Constantine converted the Roman Empire from Paganism to Christianity and he founded the Roman Catholic Church; the word Catholic meaning ‘universal’. Above all he inaugurated the most imperative dogma of Christianity; that Jesus was equal to God.
Constantine was also a violent tempered and cruel man whose murderous instinct was indiscriminate. He executed his eldest son, second wife, his favourite sister’s husband and many more on fallacious chargers. He condemned prisoners of war to mortal combat with wild animals, and massacred the people of North Africa.
Furthermore, Constantine was very superstitious and his ‘conversion’ to Christianity is dubious.
Constantine Bio
Constantine the Great (Flavius Valerius Constantinus) was born about 285 in the Roman province of Moesia (now Serbia). He was joint emperor from 306-323, then sole emperor from 323-337. His other major feat was relocating the capital from Rome to Byzantine.
Constantine was extremely superstitious and held the view that all religious cults should be respected to assuage their gods. He had the Christian Chi-Rho sign on his shields and standards long before the battle of Milvian Bridge. Many of his decisions were motivated by his superstitions.
He was baptised close to his death and Eusebius’s account is ambiguous, possibly because the Church may have refused to baptise him due to his lifestyle.
Constantine was also an egomaniac, who saw himself as a 'priest-king' and as important as the apostles. He had a new church of the apostles built and included a tomb for himself. He anticipated that he would share the title with the other apostles and also be an object of devotion. Constantine’s coffin and tomb were placed in the centre with monuments to the apostles on each side, thus making him the 13th and most important apostle
From Persecution To Power
The Edict of Milan, established in 313, reversed the Roman Empire’s hostile stance towards Christianity, marking a momentous event in world history.
However, the most profitable change Constantine made for Christians was that Church and State should work together closely. Therefore, in a very short period, Christians went from being persecuted to acquiring a huge amount of power.
The Council Votes
The godhood of Jesus was not revealed via a divine event. It was voted upon by a council of bishops more then three centuries after his death.
Arius, a priest of Alexandria Egypt, contended that Jesus was not equal to God but created by him. Athanasius, leader of the bishops in the west, asserted that Jesus and God were separate entities but equal to each other and of the same substance.
This dispute was threatening to divide the church and in 325 Constantine called together an Ecumenical (worldwide) Council over which he presided. The council consisted of approximately 220 bishops and took place at Nicaea in Asia Minor.
As a means of propitiation, Constantine insisted that the phrase ‘consubstantial with the father’ be inserted into the Nicene Creed and he advised all present to agree to it. In fact, Constantine had prearranged for the majority of the bishops to denounce Arius and his followers.
The Council then drew up the Nicene Creed, which is the basic doctrine of most Christian churches.
Therefore, since it was instituted that Jesus was ‘of one substance’ with the father, pronouncing him equal to God, it follows that Church material had to confirm this. Any scriptures contrary would be detrimental to this landmark decision. This resulted in the outlawing of such writings, which when seized were to be destroyed and those found to be in possession of them faced death.
The New Testament Ordered
After the Council of Nicaea Constantine ordered ‘fifty copies of the sacred Scriptures’ for the churches he was intending to build in his new capital city of Constantinople. The scholar/early church historian Eusebius then had to decide which writings to include in the New Testament in order to fulfill this request.
Eusebius had studied under Pamphilus who had in turn studied under Origen, so naturally he followed Origen’s three part list.
As is evident, the canon was not conveyed to people by a miraculous event but was assembled by men who had no greater knowledge of God than anyone else. What they chose to include in what became the Bible was material that suited their particular view.
Two bibles survived from that era: the Codex Sinaiticus (found in the monastery at Mount Sinai) and the Codex Vaticanus. The Codex Sinaiticus contains all the ‘approved’ books and several more. The earliest listing of all the books in the New Testament comes from Athanasius in 367 A.D.
