Types of christianity and thier origins

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Major Types of Christianity
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By Vexen Crabtree 2006 Jun 17
Complete Pages:
Mithraism & Pre-Christianity2002
The Ebionites, early Jewish Christians2006
Arian Christianity of the 3rd-8th Century2008
The Marcionites, 2nd Century Christians2006
How Modern Christianity Began: The Cappadocian-Nicene-Pauline Amalgamation of 380CE2008
The Rise of Literalist Christianity2003
This page:
Christianity is Massively Varied
The Earliest Christianities:
Mithraism & Christianity (-200BCE +)
Ebionite Christians (1st-4th Century)
Arian Christians (2nd-8th Century)
Marcionite Christians (2nd-5th Century)
Roman/Pauline Christianity (4th Century +)
What Was the Original Christianity?
More Lost Variants:
The Cathars / Albigenses
The Waldenses (12th Century)
Fundamentalist Christianity (1600CE)

Christianity is Massively Varied
Christianity is not a single, ancient religion. It is a series of religions all given the same name. Many assume that only modern Christianity to be what Christianity is. Some historical forms of Christianity have made more sense, and some have made less sense, than the Christian mythology that is common today.
“In the second and third centuries there were, of course, Christians who believed in one God. But there were others who insisted that there were two. Some said there were thirty. Others claimed there were 365.”
"Lost Christianities" by Bart Ehrman (2003), p2
“'Christianity' as a single religion is not 2,000 years old. A series of varied different religions, flowing on from one another, have all called themselves "Christian". Rightly so. But the beliefs and form has changed so much from time to time that it is best to consider Christianity a series of religions and the word "Christianity" to be an umbrella term for multiple faiths all of which have the same name but different beliefs.”
"History of Christianity" by Vexen Crabtree (2003)
Unfortunately for hundreds of years until the Enlightenment, it was thought that modern-day Christianity in its various forms, represented early Christianity. It hardly does. Not only is Christianity now varied, but it has always been highly varied.
“The historian, in speaking of Christianity, has to be careful to recognize the very great changes that it has undergone, and the variety of forms that it may assume even at one epoch.”
"History of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell (1946), p290
“In the first few centuries CE there really was no such thing as 'the Church', only competing factions, of which the Literalists were one.”
"Jesus Mysteries" by Freke & Gandy [Book Review] (1999), p266
So what were the original, ancient forms of Christianity like? What happened to them? We will see!
Mithraism & Christianity (-200BCE +)
Many have realized that as Christianity copied, re-named and inherited many Pagan myths, such as those of Mithraism, that it is hard to pin down a "start" date for Christian ideas. If you go back far enough, Christian history is actually pagan history.
“Jesus, son of the Hebrew sky God, and Mithras, son of Ormuzd are both the same myth. The rituals of Christianity coincide with the earlier rituals of Mithraism, including the Eucharist and the Communion in great detail. The language used by Mithraism was the language used by Christians. [...] The idea of a sacrificed saviour is Mithraist, so is the symbolism of bulls, rams, sheep, the blood of a transformed saviour washing away sins and granting eternal life, the 7 sacraments, the banishing of an evil host from heaven, apocalyptic end of time when God/Ormuzd sends the wicked to hell and establishes peace. Roman Emperors, Mithraist then Christian, mixed the rituals and laws of both religions into one. Emperor Constantine established 25th of Dec, the birthdate of Mithras, to be the birthdate of Jesus too. The principal day of worship of the Jews, The Sabbath, was replaced by the Mithraistic Sun Day as the Christian holy day. The Catholic Church, based in Rome and founded on top of the most venerated Mithraist temple, wiped out all competing son-of-god religions within the Roman Empire, giving us modern literalist Christianity.”
"Mithraism & Early Christianity" by Vexen Crabtree (2002)
Ebionite Christians (1st-4th Century)

Ebionite Christians believed that all the Jewish Laws had to be obeyed; including the Sabbath and circumcision for all males. As such, they considered St Paul to be the archenemy of Christianity as he taught that people did not have to obey the Law in order to be saved. They believed Jesus was Human, and adopted by God as a perfect sacrifice.
