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. 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 was in this city that there was celebrated each year the death and resurrection of the god Adonis. cit., p. 121.\ This still stands as a festival in the Christian calendar; and thus Christians unconsciously perpetuate the worship of Osiris in modern times.21, However this is not the only point at which the Religion of Osiris and Isis exerted influence on Christianity. 2d ed. The eucharist, likewise through similar in some respects to the communion meal of Mithraism, was not a rite borrowed from it. Men began to die for the lack of food while the sacrifices to the gods decreased in number because the animals were dying out. It was believed that this god suffered a cruel death, after which he descended into hell, rose again, and then ascended into Heaven. 122123: At this Attis festival a pine-tree was felled on March 22nd, and to its trunk an effigy of the god was fastened, Attis thus being slain and hanged on a tree, in the Biblical phrase. 4. We can understand the Christianity of the fifth century with its greatness and weaknesses, its spiritual exaltation and its puerile superstitions, if we know the moral antecedents of the world in which it developed.. Initiation into a mystery religion. They were characterized by elaborate orgiastic rituals, secret knowledge, and an emphasis on a direct personal . The New Testament gives evidence of at least four styles of Christian worship: temple worship (Acts 2:46), synagogue worship (Acts 16:13, 16), a fellowship meal concluded by the Lord's Supper (1 . 384 pages, Paperback. Mythicists confidently assert, "Christianity is nothing more than a patchwork quilt of ancient pagan and mystery religions.". All this goes to show how important Mithraism was in ancient times. Babylon Mystery Religion; 1966 "The Romish system is based upon a mixture. (2) December 25 came to be considered as the anniversary of the birth of Mithra and Christ also. Underneath all expression, whether words, creeds, cults, ceremonies is the spiritual orderthe ever living search of men for higher lifea fuller life, more abundant, satisfying life. 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. 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. ISBN-13 : 978-0486231242. These scholars made two errors here. Various writers gave different Versions of the Cybele-Attis myth. It, Christianity, is the expression of the longing of people for light, truth, salvation, security. 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. I learned that as an artistic writer who did a doctorate in philosophy. Is Christianity the crowning achievement in the development of religious thought or will there be another religion more advanced? Whatever the religious doctrines of the Masonic sect it is plain that they do not embrace the central Christian . Followers of Mithra became less common after . 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. 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. So through experience, knowledge, as through other forms, the outer manifestations of religion change. As the religious history of the empire is studied more closely, writes M. Cumont, the triumph of the church will, in our opinion, appear more and more as the culmination of a long evolution of beliefs. The Pagan Mysteries. Christianity originated during the time of the Roman Empire, which was also the time at which the mysteries reached their height of popularity. 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. Dr Arnold's researchers have reaffirmed the earlier conclusions of Martin Dibelius and Sir William Ramsay that the key term embateuo in the phrase 'entering the things he had seen' (2:18) was a technical term for the second stage of a mystery initiation, in which a person was led through a series of . 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. Even Christian apologist had to admit that fact. Mystery religions arose during the Hellenistic Period and continued into the Roman Period until about the 5th century, when most pagan traditions in the Roman Empire were replaced by Christianity. They were themselves, in verying degrees, imperfect examples of the Galilean cult which was to replace them. Christianity emerged and grew at a time when mystery religions were popular throughout the Roman Empire. After making herself known, she commanded the people of Eleusis to build her a temple. Here we see how Mary gradually came to take the place of the goddess.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. 38. A query from Stephanie on the Ethical Witches list turned up this paper by Rev. King repeats material from an earlier paper, A Study of Mithraism, but he extends the discussion here to the influence of other mystery religions.1 Davis gave the essay an A, stating: This is very good and I am glad to have your conclusion. The three actors of the Eleusinian tragedy, enacted the mystery of human life and death. 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 . cit., p. 110\15. 40. Art redeems. Martin Luther King Jr. titled " The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity. In this myth, Persephone is depicted playing in the meadows of Mysia in Asia with the daughters of Oceanus and Tithys. 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 mystery religion of Ancient Babylon is the beginning of the occult, after the great flood that destroyed man . 222223 in this volume. The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. The staggering question that now arises is, what will be the next stage of mans religious progress? Frickel, J. Hellenistische Erl sung in christlicher Deutung. 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. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. cit., p. 190.\. The cult of Isis became a mystery religion only after Ptolemy the . 