Conversion Or Fusion
Constantine was initially a Pagan and his proselytism is attributed to a ‘vision’ he had before the battle of the Milvian Bridge. In this vision he saw a cross superimposed on the sun and as a result he came to believe that his victory was achieved by the power of God. This account was perpetuated by Christian apologists and Constantine himself, however, there is a discrepancy in evidence concerning the exact time, place and details of this ‘vision’.
There is also ambiguity regarding the extent of Constantine’s change of ideas. For instance, Constantine was eager to have Arius restored after initially denouncing him and his writings at the Nicene Council.
Constantine was probably a Mithraic, a cult that worshipped Mithra, the Persian god of sun and truth. It was the last great cult, originating in Asia that infiltrated Rome preceding the Christian transformation of the Empire. It has a strong resemblance to Christianity in both doctrine and rites, as did a number of late-Pagan cults.
The triumphal arch Constantine built following his ‘conversion’ is in fact a tribute to the sun-god or ‘unconquered sun’.
Size Does Matter
Constantine was also the founder of an architectural revolution. Humble ‘house-churches’ became a thing of the past. Buildings of worship became places of great ornamentation and of course size. The Christian basilica was conceived, which like many aspects of Christianity, was based on Pagan models.
Roman Gnostic Church
Given the power the Roman Catholic Church once yielded, it leaves one to speculate how differently events could have transpired had Gnostic Christianity been empowered by Constantine.
Although every institution is susceptible to corruption, the Gnostics believed in two very essential points: that each individual can communicate directly with God and that men and women are equal. Surely the legacy of such a movement would have been a more positive one.
References
Grant, M., 2001, The Roman Empire
Johnson, P., 1976, History of Christianity
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
New Testament Tampering
In 1958, in the library of Mar Saba (approximately 12 miles from Jerusalem), Dr. Morton Smith discovered a copy of a letter written by second century Church Father, Clement of Alexandria. It mentions an alternative Gospel of Mark, containing passages that were removed from the canonical version.
The letter is a reply to ‘Theodore’, imparting advise on how to deal with the Carpocratians, a sect which founded its doctrines on this alternative Gospel.
Clement accedes that this original Gospel of Mark does exist and is authentic but states that it was not meant to be disclosed to the ‘average’ Christian.
This ‘secret’ Gospel gives a follow up to the rising of Lazarus: he returns 6 days later to spend the night with Jesus, wherein he is taught ‘the mystery of the kingdom of God’.
It also features a few sentences which follow the paragraph relating Jesus’ entrance into Jericho. Despite the brevity of the passage there must have been a reason for its removal but researchers have not been able to conclude exactly why.
Then there are the sections where Jesus argues with the Pharisees concerning Jewish law. Since the Pharisees did not hold an important position at that time, these passages would have been added later when the Gospels were being edited.
Another example is the name of the place from where Jesus hailed: Nazareth. The place is not known to have existed before the 3rd century.
This example demonstrates that the Gospels are not accurate accounts of the events that unfolded, something researchers have been aware of for decades, but which only recently has become more widely known.
Testament Estimations
The New Testament was assembled over three centuries after the death of Jesus and there is no evidence for who wrote the Gospels or when they were written. There are no originals in existence, just thousands of copies with many of them fragmentary. There are also numerous discrepancies between the manuscripts, and the majority are from later centuries.
The oldest complete versions are dated to the fourth century, while the oldest remnants are of John’s gospel, thought to have been written during the second century.
The estimations of when they were written are generally as follows: Gospel of Mark - 70 CE, Gospel of Matthew - 80-85 CE, Gospel of Luke - 80-85 CE, Gospel of John - 90-120 CE. Inferences of when the Gospels were written are based on the analysis of the language used.
The Gospels cannot be cross referenced since no other texts mention Jesus, apart from the Nag Hammadi Gospels, which give an entirely different perspective on the story.
(A scant reference is made in the chronicles of Tacitus, which records that the founder of Christianity was executed.)
Furthermore, by the time the New Testament was being compiled, other Christian groups had been suppressed by the domineering faction and consequently many writings were lost.
