mithraism

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-04-23 01:03am

I think thats spelled wrong, but oh well.

how is it involved with christianity? Ive seen a few references.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-04-23 01:14am

its spelled correctly, and someone posted a link to an article which described mithraism in another thread. essentially the core of christianity is a total ripoff. its like a bunch of jews went to rome and said "how can we get these dudes to worship YHWH? i know! we'll stitch their religion onto ours!"

Johonebesus · Post by **Johonebesus** » 2003-04-23 03:38am

kojikun wrote:its spelled correctly, and someone posted a link to an article which described mithraism in another thread. essentially the core of christianity is a total ripoff. its like a bunch of jews went to rome and said "how can we get these dudes to worship YHWH? i know! we'll stitch their religion onto ours!"

That's rather silly. Actually, there were many cults that had several common features. These are called mystery cults. Generally, the cult would have a savior, Mithras, Hercules, Osiris, Dionysus, a fertility pair, etc., who would somehow win eternal bliss for his human followers. The worshipper would gain salvation by participating in the secret ritual and understanding the "mystery of faith." I think the Eleusian Mysteries was the first such cult, dating back to Hellenic times, though I am not sure. Early Christianity was basically another mystery cult, but it's not really fair to say that it ripped off its theology from any other particular cult. The idea of a savior was a common theme in a great many cults. In fact, most people see more similarities between Christianity and the Cult of Hercules. Christianity, however, placed a greater emphasis on morality. In most cults, salvation was won solely through participation in the rite and proper understanding of the mystery. From the start, Christianity taught that in addition to the sacraments the Christian must behave and even think in a proper manner. Most cults did not have or did not emphasize the idea of sin. Then, there was the strange fact that the early Christians worshipped Jesus and YHWH but insisted that they were monotheists.

Mithras was originally an angel in Zoroastrianism, the monotheistic/dualistic religion of the Persians. I do not know if the cult of Mithras was indigenous to Persia or if it developed in the West. Many deities were adopted and transformed by the Romans. The Roman Isis bears little resemblance to the Egyptian goddess. Mithras was a favorite of the soldiers, and became something of a sun god. I believe that Constantine was a follower of Mithras before his conversion.

Ted C · Post by **Ted C** » 2003-04-23 09:33am

Here's that web source on Mithraism again.

I can't dress my links because I'm lazy

Dress your link, espcially ones as long as that ~ Stormbringer