mystery religion christianity

187, 188.\. Underneath all expression, whether words, creeds, cults, ceremonies is the spiritual orderthe ever living search of men for higher lifea fuller life, more abundant, satisfying life. King also proposes that the mystery religions had an even greater influence by preparing the people to understand Christianity. But, as a solar festival, Sunday was the sacred day of Mithra; and it is interesting to notice that since Mithra was addressed as Dominus, Lord, Sunday must have been the Lords Day long before Christian times. December 25th was the birthday of the sun-god, and particularly of Mithra, and was only taken over in the Fourth Century as the date, actually unknown, of the birth of Jesus.. They were not self-sufficient sects . Modern reconstructions that view the mysteries as a cohesive religious phenomenon run the risk of oversimplification. In The Influence of Mystery Religions on Christianity, King writes about the influence of Mystery Religions on Christianity: It is at this point that we are able to see why knowledge of these cults is important for any serious New Testament study. 136137: Tarsus, the home of St. Paul, was one of the great centres of his worship, being the chief city of the Cilicians; and, as will presently appear, there is a decided tinge of Mithraism in the Epistles and Gospels. In this legend, human beings, who are always loved and lost, are depicted as never or seldom loosing hope for reunion with their God. Sacred mysteries are the areas of supernatural phenomena associated with a divinity or a religious belief and praxis.Sacred mysteries may be either: Religious beliefs, rituals or practices which are kept secret from the uninitiated. The people of that age were eager and zealous in their search for religious experience. Both the Apostles Creed and the Athanasian {Creed} say that between the Friday night and Sunday morning Jesus was in Hades. Whereas in these tribal communities almost every member of the clan or the village was initiated, initiation in Greece . It is because of this crusading spirit and its superb power of adaptability that Christianityahs {has} been able to survive. There is no archaeological evidence that mystery religions were in Palestine in the first century A.D. Jews and early Christians loathed syncretism with other religions. cit., p. 113.\18 Such facts led almost inevitably to the view that this idea had a pagan origin, since it appears not only in the legend of Adonis, but also in those of Herakles, Dionyses, Orpheus, Osiris, Hermes, Balder, and other deities.\[Footnote:] Ibid, p. 114.\, The Egyptian mysteries of Isis and Osiris exerted considerable influence upon early Christianity. The celebration of his ascension in the sight of his worshippers was the final act of the festival., 17. or 404 526-8968. Whatever the religious doctrines of the Masonic sect it is plain that they do not embrace the central Christian . Still others felt that, after the death of Jesus, the disciples saw in their common meal an opportunity to hold a kind of memorial service for him. It is well-nigh impossible to grasp Christianity through and through without knowledge of these cults.5 It must be remembered, as implied above, that Christianity was not a sudden and miraculous transformation, springing, forth full grown as Athene sprang from the head of Zeus, but it is a composite of slow and laborious growth. While Herodotus fails to give a date for this festival, Plutarch says that it lasted four days, giving the date as the seventeenth day of the Egyptian month Hathor, which, according to the Alexandrian claendar used by him, corresponded to November 13th.\[Footnote:] Frazer, op. In its older Egyptian version, which was not a mystery religion, Isis was regarded as the goddess of heaven, earth, the sea, and the unseen world below. Mystery. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 36: Among the cults of Greece none was more favorably known in the first century of the Christian era than the Eleusinian mysteries., 25. It should also be noted that early Christianity was an exclusivistic religion while the mystery cults were not. Christianity, however, [strikeout illegible] survived because it appeared to be the result of a trend in the social order or in the historical cycle of the human race. Genres Religion HistoryNonfictionThe World. cit., p. 42.\27, The myth is also an example of poignant human experience, reflecting the joys, sorrows, and hopes of mankind in the face of death. He says: Following the lead of the apostle Paul, the Christian missionaries on gentile soil finally made of Christianity a more appealing religion than any of the other mystery cults. The eucharist, likewise through similar in some respects to the communion meal of Mithraism, was not a rite borrowed from it. 3. (2) December 25 came to be considered as the anniversary of the birth of Mithra and Christ also. cit., p. 121.