Christianity, in its earliest days, shared a good deal in common with the many "mystery religions" which became popular in the Roman Empire. Question 10 1 out of 1 points It is likely that Christianity borrowed from the mystery religions, but when Christianity did this was hundreds of years after it began, and thus has nothing to do with the core of Christian proclamation. 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. "The correspondences between Christianity and the other mystery religions of antiquity are perhaps more startling than the differences. 6. This triumph may be attributed in part to the fact that Christianity took from its opponents their own weapons, and used them: the better elements of the mystery religions were transferred to the new religion. Mystery religions were seen as more vibrant than the more stale state religions. (4) All promised a happy future life for the faithful.\[Footnote:] Enslin, Christian Beginnings, pp. After a short period of toleration, the pagan religions were prohibited. They felt at first that these competitors were not worthy of consideration, and few references to them are found in Christian literature. Their members refused to make offerings to Roman gods or take part in Roman religious festivals, which Rome considered a matter of showing loyalty. It is inevitable when a new religion comes to exist side by side with a group of religions, from which it is continually detaching members, introducing them into its own midst with the practices of their original religions impressed upon their minds, that this new religion should tend to assimilate with the assimilation of their members, some of the elements of these existing religions. There are also great differences between Christianity and the mysteries. But after being in contact with these surrounding religions and hearing certain doctrines expressed, it was only natural for some of these views to become a part of their subconscious minds. (4) The rebirth of converts was a fundamental idea in the two cults. This was accomplished, not by any slavish process of imitation, but by {a} serious attempt to meet better the specific religious needs that the mysteries had awakened and nourished, and by phrasing religious assurances more convincingly in similar terminology.\[Footnote:] Case, The Mystery Religions, The Encyclopedia of Religion, Edited by Vergilius Ferm, pp. The similarities must rather be explained by parallel developments from similar origins. The doctrinal similarity is exemplified in the case of the pagan writer and philosopher Synesius. In the large Gnostic library discovered at Najammd, in upper Egypt, in 1945, Hermetic writings were found sideby-side with Christian Gnostic texts. Mythicists confidently assert, "Christianity is nothing more than a patchwork quilt of ancient pagan and mystery religions.". It was believed that this god suffered a cruel death, after which he descended into hell, rose again, and then ascended into Heaven. 39. Clayborne Carson, Ralph Luker, and Penny A. Russell, eds. 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. Martin Luther King Jr. titled " The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity. Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. 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. 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. Mystery religions, as a rule, can be traced back to tribal origins, Christianity to a historical person. In both cases, national religions of a ritualistic type were transformed, and the transformation followed similar lines: from national to ecumenical religion, from ritualistic ceremonies and taboos to spiritual doctrines set down in books, from the idea of inherited tradition to the idea of revelation. The god of death himself stole the beloved daughter away from the life-giver; but the divine mother would not give up her loved one, and in the end she accomplished her daughters resurrection. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 145: The Hebrew Sabbath having been abolished by Christians, the Church made a sacred day of Sunday, partly because it was the day of the resurrection, but largely because it was the weekly festival of the sun; for it was a definite Christian policy to take over the pagan festivals endeared to the people by tradition, and to give them a Christian significance. 3. 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. This was due to St. Augustine of Hippo, who was influenced by the early Neoplatonists Plotinus and Porphyry, as well as the works of the Christian writer Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, who was influenced . The later non-Greek mysteries were personal, private, and individualistic. In order to give a comprehensive picture of this subject, I will discuss Four {Five} of the most popular of these religions separately, rather than to view them en masse as a single great religious system. The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated . 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. cit., p. 119.\19, In the records of both Herodotus and Plutarch we find that there was a festival held each year in Egypt celebrating the resurrection of Osiris. 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. MLKP, MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954-1968, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University, Boston, Mass. Franz Cumont, The Mysteries of Mithra (Chicago: Open Court, 1910), pp. 6. Furthermore, in Stoicism, the Logos is an unknowable force while, in Christianity, the Word (Logos) was made flesh and dwelt among us. There is more to the story before the flood, but as things started new after the flood, we will start from this point. He too had found the road to heaven by his suffering and resurrection. In this myth, Persephone is depicted playing in the meadows of Mysia in Asia with the daughters of Oceanus and Tithys. All this goes to show how important Mithraism was in ancient times. CHRISTIANITY AND THE MYSTERY RELIGIONS SHIRLEY JACKSON CASE, PH.D. Demeter, in her joy at the restoration of her lost daughter, allowed the crops to grow once more and institute in honor of the event the Eleusinian mysteries which gave to mortals the assurance of a happy future life.26, The significance of this story is immediately clear. That is, with this study you have made, we see the philosophy both of Religion and History. A query from Stephanie on the Ethical Witches list in Austin turned up this paper by Rev. The preceding five sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, pp. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. In fact, the comparison became so evident that many believed the Christian movement itself became a mystery cult. At the same time, the . The Christian theologian Origen wrote in the 3rd century that it was part of the divine plan that Christ was born under the emperor Augustus: the whole Mediterranean world was united by the Romans, and the conditions for missionary work were more favourable than ever before. 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. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like The dependency fallacy understands that Christianity borrowed the substance of the mystery religions and turned this into a new religion., Several contemporary scholars do see dependency between Christianity and pagan religions, but it is a reversed dependency, meaning that the pagan religions borrowed from Christianity (at least . The latter method is apt to neglect the distinctive contribution of each cult to the religious life of the age and, at the same time, to attribute to a given cult phases of some other system. 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. Dean Inge, e.g. The preceding two sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, p. 224 in this volume. It's one of the things that made Christianity quite distinct in the ancient world. 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