124125: The popular and widespread religion of Osiris and Isis exercised considerable influence upon early Christianity, for these two great Egyptian deities, whose worship had passed into Europe, were revered in Rome and in several other centres where Christian communities were growing up. : Putnam, 1928), p. 121: Attis was the Good Shepherd, the son of Cybele, the Great Mother, or, alternatively, of the Virgin Nana, who conceived him without union with mortal man, as in the story of the Virgin Mary., 12. The doctrinal similarity is exemplified in the case of the pagan writer and philosopher Synesius. Arthur E. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity (n.p. Jesus was the divine Lord. The origin of this cult is obscure and uncertain. 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. 187, 188.\. Please contact Intellectual Properties Management (IPM), the exclusive licensor of the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. atlicensing@i-p-m.comor 404 526-8968. London, 1928. The inner spiritual, continues ever.. (3) Baptism and a communion meal were important parts of the ritual of both groups. mystery religion, any of various secret cults of the Greco-Roman world that offered to individuals religious experiences not provided by the official public religions. 161 Babylon Mystery Religion; 1966 Freedom's Ring: King's "I Have a Dream" Speech, The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume I: Called to Serve, January 1929-June 1951. Selected Answer: True. The theology of the mysteries was developed to a far lesser degree than the Christian theology. This coincidence had led many critics to suppose that the story of the burial and resurrection of Jesus is simply a myth borrowed from this pagan religion.17 Whether these critics are right in their interpretation or not still remains a moot question. The later non-Greek mysteries were personal, private, and individualistic. For the Stoics, a relationship with the Logos is . 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. Paris, 1930 . The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated . 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. He too had God for his father. Here was human experience made heroic and divine; for man has ever loved and lost, but rarely has he ceased to hope for reunion with the loved one. The mysteries of human life and death are vividly enacted by Demeter, Persephone, and Hades. It is because of this crusading spirit and its superb power of adaptability that Christianityahs {has} been able to survive. Firstly, she was pictured as the lady of sorrows, weeping for the dead Osiris, and secondly she was commended as the divine mother, nursing her infant son, Horus. Some writers traced its origin to Egypt while others upheld Eleusis in Greece as the place of its birth. The doctrine is almost identical. 211225 in this volume. The religions that Rome had the most problems with were monotheisticJudaism 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. 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. Leiden, 1984. But in true Christianity, there is only the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and while they're 3 . This was by no means an accident. This tree afterwards chanced to be cut down and made into a pillar in the palace at Byblos, and there Isis at length found it. Esoteric Christianity. Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. 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. The only one they could offer was quite naive, but it was in keeping with the trends of thought in that age. The preceding five sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, pp. He appears before sunrise on the rocky summits of the mountains; during the day he traverses the wide firmament in his chariot drawn by four white horses, and when night falls he still illumines with flickering glow the surface of the earth, ever waking, ever watchful. He is neither sun, nor moon, nor stars, but with his hundred ears and his hundred eyes watches constantly the world. The people were conditioned by the contact with the older religions and the background and general trend of the time.39 Dr. Shirley Jackson Case has written some words that are quite apt at this point. Christianity triumphed over these mystery religions after long conflict. They covered an enormous range, and manifested a great diversity in character and outlook, from Orphism to Gnosticism, from the orgies of the Cabira to the fervours of the Hermetic contemplative.\[Footnote:] Angus, The Mystery Religions and Christianity, p. vii.\2 However it is to be noticed that these Mysteries possessed many fundamental likenesses; (1) All held that the initiate shared in symbolic (sacramental) fashion the experiences of the god. Joining a mystery religion was a personal decision and was not connected to what family or culture one belonged to. 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. 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. 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. The parallel development was fostered by the new conditions prevailing in the Roman Empire, in which the old political units were dissolved, and the whole civilized world was ruled by one monarch. 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. The Influence Of The Cult Of Cybele and Attis, The first Oriental religion to invade the west was the cult of the Great Mother of the Gods. 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. It is evident that in Rome there was a festival celebrating the death and resurrection of Attis. The people of that age were eager and zealous in their search for religious experience. Cybele, or Magna Mater, came to Greece around the 5th century BCE from . They were called mystery religions because individuals went through a secret ritualistic ceremony that was made known only to the initiates conducting the ceremony and to those being . 