Christianity, a Plagiarised Version of Mithraism

(Adapted from an article written by Bahram Maskanian)

The worship of the God Mithra became common throughout the Roman Empire, particularly among the Roman civil service and military. Indeed, Mithraism and Christianity were competitors until the 4th century. Mithra was believed to have been born on the 25^th of December, whose birth was witnessed by shepherds and Magi bearing gifts, the Three Wise Men. His Birthday was celebrated as the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (The Birth of the Unconquered Sun). Followers believed that Mithra was born of a virgin. During his life, Mithra performed miracles, cured illnesses and cast out demons. Mithra celebrated a Last Supper with his 12 Disciples. He ascended to heaven at the time of the Spring Equinox, around March the 21st.

The above story is very similar to the story of Jesus, or Yeshua, his real name. However, Mithra and his religion predated Jesus by 2,000 years. The earliest known examples of Mithra-worship date back 4,000 years, during the Persian Empire. Mithra was the son of Ahura-Mazda, the divine God of the heavens. Mithra and Ahura-Mazda were strong influences on early Babylonian beliefs. The Zoroastrians arrived on the scene in the 6th century BCE and absorbed Mithra and Ahura-Mazda into their own culture. Ahura-Mazda became the God of Good and Ahriman the God of Evil.

Soon after this Zoroastrian-Babylonian takeover, around 580 BCE, the Babylonians were holding the Jews in captivity. The Jews were originally Henotheists, but later became heavily influenced by this dualistic concept of Good vs Evil. The Holy book of the Zoroastrians is called the Avesta of Zarathustra (Zoroaster is the Greek word for the Persian Zarathustra). Mithraism gradually declined in the Roman Empire, with the arrival of Zoroastrian philosophy. However, it saw another resurgence and became very popular during the late Roman Empire, around the first century CE. The Jews had been influenced by Mithraism for centuries and had adopted many Zoroastrian beliefs. These influences, in turn, had an impact on Christianity.

1. Mithra was sent down by the Father, God, to confirm his contract with Mankind. The Persian word Mithra literally means 'Contract'.

2. Mithra was born of a virgin, called Anahita.

3. Mithra was born in a stable on December 25th.

4. Mithra was visited by wise men bearing gifts.

5. Mithra had 12 disciples.

6. Mithra was worshipped by Darius, conqueror of Babylon .

7. Mithra celebrated a last supper with his disciples before his death.

8. Mithra died to atone for the sins of Mankind.

9. Mithra was resurrected on a Sunday.

10. Mithra ascended to Heaven to rejoin his Father.

11. On Judgment Day, the dead will be resurrected and judged by Mithra.

12. Mithra will send sinners to Hell and the faithful to Heaven.

13. On Judgment Day there will be a final conflict between Good and Evil. The forces of Evil will be destroyed.

14. Mithra is part of a Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) that took human form.

15. Mithra is depicted as having a halo.

16. Mithra’s followers ate bread and drank wine, representing his flesh and blood.

17. Mithra’s followers were baptised.

18. Saturday and Sunday were days of rest.

The stories of Mithra and Jesus are very much alike. Even the gifts brought by the wise men were the same. Christianity appears to be a plagiarisation of the much earlier cult of Mithraism. Even the bread disks that the worshipers of Mithra ate during their Mass, symbolising the flesh of their God, was marked with a cross hundreds of years before it became a Christian symbol.

Paul is the figure largely responsible for bringing the Christian message to the Roman Empire. Paul’s vision on the road to Damascus is likely to have resulted from a Temporal Lobe seizure. Every morning for 20 years Paul thought the end of the world would be on that day. This no doubt had a strong influence on his teachings. Paul was born a Roman citizen at Tarsus in Cilicia, the son of a Jew, belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. He was known originally as Saul. He was arrested whilst preaching and taken into custody near Troas. He was transferred to Rome and beheaded, when he was 65 or 67 years-old. His remains were buried on the road to Ostia. Paul transformed a minor and obscure sect of Judaism, by adopting Mithraic concepts.

Mithraism was suppressed when Constantine I decided to transform it into a Roman version of Christianity. Constantine was a follower of Mithra, until he declared December 25 the official birthday of Jesus in 313 CE and adopted the cult of Christianity as the state religion. He was raised in the Eastern court of the Emperor Diocletian. In 305 Constantius and Galerius succeeded Maximian and Diocletian as Western and Eastern emperors, respectively. In 306 Constantius died in York, England. Soon after, Constantine was proclaimed Western emperor by the Roman army. However, Galerius proclaimed Flavius Valerius Severus as the Western emperor. Maximian and his son, Maxentius, defeated Severus, who was replaced by Licinius. Constantine invaded Italy and killed Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, 312 CE. Constantine and Licinius were now confirmed as the Western and Eastern emperors respectively. In 313 they signed the Edict of Milan, extending tolerance to Christians throughout the Empire. In 324 Constantine crushed Licinius and became sole ruler of the Empire. Constantine presided over the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, which condemned Arianism. In 330, Constantine rebuilt Byzantium as his capital, renaming it Nova Roma. Constantine was responsible for the Christianisation of the Roman Empire. His commitment to Christianity was reflected in the building of the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople, the original St. Peter's basilica in Rome and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.