In addition, the scriptures of ‘heresies’ and what they purported also played a part in the motivation to put together a canon of ‘orthodox’ scriptures. The New Testament was then also assembled as a rejoinder to these 'heresies'. In other words, they needed to produce material to keep up with the competition, which has rightly been likened to standard political campaign strategies.
Compiling Criterion
Some scholars suggest that three main points were observed when the New Testament was being compiled. First, the book had to be written by an apostle or an apostle’s close associate. Secondly, it had to run in accordance with ‘traditional’ Christian teachings. Thirdly, it had to be widely used in the Church and recognised as authoritative.
It is further alleged that the Church assembled the New Testament by ‘recognising and embracing those books that were inspired by God’.
Such a basis cannot be taken into account, for it cannot be concluded who was ‘inspired by God’ and who was not. Ordinary men chose which Gospels would be included and which would be omitted. However, since they did not have a better understanding of God, they were no better qualified than anyone else.
Now, as mentioned above, since we have no evidence for who wrote the Gospels, the first criterion cannot be applied. Furthermore, writings of an apostle should have been chosen above the writings of an associate, as they would have been a more credible source. However, the Gospels of apostles such as Phillip, Thomas and Mary Magdalene were excluded.
The second point states that writings had to run in accordance with ‘traditional’ Christian teachings. In actuality there were many different Christian sects, so it cannot be concluded which group was in possession of traditional teachings.
The third point states that the text had to be widely used in the Church and recognised as authoritative. Again, there can be no mode for deducing which writings are superior to others, so recognising the ‘authority’ of texts is subjective.
A point that people make is that those scriptures which were excluded from the New Testament were deemed to be ‘incompatible’ with the other contents. However, in light of the fact that no one can ascertain complete comprehension of what Jesus taught, no one can determine what was compatible and what was not.
One would assume that due to the importance Christians accord Jesus, all his teachings would be considered valuable and would not be dismissed on grounds of incompatibility.
The Biggest Gap: The Church
It is apparent that the period between the death of Jesus and the writing of the New Testament is quite large, as is the breach between the Gospels and the Church. No where in the New Testament is it mentioned that the Church should even have come into existence. It follows that the hierarchy of the clergy and the concept of the Trilogy is also absent from the Canonical Gospels.
These are but a few examples of the incongruity between the New Testament and Church teachings.
Perhaps this is why for many centuries common people were not allowed to be in possession of scriptures; they had to attend mass in order to hear the texts being read and construed by the leaders of the Church.
References
Picknett, L. & Prince, C, 1997, The Templar Revelations
The letter is a reply to ‘Theodore’, imparting advise on how to deal with the Carpocratians, a sect which founded its doctrines on this alternative Gospel.
Clement accedes that this original Gospel of Mark does exist and is authentic but states that it was not meant to be disclosed to the ‘average’ Christian.
This ‘secret’ Gospel gives a follow up to the rising of Lazarus: he returns 6 days later to spend the night with Jesus, wherein he is taught ‘the mystery of the kingdom of God’.
It also features a few sentences which follow the paragraph relating Jesus’ entrance into Jericho. Despite the brevity of the passage there must have been a reason for its removal but researchers have not been able to conclude exactly why.
Then there are the sections where Jesus argues with the Pharisees concerning Jewish law. Since the Pharisees did not hold an important position at that time, these passages would have been added later when the Gospels were being edited.
Another example is the name of the place from where Jesus hailed: Nazareth. The place is not known to have existed before the 3rd century.
This example demonstrates that the Gospels are not accurate accounts of the events that unfolded, something researchers have been aware of for decades, but which only recently has become more widely known.
Testament Estimations
The New Testament was assembled over three centuries after the death of Jesus and there is no evidence for who wrote the Gospels or when they were written. There are no originals in existence, just thousands of copies with many of them fragmentary. There are also numerous discrepancies between the manuscripts, and the majority are from later centuries.
The oldest complete versions are dated to the fourth century, while the oldest remnants are of John’s gospel, thought to have been written during the second century.