“The Ebionites were some of the original Christians: Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. They populated the legendary Jerusalem Church. 'Ebionite' was sometimes used as a term to describe all Christians. Those who we now know as Pauline Christians opposed the Ebionites, after discovering them and realizing that their beliefs differed. Authors such as Tertullian, Origen of Alexandria, and many other intolerant "heresy-hunters" wrote at great length against the Ebionites. Many of the claims made against them were based on misunderstandings of their beliefs, and many anti-Ebionite claims were plainly ridiculous. [Ehrman, 2003]. Pauline Christians eradicated the Ebionites, burning all of their books (none survived) and harassing and arresting the people until none were left. They edited Luke 2:32 and 2:48 where Joseph was twice called the 'father' of Jesus so that it did not say so, and they also edited Luke 3:22 where it plainly stated, in accordance with Ebionite beliefs, that God adopted Jesus. Pauline Christians, as non-Jewish Romans, handily came across a mistranslated prophecy that said Jesus would be born of a virgin (like other Roman sons-of-gods), adding a whole two chapters to the beginning of Matthew to prove their point. These edits, now they are uncovered, show that the Ebionites were treated very cruelly and unfairly, and that the original readings of Matthew and Luke both support Ebionite Christianity, rather than the Pauline Christianity that the West has inherited.
If we were to guess which group was the more austere, holy and godly, we would have to guess it was the Ebionites rather than the Pauline Christians who slaughtered, slandered and oppressed them. Unfortunately the victors get to write history, and it is Pauline Christianity that became the legacy of the Roman Empire. After the fourth century, the Ebionites were vanquished.”
"The Ebionites: Early Jewish Christians" by Vexen Crabtree (2006)
Arian Christians (2nd-8th Century)
As Jewish Christianity began to develop its own character, Jesus was no longer considered to be just a man. He had a special relationship with god, and was perhaps conceived of by God before anything was created. But he was not an eternal man nor a god.
“Arianism describes the pre-trinitarian doctrine of a holy, but not a godly, Jesus. It is not always adoptionism and not always monotheistic, either. It was defined by a negative principal (that logically Jesus can't be God and still suffer on the cross). If Jesus was God (i.e., perfect), Arians realized, what chance would any Human have of imitating him? Although Arian-sounding theologies existed from the second century onwards, it only became a wide point of contention after the third century. In the third century Origen of Alexandria, the greatest theologian of his time, had declared that the Father was Greater than the Son1. This principal was later named after its principal proponent and most articulate defender, Arius (256-336CE). It was opposed by Athanasius, who became a Nicene Christian from 325CE. In the Roman Empire, Arian Christianity was supplanted by intolerant Nicene Christianity by the 5th century, but remained the most popular form of Christianity amongst the tribes surrounding the empire, until the 8th century. [...]
The eventual victory of the Cappadocian Nicene faith from 380CE meant that as the Empire collapsed, the Christianity that was left behind was the dark, violent, centralized type that did not tolerate dissent. By the late fourth century, a recognizable Roman Catholic Church had emerged. The doctrine of the Trinity had been created, and the vengeful violence of Nicene Christianity was in full, open, bloody view. Anti-semitism was given its official sanction. The edited Nicene Creed was the only form of belief that was to be tolerated. Inquisitors began reviewing religious beliefs, condemning victims to imprisonment, torture and public execution for failing to believe the right things. This state of affairs persisted and plunged Christian societies into a 1000-year long dark ages. If the Arians had survived the onslaught and been the religion that the Empire left behind, we would have been left with a Christianity that would have left a glowing legacy of Jesus. Instead, the Nicene's violence and intolerance won out, and the 'ages of faith' that resulted darkened humanity from the fifth until the fifteenth century.”
"Arian Christianity" by Vexen Crabtree (2008)
Marcionite Christians (2nd-5th Century)
Marcionites believed that the God of the Old Testament was a different God to the new testament. Their reasoning is sensible, and their collection of Christian books into a canon was the first ever collection.
“At one point, the early Christian writings that were collected by Marcion, along with his own writings, were all destroyed. A domineering early Catholic Church, the Pauline Christians, committed themselves to a long-term campaign against these early Christians. Tertullian produced five volumes attacking Marcionism and distributed them throughout the Roman Empire. The honest intellectual and rational approach of Marcion to the Old Testament and the saving grace of Jesus were lost, burnt and oppressed by the more violent and aggressive Pauline Christians. It is ironic that in the name of 'good works', Pauline Christians murdered and tortured those who believed differently to themselves... if it is true, as Jesus says and as Marcion pointed out, that good trees do not produce rotten fruit, then have we ended up with a rotten tree grown from a rotten fruit, instead of the real Christianity as espoused by Jesus?
If it is Christian duty to 'turn the other cheek', 'resist not evil', 'love your enemies' and 'love your neighbours as yourself', then it is clear that the Pauline Christians, who eliminated Marcionism and got to choose the books of the Bible, were not the true Christians.”
