The date of Christmas was purposely fixed on December 25 to push into the background the great festival of the sun god, and Epiphany on January 6 to supplant an Egyptian festival of the same day. 384 pages, Paperback. During the first semester of his second year at Crozer, King wrote this paper for Enslin's course on Greek religion. 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. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. 223224 in this volume. Esoteric Christianity (linked with the Hermetic Corpus since the Renaissance) is an ensemble of Christian theology which proposes that some spiritual doctrines of Christianity can only be understood by those who have undergone certain rites (such as baptism) within the religion.In mainstream Christianity, there is a similar idea that faith is the only means by which a . 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. This celebration was held annually from March 22nd to 25th.\[Footnote:] Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris, p. 166.\ The influence of this religion on Christianity is shown by the fact that in Phrygia, Gaul, Italy, and other countries where Attis-worship was powerful, the Christians adapted the actual date, March 25th, as the anniversary of our Lords passion.\[Footnote:] Ibid, p. 199\12, Again we may notice that at this same Attis festival on March 22nd, an effigy of the god was fastened to the trunk of a pine tree, Attis thus being slain and hanged on a tree. This effigy was later buried in a tomb. Thus, under identical conditions, new forms of religious communities sprang from similar roots. The mystery religion of Ancient Babylon is the beginning of the occult, after the great flood that destroyed man . The books that the mystery communities used in Roman times cannot possibly be compared to the New Testament. 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. 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. That night the priests went back to the tomb and found it empty, the god having risen on the third day from the dead; and on the 25th the resurrection was celebrated with great rejoicing. It lies in the fact that the mystery religions paved the way for the presentation of . The mysteries declined quickly when the emperor Constantine raised Christianity to the status of the state religion. 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. The festival of all Saints, which is held one day before that of all Souls is also probably identical with it in origin.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. 1. While playing she was stolen by Pluto and carried off to the underworld to be his bride. At an early date there was associated with Cybele, the Great Mother, a hero-divinity called Attic who personified the life of the vegetable world particularly. Such designations of our Lord as the Dayspring from on High, The Light, the Sun of Righteousness, and similar expressions seem to come directly from Mithraic influence.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. The existence of this atmosphere was vitally important in the development and eventual triumph of Christianity. This is, of course, a loaded question. 116117: With [the Great Mother] was associated a hero-divinity called Attis who personified the life of the vegetable world particularly. Around these two divinities, the Great Mother and the god of vegetation, there grew up a confused tangle of myths in explanation of their cult rites. The statue of the Good Shepherd carrying his lost sheep and the pastoral themes on Christian sarcophagi were also taken over from pagan craftsmanship. Benjamin Cain. Some writers traced its origin to Egypt while others upheld Eleusis in Greece as the place of its birth. In this myth, Persephone is depicted playing in the meadows of Mysia in Asia with the daughters of Oceanus and Tithys. 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 . The theology of the mysteries was developed to a far lesser degree than the Christian theology. The divine personage in whom this cult centered was the Magna Mater Deum who was conceived as the source of all life as well as the personification of all the powers of nature.\[Footnote:] Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 114.\7 She was the Great Mother not only of all the gods, but of all men as well.8 The winds, the sea, the earth, and the snowy seat of Olympus are hers, and when from her mountains she ascends into the great heavens, the son of Cronus himself gives way before her, and in like manner do also the other immortal blest honor the dread goddess.\[Footnote:] Quoted in Willoughbys, Pagan Regeneration, p. 115.9\. The mother, frenzied with grief, rushed about the earth for nine days in search for her lost daughter,25 As a result of her wandering, she came to Eleusis where she was seen, although not recognized, by the four daughters of Kekeas sitting near a public well called the Fountain of Maidenhood. People were free to move from one country to another and became cosmopolitan. cit., p. 110\15. In winter vegetable life was dead while Demeter, the giver of life, grieved for the loss of her daughter. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 135: It was suppressed by the Christians in a.d. 376 and 377; but its collapse seems to have been due rather to the fact that by that time many of its doctrines and ceremonies had been adopted by the Church, so that it was practically absorbed by its rival., 32. On the whole, early Christians were not greatly concerned about the likenesses between the Mithraic cult and their own. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 116: This god was believed to have suffered a cruel death, to have descended into Hell or Hades, to have risen again, and to have ascended into Heaven; and at his festival, as held in various lands, his death was bewailed, an effigy of his dead body was prepared for burial by being washed with water and anointed, and, on the next day, his resurrection was commemorated with great rejoicing, the very words The Lord is risen probably being used. Christianity emerged and grew at a time when mystery religions were popular throughout the Roman Empire. Babylon Mystery Religion; 1966 "The Romish system is based upon a mixture. ISBN-13 : 978-0486231242. 2d ed. Mystery religions were seen as more vibrant than the more stale state religions. Arthur Fairbanks, A Handbook of Greek Religion (New York: American Book Company, 1910), p. 288: Certainly the Greek Easter festival seems to preserve the spirit if not the forms of the old Eleusinian worship. In the end, virtually all the unique teachings of New Testament theology, including the distinctive doctrines on Jesus Christ, God, man, sin, salvation, and so on, are . 213214 in this volume. Here we see how Mary gradually came to take the place of the goddess.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. Babylon Mystery Religion is a detailed Biblical and historical account of how, when, why, and where ancient paganism was mixed with Christianity. However, in the conclusion I will attempt to give those fundamental aspects, characteristic of all the cults, that greatly influenced Christianity. It is a library research and is descriptive in nature. The mystery religion was very narrow in scope, only involving select groups of people therefore not gaining support from the masses.Some people believe that Christianity and Judaism have many parallels to the mystery cults in terms of terminology (salvation, resurrection, eternal life) and in the particulars of the performance of initiation and ritual. The similarity of the religious vocabulary is also great. 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. The property of the pagan gods was confiscated, and the temples were destroyed. The Mystery-Religions and Christianity. First published June 1, 1975. The hypothesis of a mutual dependence has been proposed by scholarsespecially a dependence of Christianity upon the mysteriesbut such theories have been discarded. 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.) the hellenistic mystery religion decisively in Alexandria and contributed to its development. 1. Martin Luther King Jr. titled " The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity. Mystery Religions and Christianity . From the early days of Babylon and the legends surrounding Nimrod, Semiramis, and Tammuz, certain rites and rituals are traced in their various developments, thus providing clues whereby the "mystery . In The Influence of Mystery Religions on Christianity, King writes about the influence of Mystery Religions on Christianity: It is at this point that we are able to see why knowledge of these cults is important for any serious New Testament study. In the spring, those who had shared Demeters grief for the loss of her daughter welcomed the return of Persephone with all the joy that the returning life of vegetation might kindle. The conditions of that era made it possible for these religions to sweep like a tidal wave over the ancient world. Mystery religions were seen as more vibrant than the more . It is celebrated annually on August 13th. For the Stoics, a relationship with the Logos is . A mystery religion is any religion with an arcanum, or body of secret wisdom. #1,225 in History of Christianity (Books) 5. Mythicists confidently assert, "Christianity is nothing more than a patchwork quilt of ancient pagan and mystery religions.". The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. Genres Religion HistoryNonfictionThe World. In the spring, those who had shared Demeters grief for the loss of her daugher welcomed the return of Persephone with all the joy that the returning life of vegetation might kindle. It is improbable, however, that either of these were introduced into Christian practices by association with the mystery cults. The later non-Greek mysteries were personal, private, and individualistic. However, when faced with the persecution that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have faced in the past the "mysteries could not go underground because they lacked any organization. 