The estimations of when they were written are generally as follows: Gospel of Mark - 70 CE, Gospel of Matthew - 80-85 CE, Gospel of Luke - 80-85 CE, Gospel of John - 90-120 CE. Inferences of when the Gospels were written are based on the analysis of the language used.
The Gospels cannot be cross referenced since no other texts mention Jesus, apart from the Nag Hammadi Gospels, which give an entirely different perspective on the story.
(A scant reference is made in the chronicles of Tacitus, which records that the founder of Christianity was executed.)
Furthermore, by the time the New Testament was being compiled, other Christian groups had been suppressed by the domineering faction and consequently many writings were lost.
In addition, the scriptures of ‘heresies’ and what they purported also played a part in the motivation to put together a canon of ‘orthodox’ scriptures. The New Testament was then also assembled as a rejoinder to these 'heresies'. In other words, they needed to produce material to keep up with the competition, which has rightly been likened to standard political campaign strategies.
Compiling Criterion
Some scholars suggest that three main points were observed when the New Testament was being compiled. First, the book had to be written by an apostle or an apostle’s close associate. Secondly, it had to run in accordance with ‘traditional’ Christian teachings. Thirdly, it had to be widely used in the Church and recognised as authoritative.
It is further alleged that the Church assembled the New Testament by ‘recognising and embracing those books that were inspired by God’.
Such a basis cannot be taken into account, for it cannot be concluded who was ‘inspired by God’ and who was not. Ordinary men chose which Gospels would be included and which would be omitted. However, since they did not have a better understanding of God, they were no better qualified than anyone else.
Now, as mentioned above, since we have no evidence for who wrote the Gospels, the first criterion cannot be applied. Furthermore, writings of an apostle should have been chosen above the writings of an associate, as they would have been a more credible source. However, the Gospels of apostles such as Phillip, Thomas and Mary Magdalene were excluded.
The second point states that writings had to run in accordance with ‘traditional’ Christian teachings. In actuality there were many different Christian sects, so it cannot be concluded which group was in possession of traditional teachings.
The third point states that the text had to be widely used in the Church and recognised as authoritative. Again, there can be no mode for deducing which writings are superior to others, so recognising the ‘authority’ of texts is subjective.
A point that people make is that those scriptures which were excluded from the New Testament were deemed to be ‘incompatible’ with the other contents. However, in light of the fact that no one can ascertain complete comprehension of what Jesus taught, no one can determine what was compatible and what was not.
One would assume that due to the importance Christians accord Jesus, all his teachings would be considered valuable and would not be dismissed on grounds of incompatibility.
The Biggest Gap: The Church
It is apparent that the period between the death of Jesus and the writing of the New Testament is quite large, as is the breach between the Gospels and the Church. No where in the New Testament is it mentioned that the Church should even have come into existence. It follows that the hierarchy of the clergy and the concept of the Trilogy is also absent from the Canonical Gospels.
These are but a few examples of the incongruity between the New Testament and Church teachings.
Perhaps this is why for many centuries common people were not allowed to be in possession of scriptures; they had to attend mass in order to hear the texts being read and construed by the leaders of the Church.
References
Picknett, L. & Prince, C, 1997, The Templar Revelations
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Christianity - Pagan Parallels
Many historians and researchers have brought to light the fact that Christianity has very strong parallels to Pagan religions that came long before its inception. Even the name itself; Pagans coined the term ‘Christians’ and used it to denigrate the movement.
Christianity is essentially a religion comprising various Pagan ideologies, which predate it by hundreds of years.
All the key components like the virgin birth, baptism, anointing, the last supper, miracles, the resurrection and even the symbol of the cross itself, are all derived from what are termed Pagan mystery schools or mystery cults.
It is erroneous for Christians to claim that it is a unique organized religion, with no precedence.
Following is an overview of some of the main aspects of Christianity and what Pagan cults they were appropriated from.
