mithraism and christianity

7/30/2019 Mithraism and Christianity

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Mithraism, Masonry, and Christianity

There has been occasional reference to the ancient mystery religion on this forum, and specificlooks at ancient connections between Mithraism, Masonry, and Christianity. Of particular interestis the fact that Mithraism is frequently referenced by historians and scholars as being a 'sort ofancient Freemasonry' -- a male fraternity, popular in the military and civil leadership, emphasisingbrotherly unity. Others make comparisons between some of Mithraism's practices and thedevelopment of the Christian Church.

Is Freemasonry modern Mithraism? Is Christianity borrowed Mithraism? Is Mithraism paganizedChristianity?

It is interesting, first of all, to observe that those most stridently asserting a Mithraic origin ofChristianity are very much NOT the handful of leading historians, scholars, and authentic expertson Mithraism. Real experts are quick to acknowledge that not only is Mithraism little understood,but that evidence for any such syncretism is tenuous at best.

A few points then:

The births of Jesus and Mithras

Mithras is born, full grown, out of a rock, carrying a torch in each hand. Jesus is born an infant, ofa woman. Although it is likely that the stable and manger into which Jesus was born were locatedin a cave, providing another tenous 'borrowing', this point is an assumption made by scholars. Tothe Gospel writers the fact that Jesus was born in a cave was irrelevant. What was significantwas the humble, even humiliating, circumstances of his birth. Further, although worshipped incaves, nothing suggests that Mithras was actually born in a cave himself, unless you assume acave of sorts left behind from where he emerged from the rock. His birthplace is usually given asnear a river and under a tree.Parallel: fabricated.

Shepherds attend their births. Shepherds and kings both attend the birth of Jesus, the highestand the lowest--as has been said by another, The humble and uneducated, and those learned

enough to know their learning was nothing. Shepherds assist in the 'delivery' of Mithras from therock, and offer sacrifice. However, the time of Mithras' birth is before the creation of Man! Wheredo these shepherds come from? Just an observation--the most ancient Indian/Persian Mithrasstories do not tell the rock-birth story. These seem to be a much later --Roman-- accretion. Andmost of what is known of Roman Mithras is post-first century. It is as likely that Mithraismborrowed the detail of shepherds from Christianity than the other way around.Parallel: tenuous.

In fact, the first Apology of St. Justin Martyr complains of exactly that regarding another similarity:"...so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, andfrom which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of thatJesus who was made flesh. . . . Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries ofMithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed

with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or canlearn." [ca. 165 A.D.]

In any event, the Christian Eucharist is the fulfillment and continuation of the Jewish Passoversupper, which obviously predates both Christian and Mithraic influence by centuries.

Finally, there is a quote attributed to the Mithraic rites which echoes almost word for word thoseof Jesus regarding eating his flesh and blood to attain salvation. Unfortunately, this quotationappears nowhere in the historical records of actual Mithraism, but in a Medieval European text:and it is attributed to Zoroaster, notMithras!


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Parallel: fabricated at best; possibly a backwards example.

The lives of Jesus and Mithras

It is asserted that Mithras, like Jesus, was an itinerant teacher with twelve companions. Well,Jesus was certainly a teacher. It is questionable how much he actually travelled, despite thefanciful notions that he got himself to India and Tibet during years preceding his public ministry.Of course, what religion does not feature a teacher? Buddha fits that description, as does Moses.Jesus certainly did have the twelve disicples with him, and the number twelve was importantenough that a replacement was elected when Judas died. It is usually asserted that the numberof disciples reflects the twelve tribes of the Hebrews; whether the fact twelve tribes are recordedreflects some astrological or calendrical significance is irrelevant here. But did Mithras also havetwelve companions? Assertions of this are frequent, but citations are scarce. The nearest thingthat exists seems to be a drawing of Mithras surrounded by the zodiac--twelve figures, conceded--but hardly companions or followers in the sense that the disciples were. [This, at least, is themost recent reliable interpretation I have seen that is made by actual scholars.]Parallel: nonexistent

The missions of Jesus and Mithras --the heart of their stories-- are absolutely unconnected.

Mithras kills a bull. Jesus offers his own life as a sacrifice to God. In no way is Mithrasassociated with any sort of atoning self-sacrifice.Parallel: nonexistent.

Jesus died and rose again. There is simply no credible evidence to show Mithras followed theotherwise well-known 'dead and resurrected god' motif which is, agreed, well-known to mythologyand folklore. The sole reference is actually found in the early Christian writer Tertullian's"Prescription Against Heretics" where he states:

'if my memory still serves me, Mithra . . . sets his marks on the foreheads of his soldiers;celebrates also the oblation of bread, and introduces an image of a resurrection, and before asword wreathes a crown . . . '

So this assertion is made by a Christian --and note he even disclaims the accuracy of theaccount!-- obviously well into the Christian era. Nowhere does it aver that it is Mithras who isresurrected, or even that a resurrection is enacted, simply that an 'image of a resurrection' isshown. Note that bread appears ceremonially again -- it is once more just as easy to allege thatMithraism adopted this from Christianity, since obviously Mithraism was a very syncretic practice,whereas, despite what it said, the teachings and disputes of the early Church are really quite welldocumented--certainly much more so than Mithraism or Freemasonry.Parallel: tenuous at best, and possibly a backwards example.

