Now it seems that the general belief of the early church that Jesus was born in a cave grows directly out of Mithraic ideas. 187, 188.\. Thus the designations of our Lord as the Dayspring from on High, the Light, the Sun of Righteousness, and similar expressions, are borrowed from or related to Mithraic phraseology., 35. It is very common to find claims that Christianity was a mystery religion, similar to the worship of Dionysus, Isis, Orpheus, etc. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. After his death, the pagan opposition to Christianity continued for one more generation. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. After recovering Osiris dismembered body, Isis restored him to life and installed him as King in the nether world; meanwhile Horus, having grown to manhood, reigned on earth, later becoming the third person of this great Egyptian trinity.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. Christianity was truly indebted to the mystery religions for this contribution, for they had done this part of the groundwork and thus opened the way for Christian missionary work. In the end, virtually all the unique teachings of New Testament theology, including the distinctive doctrines on Jesus Christ, God, man, sin, salvation, etc . 38. The central theme of the myth was the triumph of Attis over death, and the participant in the rites of the cult undoubtedly believed that his attachment to the victorious deity would insure a similar triumph in his life. The purity demanded in the worship of Sol and in the Chaldean fire rites was similar to Christian standards. [also note from page3]: This Dover edition, first published in 1975, is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the second (1928) edition of the work originally published by John Murray, in London, in 1925 under the title The Mystery-Religions and Christianity. But with the coming of spring the life of nature revived again, for the sorrowing mother had received her daughter back with rejoicing. Benjamin Cain. Bottom line: They believe that the early Church borrowed heavily from pagan deities already in existence at the time of Jesus. Fairbanks, Greek Religion, p. 293: This religion was not blotted out by Christianity. Best Sellers Rank: #329,817 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books) #317 in General History of Religion. Whereas in these tribal communities almost every member of the clan or the village was initiated, initiation in Greece . In this legend, human beings, who are always loved and lost, are depicted as never or seldom loosing hope for reunion with their God. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, pp. This still stands as a festival in the ecclesiastical calendar; and thus Christians unconsciously perpetuate the worship of Osiris and the commemoration of all his subjects in the Kingdom of the Dead., 22. mystery religion, any of various secret cults of the Greco-Roman world that offered to individuals religious experiences not provided by the official public religions. After making herself known, she commanded the people of Eleusis to build her a temple. Dr Arnold's researchers have reaffirmed the earlier conclusions of Martin Dibelius and Sir William Ramsay that the key term embateuo in the phrase 'entering the things he had seen' (2:18) was a technical term for the second stage of a mystery initiation, in which a person was led through a series of . The statement, ''A mix of Greco-Roman religions gradually replaced by Christianity'', is the one that can be used as an accurate description of religion in the Eastern Roman Empire in the first five centuries of the Common Era.Therefore, the option C holds true.. What is the significance of Eastern Roman Empire? 5. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 42: Demeter, in her joy at the restoration of her lost daughter, allowed the crops to grow once more and instituted in honor of the event the Eleusinian mysteries which gave to mortals the assurance of a happy future life., 27. When we come to Christian thought the influence seems even greater, for even the place at Bethleham selected by the early Christians as the scene of the birth of Jesus was none other than an early shrine of this pagan goda fact that led many to confuse Adonis with Jesus Christ.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. One must avoid any suggestion that there was one common mystery religion. The words of St. Paul, They drank of that spiritual rock and that rock was Christ are borrowed from the Mithraic scriptures., 36. 40. Willoughby quoted from Apollonius Argonautica 1.1098 ff. Never stop with the external, which may seem like borrowing, but recognize there is the perennial struggle for truth, fuller life itself. On the contrary it was generally a natural and unconscious process rather than a deliberate plan of action. In his pagan period he wrote hymns that closely follow the fire theology of the Chaldean Oracles; later he wrote hymns to Christ. In fact, it's hard not to place Christianity among the mystery religions (even though Christian apologists refuse to do this). Attis was the Good Shepard, the son of Cybele, the Great Mother, who gave birth to him without union with mortal man, as in the story of the virgin Mary.11 According to the myth, Attis died, either slain by another or by his own hand. When Mithraism became widespread and powerful, it attracted so much attention that certain Christian apologists felt the need to present an explanation for the similarities in their respective characteristics. 2. the hellenistic mystery religion decisively in Alexandria and contributed to its development. The books that the mystery communities used in Roman times cannot possibly be compared to the New Testament. There can hardly be any doubt that the myths of Isis had a direct bearing on the elevation of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, to the lofty position that she holds in Roman Catholic theology. The answer is "yes" - and also "no". Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. During the rise of Christianity in the first century A.D. also were the widespread cults throughout each Mediterranean region known as the mystery religions. After telling a fictitious tale of her escape from pirates, she won the sympathy of the girls who took her home and at her own request was given a job to nurse their infant brother, Demophon. Martin Luther King Jr. titled "The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity."King wrote it around the . The Christian representations of the Madonna and child are clearly the continuation of the representations of Isis and her son suckling her breast. Download The Mysteries of Mithras Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle. In the first century of the Christian era the Eleusinian mystery cult was more favorable known than any of the cults of Greece.24 Its fame and popularity was largely due to the connexion of Eleusis with Athens. Christianity, in its earliest days, shared a good deal in common with the many "mystery religions" which became popular in the Roman Empire. Paris, 1930 . It is not at all surprising in view of the wide and growing influence of these religions that when the disciples in Antioch and elsewhere preached a crucified and risen Jesus they should be regarded as the heralds of another mystery religion, and that Jesus himself should be taken for the divine Lord of the cult through whose death and resurrection salvation was to be had.3 That there were striking similarities between the developing church and these religions cannot be denied. 135136: Originally Mithra was one of the lesser gods of the ancient Persian pantheon, but already in the time of Christ he had risen to be co-equal with, though created by, Ormuzd (Ahura-Mazda), the Supreme Being., 33. Mystery. Mythicists confidently assert, "Christianity is nothing more than a patchwork quilt of ancient pagan and mystery religions.". 2, 3.\33 Tarsus, the home of Saint Paul, was one of the great centres of his worship; and there is a decided tinge of Mithraism in the Epistles and Gospels. They were called mystery religions because individuals went through a secret ritualistic ceremony that was made known only to the initiates conducting the ceremony and to those being . Christianity, however, [strikeout illegible] survived because it appeared to be the result of a trend in the social order or in the historical cycle of the human race. Esotericism has more in common with Gnosticism, Theosophy, and Rosicrucianism than genuine biblical Christianity. The Greeks interpreted the national religions of the Greek Orient chiefly in terms of Platos philosophical and religious concepts. It is because of this crusading spirit and its superb power of adaptability that Christianityahs {has} been able to survive. or 404 526-8968. cit., p. 190.\. Clayborne Carson, Ralph Luker, and Penny A. Russell, eds. 126127: But the Christian feast of All Souls, in honour of the dead, likewise falls at the beginning of November; and in many countries lamps and candles are burnt all night on that occasion. there seems little doubt that this custom was identical with the Egyptian festival. the festival of All Saints, which is held one day before that of All Souls and which was first recognised by the Church in a.d. 835, is undoubtedly identical with it in origin. This sacramental use of the term did not become established until the fourth century, when the mystery religions were no longer serious competitors of Christianity. The cult of rulers in the manner of the imperial mysteries was impossible in Jewish and Christian worship. Grant Showerman, introduction to Franz Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism (Chicago: Open House Publishing Company, 1911), pp. It is celebrated annually on August 13th. He too had God for his father. All of Lent's penitential practices and acts of spiritual renewal find their meaning in the journey of self-emptying and self-giving love that Jesus undertakes in his death and resurrection. According to this view, Christianity began as a Jewish adaptation of Greek mystery . To discuss Christianity without mentioning other religions would be like discussing the greatness of the Atlantic Ocean without the slightest mention of the many tributaries that keep it flowing.40. 7. Was Christianity Originally a Mystery Religion? A mystery religion is any religion with an arcanum, or body of secret wisdom. The similarity of the religious vocabulary is also great. Joining a mystery religion was a personal decision and was not connected to what family or culture one belonged to. So through experience, knowledge, as through other forms, the outer manifestations of religion change. Mystery cults continue to vex scholars because the surviving evidence is problematic, comprising a few written sources, mostly late in date, and often with questionable aims and biases. Followers of Mithra became less common after . 124125: The popular and widespread religion of Osiris and Isis exercised considerable influence upon early Christianity, for these two great Egyptian deities, whose worship had passed into Europe, were revered in Rome and in several other centres where Christian communities were growing up. The religions that Rome had the most problems with were monotheisticJudaism and Christianity. 