Divine or Just Oiled Up
The word ‘Christ’ is not a word that is unique or which can only be applied to Jesus. It is in fact taken from the Greek Christos, which in turn was translated from the Hebrew ‘Messiah’.
Both simply mean ‘anointed' and can be given to anyone who undergoes the ritual of anointing or Chrism. For instance, in Phillips Gospel all the Gnostics who underwent this rite became ‘Christs’.
The ritual of anointing the sacred king is an ancient Pagan ceremony. All the mystery schools of Osiris, Tammuz, Dionysus, Attis etc included the rite of anointing before the actual or symbolic death of the god.
It is highly significant that Mary, a woman, anoints Jesus, as it implies authority on her part. It is Mary who ‘Chris-tened’ Jesus and therefore marked him out for his true destiny.
It further indicates that she may have been a Pagan priestess, as this ritual is linked to ‘sacred marriage’: only through sexual union with the priestess is the prospective king-priest granted divinity. In Paganism, women were in touch with the divine by virtue of their gender.
The ointment Mary used was Spikenard and it came from India where the ancient sexual art of Tantrism originates. In Tantrism, oils and perfumes are designated for different body parts. Spikenard was for the hair and feet.
This anointing ritual can also be found in the Old Testament in the Song of Songs.
The Birthday
The 25th of December was the birthday of many Pagan gods such as Osiris, Attis, Tammuz, Adonis, Dionysus and many others. They were born in modest lodgings and shepherds attended their births.
Signs and wonders foretold of their coming, including the sighting of a new star, and they were given titles like ‘Good Shepherd’ and ‘Saviour of Mankind’.
The Virgin
Isis was a Virgin goddess and the title ‘Queen of Heaven’ first belonged to her. The idea of being born to a virgin also comes from Mithraism.
Traditionally, Isis was depicted with stars in her hair or around her head. Mary is now portrayed with these same symbols.
The most important image, that of mother and child, was a strong part of the cult of Isis. Horus was born in a stable - the stable-temple of Isis. Isis was known as the ‘Mother of God’ and often portrayed nursing Horus, the magical offspring from her union with Osiris.
Isis was worshipped as both virgin and mother - but never simultaneously.
The worship of most major goddesses emphasized their femininity by dividing it up into three stages: 1 virgin, 2 mother, 3 crone.
The image of the child-god in a basket manger comes from Dionysus.
Baptism
Baptism was part of many mystery cults in the Hellenistic world, particularly, in the cult of Isis where baptism was performed in her temples on the banks of the Nile. Public repentance and confession of sins to a priest followed.
The Eucharist
The ritual of the sacred meal was customary to all the major Dying God mystery schools, for example, Dionysus, Tammuz and Osiris. By ingesting the meal, one absorbed the god and was elevated spiritually.
This concept also became associated with the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Dionysus was also ingested in a magical meal of bread and wine, symbolizing his body and blood.
Egyptian magical texts strongly parallel the Eucharist, in them a magician-god offers his body and blood, which when ingested, will unite the recipient in love with the god.
(Smith, Morton, Jesus the Magician, 1978)
Resurrection
The dying and rising tradition comes from the cults of the gods Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Dionysus etc. They all underwent suffering and then rose three days later by the powers of the goddess, who along with her female attendants, travelled to the Underworld to retrieve the resurrected god. Hades (the Underworld) was frequently depicted as a tomb.
The goddess would remark virtually the same thing Mary Magdalene uttered at the rock-tomb of Jesus.
The location of the resurrection is also taken from the god Mithra, whose resurrection took place from a rock-tomb.
Miracles
The ‘water into wine’ miracle is almost identical to a Dionysiac ceremony; even the words used are extremely similar.
While the miracle of raising men from the dead and giving sight to the blind was performed by Aesculapius.
Wise Men
The tale of the wise men from the East, who visited Jesus, was based on an account from the life of the Emperor Nero. Sometimes they are referred to as Magi (Persian magicians) and the fact that they were guided by a star indicates that they were astrologers.
