The entirely unearthly Mithras was worshipped as the "Good Shepherd", "the Way, the Truth and the Light", and as a redeemer, saviour and Messiah. Mithras was supposed to have been born to a virgin on what is now 25 December, and was visited by shepherds and Magi. He travelled and taught, cast out devils, made miracle cures, held a last supper, was killed, buried in a rock tomb and rose again after three days, at the time of the spring equinox in March (equivalent to the Christian Easter). Mithraism included baptism and Sunday worship, with a Eucharist and sacraments.
Mithra's birth was witnessed by shepherds and by Magi bearing gifts to his sacred birth-cave of the Rock (J. Smith 146). Mithra's image was buried in a rock tomb, a sacred cave that represented his Mother's womb. This was ritualistically removed each year, and he was said to live again. Mithra's triumph and ascension to heaven were celebrated during the spring equinox.
The similarities are striking.
2006-07-15 05:27:49 · 9 answers · asked by Cindy 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Eh BrotherMichael
Did you actually read the question ?
2006-07-15 05:38:47 · update #1
Mithraism was around over a hundred years prior to the Christ story. The similarities are stunning.
The most enjoyable explanation of the near identical stories is that satan knew what was coming and had the Mithra stuff out there to confuse and distract those who were there when the beginning of christianity happened. Gotta love it. When all else fails, blame the devil.
2006-07-15 05:58:03 · answer #1 · answered by Dustin Lochart 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's entirely possible. He also had 12 disciples...but, unlike the Jesus story, they were representative of the 12 signs of the zodiac.
Mithras was just one of many different representations of the dying/resurrecting son-god....such as Osiris and Attis...just to name a few.
Early christians (I say early...but I really mean the christians that we know today...as the true, original christianity bore very few similarities to the christian religion of today - it was much more complex - at some point in the 1st century the deeper meaning was left off and what we are left with today is just the surface.) arugued that Mithras was a creation of Satan, who was so smart, that he came up with Mithras as a way to refute the Christian saviour, Jesus, before the religion of Jesus even existed.
Have you read The Jesus Mysteries? It's a very interesting book about the history of Christianity. If you haven't read it....you should...I think you would enjoy it.
2006-07-17 15:20:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like the Roman adaptation of Greek religion, Christianity did indeed borrow many of the moire's ofthe cult of Mithra. But don't confuse this with an "evolution" of one religion into another. Both religions have very different precepts, but when Chrisitianty was "blowing up", one thing Priests did was adapt the new beliefs to the old holidays so as the ease the transition.
2006-07-15 05:32:45 · answer #3 · answered by mark r 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO. your question is yet ANOTHER example of Gnosticism!
the Virgin Birth of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST did not fall on Dec. 25th. The Saturnalia (the roman festival of Saturn) fell in what we call the week of Dec. 25th and when the organized Catholic Church wanted to have Christianity fit in with the pagan celebrations, that was the date chosen.
The magi didn't go to a cave, they went to a house and saw a 2yr old kid....(that's how old the Messiah was when His family moved back into Israel...
The Last Supper of Jesus was on PASSOVER. The Jewish celebration of the Exodus from Egypt.
Easter, is the celebration of spring and the goddess Ishtar- yet another melding of pagan celebration with Judaeo-Christian celebrations, to appease the masses.
2006-07-15 05:41:10 · answer #4 · answered by blkrose65 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
genuinely Mithraism became a Greek/Roman secret faith that shaped sometime between the later 1st century ad by probable the fifth Century. I recommend that the Greek/Roman Mithras cult genuinely took a number of the Christian writings and merged them with different previous beliefs to create the cult. that could account for any of the "similarities".
2016-11-06 10:11:50 · answer #5 · answered by deily 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is more likely that Mithraism borrowed from Christianity. Prior to the 1st century AD none of these beliefs were part of Mithraism.
With the increasing popularity of Christianity Mithraism began adopting their beliefs within the Roman empire.
2006-07-15 05:36:50 · answer #6 · answered by theogodwyn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely NOT. Christianity stems from CHRIST the son of God,who was raised a Jew. So if Christianity is an adaption of ANYTHING (which of course it isn't) it would be Judaism.
2006-07-15 05:34:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Can you produce any historical evidence as to his existence, outside of a book by Joseph Smith or the Mormon church? Do you have any writings by those who witnessed these events? I don't believe you can therefore the lack of evidence would lead us to conclude he never existed.
2006-07-15 05:33:32 · answer #8 · answered by BrotherMichael 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah...i suppose there is a possibilty
2006-07-15 05:31:00 · answer #9 · answered by snoopychick90 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