Christianity and Mithraism

 

"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, 
the Bible a collection of honorable, but still purely primitive, 
legends which are nevertheless pretty childish." -- Albert Einstein

Part 1: Mithra:

Legends indeed. For example, the first ruler to control both northern and southern Mesopotamia was Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279 BCE). Whilst we have some few contemporary sources concerning his rule, much of what archeology has unearthed concerning him was as with most person-based religious myths, written several hundred years after his death. One such myth is of particular interest, (possibly originally drawn from an 8th C BCE Neo-Assyrian legend): It states that Sargon was the son of a priestess and an unknown father. Fearing for her son, the priestess placed him in a basket of reeds and set the young Sargon afloat on a  river. The child was discovered later drifting upon the current by Aqqi, the "drawer of water" or cup bearer for the king of Kish, Ur-Zababa, and subsequently raised as his son. The child grew to a man, later himself ascending to the throne of Kish.  It was a popular story, and one which was widely known. It is found for example, in various of the 40,000 texts  from the later Ur III period.  As were too, other myths which were later incorporated by other peoples and other religions as a means of giving legitimacy to their particular prophets.  Note that the dates here are well before the Moses stories of the so-called 'Old-Testament' of the Christian Bible.

Let's look at another legend however, this time one which was incorporated into the so-called 'New-Testament' of that particular religion:

About three thousand years ago several Indo-Iranian tribes of Hittites migrated throughout Asia Minor. Some of these signed a peace treaty with local tribes in 1350 BCE. In that treaty they referenced several Indian gods such as Indra, Varuna, and in particular the Rig Veda deity - Mitra. Mitra was, like Shamash of Babylon, an all seeing companion who protected social and societal rules of behavior. His symbolic animal was the bull. Mitra was quite popular, and his feast day celebrated in late fall was a time of familial celebration and gift giving.

Many centuries past, and Mitra had become known as 'Mithra'.

According to  the Avesta Mihr Yasht, Mithra was originally the creation of (i.e. a child of ), the supreme god Ahura Mazda.  In the Mihr Ysht he is the  "lord of wide pastures, lord with a thousand ears, lord with ten thousand eyes" who saw everything and was everywhere.  Indeed, as a deity of Light, or more specifically, the son of God, Mithra shone into each heart. Hence he knew all that was in that heart. It was impossible to lie to him. And since he saw the inner soul of everyone, he uplifted those who were true, and severely punished those who broke his commandments and who where untrue.

Time continued to pass. The Avesta collection became the bible of not only Zorastrians but of many other religious groups and offshoots. During the writing and rewriting of the Avestas from about 1700 BCE onwards to around 500 BCE, Mithra's genesis changed. He had become simultaneously the child of Ahura Mazda and of a much lower being, a semi-divine mother whom Ahura Mazda had parthanogenically made with child - that is, he was the child of a virgin. ( As an aside here, "almah" or "עלמה" in Isahiah 7:14 does not mean "virgin". Rather it means "young woman"... but borrowing the idea of holy parthenogenises from the Mithraic legends suited the the early Church much better.)

Time passed...  now the Avestas had split into two forms as follows:

  1. The outer narrative or mystery form replete with myths, legends and teaching stories. - the main body of the Avestas. This taught that that there was a Heaven where those who did good and were true to Mithraic principles went after death. And that there was a Hell, which was divided into different layers according to the nature of 'sins' committed by the individual in life. The punishments, as with the rewards, were eternal.
  2. The second form was the inner form, known as the Gathas. These composed the central teachings of Mithra and were relatively unknown by the majority, while the Avestas in general received much wider distribution. They included teachings of turning the other cheek, love of one's fellow man, the nature of (kingdom of) heaven was within, and similar.

The distribution of the first form of Mithraic religion was greatly helped when the Roman legions invaded Persia - now Iran and Iraq. The Mithraic mysteries readily appealed to the common, and largely uneducated soldier. For these mysteries taught rejuvenation through sacrifice. Such sacrifice as was exemplified by a young god Mithra who died for the good of all that they and they (and he) might live again. More specifically, the teachings which were most popular taught that on an individual level self-sacrifice for the greater good meant rebirth and eternal reward in Heaven. This was something Roman soldiers could embrace wholeheartedly. And they did, spreading the story of how an all powerful child of the sun, Mithra who was the son of God, could lead to everlasting glory through self sacrifice. Commonly held beliefs, were:

  •     Individual self sacrifice for the greater good would be richly rewarded in another realm
  •     Mithra was the child of the spirit of Azura Mazda and a lesser, almost human, mother - a virgin. 
  •     Mithra filled the world with light and as such was a child of the Sun, that is to say, the child or son of God.
  •     He had twelve companions who helped him in his wandering.
  •     Mirthra could raise the souls of the dead and lead them to a better world.
  •     Mithra could heal the sick and perform other miracles.
  •     The mysteries taught that there was a heaven occupied by perfected ones, and a hell with multiple levels for those not worthy.
  •     The young god Mithra rose from the dead after three days of entombment to live again.
  •     The mysteries practiced Baptism with water
  •     The mysteries spoke of the blood of the lamb (another name for Mithra) purifying all sins
  •     Mithra was both a deity and a human who could be killed - and resurrected.
  •     And so on.

These beliefs in Mithra were spread wherever Roman soldiers went - even as far as China, India, England, and of course, Palestine and Jerusalem. The Mithraic religion grew as a result of Roman wars of conquest - it was in effect the unofficial religion of the troops and their families. By 100 BCE it had became popular throughout the Empire. An annual celebration in Mithra's honour was held during the traditional time of the feast of the all powerful sun ("sol invictus"), in early winter near the solstice. That is to say, around December 25 traditionally celebrated as the birth of the Unconquered Child of the Sun. All of this of course, was the outer show - the religious popularism of the Avestas.

But the inner Gathas - the mystic gnostic inner core - continued to flourish albeit unknown to the majority. Until two men erased them from human history until our own time.

Read on...