At the same time, the . The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 123: There can be no doubt that these ceremonies and beliefs deeply coloured the interpretation placed by the first Christians upon the historic facts of the Crucifixion, burial, and coming again to life of Jesus., 15. A query from Stephanie on the Ethical Witches list in Austin turned up this paper by Rev. The people of that age were eager and zealous in their search for religious experience. The answer is "yes" - and also "no". If the definition is that the religion keeps things secret, then no, because secrets are about maintaining secrecy and exclusivity, and Latter-Day Saints do the . He too had God for his father. 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. 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.) 40. The cult of Isis originated in Egypt and went through two major stages. While Herodotus fails to give a date for this festival, Plutarch says that it lasted four days, giving the date as the seventeenth day of the Egyptian month Hathor, which, according to the Alexandrian claendar used by him, corresponded to November 13th.\[Footnote:] Frazer, op. 511513\, The greatest influence of the mystery religions on Christianity lies in a different direction from that of doctrine and ritual. " King wrote . Dimensions : 5.37 x 0.73 x 8.4 inches. In speaking of the indispensability of knowledge of these cults as requisite for any serious study of Christianity, Dr. Angus says: As an important background to early Christianity and as the chief medium of sacramentarianism to the West they cannot be neglected; for to fail to recognize the moral and spiritual values of Hellenistic-Oriental paganism is to misunderstand the early Christian centuries and to do injustice to the victory of Christianity. People were free to move from one country to another and became cosmopolitan. In the large Gnostic library discovered at Najammd, in upper Egypt, in 1945, Hermetic writings were found sideby-side with Christian Gnostic texts. And today similar experiences are represented by Greek Christians. 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. 6. On March 24th, known as the Day of Blood, the High Priest, impersonating Attic, drew blood from him arm and offered it up in place of the blood of a human sacrifice, thus, as it were, sacrificing himself. . Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. 6. But it was this very date that the festival of Dianna or Artemis was celebrated, with whom Isis was identified. MLKP, MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954-1968, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University, Boston, Mass. "The correspondences between Christianity and the other mystery religions of antiquity are perhaps more startling than the differences. 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. Men began to die for the lack of food while the sacrifices to the gods decreased in number because the animals were dying out. Download The Mysteries of Mithras Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle. The conditions of that era made it possible for these religions to sweep like a tidal wave over the ancient world. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, pp. The later non-Greek mysteries were personal, private, and individualistic. 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. 4243: It was also a reflection of poignant human experiences, mirroring the joys, sorrows, and hopes of mankind in face of inevitable death. As is commonly known Antioch was one of the earliest seats of Christianity. 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. Knowledge condemns. 211225 in this volume. A mystery religion is any religion with an arcanum, or body of secret wisdom. Since Christianity was a mystery religion that demanded initiation to participate in religious practices, Christian architecture put greater emphasis on the interior. The Easter ceremonies rivalled the pagan spring festivals. We should try to see the dark comedy in all things. The staggering question that now arises is, what will be the next stage of mans religious progress? Best Sellers Rank: #329,817 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books) #317 in General History of Religion. It was suppressed by the Christians sometime in the latter part of the fourth century a.d.; but its collapse seems to have been due to the fact that by that time many of its doctrines and practices had been adopted by the church, so that it was practically absorbed by its rival.31, Originally Mithra was one of the lesser gods of the ancient Persian pantheon, but at the time of Christ he had come to be co-equal with Ahura Mazda, the Supreme Being.32 He possessed many attributes, the most important being his office of defender of truth and all good things. The only one they could offer was quite naive, but it was in keeping with the trends of thought in that age. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 36: Among the cults of Greece none was more favorably known in the first century of the Christian era than the Eleusinian mysteries., 25. In fact, the comparison became so evident that many believed the Christian movement itself became a mystery cult. Meanwhile the coffin was washed up on the Syrian coast, and became miraculously lodged in the trunk of a tree. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. Because these religions believed there was just one god, they prohibited worshiping other gods. 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. Jesus was the divine Lord. 115116: Now one of the earliest seats of Christianity was Antioch; but in that city there was celebrated each year the death and resurrection of the god Tammuz or Adonis, This faith had always exerted its influence on Jewish thought, and, indeed, the prophet Ezekiel had found it necessary to scold the women of Jerusalem for weeping for the dead Tammuz at the very gate of the Temple; while, in the end, the place at Bethlehem selected by the early Christians as the scene of the birth of Jesus (for want to [sic] any knowledge as to where the event had really occurred) was none other than an early shrine of this pagan god, as St. Jerome was horrified to discovera fact which shows that Tammuz or Adonis ultimately became confused in mens minds with Jesus Christ., 16. Art redeems. 