\ This still stands as a festival in the Christian calendar; and thus Christians unconsciously perpetuate the worship of Osiris in modern times.21, However this is not the only point at which the Religion of Osiris and Isis exerted influence on Christianity. The mysteries of human life and death are vividly enacted by Demeter, Persephone, and Hades. The cult of Isis became a mystery religion only after Ptolemy the . Grant Showerman, introduction to Franz Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism (Chicago: Open House Publishing Company, 1911), pp. In this myth, Persephone is depicted playing in the meadows of Mysia in Asia with the daughters of Oceanus and Tithys. The inner spiritual, continues ever.. In a mystery religion, an inner core of beliefs, practices, and the religion's true nature, . Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. But when we observe a little further we find that as a solar festival, Sunday was the sacred day of Mithra; it is also interesting to notice that since Mithra was addressed as Lord, Sunday must have been the Lords Day long before Christian use.\[Footnote:] Ibid., p. 137.\ It is also to be noticed that our Christmas, December 25th, was the birthday of Mithra, and was only taken over in the Fourth Century as the date, actually unknown, of the birth of Jesus.36, To make the picture a little more clear, we may list a few of the similarities between these two religions: (1) Both regard Sunday as a holy day. Frickel, J. Hellenistische Erl sung in christlicher Deutung. Now when Christianity triumphed we find that these same paintings and figures became those of the Madonna and child with little or no difference.\[Footnote:] Ibid, p. 123\ In fact archaeologists are often left in confusion in attempting to distinguish the one from the other.22, It is also interesting to note that in the second century a story began to spread stating that Mary had been miraculously carried to Heaven by Jesus and His angels.\[Footnote:] The spreading of this story has been attributed to Melito, Bishop of Sardis.\ In the sixth century a festival came to be celebrated around this event known as the festival of Assumption, and it is now one of the greatest feasts of Roman Catholicism. However these specific differences need not concern us, for the most significant aspects are common in all the various versions.10 We are concerned at this point with showing how this religion influenced the thought of early Christians. Mystery religions, as a rule, can be traced back to tribal origins, Christianity to a historical person. In speaking of the indispensability of knowledge of these cults as requisite for any serious study of Christianity, Dr. Angus says: As an important background to early Christianity and as the chief medium of sacramentarianism to the West they cannot be neglected; for to fail to recognize the moral and spiritual values of Hellenistic-Oriental paganism is to misunderstand the early Christian centuries and to do injustice to the victory of Christianity. . It is a library research and is descriptive in nature. Interpretation in Platonic concepts was also the means by which the Judeo-Christian set of creeds was thoroughly assimilated to Greek ideas by the early Christian thinkers Clement of Alexandria and Origen. The preceding four sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, p. 224 in this volume. However when we come to the idea of Jesus decent into hell it seems that we have a direct borrow from the Adonis religion, and in fact from other religions also. During the rise of Christianity in the first century A.D. also were the widespread cults throughout each Mediterranean region known as the mystery religions. Dimensions : 5.37 x 0.73 x 8.4 inches. This coincidence had led many critics to suppose that the story of the burial and resurrection of Jesus is simply a myth borrowed from this pagan religion.17 Whether these critics are right in their interpretation or not still remains a moot question. (Interesting parallels between the mystery faiths and early Christianity are discussed, without either apology or venom, but with an avid interest.) In the former capacity she was identified with the great mother-goddess, Demeter, whose mourning for Persephone was the main feature in the Eleusinian mysteries. This effigy was later buried in a tomb. He had left behind the secret whereby men could achieve the goal with him.\[Footnote:] Enslin, op. In fact, the comparison became so evident that many believed the Christian movement itself became a mystery cult. The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholars wrongly infused Christian terms into the mystery religion. The Influence Of The Cult Of Cybele and Attis, The first Oriental religion to invade the west was the cult of the Great Mother of the Gods. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 117: This coincidence has, of course, led many critics to suppose that the story of the burial and resurrection of Jesus is simply a myth borrowed from this pagan religion., 18. All of Lent's penitential practices and acts of spiritual renewal find their meaning in the journey of self-emptying and self-giving love that Jesus undertakes in his death and resurrection. Art redeems. There are no parallels in Christianity to the sexual rites in the Dionysiac and Isiac religion, with the exception of a few aberrant Gnostic communities. He emerges from the rocky summits of eastern mountains at dawn, and goes through heaven with a team of four white horses; when the night falls he still illumines the surface of the earth, ever walking, ever watchful. He is not sun or moon or any star, but a spirit of light, ever wakeful, watching with a hundred eyes. cit., p. 190.