<One thing, to me, is certain in my reading of religons and human history. Its that its
been a constant battle for sociopolitical & economic mindshare, sometimes
embracing and linking many cultures, sometimes operating more for the exclusion
and supression of all others. God is always on the side of the victor, the victor
eventually writes that version of history which proves believing and obedience in
itself is God's wish.>
Thank you very much for saying all that, Jim. I could not agree more. For the benefit of the terminally lazy, I have culled a few paragraphs from the Mithriasm link:
The widespread popularity and appeal of Mithraism as the final and most refined
form of pre-Christian paganism was discussed by the Greek historian Herodotus,
the Greek biographer Plutarch, the neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry, the
Gnostic heretic Origen, and St. Jerome the church Father. Mithraism was quite
often noted by many historians for its many astonishing similarities to
Christianity.
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. According to Persian mythology, Mithras was born of a virgin
given the title 'Mother of God'. The god remained celibate throughout his life,
and valued self-control, renunciation and resistance to sensuality among his
worshippers. Mithras represented a system of ethics in which brotherhood was
encouraged in order to unify against the forces of evil.
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.
Isn't it particularly interesting that Mithras' birthday was celebrated on December 25? One of my arguments over the last couple of years here at SI is (1) while Jesus was a wonderful, loving, tolerant, guy from what we know, his teachings were pretty much corrupted by his followers for their own political goals, and (2) much of what we know of Christ and Christianity comes from much earlier, pagan religions.
Now obviously if those two points are true, it makes little sense to believe in Jesus and the Christian concept of God to the exclusion of all other religions, unless it brings you personal comfort and solace, or to ridicule paganism as necessarily inferior or more savage. Certainly, much harm has been done in the name of Christ and in God's name as well.
I also think that most humans have a need to invent powerful, mythological figures who are more powerful than they are. I think it interesting that in almost all religions, there are extremely common threads. For example, I think Jesus' halo is actually a remnant of sun god worship, and that the circle on Celtic crosses is, as well.
Anyway, since none of us actually can prove whether God exists or we go anyplace at all after we die, why do we have to have such a big fight about it all, and use religion as a way to judge other people and put them into separate camps, or act superior? Why do some Christians believe that they are superior to everyone else, especially pagans, when the origins of Christianity are pagan? |