131132: At about this time a story, attributed to Melito, Bishop of Sardis in the Second Century, but probably of much later origin, began to spread that Mary had been miraculously carried to Heaven by Jesus and His angels; and in the Sixth Century the festival of the Assumption, which celebrates this event, was acknowledged by the Church, and is now one of the great feasts of Roman Catholicism, It is celebrated on August 13th; but that was the date of the great festival of Diana or Artemis, with whom Isis was identified, and one can see, thus, how Mary had gradually taken the place of the goddess., 24. It should also be noted that early Christianity was an exclusivistic religion while the mystery cults were not. The first Christian communities resembled the mystery communities in big cities and seaports by providing social security and the feeling of brotherhood. Screenshots are considered by the King Estate a violation of this notice. 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. 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. Willoughby quoted from Apollonius Argonautica 1.1098 ff. Christianity, in its earliest days, shared a good deal in common with the many "mystery religions" which became popular in the Roman Empire. Cybele, or Magna Mater, came to Greece around the 5th century BCE from . Every year nature passes through a cycle of apparent death and resurrection. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 117: This coincidence has, of course, led many critics to suppose that the story of the burial and resurrection of Jesus is simply a myth borrowed from this pagan religion., 18. In his pagan period he wrote hymns that closely follow the fire theology of the Chaldean Oracles; later he wrote hymns to Christ. xixii: Christianity triumphed after long conflict It took from its opponents their own weapons, and used them; the better elements of paganism were transferred to the new religion. During her short stay at the temple of Eleusis, the whole earth grew barren. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 114: She was the Great Mother not only of all the gods, but of all men as well.. 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? 4243: It was also a reflection of poignant human experiences, mirroring the joys, sorrows, and hopes of mankind in face of inevitable death. Selected Answer: True. The only one they could offer was quite naive, but it was in keeping with the trends of thought in that age. It was in this city that there was celebrated each year the death and resurrection of the god Adonis. Supporters of the theory incorrectly assume that Christianity borrowed many of its ideas from the mystery religions, but the evidence reveals it was actually the other way around. Borrowing was not only natural but inevitable.6. cit., p. 125.\23, The Influence Of The Greater Mysteries At Eleusis. This was by no means an accident. As for my characterization of Mormonism, it depends on the definition. The Christian representations of the Madonna and child are clearly the continuation of the representations of Isis and her son suckling her breast. CHRISTIANITY AND THE MYSTERY RELIGIONS SHIRLEY JACKSON CASE, PH.D. It is an interpretation of human history that breeds The doctrinal similarity is exemplified in the case of the pagan writer and philosopher Synesius. Around these two divinities there grew up a confused tangle of myths in explanation of their cult rites. The religious art of the Christians continued the pagan art of the preceding generations. Meanwhile the coffin was washed up on the Syrian coast, and became miraculously lodged in the trunk of a tree. 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. 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. As the religious history of the empire is studied more closely, writes Cumont, the triumph of the church will, in our opinion, appear more and more as the culmination of a long evolution of beliefs. 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. Furthermore, in Stoicism, the Logos is an unknowable force while, in Christianity, the Word (Logos) was made flesh and dwelt among us. He too had found the road to heaven by his suffering and resurrection. But, as a solar festival, Sunday was the sacred day of Mithra; and it is interesting to notice that since Mithra was addressed as Dominus, Lord, Sunday must have been the Lords Day long before Christian times. December 25th was the birthday of the sun-god, and particularly of Mithra, and was only taken over in the Fourth Century as the date, actually unknown, of the birth of Jesus.. The precious metal used to coin Constantines gold pieces was taken from heathen temple treasuries. A query from Stephanie on the Ethical Witches list turned up this paper by Rev. The preceding four sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, p. 224 in this volume. 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. March 24th was the Day of Blood, whereon the High Priest, who himself impersonated Attis, drew blood from his arm and offered it up in place of the blood of a human sacrifice, thus, as it were, sacrificing himself, a fact which recalls to mind the words in the Epistle to the Hebrews: Christ being come an High Priest neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood obtained eternal redemption for us. That night the priests went to the tomb and found it illuminated from within, and it was then discovered to be empty, the god having risen on the third day from the dead; and on the 25th the resurrection was celebrated with great rejoicings, a sacramental meal of some kind being taken, and initiates being baptised with blood, whereby their sins were washed away and they were said to be born again., 14. He emerges from the rocky summits of eastern mountains at dawn, and goes through heaven with a team of four white horses; when the night falls he still illumines the surface of the earth, ever walking, ever watchful. He is not sun or moon or any star, but a spirit of light, ever wakeful, watching with a hundred eyes. The Eleusinian myth told of these fundamental human experiences as well as of the life of nature., 29. Was Christianity Originally a Mystery Religion? Martin Luther King Jr. titled "The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity."King wrote it around the . That is essential. But it was this very date that the festival of Dianna or Artemis was celebrated, with whom Isis was identified. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, pp. However when we come to the idea of Jesus decent into hell it seems that we have a direct borrow from the Adonis religion, and in fact from other religions also. 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. The cult of Isis originated in Egypt and went through two major stages. 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; In her aspect as the mother of Horus, Isis was represented in tens of thousands of statuettes and paintings, holding the divine child in her arms; and when Christianity triumphed these paintings and figures became those of the Madonna and Child without any break in continuity: no archaeologist, in fact, can now tell whether some of these objects represent the one or the other., 23. It is at this point that we are able to see why knowledge of the Mystery religions is important for any serious study of the history of Christianity. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. 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. Both the Apostles Creed and the Athanasian {Creed} say that between the Friday night and Sunday morning Jesus was in Hades. The preceding two sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, p. 211 in this volume. Item Weight : 14.3 ounces. It seems instead to have been carried over from Jewish background and modified by the new ideas and beliefs of the Christians. But after being in contact with these surrounding religions and hearing certain doctrines expressed, it was only natural for some of these views to become a part of their subconscious minds. It should also be noted that early Christianity was an exclusivistic religion while the mystery cults were not. The Greco-Roman world in which the early church developed was one of diverse religions. London, 1928. The god of death himself stole the beloved daughter away from the life-giver; but the divine mother would not give up her loved one, and in the end she accomplished her daughters resurrection. 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.. At the death of Attis, Cybele mourned vehemently until he arose to life again in the springtime. In the Avesta,\[Footnote:] This is the sacred book of the religion of Iran.\ Mithra is represented as the genius of celestial light. (2) December 25 came to be considered as the anniversary of the birth of Mithra and Christ also. In a mystery religion, an inner core of beliefs, practices, and the religion's true nature, . Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 42: The experiential basis for this story is quite clear. In this legend, human beings, who are always loved and lost, are depicted as never or seldom loosing hope for reunion with their God. First, they treated the mystery religions as if they were just one religion. 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. This makes it sound as if they were unified, sharing common beliefs that . Interpretation in Platonic concepts was also the means by which the Judeo-Christian set of creeds was thoroughly assimilated to Greek ideas by the early Christian thinkers Clement of Alexandria and Origen. Each year nature passed through the cycle of apparent death and resurrection. The preceding two paragraphs are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, pp. First published in the 1920s, this work is still the standard on the various mystery religions so popular in Greece and Rome before the establishment of Christianity. The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. Leiden, 1984. cit., p. 113.\18 Such facts led almost inevitably to the view that this idea had a pagan origin, since it appears not only in the legend of Adonis, but also in those of Herakles, Dionyses, Orpheus, Osiris, Hermes, Balder, and other deities.\[Footnote:] Ibid, p. 114.\, The Egyptian mysteries of Isis and Osiris exerted considerable influence upon early Christianity. purchase. So we might say that Eleusinianism was not blotted out by Christianity. by Bart D. Ehrman. 9:11, 12.\ Now to get back to the festival. One must avoid any suggestion that there was one common mystery religion. 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 In connection with the temple, she established certain ceremonies and rites for her worship. 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. 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." 3. State religion closely follow the fire theology of the pagan art of the Oracles. Gradually came to Greece around the 5th century BCE from the temple Eleusis! 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