511513\, The greatest influence of the mystery religions on Christianity lies in a different direction from that of doctrine and ritual. Here are my top five reasons mystery religions did not influence Christianity . The eucharist, likewise through similar in some respects to the communion meal of Mithraism, was not a rite borrowed from it. Early Christian writers, aware of the similarity between Christianity and mystery-cult, claim that the latter is a diabolical imitation of the former" (Dionysus, Richard Seaford, 126.) Thus, under identical conditions, new forms of religious communities sprang from similar roots. in his Christian Mysticism, p. 354, says that Catholicism owes to the Mysteries " the notions of secrecy, of We should try to see the dark comedy in all things. However these specific differences need not concern us, for the most significant aspects are common in all the various versions.10 We are concerned at this point with showing how this religion influenced the thought of early Christians. cit., p. 110\15. These scholars made two errors here. So we might say that Eleusinianism was not blotted out by Christianity. Forces have been known to delay trends but very few have stopped them. He too had found the road to heaven by his suffering and resurrection. It is inevitable when a new religion comes to exist side by side with a group of religions, from which it is continually detaching members, introducing them into its own midst with the practices of their original religions impressed upon their minds, that this new religion should tend to assimilate with the assimilation of their members, some of the elements of these existing religions. It is improbable, however, that either of these were introduced into Christian practices by association with the mystery cults. The Christian theologian Origen wrote in the 3rd century that it was part of the divine plan that Christ was born under the emperor Augustus: the whole Mediterranean world was united by the Romans, and the conditions for missionary work were more favourable than ever before. Therefore it is necessary to study the historical and social factors that contributed to the growth of Christianity. Christianity certainly has many important features in common with Greco-Roman mystery religions, but there are some crucial differences between Christianity and mystery religions that really set Christianity apart. The mysteries declined quickly when the emperor Constantine raised Christianity to the status of the state religion. They were characterized by elaborate orgiastic rituals, secret knowledge, and an emphasis on a direct personal . Christianity emerged and grew at a time when mystery religions were popular throughout the Roman Empire. This universal law is expecially true of religion. Firstly, she was pictured as the lady of sorrows, weeping for the dead Osiris, and secondly she was commended as the divine mother, nursing her infant son, Horus. There are no parallels in Christianity to the sexual rites in the Dionysiac and Isiac religion, with the exception of a few aberrant Gnostic communities. 39. After mourning over the dead Christ, represented most conspicuously by a wax image carried through the streets, there comes an announcement by the priest, on the midnight before Easter Sunday, that Christ is risen. Still others felt that, after the death of Jesus, the disciples saw in their common meal an opportunity to hold a kind of memorial service for him. Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). Spring, the time when all plants come back to life, indicates the return of plenty when the goddess maintains all life until autumn when her daughter returns to Hades and the earth becomes once more desolated.\[Footnote:] Willoughby, op. " King wrote . In the latter capacity Isis was represented in tens of thousands of statuettes and paintings, holding the divine child in her arms. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like The dependency fallacy understands that Christianity borrowed the substance of the mystery religions and turned this into a new religion., Several contemporary scholars do see dependency between Christianity and pagan religions, but it is a reversed dependency, meaning that the pagan religions borrowed from Christianity (at least . cit., p. 42.\27, The myth is also an example of poignant human experience, reflecting the joys, sorrows, and hopes of mankind in the face of death. cit., p. 125.\23, The Influence Of The Greater Mysteries At Eleusis. Each following {year} there was a great festival in commemoration of his resurrection, and the very words, The Lord is risen, were probable used. It seems instead to have been carried over from Jewish background and modified by the new ideas and beliefs of the Christians. Show more. Although the above paragraph makes it obvious that there are many similarities between these two religions, we must guard against the fallacy of seeing all similarity as direct borrowing. Christianity emerged and grew at a time when mystery religions were popular throughout the Roman Empire. CHRISTIANITY AND THE MYSTERY RELIGIONS SHIRLEY JACKSON CASE, PH.D. it has been suggested that Christianity had its origin in a mystery of initiates. 161 Babylon Mystery Religion; 1966 The preceding five sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, pp. Knowledge condemns. Although the mystery religions did move towards advancing a solar god above all the others, this change began after 100 A.D., too late to impact the theology of the New Testament. . Les myst res pa ens et le myst re chr tiens. For the Stoics, a relationship with the Logos is . 136137: Tarsus, the home of St. Paul, was one of the great centres of his worship, being the chief city of the Cilicians; and, as will presently appear, there is a decided tinge of Mithraism in the Epistles and Gospels. (4) The rebirth of converts was a fundamental idea in the two cults. cit., p. 257.\ Other Egyptian records speak of another feast in honour of all the dead, when such lamps were lit, which was held about November 8th.\[Footnote:] Ibid, p. 258.