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8/9/2019 Pagan Roots of Christianity- From the Horse's Mouth-Origins of Religions Study 2
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Types of Christianity who were the early
Christians ?
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Jesus, son of the Hebrew sky God, and Mithras,
son of Ormuzd are both the same myth. The rituals
of Christianity coincide with the earlier rituals ofMithraism, including the Eucharist and the
Communion in great detail. The language used by
Mithraism was the language used by Christians.
[...] The idea of a sacrificed saviour is Mithraist, so
is the symbolism of bulls, rams, sheep, the blood
of a transformed saviour washing away sins andgranting eternal life, the 7 sacraments, the
banishing of an evil host from heaven, apocalypticend of time when God/Ormuzd sends the wicked
to hell and establishes peace. Roman Emperors,
Mithraist then Christian, mixed the rituals and
laws of both religions into one. Emperor
Constantine established 25th of Dec, the birthdateof Mithras, to be the birthdate of Jesus too. The
principal day of worship of the Jews, The Sabbath,
was replaced by the Mithraistic Sun Day as the
Christian holy day. The Catholic Church, based in
Rome and founded on top of the most venerated
Mithraist temple, wiped out all competing son-of-god religions within the Roman Empire, giving us
modern literalist Christianity.
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"Mithraism and Christianity" by Vexen Crabtree
(2002)
How a Christian looks at the mountain ofevidence confronting him to show that what
he had come to believe as an unique and
exclusive Revalation and Faith are in fact
much the same as the Pre-Christian pagans,
which he had been indoctrinated to revile andridicule as an abomination, is a study in
human conceit and behaviour in itself.
A look at Catholic encyclopedia dealing with
this aspect of Christianity- its close
resemblance and identical core ideas, show
how there is no such thing as a free and
impartial mind within the folds of this
theology.
We can only be reminded of Julian theapostate who countered this Christian claim
to uniqueness and authenticity of Divine
Revalation thus-
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say what else.......
Early Christians were criticized for copying Pagan ideas
and stories and simply re-telling them. By the 4thcentury, the founders of the Christian Church sought
evidence and historical proof to back up their mistaken
opinion that Christianity was a new religion, derived
from the new revelations of Jesus. Eusebius failed to
find much evidence at all, except in the book of the first
century author, Philo, who described a group of people
who were clearly practicing Christian rituals:Eusebius, the fourth-century Church propagandist,
could find little evidence from which to construct a
history of Christianity, so he eagerly seized upon a
description in one of Philo's books, of a group of Jews
called the Therapeutae. Philo's description of their
spring festival is reminiscent of the Christian
celebration of Easter and Eusebius, therefore, claimedthat he had discovered the earliest Christians in
Alexandria. [... but] the spring, of course, was also the
time when Pagans celebrated their festival of the dying
and resurrecting godman, so Eusebius is unjustified in
his assumption. Philo wrote about the Therapeutae in 10
CE, which would be 20 years before the supposed date
of the crucifixion [...]. The Therapeutae are a group ofJews clearly practising a Jewish version of the Pagan
Mysteries. [...] We can tell that the Therapeutae were
Jews because they celebrated the Jewish festival of the
Pentecost and kept sacred the Sabbath. [...]
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"Jesus Mysteries" by Freke & Gandy [Book Review] (1999)4
Eusebius didn't know that Philo was writing 20 years
too early, and he had therefore uncovered additional
evidence that turn-of-the-millennium Jewish Paganismwas almost identical to Christianity in terms of rituals
and beliefs - if Jesus arrived and preached a New
Testament, it seems he really didn't have anything new
to say that wasn't already being practiced in a Christian
way by pagans. The fact that "Philo can, in one
sentence, compare the Therapeutae to both initiates of
the Mysteries of Dionysis and the followers of Moseson the banks of the Red Sea shows just how integrated
Pagan and Jewish traditions had become". They lived
"near that great melting-pot pf Pagan and Jewish
cultures, Alexandria".
Today when we trace the source of modern Christianity,
we find that Christianity was codified in the 4th
century. But in the fourth century, they didn't know
what the source of Christianity was although critics said
it was re-hashed paganism. So in the fourth century,
they too searched in history to find the source of
Christianity. They found the history of their religion to
pre-date the actual founding of their own religion. The
ancient history of Christianity is merged with the
history of Paganism and the Church Fathers in the 4th
century, so much closer to original Christianity than us,
even mistook a group of pagans for early Christians. It
wasn't the only time that they done this either, for when
Bishop Melito in 160CE when in search of the ancient
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center of Christianity, he discovered only a group called
the Ebionites, another ancient group that 4th century
Christianity rejected as heretical.
