Mithra: The Pagan Christ

[Apostatenproud]

Here's an interesting article. The videos below cover some significant bits on Mithra as well.

Mithra: The Pagan Christ
http://www.truthbeknown.com/mithra.htm

Some interesting videos on the same topic

From Osiris to Christ - part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_IdFsTaQ0A

From Osiris to Christ - part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSzMFR3N2uw

[Truth be Told]

Oh jeeze...Something like this came up today in my history class.

I will say this, for whatever it's worth: Without even directing your attention to JP Holding, I have researched this topic myself, many times...And such a comparison is almost completely without merit.

Here's a list of facts you will find from books on the subject which do not even delve into these arguments:

1) Mithra and Mithras are loosely related figures, the name differences are due to respective geographical location (that is to say, one is from Persia and the other from Rome, there is lack of consistency in the details regarding the mythical stories and ritualistic practices given this fact).

2) Mithras was not born of a virgin but a rock. A rock. Not a virgin woman.

3) Mithraism was the primiere religion of choice for the Roman military, meaning at the very least that the infant Christian religion (which was primarily regarded as a Reform Judaism sect for the first three hundred years of its existence) would not have had the same exposure or even appeal that Mithraism did. Meaning, that this alone makes the case that there are significant differences between the two. Christianity at this point in time would have been regarded as mostly pacifistic and opposed to use of physical/military force in coming to resolutions. If the two were so alike, why do many historians regard the integration of Christianity as the primary contributor to the downfall of Rome?

4) Mithra/Mithras is not a Messiah figure and was not crucified on a cross. He slaughters a bull, which is probably a representation of some victorious conquest. Not a symbolic means of offering salvation to humanity.

5) Mithra/Mithras didn't have twelve disciples, he's accompanied by figures of the zodiac.

6) One of the few notable similarities between Mithraism and Christianity is that they do involve a "last supper" (or in this case, a dining festivity).

7) Last one that comes to mind, another similarty between the two religions is the use of the term "Father" in reference to clergy. But before you get hasty here, keep in mind that the Bible is specifically against this reference to any practitioner of the faith, it is a label reserved only for God:

Matthew 23:9 "Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven."

The fact that this is present in Catholicism is merely a matter of coincidence and is more aligned with the theory that Constantine had assimilated pagan practices in the Christian religion to preserve the Roman empire from total political collapse. Not because early Christians were unoccupied and wanted to plagarize.