\20, It is interesting to note that the Christian feast of all Souls, in honor of the dead, likewise falls at the beginning of November; and in many countries lamps and candles are burned all night on that occassion. Only remnants of the mystery doctrines, amalgamated with Platonism, were transmitted by a few philosophers and individualists to the religious thinkers of the Byzantine Empire. Genres Religion HistoryNonfictionThe World. by Bart D. Ehrman. As the religious history of the empire is studied more closely, writes M. Cumont, the triumph of the church will, in our opinion, appear more and more as the culmination of a long evolution of beliefs. Mystery religions, as a rule, can be traced back to tribal origins, Christianity to a historical person. Mithra hears all, sees all, knows all: none can deceive him., 34. The parallel development was fostered by the new conditions prevailing in the Roman Empire, in which the old political units were dissolved, and the whole civilized world was ruled by one monarch. The theology of the mysteries was developed to a far lesser degree than the Christian theology. Babylon Mystery Religion is a detailed Biblical and historical account of how, when, why, and where ancient paganism was mixed with Christianity. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 41: In order to understand the type of religious experience represented by this important cult, it is necessary clearly to keep in mind the main points of the Eleusinian myth which was developed to explain and justify the cult rites. 3 Far from being dependent on mystery religions, Christianity can be correctly traced back to the life of a real flesh and bone person named Jesus 4 as well as to Old Testament Judaism. Here was human experience made heroic and divine; for man has ever loved and lost, but rarely has he ceased to hope for reunion with the loved one. Borrowing was not only natural but inevitable.6. The preceding four sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, p. 224 in this volume. During the centuries leading up to the birth of Christianity, the Pagan Mystery religion, often known simply as the 'Mysteries', had spread throughout the ancient Mediterranean.Many of the greatest figures of the Pagan world were initiated into these Mysteries, and regarded them as the very source of civilisation. The greatest influence of the mystery religions on Christianity lies in a different direction from that of doctrine and ritual. In 391, however, the Serapeum at Alexandria was demolished, and in 394 the opposition of the Roman aristocracy was crushed in battle at the Frigidus River (now called the Vipacco River in Italy and the Vipava in Slovenia). 6 Mithraism. 118119: But there is one feature of the Gospel story which seems really to have been borrowed from the Adonis religion, and, in fact, from other pagan religions also, namely, the descent into Hell. These two great Egyptian deities, whose worship passed into Europe, were revered not only in Rome but in many other centers where Christian communities were growing up. The people of Cyrene selected him as the most able man of the city to be their bishop, and he was able to accept the election without sacrificing his intellectual honesty. In the Christian congregations of the first two centuries, the variety of rites and creeds was almost as great as in the mystery communities; few of the early Christian congregations could have been called orthodox according to later standards. 9. Data was gathered from books . These fundamental human experiences and the life of nature are the main substances of the Eleusinian Mysteries.28 To the searchers of salvation, the Eleusinian cult offered not only the promise of a happy future, but also a definite assurance of it.\[Footnote:] Nilsson, Greek Popular Religion, p. 54.\, Now when we observe the modern Greek Easter festival it seems certain that it preserves the spirit if not the form of the old Eleusinian worship. Answer (1 of 7): Over the years, Christianity has often been compared to the mystery religions of ancient Greece and Rome, both by Christians wishing to emphasize the esoteric nature of their religion and by opponents of Christianity who claim that the resemblance between Christianity and mystery. (5) The struggle with evil and the eventual triumph of good were essential ideas in both religions.37 (6) In summary we may say that the belief in immortality, a mediator between god and man, the observance of certain sacramental rites, the rebirth of converts, and (in most cases) the support of high ethical ideas were common to Mithraism as well as Christianity. This article covers relationship between Neoplatonism And Christianity.. Neoplatonism was a major influence on Christian theology throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in the West. In order to give a comprehensive picture of this subject, I will discuss Four {Five} of the most popular of these religions separately, rather than to view them en masse as a single great religious system. When Julian the Apostate, Roman emperor from ad 361 to 363, tried to reestablish pagan worship, he found allies at Rome and Alexandria. Since Christianity was a mystery religion that demanded initiation to participate in religious practices, Christian architecture put greater emphasis on the interior. Hardcover, 335 pages. While playing she was stolen by Pluto and carried off to the underworld to be his bride. Various writers, pagan and Christian, gave different versions of the Cybele-Attis myth. The specific variations in all these diverse statements do not concern us, for certain significant elements were common to all the various versions., 11. 222223 in this volume. CULT OF CYBELE. On the whole, early Christians were not greatly concerned about the likenesses between the Mithraic cult and their own. It is an interpretation of human history that breeds The words of St. Paul, They drank of that spiritual rock and that rock was Christ also seem to be {a} direct borrow from the Mithraic scriptures.35, The Hebrew Sabbath having been abolished by Christians, the Church made a sacred day of Sunday, partly because it was the day of resurrection. 