2.3. Ebionite Christians (1st-4th Century)
Ebionite Christians believed that all the Jewish Laws
had to be obeyed; including the Sabbath and
circumcision for all males. As such, they considered StPaul to be the archenemy of Christianity as he taught
that people did not have to obey the Law in order to be
saved. They believed Jesus was Human, and adopted by
God as a perfect sacrifice.
The Ebionites were some of the original Christians:
Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. They
populated the legendary Jerusalem Church. 'Ebionite'was sometimes used as a term to describe all Christians.
Those who we now know as Pauline Christians
opposed the Ebionites, after discovering them and
realizing that their beliefs differed. Authors such as
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Tertullian, Origen of Alexandria, and many other
intolerant "heresy-hunters" wrote at great length against
the Ebionites. Many of the claims made against them
were based on misunderstandings of their beliefs, andmany anti-Ebionite claims were plainly ridiculous.
[Ehrman, 2003]. Pauline Christians eradicated the
Ebionites, burning all of their books (none survived)
and harassing and arresting the people until none were
left. They edited Luke 2:32 and 2:48 where Joseph was
twice called the 'father' of Jesus so that it did not say so,
and they also edited Luke 3:22 where it plainly stated,in accordance with Ebionite beliefs, that God adopted
Jesus. Pauline Christians, as non-Jewish Romans,
handily came across a mistranslated prophecy that said
Jesus would be born of a virgin (like other Roman sons-
of-gods), adding a whole two chapters to the beginning
of Matthew to prove their point. These edits, now they
are uncovered, show that the Ebionites were treated
very cruelly and unfairly, and that the original readings
of Matthew and Luke both support Ebionite
Christianity, rather than the Pauline Christianity that the
West has inherited.
If we were to guess which group was the more austere,
holy and godly, we would have to guess it was the
Ebionites rather than the Pauline Christians whoslaughtered, slandered and oppressed them.
Unfortunately the victors get to write history, and it is
Pauline Christianity that became the legacy of the
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Roman Empire. After the fourth century, the Ebionites
were vanquished.
"1st Century Christian Ebionites: The Original
Christians?" by Vexen Crabtree (2006)
2.4. Arian Christians (2nd-8th Century)
As Jewish Christianity began to develop its own
character, Jesus was no longer considered to be just a
man. He had a special relationship with god, and was
perhaps conceived of by God before anything was
created. But he was not an eternal man nor a god.
Arianism describes the pre-trinitarian doctrine of aholy, but not a godly, Jesus. It is not always
adoptionism and not always monotheistic, either. It was
defined by a negative principal (that logically Jesus
can't be God and still suffer on the cross). If Jesus was
God (i.e., perfect), Arians realized, what chance would
any Human have of imitating him? Although Arian-
sounding theologies existed from the second centuryonwards, it only became a wide point of contention
after the third century. In the third century Origen of
Alexandria, the greatest theologian of his time, had
declared that the Father was Greater than the Son. This
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principal was later named after its principal proponent
and most articulate defender, Arius (256-336CE). It was
opposed by Athanasius, who became a Nicene Christian
from 325CE. In the Roman Empire, Arian Christianitywas supplanted by intolerant Nicene Christianity by the
5th century, but remained the most popular form of
Christianity amongst the tribes surrounding the empire,
until the 8th century. [...]
The eventual victory of the Cappadocian Nicene faith
from 380CE meant that as the Empire collapsed, the
Christianity that was left behind was the dark, violent,centralized type that did not tolerate dissent. By the late
fourth century, a recognizable Roman Catholic Church
had emerged. The doctrine of the Trinity had been
created, and the vengeful violence of Nicene
Christianity was in full, open, bloody view. Anti-
semitism was given its official sanction. The edited
Nicene Creed was the only form of belief that was to betolerated. Inquisitors began reviewing religious beliefs,
condemning victims to imprisonment, torture and
public execution for failing to believe the right things.
This state of affairs persisted and plunged Christian
societies into a 1000-year long dark ages. If the Arians
had survived the onslaught and been the religion that
the Empire left behind, we would have been left with aChristianity that would have left a glowing legacy of
Jesus. Instead, the Nicene's violence and intolerance
won out, and the 'ages of faith' that resulted darkened
humanity from the fifth until the fifteenth century.
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"Arian Christianity" by Vexen Crabtree (2008)
y Gnostic Christians: With stories, myths andbeliefs that are exactly the same as Christian ones
in many of the little details, gnostic beliefs manage
to pre-date Christians ones by over 200 years.
