Do you know that Christmas is on Dec. 25 because that was Mithras' birthday (the god of Mithraism)?

Question

He was also born of a virgin.

Answer 1

Actually, celebrating christmas in december came from pagan midwinter festivals. It was done to make it easier to convert the pagans; this way they didn't have to give up all their parties.

Answer 2

Yes, I knew that.

There isn't alot known about Mithraism...there is little written. It is most likely that Mithrasim borrowed a lot of what they believed from Christianity.

Mithra was said to have been born of a rock, not a virgin. Also, Christ is a historical figure and there is no evidence that Mithra ever existed.

It is not unnatural to suppose that a religion (Christianity) which filled the whole world, should have been copied at least in some details by another religion which was quite popular during the third century. Moreover the resemblances pointed out are superficial and external. Similarity in words and names is nothing; it is the sense that matters. During these centuries Christianity was coining its own technical terms, and naturally took names, terms, and expressions current in that day; and so did Mithraism.

Answer 3

Yep. We copied Christmas. But who cares? It's a fun holiday and it got a buttload of pagans to convert (which was the point of having it in December.)

The virgin thing would concern my if it didn't work so well with The Old Testament (Judaism) which is older. In the OT, there are prophesies of the virgin birth. In addition to that, there is the doctrine that in Judaism, the sins of THE FATHER are passed to the son. Other verses confirm that sin is inherited through the father. In order for Jesus to be without sin, it had to be a virgin birth. Mithras didn't have thousands of years of religion and history backing up its claim.

As for an above claim that Jesus' story is a common mythological theme, I read that one of those accounts was completely fabricated (I think they called it "The Mithras Myth" because somebody added on that he died and rose). Resurrection/conquering of death is common for obvious reasons. I have never read about or heard of a crucified deity other than Jesus though and I am almost certain that there is not. It's a shameful way to die and most myths are created with the idea that it is best to have an overly powerful God who would not let something like that be done to him.

Finally, the doctrine of grace, God paying for your sins is unique to Christianity. Other religions you have to earn your way to God (and atheism is all about being a "good" or successful person too). This is not natural, bc it is human nature to want fairness and to be in control.

I think "being a good person to get to heaven" makes no sense, for this reason: What is a "good" person and how can we judge that?

"When a man who has been perverted from his youth and taught that cruelty is the right thing, does some tiny little kindness, or refrains from some cruelty he might have committed and thereby, perhaps, risks being sneered at by his companions, he may, in God’s eyes, be doing more than you and I would do if we gave up life itself for a friend.
It is well to put this the other way round.
Some of us who seem quite nice people may, in fact, have made so little use of a good heredity and a good upbringing that we are really worse than those whom we regard as fiends. Can we be quite certain how we should have behaved if we had been saddled with the psychological outfit, and then with the bad upbringing and then with the power say, of Himmler? That is why Christians are told not to judge. We see only the results which a man’s choices make out of his raw material. But God does not judge him on what he is given at all, but on what he has done with it. Most of the man’s psychological make-up is probably due to his body. When his body dies all that will fall off him, and the real central man, the thing that chose, that made the best or worst out of his material will stand naked.
All sorts of nice things which we thought our own, but which were really due to a good digestion, will fall off some of us: all sorts of nasty things which were due to complexes or bad health will fall off others. We shall then see, for the first time, see everyone as he really was. There will be surprises.
-cs lewis

Answer 4

Yep.. Roman soldiers (especially the royal guard) were into Mithra in a big way. Constantine was looking for a way to unite his kingdom and at the Council of Nicea, he made several changes.. the sabbath from saturday to Sunday.. passover went to Easter (in honor of the pagan fertility goddess Eostre) and the celebration of the birth of Jesus to December 25th.. considering the similarities in the two, I can see why he would. Not only the ones you mention, but the 12 disciples that mithra had, his last suppers, ingesting his body/blood for redemption, his resurrection 3 days after his death.. et al.. why not just combine it all and make life easier politically?

Answer 5

Educator is right in how Christians becan celebrating the delivery of Christ on Dec. twenty 5th. In all reality, Christ grow to be maximum like born sometime around would or June. It does not difficulty me, even though, to rejoice Jesus' delivery on the incorrect day, enormously considering we don't even understand what the wonderful day is. i'm purely happy that He chosen to got here and revel interior the social gathering of such love that grow to be given.

Answer 6

Christianity is riddled with pagan rituals, symbols and holidays. That's what happens when you spread a religion across the world for economic and political reasons. You get alot of converts, but to establish power, you have to make the masses accept the new religion as their own, even if it means incorporating some of their beliefs into your religion. Most Christian traditions have evolved from different, so called pagan, religions throughout history.

Answer 7

Yes, many Christian holidays such as Christmas an Easter were originally pagan holidays. Christianity sort of overtook the holidays in an effort to convert the pagans, and also changed many of their gods/goddesses by making them saints instead.

There are many pagan deities that were born of a virgin, died or crucified, and ressurected. It's a fairly common mythological theme.

Answer 8

Truly! Christians have adopted countless pagan customs to their festivities and laws. You'll even find the churches very nationalistic: ROMAN Catholoics, GREEK Orthodox, RUSSIAN Orthodox, ANGLICANs, COPTIC (EGYPTIAN) Orthodox,...etc.

The most pagan religion that I've heard of so far and that is connected to Abraham is Christianity. They do and eat everything and everything is permissible; according to Paul's preachings!

Answer 9

How can you rest/relax/enjoy on Saturday
Don't you know this is a day to honor the god Saturn???

We choose to understand and practise not because of ancient history but because of our accepted belief system....

Answer 10

Yes...Christ's birth (i.e. Christmas) was arbitrarily set so it would fall on a pagan holy day (i.e. holiday).

That was one method of gaining converts...make it similar to what they already know.

~ Eric Putkonen