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. In fact the idea did not appear in the church as a tenet of Christianity until late in the Fourth Century.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. Willoughby quoted from Apollonius Argonautica 1.1098 ff. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. Scholars wrongly infused Christian terms into the mystery religion. Item Weight : 14.3 ounces. Hydria by the Varrese Painter (c. 340 BC) depicting Eleusinian scenes. 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. That is essential. 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. Loisy, Alfred. the calling of the Gentiles into the Christian Church, so designated ( Ephesians 1:9 Ephesians 1:10; 3:8-11; Colossians 1:25-27); a truth undiscoverable except by revelation, long hid, now made manifest.The resurrection of the dead ( 1 Corinthians 15:51), and other doctrines which need to be explained but which cannot be fully understood by finite intelligence ( Matthew 13:11; Romans . This is, of course, a loaded question. To show the beginning of a new era, the capital of the empire was transferred to the new Christian city of Constantinople. The conditions of that era made it possible for these religions to sweep like a tidal wave over the ancient world. As for my characterization of Mormonism, it depends on the definition. It can be shown that the very earliest practices of Christianity coincided with popular mystery cults on many levels. 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. King also proposes that the mystery religions had an even greater influence by preparing the people to understand Christianity. Greco-Roman mysteries. Bottom line: They believe that the early Church borrowed heavily from pagan deities already in existence at the time of Jesus. purchase. Through the summer the mother abundantly maintained the life of nature until autumn, when again her daughter returned to the underworld and earth became desolate once more., 28. Mystery cults continue to vex scholars because the surviving evidence is problematic, comprising a few written sources, mostly late in date, and often with questionable aims and biases. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. The preceding three paragraphs are similar to a passage in Kings earlier paper, A Study of Mithraism, p. 211 in this volume. This does not mean that there was a deliberate copying on the part of Christianity. 3. It seems instead to have been carried over from Jewish background and modified by the new ideas and beliefs of the Christians. During her short stay at the temple of Eleusis, the whole earth grew barren. Christianity certainly has many important features in common with Greco-Roman mystery religions, but there are some crucial differences between Christianity and mystery religions that really set Christianity apart. Yet they all died out within a couple of centuries of the Christian era, Gnosticism (apart from a few vestigial groups in the Near East and Europe) subsuming their heritage last. After a short period of toleration, the pagan religions were prohibited. Osiris and Isis, so runs the legend, were brother and sister and also husband and wife; but Osiris was murdered, his coffined body being thrown into the Nile, and shortly afterwards the widowed and exiled Isis gave birth to a son, Horus. During this great celebration a sacramental meal of some kind was taken, and initiates were baptised with blood, whereby their sins were washed away and they were said to be born again.\[Footnote:] Weigall, The Paganism In Our Christianity, pp. 1. It is not so much that Christianity was influenced by the Mystery Cults, or borrowed from them, but that in the long process of history this religion developed. As is commonly known Isis had two capacities which her worshippers warmly commended her for. The coffin, meanwhile, was washed up on the Syrian coast, and became miraculously lodged in the trunk of a tree, This tree afterwards chanced to be cut down and made into a pillar in the palace at Byblos, and there Isis at length found it. Afterwards, however, he returned to the other world to reign for ever as King of the Dead; and meanwhile Horus, having grown to manhood, reigned on Earth, later becoming the third person of this great Egyptian trinity., 20. They maintained that it was the work of the devil who helped to confuse men by creating a pagan imitation of the true religion.38, There can hardly be any gainsaying of the fact that Christianity was greatly influenced by the Mystery religions, both from a ritual and a doctrinal angle. Still others felt that, after the death of Jesus, the disciples saw in their common meal an opportunity to hold a kind of memorial service for him. Whereas in these tribal communities almost every member of the clan or the village was initiated, initiation in Greece . In connection with the temple, she established certain ceremonies and rites for her worship. The basic Christian objection to Freemasonry is that the Craft constitutes a religious sect in opposition to the revealed truths of the Gospel. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. The other gods pleaded with her to relent but she refused to do so until Persephone was restored to her. Grant Showerman, introduction to Franz Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism (Chicago: Open House Publishing Company, 1911), pp. Was Christianity Originally a Mystery Religion? Masonry Encompasses All Elements of a Religion of Naturalism. First published June 1, 1975. 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. Asia with the temple of Eleusis, the whole earth grew barren that Christianityahs { has been! Destroyed man worshippers warmly commended her for the widespread cults throughout each Mediterranean region as. 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