They understood what the stories of the NT really
meant. Jesus didn't really exist, but was a
collection of such earlier stories, rewritten inGreek, with Greek names. This is the approach
taken by historians such as Freke & Gandy.
y Pauline / Roman Christians: When the Roman-
backed instance of Christianity went in search of
the ancient centres of Christianity, they discovered
to their horror that the Ebionites and Gnostics pre-dated them. Their un-Christian answer was to edit
verses, burn books, invent doctrines such as the
Trinity, arrest and harass the other poverty-stricken Christians until no opposition was left.
The form of Christianity that we have inherited
from the Roman Empire is far from what
Christianity originally was, yet most moderndenominations tookCappadocian-Nicene Pauline
Christianity as their starting point (and few have
moved far from it).
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During the first three Christian centuries, the practicesand beliefs found among people who called themselves
Christian were so varied that that the differences
between Roman Catholics, Primitive Baptists, and
Seventh-Day Adventists pale by comparison. Most of
these ancient forms of Christianity are unknown to
people in the world today.
In the second and third centuries there were, of course,
Christians who believed in one God. But there were
others who insisted that there were two. Some said there
were thirty. Others claimed there were 365.
"Lost Christianities" by Bart Ehrman (2003)1
The historian, in speaking of Christianity, has to be
careful to recognize the very great changes that it has
undergone, and the variety of forms that it may assumeeven at one epoch.
"History of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell
(1946)2
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In the first few centuries CE there really
was no such thing as 'the Church', only competing
factions, of which the Literalists were one.
"Jesus Mysteries" by Freke & Gandy [Book
Review] (1999)3
So what were the original, ancient forms of
Christianity like? What happened to them? We
will see!
2.6. Roman Christianity / Pauline Christianity (4th
Century +)
"StPaul - History, Letters, Influences and Instructions;Gnosticism and Mithraism" by Vexen Crabtree (1999)
The gnostic Mithraists and Jewish Ebionites formed
the very first Christians of the first century, with
practices and beliefs based respectively on Gnostic and
Judaistic rituals, symbols and practices. Pauline
Christians dispensed with the difficult Jewish laws and
became popular amongst gentiles, soon out-numberingthe Jewish Christians, causing them to be secluded and
eventually suppressed. Increasing literalism amongst
roman converts then led the Pauline Christians to
become obsessed with enforcing their literal
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elements such as there being twelve disciples were
similarly present in other more ancient religions
and sometimes with an astonishing amount of
duplication. First century critics of Christianityvoiced accusations that Christianity was nothing
but another copy of common religions.
All the actual sayings and teachings of Jesus were
also not new, and much of the time speechesattributed to Jesus are more like collections of
Jewish and Pagan sayings. Even distinctive texts
like the Sermon on the Mount are not unique. If
we remove all the content that Jesus could not
have heard and repeated himself, there is nothingelse left. If we remove the supernatural elements
of Christianity that are copies of already existing
thought and religion, there is nothing left which is
unique! Even many of the sayings of subsequent
Christians are not unique; Jesus appears to not
have taught anyone anything that was not already
present in the common culture of the time. This
shows us that not only did Christianity follow on,
as expected, from previous thought in history but
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that we do not even need to believe in God or
supernatural events in order to account for the
history of Christianity. Stephen Hodge studied the
Dead Sea Scrolls, which were written some time
between 170BCE and 68BCE6, and very usefully
lists many of the similarities found in the Dead
Sea Scrolls to the teachings and organisation of
Jewish Christianity. He also concludes that these
Jewish documents make the teachings and
appearance of Jewish Christianity less
revolutionary.... the collection is really an invaluable cross-
section of religious material that reveals for the
first time just how rich and varied Jewish spirituallife was at that time. The scrolls offer an
intellectual and devotional landscape into whichJesus and his movement can be placed. No longer
does Jewish Christianity seem an inexplicable,
isolated occurrence. [...]
In other words, the true value of the Dead SeaScrolls is that they help provide a genuine context
for what was to become Christianity. For example,
they tell us just how widespread was the
expectation and longing for a saving Messiah
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among Jews at that time, and that there were a
number of competing theories about the expected
role of this Messiah in the world ofJudaism. The
scrolls also reveal that the expectation found in theGospels that the end of the world was imminent
was a dominant belief in many quarters in Judaea.
All biblical scholars agree that, apart from their
intrinsic value, the sectarian scrolls are of
tremendous importance as background information
to the social and religious conditions in Judaea thatled to the rise of Christianity. [... There are] subtle
implications that can be derived from the Qumran
texts, for they not only provide interesting parallels
to Christian concepts and practice but tend toreduce the uniqueness of the Yeshua movement. It
is reasonable to assume that there was perhaps notthat much direct contact between most members of
each community, but that there was a pool of
religious language and beliefs shared by many
other Jewish groups which have long since
disappeared.