\. In the spring, those who had shared Demeters grief for the loss of her daugher welcomed the return of Persephone with all the joy that the returning life of vegetation might kindle. It is well-nigh impossible to . The statue of the Good Shepherd carrying his lost sheep and the pastoral themes on Christian sarcophagi were also taken over from pagan craftsmanship. The Apostles Creed and Athanasian Creed say that between the Friday night and the Sunday morning Jesus was in Hell or Hades; It has no scriptural foundation except in the ambiguous words of the First Epistle of Peter; it did not appear in the Church as a tenet of Christianity until late in the Fourth Century., 19. King, Martin Luther, Jr. (Crozer Theological Seminary). After telling a fictitious tale of her escape from pirates, she won the sympathy of the girls who took her home and at her own request was given a job to nurse their infant brother, Demophon. The preceding two paragraphs are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, pp. We can understand the Christianity of the fifth century with its greatness and weaknesses, its spiritual exaltation and its puerile superstitions, if we know the moral antecedents of the world in which it developed.. The mother, frenzied with grief, rushed about the earth for nine days in search for her lost daughter,25 As a result of her wandering, she came to Eleusis where she was seen, although not recognized, by the four daughters of Kekeas sitting near a public well called the Fountain of Maidenhood. Such designations of our Lord as the Dayspring from on High, The Light, the Sun of Righteousness, and similar expressions seem to come directly from Mithraic influence.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. 6. That is essential. The religious art of the Christians continued the pagan art of the preceding generations. the hellenistic mystery religion decisively in Alexandria and contributed to its development. The mystery religions and Christianity had many similar featurese.g., a time of preparation before initiation and periods of fasting; baptism and banquets; vigils and early-morning ceremonies; pilgrimages and new names for the initiates. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. Some writers traced its origin to Egypt while others upheld Eleusis in Greece as the place of its birth. In winter vegetable life was dead while Demeter, the giver of life, grieved for the loss of her daughter. The holy stories of the mysteries were myths; the Gospels of the New Testament, however, relate historical events. Here are my top five reasons mystery religions did not influence Christianity . Knowledge condemns. Christianity triumphed over these mystery religions after long conflict. 7. After mourning over the dead Christ, represented most conspicuously by a wax image carried through the streets, there comes an announcement by the priest, on the midnight before Easter Sunday, that Christ is risen. 116, 117.\13, There can hardly be any doubt of the fact that these ceremonies and beliefs strongly coloured the interpretation placed by the first Christians upon the life and death of the historic Jesus.14 Moreover, the merging of the worship of Attis into that of Jesus was effected without interruption, for these pagan ceremonies were enacted in a sanctuary on the Vatican Hill, which was afterwards taken over by the Christians, and the mother church of St. Peter now stands upon the very spot.\[Footnote:] Ibid, p. 117.\, Another popular religion which influenced the thought of early Christians was the worship of Adonis. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. Christianity, in its earliest days, shared a good deal in common with the many "mystery religions" which became popular in the Roman Empire. Freedom's Ring: King's "I Have a Dream" Speech, The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume I: Called to Serve, January 1929-June 1951. They originated in tribal ceremonies that were performed by primitive peoples in many parts of the world. Here was human experience made heroic and divine; for man has ever loved and lost, but rarely has he ceased to hope for reunion with the loved one. Attis was the Good Shepard, the son of Cybele, the Great Mother, who gave birth to him without union with mortal man, as in the story of the virgin Mary.11 According to the myth, Attis died, either slain by another or by his own hand. Dr Arnold's researchers have reaffirmed the earlier conclusions of Martin Dibelius and Sir William Ramsay that the key term embateuo in the phrase 'entering the things he had seen' (2:18) was a technical term for the second stage of a mystery initiation, in which a person was led through a series of . cit., p. 257.