The Shepherd
The shepherd god idea comes from Tammuz. Bethlehem was a major cult center of Adonis- Tammuz. There was in fact a Temple dedicated to Tammuz on the alleged site of Jesus’ birth.
Sayings
In Johns Gospel (12:24) there is a saying by Jesus referring to corn. The imagery and concept comes from the Osirian cult.
‘In my fathers house there are many mansions’ John 14:2 comes directly from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. It was made up of a series of spells and was read by a priest or priestess to the dying.
The Dove
The image of the descending dove: doves were sacred to the goddess of love, Aphrodite also known as Astarte (Stewart, Desmond, The Foreigner, 1981). Isis was also associated with the symbol of the dove.
The Cross
The cross was an ancient Osirian symbol. Art historian Diane Apostolos-Cappadone sums it up as: 'An ancient, universal symbol of the conjunction of opposites with the vertical bar representing the positive forces of life and spirituality, and the horizontal bar the negative forces of death and materialism'.
As can be seen by these few examples, the similarities are astounding.
References
Picknett, L. & Prince, C, 1997, The Templar Revelations
The Jesus Mysteries: Was the “Original Jesus” a Pagan God
Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy, 1999.
Osiris-Dionysus is God made flesh, the saviour and the 'Son of God.'
His father is God and his mother is a mortal virgin.
He is born in a cave of humble cowshed on December 25 before three shepherds.
He offers his followers a chance to be born again through the rites of baptism.
He miraculously turns water into wine at a marriage ceremony.
He rides triumphantly into town on a donkey while people wave palm leaves to honour him.
He dies at Eastertime as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
On the third day he rises from the dead and ascends to heaven in glory.
His death and resurrection are celebrated by a ritual meal of bread and wine, which symbolize his body and blood.
Christianity is essentially a religion comprising various Pagan ideologies, which predate it by hundreds of years.
All the key components like the virgin birth, baptism, anointing, the last supper, miracles, the resurrection and even the symbol of the cross itself, are all derived from what are termed Pagan mystery schools or mystery cults.
It is erroneous for Christians to claim that it is a unique organized religion, with no precedence.
Following is an overview of some of the main aspects of Christianity and what Pagan cults they were appropriated from.
Divine or Just Oiled Up
The word ‘Christ’ is not a word that is unique or which can only be applied to Jesus. It is in fact taken from the Greek Christos, which in turn was translated from the Hebrew ‘Messiah’.
Both simply mean ‘anointed' and can be given to anyone who undergoes the ritual of anointing or Chrism. For instance, in Phillips Gospel all the Gnostics who underwent this rite became ‘Christs’.
The ritual of anointing the sacred king is an ancient Pagan ceremony. All the mystery schools of Osiris, Tammuz, Dionysus, Attis etc included the rite of anointing before the actual or symbolic death of the god.
It is highly significant that Mary, a woman, anoints Jesus, as it implies authority on her part. It is Mary who ‘Chris-tened’ Jesus and therefore marked him out for his true destiny.
It further indicates that she may have been a Pagan priestess, as this ritual is linked to ‘sacred marriage’: only through sexual union with the priestess is the prospective king-priest granted divinity. In Paganism, women were in touch with the divine by virtue of their gender.
The ointment Mary used was Spikenard and it came from India where the ancient sexual art of Tantrism originates. In Tantrism, oils and perfumes are designated for different body parts. Spikenard was for the hair and feet.
This anointing ritual can also be found in the Old Testament in the Song of Songs.
The Birthday
The 25th of December was the birthday of many Pagan gods such as Osiris, Attis, Tammuz, Adonis, Dionysus and many others. They were born in modest lodgings and shepherds attended their births.
Signs and wonders foretold of their coming, including the sighting of a new star, and they were given titles like ‘Good Shepherd’ and ‘Saviour of Mankind’.
The Virgin
Isis was a Virgin goddess and the title ‘Queen of Heaven’ first belonged to her. The idea of being born to a virgin also comes from Mithraism.
