061: Mithraism Vs. Christianity - Part II

Reader Open Air challenged me to expound on what little research I have on Mithraism to include visuals as well. Since I am not one to back out on an "argument", I present to you a short and sweet visual journey into Mithraism.

ROCK-SOLID THEORY?
There have been some claims that if there were any similarities between Christianity and Mithraism, they were to be found in the arts of both religions. While I am not able to give you a comparative study of art and artefacts from both periods, I will however give you some visuals that might explain my previous post. In case you just joined us and are too lazy to scroll down and read, here's a gist of what this is all about. Some people claim that Christianity is a carbon-copy religion of Mithraism. I, however do not buy into this.


Artefacts illustrating the birth of Mithras

My skepticism towards this theory is based on the fact that Mithraism is too ill-documented to offer a substantial argument on this subject. In some accounts, the god Mithra is born of a virgin, just like Jesus. In other stories, Mithra popped out of rock. In yet another version, he sprang out of a tree. If these other versions were true, wouldn't it question the credibility of the allegations that Christianity borrowed from Mithraism?

THE VIRGIN ROCK
So, how did Mithras come about? Did he have a virgin mother? Or did he in fact pop out of a rock? How do we even know for sure? The proponents of Mithraism can't seem to even agree when it was that Mithras walked the earth. Some say 4,000 years BC, others claim 1,500 BC and still others think it might have been later.

As I have stressed, most of the Christian-Mithraism comparison found online are unfortunately written by people with the sole purpose of debunking Christianity. Other, more unbiased Mithraic researches offer little or no comparison at all, of the religion to that of Christianity. For more information and pictures, do go to The Virtual Mithraeum", Mithraism.com and Mithraeum. Go on, read them.

DO WE HAVE A VERDICT?
As for visual proof, three measly pictures of Mithra's birth is all I can offer you. I have scoured the internet for more artisitic depictions of Mithra's birth but I could find none. Regrettably, I also cannot offer you any information with regards to the pieces. I could not find any studies nor any carbon-dating results for these pieces.

Now, I'm no expert. I have no idea if Mithra was indeed born of a virgin, but looking at the archaelogical evidence, I'd have to say no. Nope. Sorry, not this guy. But hey, don't take my word for it. Look at the archaelogical "facts". I did not bother to give any comparison in respect to Christian art for the simple reason that these works were produced long after Jesus. They were commission by the Church and were based on the Bible. The early followers - meaning the Apostles, did not create effigies nor idols of their Lord for the simple reason that that would have profaned God's commandments. Yes, that's the one about not making graven images.

Like I said, I'm not going to be rushing off to worship at any Mithraic temple anytime soon. This week, I was going to blog about allegations that Muslims pray to a Moon God but I got sidetracked. Perhaps next week. Meantime, to all Christians, Happy Easter!

a freudian spit generated @ 4:43 PM | |

 
060: Mithraism Vs. Christianity

Over the course of our history, religion had been a big thing where mankind was concerned. Just as much as some people want to prove the existence of their Gods, others want to disprove the very notion that any god created the world. Today, I give you a piece of my mind on the Mitraism vs. Christianity debate. Or more appropriately, debacle.

INCIDENTS OF COINCIDENCE
Christianity began approximately two millennia ago, with the birth of Jesus Christ. Mithraism, however found its roots in Persia (some say Rome) a little earlier, some say shortly before Christ, while others are compelled to believe it started 4,000 years ago. Both religion tells of a saviour born of a virgin and sent to save mankind. In both cases, the saviour is killed only to be resurrected three days later. Both saviours had 12 apostles. The similarities do not end just there. There are more but you'll have to go read them yourself.

Mithraism became extinct when Constantine declared Catholicism as the official religion of Rome. It was only in the last few years that some people sought to revive Mithraism again. But here's where things begin to irritate me. I am puzzled as to why anyone would want to bring back Mithraism. Is it because Mithra said so in some old, forgotten lore? Or do people just do it because the very defies Christianity - just to watch this worldwide institution fall apart, perhaps? Or maybe, people just think its cool to bring back a religion that nobody wanted. As far as I'm concerned, any "religion" that doesn't endure the test of time isn't worth a damn.

HITS AND MYTHS
And since we're so adamant about bringing back this myth-like religion, why don't we just revive the Norse gods. Bring em all back, I say! We could use a no-nonsense guy like Odin. How about his cool son, Thor the god of thunder and his shithead brother, Loki the god of lies. Why don't we bring back the Greek gods too. Zeus, Adonis, Venus and who can forget our favourite demi-god, Hercules. C'mon people, there's got to be a good reason why people stopped worshipping these gods. Perhaps mankind got wise and stopped seeing them as gods. Yes, the stories were nice and exciting but that does not mean they were true.

Some of you might say that Jesus is a myth too. Some of you might even say the same for Muhammad, Confucius and even Gautama Buddha. Now I'm open to the possibility that these guys may have been conmen, or just some brilliantly charismatic persons in their society. But surely you'll accept that these guys have endeared simply because they were real people who actually walked the earth. These religions, whether or not truly of God, have endured the test of time simply because there were eyewitness accounts. Let's take Buddha for instance. Whether or not you considered him enlightened, simple logic dictates that he existed. The Chinese travelled miles to see the man and their writings concur that they indeed spoke to him. In the same vein, whether or not Jesus was the Son of God, you cannot deny that he once walked the earth. While the Jews, Christians and Muslims are at loggerheads of his divinity, all of them agreed that he was real.

LET THEM FIGHT IT OUT
So what of Mithra? Fact is, I'm no authority on any of this but I find writings on Mithraism contain far too much contradictions for my liking. It seems to me that most of what is written of the Mithraism-Christianity parallels is solely for the purpose of disproving Christianity. However, as always I take the stand that any allegation against any religion is worth examining, every theory deserves to be heard. Whether or not Christianity borrowed from Mithraism or Mithraism borrowed from Christianity, the arguments are entertaining, if not compelling. Click this, it's really good.

As for me, I will not be leaving my worldly possessions to join the priesthood of Mithra anytime soon, but hey, I have no problems if you'd like to. Whatever lights your candles, people!

By the way, you'll notice that I'm blogging less these days. Unfortunately for me, a new designation at a new office means less time on the net. When once blogging was a hobby, it has become a luxury these days. I don't even read other people's blogs anymore. In fact, whatever little time I do get on the net, I find myself reading and researching the next posting. Oh yes, in the next one I'll be looking at some allegations that Muslims pray to a Moon God! Stay tuned.

a freudian spit generated @ 3:41 PM | |