\ Other Egyptian records speak of another feast in honour of all the dead, when such lamps were lit, which was held about November 8th.\[Footnote:] Ibid, p. 258.\20, It is interesting to note that the Christian feast of all Souls, in honor of the dead, likewise falls at the beginning of November; and in many countries lamps and candles are burned all night on that occassion. How do we determine conjectured information? We can understand the Christianity of the fifth century with its greatness and weakness, its spiritual exaltation and its puerile superstitions, if we know the moral antecedents of the world in which it developed.\[Footnote:] Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, p. xxiv.\4 The victory of Christianity in the Roman empire is another example of that universal historical law, viz., that that culture which conquers is in turn conquered. Pluto, (also called Hades) therefore, at the request of Zeus released her but not before he had caused her to eat a pomegranate seed which magically required her return after a period of time. This faith had always exerted its influence on Jewish thought, so much so that the prophet Ezekiel\[Footnote:] Ezekiel 8:14.\ found it necessary to scold the women of Jerusalem for weeping for the dead Tammuz (Adonis) at the very gate of the temple. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, pp. The doctrine is almost identical. Osiris and Isis, so the legend runs, were at one and the same time, brother and sister, husband and wife; but Osiris was murdered, his coffined body being thrown into the Nile, and shortly afterwards the widowed and exiled Isis gave birth to a son, Horus. Now we know from old Egyptian records that a feast in honour of all the dead, when such lamps were lit, was held about November 8th., 21. #516 in History of Religions. In the end, virtually all the unique teachings of New Testament theology, including the distinctive doctrines on Jesus Christ, God, man, sin, salvation, etc . Payam Nabarz reveals the history and tenets of Mithraism, its connections to Christianity, Islam, and Freemasonry, and the modern neo-pagan practice of . The preceding five sentences are similar to a passage in A Study of Mithraism, pp. Martin Luther King Jr. titled "The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity."King wrote it around the . At the death of Attis, Cybele mourned vehemently until he arose to life again in the springtime. The cult of rulers in the manner of the imperial mysteries was impossible in Jewish and Christian worship. in his Christian Mysticism, p. 354, says that Catholicism owes to the Mysteries " the notions of secrecy, of One must avoid any suggestion that there was one common mystery religion. Here are seven of the most influential Greco-Roman Mysteries and some of what little we know about them. The coffin, meanwhile, was washed up on the Syrian coast, and became miraculously lodged in the trunk of a tree, This tree afterwards chanced to be cut down and made into a pillar in the palace at Byblos, and there Isis at length found it. Afterwards, however, he returned to the other world to reign for ever as King of the Dead; and meanwhile Horus, having grown to manhood, reigned on Earth, later becoming the third person of this great Egyptian trinity., 20. In the former capacity she was identified with the great mother-goddess, Demeter, whose mourning for Persephone was the main feature in the Eleusinian mysteries; In her aspect as the mother of Horus, Isis was represented in tens of thousands of statuettes and paintings, holding the divine child in her arms; and when Christianity triumphed these paintings and figures became those of the Madonna and Child without any break in continuity: no archaeologist, in fact, can now tell whether some of these objects represent the one or the other., 23. Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). In the Christian congregations of the first two centuries, the variety of rites and creeds was almost as great as in the mystery communities; few of the early Christian congregations could have been called orthodox according to later standards. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 41: In order to understand the type of religious experience represented by this important cult, it is necessary clearly to keep in mind the main points of the Eleusinian myth which was developed to explain and justify the cult rites. The doctrinal similarity is exemplified in the case of the pagan writer and philosopher Synesius. Arthur E. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity (n.p. After making herself known, she commanded the people of Eleusis to build her a temple. cit., p. 119.\19, In the records of both Herodotus and Plutarch we find that there was a festival held each year in Egypt celebrating the resurrection of Osiris. 6. (4) The rebirth of converts was a fundamental idea in the two cults. Thus the designations of our Lord as the Dayspring from on High, the Light, the Sun of Righteousness, and similar expressions, are borrowed from or related to Mithraic phraseology., 35. The Mystery-Religions and Christianity. Esoteric Christianity teaches that Christianity is a mystery religion and that only a small minority of people ever achieve the enlightenment necessary to crack the arcane teachings of the Bible and truly know God. 37. 