"DeadSea Scrolls
"by Stephen Hodge (2001)7
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3.3. Christian Arguments Defending the Similarities
of Christianity to Paganism
The fact that many pagan religions had many of the
same dates, beliefs and practices as Christians led laterChristians to denounce them as 'satanic imitations'.
Theologians made the famous argument that the Devil
had created these pagan religions so that people would
think that Christianity was just a developed copy of
them. The Cardinal Newman argued that (be it God or
Satan's fiat) these pagan religions merely prepared
people to accept Christianity. In other words, god madepagan religions in order to teach people Christianity,
before revealing actualChristianity.
To Newman, 'Pagan literature,
philosophy and mythology were but a preparation for
the Gospel.' His Protestant counterpart, Bishop Westcott
of Durham, praised Greek thought for representingseveral stages in the unfolding of divine purpose.
Gladstone determined 'to prove the intimate connection
between the Hebrew and Olympian revelations', and
told the House of Commons that Greek mythology had
prepared minds for some of Christ's teachings. Kingsley
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agreed that it contained essential lessons in the human
relationship with the divine.
"The Triumph of the Moon: AHistory of Modern Pagan
Witchcraft" by Prof. R. Hutton (1999)8
Unfortunately, it seems that all such arguments are only
half-truths. If there is a progression of human belief,
then it implies that Christianity is itself not the final
truth. Islam, for example, claims to be host to the
teachings of the prophet that followed on from Jesus. If
this progressive march continues, then Christianityitself may well just be a stepping-stone for another
religion.
4. Literal Christianity: The Loss of
Symbolism by the Fifth Century
Jesus may well have started out as the creation ofGnostics, who were telling a symbolic story with
many parables, much mysticism, and little
historical truth. But this story paired well with theJewish community who were expecting an actual
Messiah to arrive. Whether or not Jesus existed as
an actual person, it soon transpired that the
generations after his supposed existence came tobelieve in him has an actual person. Although St
Paul wrote exactly like a gnostic in all his earlywritings, Greek authors forged seven epistles with
a strong literalist slant, which they then included in
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the Christian Bible. The sanction of an official
canon of Christian texts at the expense of all others
was the first major step towards literalist
Christianity. By the 4th century, the PaulineChristians had violently enforced their vision of a
real, historical Jesus. Christianity has become
increasingly literalist, and recent centuries have
seen the rising of fundamentalist Christianity,
which takes nearly all Biblical stories at literal face
value.
m
Paul's epistles make up 7 of the Books of the
Bible. Also, six more were written in Paul's name
at later dates (in some cases some believe the text
was written over 80 years after Paul's death).There are 13 epistles (epistles) which were
canonized into the Bible under the name of Paul.
The authentic writings are gnostic, whereas the
later pseudonymous texts are more literalist and
misogynistic.
"StPaul - History, Letters, Influences and
Instructions; Gnosticism and Mithraism" by
Vexen Crabtree (1999)
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The history of Christianity - from the death on the
cross onwards - is the history of a gradual and ever
coarser misunderstanding of an original
symbolism.
"The AntiChrist" by Friedrich Nietzsche (1888)9
5.1. The Cathars / Albigenses
The Marcionites of the 2nd century were lost to oppression,
however, their form of Christianity was not completely
eradicated. The Paulicians (followers of Marcion) and
Manicheans fused to form the Bulgarian Bogomils, who liketheir founding sects, were oppressed. But the Bogomils were
carried by Crusaders to Italy and France, where their gnostic-seeming beliefs flourished and were widely accepted.
The most interesting, and also the
largest, of the heretical sects were the Cathari, who, in the
South of France, are better known as Albigenses. [Their
beliefs] were widely held in Northern Italy, and in the Southof France they were held by the great majority [...]. The cause
of this wide diffusion of heresy was partly disappointment at
the failure of the Crusades, but mainly moral disgust at the
wealth and wickedness of the clergy. [...] The Church was rich
and largely worldly; very many priests were grossly immoral.
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[...] The more the Church claimed supremacy of religious
grounds, the more plain people were shocked by the contrast
between profession and performance. [...]
It seems that the Cathari were dualists and that, like theGnostics, they considered the Old Testament Jehovah a
wicked demiurge, the true God being revealed in the New
Testament. They regarded matter as essentially evil, and
believed that for the virtuous there is no resurrection of the
body. The wicked, however, will suffer transmigration into
the bodies of animals. On this ground they were vegetarians,
abstaining even from eggs, cheese and milk. They ate fish,
however, because they believed that fishes are not sexuallygenerated. All sex was abhorrent to them [...]. They accepted
the New Testament more literally than did the orthodox; they
abstained from oaths, and turned the other cheek.
"History of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell (1946)10
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