Traditionally, Isis was depicted with stars in her hair or around her head. Mary is now portrayed with these same symbols.
The most important image, that of mother and child, was a strong part of the cult of Isis. Horus was born in a stable - the stable-temple of Isis. Isis was known as the ‘Mother of God’ and often portrayed nursing Horus, the magical offspring from her union with Osiris.
Isis was worshipped as both virgin and mother - but never simultaneously.
The worship of most major goddesses emphasized their femininity by dividing it up into three stages: 1 virgin, 2 mother, 3 crone.
The image of the child-god in a basket manger comes from Dionysus.
Baptism
Baptism was part of many mystery cults in the Hellenistic world, particularly, in the cult of Isis where baptism was performed in her temples on the banks of the Nile. Public repentance and confession of sins to a priest followed.
The Eucharist
The ritual of the sacred meal was customary to all the major Dying God mystery schools, for example, Dionysus, Tammuz and Osiris. By ingesting the meal, one absorbed the god and was elevated spiritually.
This concept also became associated with the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Dionysus was also ingested in a magical meal of bread and wine, symbolizing his body and blood.
Egyptian magical texts strongly parallel the Eucharist, in them a magician-god offers his body and blood, which when ingested, will unite the recipient in love with the god.
(Smith, Morton, Jesus the Magician, 1978)
Resurrection
The dying and rising tradition comes from the cults of the gods Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Dionysus etc. They all underwent suffering and then rose three days later by the powers of the goddess, who along with her female attendants, travelled to the Underworld to retrieve the resurrected god. Hades (the Underworld) was frequently depicted as a tomb.
The goddess would remark virtually the same thing Mary Magdalene uttered at the rock-tomb of Jesus.
The location of the resurrection is also taken from the god Mithra, whose resurrection took place from a rock-tomb.
Miracles
The ‘water into wine’ miracle is almost identical to a Dionysiac ceremony; even the words used are extremely similar.
While the miracle of raising men from the dead and giving sight to the blind was performed by Aesculapius.
Wise Men
The tale of the wise men from the East, who visited Jesus, was based on an account from the life of the Emperor Nero. Sometimes they are referred to as Magi (Persian magicians) and the fact that they were guided by a star indicates that they were astrologers.
The Shepherd
The shepherd god idea comes from Tammuz. Bethlehem was a major cult center of Adonis- Tammuz. There was in fact a Temple dedicated to Tammuz on the alleged site of Jesus’ birth.
Sayings
In Johns Gospel (12:24) there is a saying by Jesus referring to corn. The imagery and concept comes from the Osirian cult.
‘In my fathers house there are many mansions’ John 14:2 comes directly from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. It was made up of a series of spells and was read by a priest or priestess to the dying.
The Dove
The image of the descending dove: doves were sacred to the goddess of love, Aphrodite also known as Astarte (Stewart, Desmond, The Foreigner, 1981). Isis was also associated with the symbol of the dove.
The Cross
The cross was an ancient Osirian symbol. Art historian Diane Apostolos-Cappadone sums it up as: 'An ancient, universal symbol of the conjunction of opposites with the vertical bar representing the positive forces of life and spirituality, and the horizontal bar the negative forces of death and materialism'.
As can be seen by these few examples, the similarities are astounding.
References
Picknett, L. & Prince, C, 1997, The Templar Revelations
The Jesus Mysteries: Was the “Original Jesus” a Pagan God
Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy, 1999.
Osiris-Dionysus is God made flesh, the saviour and the 'Son of God.'
His father is God and his mother is a mortal virgin.
He is born in a cave of humble cowshed on December 25 before three shepherds.
He offers his followers a chance to be born again through the rites of baptism.
He miraculously turns water into wine at a marriage ceremony.
He rides triumphantly into town on a donkey while people wave palm leaves to honour him.
He dies at Eastertime as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
On the third day he rises from the dead and ascends to heaven in glory.
His death and resurrection are celebrated by a ritual meal of bread and wine, which symbolize his body and blood.
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