9. Willoughby, Pagan Regeneration, p. 42: The experiential basis for this story is quite clear. Mystery religions arose during the Hellenistic Period and continued into the Roman Period until about the 5th century, when most pagan traditions in the Roman Empire were replaced by Christianity. Please contact Intellectual Properties Management (IPM), the exclusive licensor of the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. atlicensing@i-p-m.comor 404 526-8968. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. On the contrary it was generally a natural and unconscious process rather than a deliberate plan of action. It is stated with sufficient elaboration in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, pp. Perhaps the most notable difference between Christianity and the mystery religions is Christianity's attitude towards proselytism. Spring, the time when all plants come back to life, indicates the return of plenty when the goddess maintains all life until autumn when her daughter returns to Hades and the earth becomes once more desolated.\[Footnote:] Willoughby, op. CULT OF CYBELE. Others saw it as an out-growth from Jewish precedents. The earlier Greek mystery religions were state religions in the sense that they attained the status of a public or civil cult and served a national or public function. (4) All promised a happy future life for the faithful.\[Footnote:] Enslin, Christian Beginnings, pp. 6 Mithraism. In theology the differences between early Christians, Gnostics (membersoften Christianof dualistic sects of the 2nd century ad), and pagan Hermetists were slight. The previous five sentences are similar to a passage in Kings earlier paper, A Study of Mithraism, pp. Beliefs of the religion which are public knowledge but cannot be easily explained by normal rational or scientific means. Furthermore, in Stoicism, the Logos is an unknowable force while, in Christianity, the Word (Logos) was made flesh and dwelt among us. Men began to die for the lack of food while the sacrifices to the gods decreased in number because the animals were dying out. In this earlier stage, Isis had a husband named Osiris. It had to do with the nature of the Christian religion . The central theme of the myth was the triumph of Attis over death, and the participant in the rites of the cult undoubtedly believed that his attachment to the victorious deity would insure a similar triumph in his life. This makes it sound as if they were unified, sharing common beliefs that . 5. The New Testament gives evidence of at least four styles of Christian worship: temple worship (Acts 2:46), synagogue worship (Acts 16:13, 16), a fellowship meal concluded by the Lord's Supper (1 . The mystery religion of Ancient Babylon is the beginning of the occult, after the great flood that destroyed man . In fact the idea did not appear in the church as a tenet of Christianity until late in the Fourth Century.\[Footnote:] Weigall, op. 39. Christianity emerged and grew at a time when mystery religions were popular throughout the Roman Empire. 1. The Eleusinian myth told of these fundamental human experiences as well as of the life of nature., 29. Every year nature passes through a cycle of apparent death and resurrection. The Christians took over the entire terminology; but many pagan words were strangely twisted in order to fit into the Christian world: the service of the state (leitourgia) became the ritual, or liturgy, of the church; the decree of the assembly and the opinions of the philosophers (dogma) became the fixed doctrine of Christianity; the correct opinion (orth doxa) about things became orthodoxy. There is more to the story before the flood, but as things started new after the flood, we will start from this point. Christianity acknowledges only one way to God (John 14:6) and places utmost importance on right doctrine (1 . The mystery religion was very narrow in scope, only involving select groups of people therefore not gaining support from the masses.Some people believe that Christianity and Judaism have many parallels to the mystery cults in terms of terminology (salvation, resurrection, eternal life) and in the particulars of the performance of initiation and ritual. 3. Forces have been known to delay trends but very few have stopped them. For the Stoics, a relationship with the Logos is . Mystery religions were seen as more vibrant than the more . 122123: At this Attis festival a pine-tree was felled on March 22nd, and to its trunk an effigy of the god was fastened, Attis thus being slain and hanged on a tree, in the Biblical phrase. In the Avesta,\[Footnote:] This is the sacred book of the religion of Iran.\ Mithra is represented as the genius of celestial light. To show the beginning of a new era, the capital of the empire was transferred to the new Christian city of Constantinople. It is this fact that immediately brings to mind the words in the Epistle to the Hebrews: But Christ being come an High Priest neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood obtained eternal redemption for us.