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. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. 121122: In Rome the festival of his death and resurrection was annually held from March 22nd to 25th; and the connection of this religion with Christianity is shown by the fact that in Phrygia, Gaul, Italy, and other countries where Attis-worship was powerful, the Christians adopted the actual date, March 25th, as the anniversary of our Lords passion., 13. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. [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. Some held that the sacrament was instituted by Jesus himself. The Mystery-Religions and Christianity. When Julian the Apostate, Roman emperor from ad 361 to 363, tried to reestablish pagan worship, he found allies at Rome and Alexandria. Scholars wrongly infused Christian terms into the mystery religion. Masonry Encompasses All Elements of a Religion of Naturalism. (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. cit., p. 110\15. 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. King, Martin Luther, Jr. (Crozer Theological Seminary). 384 pages, Paperback. 129130: There were two aspects of Isis which commended themselves particularly to her worshippers: firstly, that of the lady of sorrows, weeping for the dead Osiris, and, secondly, that of the divine mother, nursing her infant son, Horus. Clayborne Carson, Ralph Luker, and Penny A. Russell, eds. The word "Catholic" means Universalthe true Christian goal is not religion based on mixture, but a return to the original, simple, powerful, and spiritual faith that was once delivered to the saints."-Ralph Woodrow; pg. 37. King wrote this paper for the course Development of Christian Ideas, taught by Davis. 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. While playing she was stolen by Pluto and carried off to the underworld to be his bride. It seems instead to have been carried over from Jewish background and modified by the new ideas and beliefs of the Christians. 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. Now this idea has no scriptural foundation except in those difficult passages in the First Epistle of Peter\[Footnote:] I Peter 3:194:6.\ which many scholars have designated as the most ambiguous passages of the New Testament. In winter vegetable life was dead while Demeter, the giver of life, grieved for the loss of her daughter. 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. It is well-nigh impossible to grasp Christianity through and through without knowledge of these cults.5 It must be remembered, as implied above, that Christianity was not a sudden and miraculous transformation, springing, forth full grown as Athene sprang from the head of Zeus, but it is a composite of slow and laborious growth. 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. How do we determine conjectured information? It had to do with the nature of the Christian religion . The mystery religions and Christianity had many similar featurese.g., a time of preparation before initiation and periods of fasting; baptism and banquets; vigils and early-morning ceremonies; pilgrimages and new names for the initiates. Cypress Hall D, 466 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305-4146 Here are my top five reasons mystery religions did not influence Christianity . Each following {year} there was a great festival in commemoration of his resurrection, and the very words, The Lord is risen, were probable used. 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. 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 . So we might say that Eleusinianism was not blotted out by Christianity. As is commonly known Isis had two capacities which her worshippers warmly commended her for. 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. Christianity, in its earliest days, shared a good deal in common with the many "mystery religions" which became popular in the Roman Empire. 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). Mystery Religion-Basic Traits. (3) Baptism and a communion meal were important parts of the ritual of both groups. They encouraged the movement away from the state religions and the philosophical systems and toward the desire for personal salvation and promise of immortality. 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. However, in the conclusion I will attempt to give those fundamental aspects, characteristic of all the cults, that greatly influenced Christianity. The Roman aristocrats multiplied their efforts to maintain the piety of the mysteries, and the pagan philosophers tried to refine their theology by oversubtle interpretations. When they sat down to write they were expressing consciously that which had dwelled in their subconscious minds. Modern reconstructions that view the mysteries as a cohesive religious phenomenon run the risk of oversimplification. The preceding two paragraphs are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, pp. 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). He too had found the road to heaven by his suffering and resurrection. 38. 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. 1. The preceding four sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, p. 224 in this volume. During the first two or three decades of the twentieth century, it was thought that the mystery religions constituted a unity based on a common 'mystery theolgoy ,' and that Christianity was simply one of them, or at most, a distinct religion . 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