The lion is associated with Mithras. In a few accounts, he is accompanied by a lion, in oneArmenian variation he is identified with a lion by kill ing it. However, 'The Lion of the Tribe ofJudah' is well known to the Old Testament prophets --as it is is to Masonry-- and in any event, thelion is so well-known and widespread a symbol all over the world that any attempt to draw

connections yields nonsense. One might as well assert the influence of the Chin Dynasty on theHouse of York, as the lion figures so prominently in English and Chinese legend.Parallel: Irrelevant

The leader of the Mithraism was known as 'Father' and lived in Rome. The early church and thepope [father] were headquartered in Rome. Well--not quite. It would be a while before theBishop of Rome claimed exclusive use of the title Pope. Patriarchs in the eastern churches alsostyled themselves Pope, as does he head of the Coptic Church in Egypt to this day. So 'Pope'and 'Rome' do not necessarily attach to each other like coffee and cream. Further -- and withoutwishing to inflame any sensitivities-- it would be a few hundred years before the Bishop of Rome


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began explicitly asserting his primacy over the other ancient sees of Antioch and Alexandria, botholder than Rome. So, leadership of the Church was not necessarily seen as vesting in the headof the Church in Rome during this critical time frame.

Parallel: tenuous.

Mithraism was a closed fraternal organization: all male, mostly military, and emphasising a good-natured fraternalism. Christianity was secretive and underground only for the reason it waspersecuted. All were welcome, and for the times, it was rather progressive regarding women,especially in comparison to Mithraism, which completely barred females -- as does Masonry.Although many denominations still prohibit women from the clergy, Christianity begins with atleast the theoretical proposition that all men and women, of all races, are equal in Christ. Thisalone is a significant advance over Judaism and most pagan ideologies.

Mithraism was an initiatory fraternity, with seven degrees conferred. Christianity can reasonablybe seen to have two levels of membership, the catachumenate and the faithful. Mithraic initiateswould dress and/or act out in some manner the persona of the degree being conferred: crow, lion,soldier, etc. Christian initiation was usually the single process of baptism and chrismation with oil.

Parallels: slight.

The problem with drawing parallels is like unto that of star- or cloud- gazing: you look long andhard enough, you will start seeing things that just aren't there. There isn't really a Hunter or aBear or a Cross made of stars in the sky; that cloud may have looked like an octupus, but it wasstill just a cloud. The famous 'Martian Canals' come from the same place. There is motivation atwork -- the ancients sought order in a Universe which they feared was meaningless; PercivalLowell sought life in a Universe he feared otherwise uninhabited.

Likewise, moderns who cannot countenance the possibility that Jesus Christ lived, died, and roseagain seek to extinguish the idea that he even lived at all. [You will notice that few people botherchallenging the proposition that Mohammed, or Buddha, or Zoroaster lived. Even Moses is

usually not called into question. But Jesus of Nazareth? Get out the big box o' erasers.]

There is an important principle which today tends to come up in pop-science discussions, often interms of the global warming controversey: 'Correlation is not causation.' This is sometimesdemonstrated in the 'Pirate/temperature graph': a graph showing the decrease in pirates overthree hundred years, with the accompanying rise in mean global temperature. There is acorrelation! The fewer the pirates, the warmer the earth. The fallacy is in assuming that one isactually causing the other.

Similarly, there is a fallacy in assuming that because one group of people employs, say, a crossin a certain ritual, it must mean that all groups using crosses have a common origin. Bread andwine are common emblems throughout western civilisation. Need we really assume that justbecause Group A employs a ceremonial meal using bread and wine, then Group B, which also

does so, took that from A?

To show how easily correspondences may be made, look at these interesting parallels betweenMasonry and my own confession, the Eastern Orthodox Church:

-The All-Seeing Eye. The single eye is a frequent symbol of God in the OrthodoxChurch. Sometimes in a triangle, usually not.

-The cloud-covered canopy. The ceiling of an Orthodox church is decorated with ikons ofvarious saints, as well as a central-overhead ikon of Christ Pantokrator, the King of All. Thus,the ceiling is symbolic of heaven: in fact, my own parish church, the ceiling is actually painted


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as the sky, sky blue with clouds.-The building mirrors the world. Just as the ceiling is symbolic heaven, the church interior

as a whole symbolises the whole world, and as Masonic ritual teaches us, the building isoriented with the altar to the east.

-The tyled door. Well, not quite, not anymore. The liturgy of the Orthodox Church is soancient, it references a time when the new converts, catechumens, were required to leavethe sanctuary of the church and wait in the narthex. The doors would be securely closed.Although now longer actually done, the priest still calls out "The doors! The doors!' at one point inthe service where this would have occured Oh: does that sound familiar as well? A 'firststep' class of membership, not yet privy to the complete teaching?

-John the Baptist. Just as John the Baptist is honoured in the Masonic Lodge, he has aparticular place of honour in Orthodoxy. In the front of an Orthodox Church, there is always aprominent ikon of the Baptist just to the right of the Christ ikon.

So, this is not to suggest a connection between Masonry and Orthodoxy, just to show how easy itcan be draw parallels. These are between two modern, well-known, well-documentedorganizations. The points of tangency are remarkable --there are more-- yet the fact they exist isprobably irrelevant.

What then do we make of those who would draw earth-shattering meaning from parallels drawn

between a Church 2000 years remote, and dare I say it, poorly studied or understood by theseself-professed historians, and a quasi-religious movement about which almost nothing beyond themost superficial facts are known: and reputable historians are tentative about what facts areactually known.

Those who would draw such conclusions are an embarrasment to real historians [not to mentionChristians], and are on a level in terms of credibility and scholarship with those who would findlunar landings at a Nevada soundstage, and hidden gunmen in every photo-blurred shadow of agrassy knoll.

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