of Mithraism can be found in Sufisim, therefore study of Sufisim allows a new insight into Mithraism, and possibly vise versa.
The faithful referred to Mithras as "the Light of the World", symbol of truth, justice, and loyalty. He was mediator between heaven and earth and was a member of a Holy Trinity.
The worshippers of Mithras held strong beliefs in a celestial heaven and an infernal hell. They believed that the benevolent powers of the god would sympathize with their suffering and grant them the final justice of immortality and eternal salvation in the world to come.
They looked forward to a final day of judgement in which the dead would resurrect, and to a final conflict that would destroy the existing order of all things to bring about the triumph of light over darkness.
Purification through a ritualistic baptism was required of the faithful, who also took part in a ceremony in which they drank wine and ate bread to symbolize the body and blood of the god. Sundays were held sacred, and the birth of the god was celebrated annually on December the 25th. After the earthly mission of this god had been accomplished, he took part in a Last Supper with his companions before ascending to heaven, to forever protect the faithful from above.
However, it would be a vast oversimplification to suggest that Mithraism was the single forerunner of early Christianity. Aside from Christ and Mithras, there were plenty of other deities (such as Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, Balder, Attis, and Dionysus) said to have died and resurrected. Many classical heroic figures, such as Hercules, Perseus, and Theseus, were said to have been born through the union of a virgin mother and divine father. Virtually every pagan religious practice and festivity that couldn't be suppressed or driven underground was eventually incorporated into the rites of Christianity as it spread across Europe and throughout the world.
Mithras was the most widely venerated god in the Roman Empire at the time of Christ. The Christian Church borrowed numerous of his mysteries, such as birth on Dec. 25, ascension into heaven at Spring equinox, Last Supper of bread & wine with 12 disciples, celibate priesthood, etc. Mithras was venerated by the legions, who saw in him a cult of power and hierarchy.
His rites featured this image, possibly a depiction of the precession the equinoxes and equatorial zodiac, which equates Mithras with the constellation and hero Perseus. He is shown superseding (slaying) the constellation Taurus, thus achieving the regenerative powers of Spring.

Not surprised that Christianity ripped some stuff from other religions but wow.

[Hidden]

Where did you get this information? I've heard comparisons made between Mithraism and Christianity and theories of influence (this forum has in fact hosted such discussion before), but I was unaware of any scholarship on Mithraism itself being this extensive.

[∞]

Matthew Reilly's Seven Ancient Wonders series suggests (or sources, I dunno) that Christianity is just an adaption of ancient Egyptian religion.

[Ventux]

Christianity (and Abrahamic religions in general) was influenced by many different belief systems, like Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, Egyptian mythology, etc.
It's in no way original.

[Hidden]

Originally Posted by ∞

Matthew Reilly's Seven Ancient Wonders series suggests (or sources, I dunno) that Christianity is just an adaption of ancient Egyptian religion.

Everything is just an adaptation of ancient Egyptian religion, and the more books that say it (referencing each other as sources), the truer it is.

Originally Posted by Ventux

It's in no way original.

That's quite a claim.

[Forever Atlas]

There's no question that what the Christian religion became was not what it originally was intended to be.

From so-called core doctrines to the makeup of the congregation and the incorporation of holidays, Christendom has taken pagan teachings, ideas, and ceremonies as their own. History shows that.

That doesn't mean that Christianity all together is a rip off of other religions, that the events of the Christian scriptures didn't happen and that the scriptures were taken from other writings.


What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?
True Christianity Is Flourishing
Can a Pagan Holiday Be Made Christian?

[Square Ninja]

Originally Posted by Azrael

Not surprised that Christianity ripped some stuff from other religions but wow.

Because no other religion has ever had anything like an end of days, rebirth, ritualistic washing, or a concept of punishment in the afterlife, right?

[auron10_KING.dvx]

Originally Posted by ∞

Matthew Reilly's Seven Ancient Wonders series suggests (or sources, I dunno) that Christianity is just an adaption of ancient Egyptian religion.

be careful, you're bringing up a clear work of fiction in an intellectual argument

[Ams Tram Gram]

Is there a source for this block of text? Not to be rude, but I could post sourced articles that don't say the same things about Mithra at all, how do we know these statements to be true and others not?

[Zion]

i have a website somewhere on it, but i'd have to find it first. Another thing that was considered to be taken into question, was the cross in which ancient egyptian symbolism presented it as a cross but with a loop on top. the loop represented a womb, while the the cross underneath symbolized a falace. If the cross we see in the christian religion ripped off this symbol, then that would consider the cross representing a falace upon a falace :/

[Forever Atlas]

Originally Posted by Zion

i have a website somewhere on it, but i'd have to find it first. Another thing that was considered to be taken into question, was the cross in which ancient egyptian symbolism presented it as a cross but with a loop on top. the loop represented a womb, while the the cross underneath symbolized a falace. If the cross we see in the christian religion ripped off this symbol, then that would consider the cross representing a falace upon a falace :/

http://forums.khinsider.com/religiou...ans-cross.html

:/

[Zion]

Oh shit, i completely forgot that a thread about the cross was made a year ago, considering this thread holds a similar acceptance for the comment made previously.


:/

[Ventux]

Originally Posted by Forever Atlas

http://forums.khinsider.com/religiou...ans-cross.html

:/

That thread is about whether or not Jesus died on a cross, and whether or not the cross should be/is an idol of worship. It doesn't really go over its origins.
I don't think it's a coincidence that the ankh and the cross are both symbols of eternal life.