kallend 2,027
micro 0
what is quite cool, for you who are interested in archeology, is that there is a temple of mithra in rome two levels below the church of St. Clement, which is located quite close to St. John Lateran, one of the 4 main Basilicas in Rome. The mithraic temple is very well preserved and is quite fascinating to see.
I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...
I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...
kallend 2,027
Quotewhat is quite cool, for you who are interested in archeology, is that there is a temple of mithra in rome two levels below the church of St. Clement, which is located quite close to St. John Lateran, one of the 4 main Basilicas in Rome. The mithraic temple is very well preserved and is quite fascinating to see.
There's an excavated Mithraic temple in London, too, not far from St. Paul's Cathedral. Being old, I remember the discovery (1954) during reconstruction of the City after WWII.
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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.
The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.
QuoteActually it was the other way around.
Actually, it's more like a chicken/egg scenario. Mithraism could very well have had an influence on Christianity; it is not known which had an influence on which.
As an aside, ever hear of the Irish saint Brigid? The Celts in Ireland didn't much fancy the idea of giving up worship of their god Brigid so St. Patrick, being the brilliant and persuasive man that he was, made Brigid a saint. Problem solved.
To me, Christianity is a pagan religion. The trinity itself is not a monotheistic concept.
Another example (one of many) is an annual celebration in rural Italy involving snakes. The celebration is an ancient one, actually dating back to pre-Roman times. Interesting how they adapted it into Christianity.
Micro: I read about that Mithraic temple in Rome, and I plan on seeing it next time I visit.
markharju: I don't think binary as you do, so I'm sorry, but I'm not going to turn this into some retarded, tired old Christianity vs. Islam argument. I have no interest in doing so.
Be humble, ask questions, listen, learn, follow the golden rule, talk when necessary, and know when to shut the fuck up.
QuoteAs an aside, ever hear of the Irish saint Brigid? The Celts in Ireland didn't much fancy the idea of giving up worship of their god Brigid so St. Patrick, being the brilliant and persuasive man that he was, made Brigid a saint. Problem solved.
To me, Christianity is a pagan religion. The trinity itself is not a monotheistic concept.
Another example (one of many) is an annual celebration in rural Italy involving snakes. The celebration is an ancient one, actually dating back to pre-Roman times. Interesting how they adapted it into Christianity.
yes, there are many examples of rites & customs in any religion adapting to new cultures & new situations.
The same is true with Mithraism.
Speed Racer
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pajarito 0
Quotemithra was the predecessor and foundation of the jesus myth
QuoteSome critics of Christianity teach that the Christian religion was not based upon divine revelation but that it borrowed from pagan sources, Mithra being one of them. They assert that the figure of Mithra has many commonalities with Jesus, too common to be coincidence.
Mithraism was one of the major religions of the Roman Empire which was derived from the ancient Persian god of light and wisdom. The cult of Mithraism was quite prominent in ancient Rome, especially among the military. Mithra was the god of war, battle, justice, faith, and contract. According to Mithraism, Mithra was called the son of God, was born of a virgin, had disciples, was crucified, rose from the dead on the third day, atoned for the sins of mankind, and returned to heaven. Therefore, the critics maintain that Christianity borrowed its concepts from the Mithra cult. But is this the case? Can it be demonstrated that Christianity borrowed from the cult of Mithra as it developed its theology?
First of all, Christianity does not need any outside influence to derive any of its doctrines. All the doctrines of Christianity exists in the Old Testament where we can see the prophetic teachings of Jesus as the son of God (Zech. 12:10), born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), was crucified (Psalm 22), the blood atonement (Lev. 17:11), rose from the dead (Psalm 16:10), and salvation by faith (Hab. 2:4). Also, the writers of the gospels were eyewitnesses (or directed by eyewitnesses as were Mark and Luke) who accurately represented the life of Christ. So, what they did was write what Jesus taught as well as record the events of His life, death, and resurrection. In other words, they recorded history, actual events and had no need of fabrication or borrowing.
There will undoubtedly be similarities in religious themes given the agrarian culture. Remember, an agriculturally based society, as was the people of the ancient Mediterranean area, will undoubtedly develop theological themes based upon observable events, i.e., the life, death, and seeming resurrection of life found in crops, in cattle, and in human life. It would only be natural for similar themes to unfold since they are observed in nature and since people created gods related to nature. But, any reading of the Old Testament results in observing the intrusion of God into Jewish history as is recorded in miracles and prophetic utterances. Add to that the incredible archaeological evidence verifying Old Testament cities and events and you have a document based on historical fact instead of mythical fabrication. Furthermore, it is from these Old Testament writings that the New Testament themes were developed.
QuoteIf the argument that pagan mythologies predated Christian teachings and therefore Christianity borrowed from them is true, then it must also be truth that the pagan religions borrowed from the Jewish religion because it is older than they are!
QuoteAt best, Mithraism only had some common themes with Christianity (and Judaism) which were recorded in both the Old and New Testaments. What is far more probable is that as Mithraism developed, it started to adopt Christian concepts.
Doesn't the religion of Mithra prove that Christianity is false?
tbrown 26
Actually, it's more like a chicken/egg scenario. Mithraism could very well have had an influence on Christianity; it is not known which had an influence on which.
To me, Christianity is a pagan religion. The trinity itself is not a monotheistic concept.
To me, Christianity is a pagan religion. The trinity itself is not a monotheistic concept.
A great deal of Christian belief and tradition came into being after the Romans' suppression of the Jewish uprising of A.D. 70. Prior to that time, Christians were mostly an apocalyptic sect of Jews who literally believed that Rome would be overthrown and a righteous government under God restored for a thousand years. Literally. So when the Romans moved in and leveled Jerusalem, it was only natural that they also wiped out as many of these troublemakers as they could get their hands on, which they did. Thus the earliest Christian sect, the Jewish Christians, were wiped out. The remaining non-Jewish survivors found it necessary to put as much distance between themselves and apocalyptic nationalism as they possibly could. Besides which, as non-Jewish pagans from all parts of the Roman world, they found it easy to incorporate all sorts of pagan concepts into some of the Jewish beliefs they'd adopted (highly developed moral and ethical codes, intellectual debate, and so on).
The Trinity, even Jesus' divine nature, are distinctly pagan concepts and utterly foreign to Jewish thinking. Virgin birth was the ultimate complement of the ancient world - "whatta guy !". Other great men of the day, notably Alexander the Great, were also said to be of virgin births.
Christianity went on to acquire a great many pagan beliefs over the centuries. There were so many by the 16th century that the weight of all these pagan beliefs were a factor in precipitating the Protestant Reformation.
Personally I'm a Christian who prefers not to chuck the whole thing just because history shows it not to be literally true. There is great power to belief and nothing in history disproves the existence of an unknowable God, who can only be imperfectly understood with incomplete human concepts. No more than Christian abuses like the Inquisition invalidate other countless acts of genuine charity by ordinary believers. I can't honestly say that I've found anything in Christianity's place that offers the hope of healing or redemption that is found in this highly evolved system of belief, which continues to grow and evolve. We don't all goose step to Pat Robertson.
Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !
John, did you do her too?
I'm not THAT old!
The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.