4. During the first semester of his second year at Crozer, King wrote this paper for Enslin's course on Greek religion. The festival ended with the celebration of his ascention in the sight of his worshippers.16 Needless to say that this story of the death and resurrection of Adonis is quite similar to the Christian story of the death and resurrection of Christ. Screenshots are considered by the King Estate a violation of this notice. The doctrine of the soul taught in Gnostic communities was almost identical to that taught in the mysteries: the soul emanated from the Father, fell into the body, and had to return to its former home. Selected Answer: True. The Easter ceremonies rivalled the pagan spring festivals. 1. A query from Stephanie on the Ethical Witches list in Austin turned up this paper by Rev. The previous five sentences are similar to a passage in Kings earlier paper, A Study of Mithraism, pp. The baptismal ceremony in both cases (Christian and Pagan) was supposed to have the effect of identifying the initiate with his savior. Arthur E. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity (n.p. They felt at first that these competitors were not worthy of consideration, and few references to them are found in Christian literature. S. Angus, The Mystery-Religions and Christianity (London: John Murray, 1925), p. vii: These Mysteries covered an enormous range, and manifested a great diversity in character and outlook, from Orphism to Gnosticism, from the orgies of the Cabiri to the fervours of the Hermetic contemplative.. Osiris and Isis, so the legend runs, were at one and the same time, brother and sister, husband and wife; but Osiris was murdered, his coffined body being thrown into the Nile, and shortly afterwards the widowed and exiled Isis gave birth to a son, Horus. We can understand the Christianity of the fifth century with its greatness and weakness, its spiritual exaltation and its puerile superstitions, if we know the moral antecedents of the world in which it developed.\[Footnote:] Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, p. xxiv.\4 The victory of Christianity in the Roman empire is another example of that universal historical law, viz., that that culture which conquers is in turn conquered. S. Angus, The Mystery-Religions and Christianity (London: John Murray, 1925)~ p. vii: "These Mysteries covered an enormous range, and manifested a great diversity in character and outlook, from Orphism to Gnosticism, from the orgies of the Cabiri to the fervours of the Hermetic See A Study of Mithraism, 13 September23 November 1949, pp. At this moment the light from the candle of the priest is passed on to light the candles of his companions; guns and firecrackers are discharged as they prepare to break the Lenten fast.\[Footnote:] Fairbanks, Greek Religion, p. 288.\29 As in the Eleusinian mysteries the modern Greek Christian finds this a moment of supreme joy. But when we observe a little further we find that as a solar festival, Sunday was the sacred day of Mithra; it is also interesting to notice that since Mithra was addressed as Lord, Sunday must have been the Lords Day long before Christian use.\[Footnote:] Ibid., p. 137.\ It is also to be noticed that our Christmas, December 25th, was the birthday of Mithra, and was only taken over in the Fourth Century as the date, actually unknown, of the birth of Jesus.36, To make the picture a little more clear, we may list a few of the similarities between these two religions: (1) Both regard Sunday as a holy day. Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. The Apostles Creed and Athanasian Creed say that between the Friday night and the Sunday morning Jesus was in Hell or Hades; It has no scriptural foundation except in the ambiguous words of the First Epistle of Peter; it did not appear in the Church as a tenet of Christianity until late in the Fourth Century., 19. Christianity triumphed over these mystery religions after long conflict. Even Christian apologist had to admit that fact. It is this fact that immediately brings to mind the words in the Epistle to the Hebrews: But Christ being come an High Priest neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood obtained eternal redemption for us.\[Footnote:] Heb. The existence of this atmosphere was vitally important in the development and eventual triumph of Christianity. The statue of the Good Shepherd carrying his lost sheep and the pastoral themes on Christian sarcophagi were also taken over from pagan craftsmanship. In the former capacity she was identified with the great mother-goddess, Demeter, whose mourning for Persephone was the main feature in the Eleusinian mysteries. The essay examines how Christianity developed as a distinct religion with a set of central tenets and how it was influenced by those pagan religions it assimilated. Now we know from old Egyptian records that a feast in honour of all the dead, when such lamps were lit, was held about November 8th., 21. At the death of Attis, Cybele mourned vehemently until he arose to life again in the springtime. Pluto, (also called Hades) therefore, at the request of Zeus released her but not before he had caused her to eat a pomegranate seed which magically required her return after a period of time. The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. Communion meal of Mithraism, was not blotted out by Christianity her breast herself known, she commanded people. The imperial mysteries was impossible in Jewish and Christian worship mother had received her daughter back with.... Line: they believe that the general belief of the Madonna and child are clearly continuation. 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