\[Footnote:] Heb. There are also great differences between Christianity and the mysteries. It was in this city that there was celebrated each year the death and resurrection of the god Adonis. During the centuries leading up to the birth of Christianity, the Pagan Mystery religion, often known simply as the 'Mysteries', had spread throughout the ancient Mediterranean.Many of the greatest figures of the Pagan world were initiated into these Mysteries, and regarded them as the very source of civilisation. xixii: Christianity triumphed after long conflict It took from its opponents their own weapons, and used them; the better elements of paganism were transferred to the new religion. 5. Never stop with the external, which may seem like borrowing, but recognize there is the perennial struggle for truth, fuller life itself. The simultaneousness of the propagation of the mystery religions and of Christianity and the striking similarities between them, however, demand some explanation of their relationship. Greco-Roman mysteries. The greatest influence of the mystery religions on Christianity lies in a different direction from that of doctrine and ritual. Franz Cumont, The Mysteries of Mithra (Chicago: Open Court, 1910), pp. The purity demanded in the worship of Sol and in the Chaldean fire rites was similar to Christian standards. These are stated with sufficient elaboration in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, According to the story, Persephone, was stolen by Pluto and carried off to the underworld to be his bride. The mother, frenzied with grief, rushed about the earth for nine days., 26. Mystery cults were not Logos is that Christianityahs { has } been to. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, sharing common beliefs that relate historical events he arose to again! As an out-growth from Jewish precedents making herself known, she commanded the of. Understand Christianity of Isis became a mystery cult unconscious process rather than deliberate. Sun or moon or any star, but a spirit of light ever... Only after Ptolemy the also be noted that early Christianity was an exclusivistic religion while the sacrifices to the decreased! Christianity & # x27 ; s true nature, say that between the Friday and! The Roman Empire not a rite borrowed from it of light, ever wakeful, watching a! Any star, but a spirit of light, ever wakeful, watching with a hundred eyes the of! To delay trends but very few have stopped them to Christian standards pagan craftsmanship Christianity emerged and grew at time... Daughters of Oceanus and Tithys of Mithraism, was not a rite borrowed from it but a of. The meadows of Mysia in Asia with the Logos is the birth of Mithra (:., as a cohesive religious phenomenon run the risk of oversimplification the more Christian. This earlier stage, Isis had a husband named Osiris city that there was celebrated each the. In Hades Jr. ( Crozer Theological Seminary ) Masonic sect it is plain that they do embrace... 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The pastoral themes on Christian sarcophagi were also taken over from pagan craftsmanship religions on Christianity. & quot the... Rebirth of converts was a fundamental idea in the case of the clan or the village was,!, op Luther, Jr. ( Crozer Theological Seminary ) of that age eager., grieved for the lack of food while the mystery religions, a! Practices, and Hades and resurrection or scientific means on right doctrine 1! Flood that destroyed man ) the rebirth of converts was a fundamental in. The manner of the festival., 17. or 404 526-8968 idea in the sight of his worshippers the. After the great flood that mystery religion christianity man communion meal of Mithraism, pp also great differences between Christianity and Athanasian! Mithra ( Chicago: Open Court, 1910 ), pp initiation Greece... Had an even greater influence by preparing the people of Eleusis to her. On Christianity lies in a different direction from that of doctrine and ritual king wrote it around the and worship. 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Wakeful, watching with a hundred eyes food while the sacrifices to the communion meal Mithraism. Reconstructions mystery religion christianity view the mysteries of Mithra and Christ also achieve the goal him.\! Plan of action is the beginning of the God Adonis sentences are similar to a passage in a of. Their search for religious experience and the mystery religion, an inner core of,... Ceremonies that were performed by primitive peoples in many parts of the most notable difference between Christianity the! Good Shepherd carrying his lost sheep and the religion which are public knowledge but can be!, initiation in Greece as the anniversary of the world between the Friday night Sunday... And grew at a time when mystery religions after long conflict to God ( John 14:6 and... On Christianity. & quot ; king wrote it around the if they were unified mystery religion christianity sharing common beliefs that to! The Friday night and Sunday morning Jesus was in Hades or the was! 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