"The Marcionites: 2nd Century Christians" by Vexen Crabtree (2006)
Roman Christianity / Pauline Christianity (4th Century +)
St. Paul: History, Letters, Influences and Instructions; Gnosticism and Mithraism
“The gnostic Mithraists and Jewish Ebionites formed the very first Christians of the first century, with practices and beliefs based respectively on Gnostic and Judaistic rituals, symbols and practices. Pauline Christians dispensed with the difficult Jewish laws and became popular amongst gentiles, soon out-numbering the Jewish Christians, causing them to be secluded and eventually suppressed. Increasing literalism amongst roman converts then led the Pauline Christians to become obsessed with enforcing their literal interpretation of Christianities original stories, causing another huge rift with older gnostic-style Christians. With Roman power behind their printing press and the favour of Emperors, the Pauline-Nicene Christians wiped out the gnostics, annihilated the Arians after long bloody campaigns, and murdered and burnt the Marcionites and many other small sects, to leave themselves as the sole Christians within the Roman Empire, free to edit their own books to 'prove' how all their predecessors had been wrong. The three Cappadocian scholars promoted the Holy Spirit to the godhead to create a Trinity, which was codified strictly in to the Nicene Creed of 381, which went to careful lengths to disclaim against 'heresy'. Emperor Theodosius published a series of forceful edicts intolerant of all non-Nicene sects. This state of affairs persisted in the West for over a thousand years from the 5th century.
Despite the number of denominations that now exist, Christian diversity has never again regained the richness it had in the first few centuries. Christianity has remained, in the West, the Pauline, Cappadocian, Nicene victor that emerged from the ashes of Christian groups within the Roman Empire and Judea. It is a shame that it appears the most worldly, least spiritual, most power-hungry, least tolerant, most violent and least honest form of Christianity is the one that survived those brutal battles of the first few centuries.”
"Cappadocian/Nicene Modern Christianity" by Vexen Crabtree (2008)
What Was the Original Christianity?
We have described the Ebionites, the Marcionites, touched upon the Gnostics, and the Pauline Christians. Who were the original Christians? The Pauline Christians, Greek-speaking and with Roman power, rose to power and eliminated the others in the most un-Christian way. These were the late-comers to Christendom of these four groups. The methodical historian Bauer has studied this question at great length:
“Bauer proceeds by looking at certain geographical regions of early Christendom for which we have some evidence - particularly the city of Edessa in eastern Syria, Antioch in western Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Rome. For each place, he considers the available Christian sources and subjects them to the closest scrutiny, demonstrating that contrary to the reports of Eusebius, the earliest and/or predominant forms of Christianity in most of these areas were heretical (i.e., forms subsequently condemned by the victorious party). Christianity in Edessa, for example, a major centre for orthodox Christianity in later times, was originally Marcionite; the earliest Christians in Egypt were various kinds of Gnostic, and so on. Later orthodox Christians, after they had secured their victory, tried to obscure the real history of the conflict. But they were not completely successful, leaving traces that can be scrutinized for the truth.”
"Lost Christianities" by Bart Ehrman (2003), p174
I will now summarize some contenders and explain if they could have been the true source of Christianity:
Ebionite Christians were the true Christians: Aramaic-speakers like Jesus and his apostles, they would have been the Jewish witnesses to Jesus' ministry and preaching. From this starting point, Jesus' teachings spread. They also, however, spread from Saul of Damascus, who renamed himself Paul and who preached an anti-Ebionite version of Christianity for the gentiles, which was much easier to follow and more popular.
The Marcionites were converts to Christ, who believed truly that he had been adopted by God at his baptism, and that he had come to abolish the laws of the Old Testament, thereby defeating the evil god of the old testament. Such gnostic beliefs may be the original form of Christianity as we shall see, but Marcionism itself can only be a later re-expression of it, and no historian thinks that the Marcionites were the original Christians.
Gnostic Christians: With stories, myths and beliefs that are exactly the same as Christian ones in many of the little details, gnostic beliefs manage to pre-date Christians ones by over 200 years. They understood what the stories of the NT really meant. Jesus didn't really exist, but was a collection of such earlier stories, rewritten in Greek, with Greek names. This is the approach taken by historians such as Freke & Gandy.
Pauline / Roman Christians: When the Roman-backed instance of Christianity went in search of the ancient centres of Christianity, they discovered to their horror that the Ebionites and Gnostics pre-dated them. Their un-Christian answer was to edit verses, burn books, invent doctrines such as the Trinity, arrest and harass the other poverty-stricken Christians until no opposition was left. The form of Christianity that we have inherited from the Roman Empire is far from what Christianity originally was, yet most modern denominations took Cappadocian-Nicene Pauline Christianity as their starting point (and few have moved far from it).
The Cathars / Albigenses
The Marcionites of the 2nd century were lost to oppression, however, their form of Christianity was not completely eradicated. The Paulicians (followers of Marcion) and Manicheans fused to form the Bulgarian Bogomils, who like their founding sects, were oppressed. But the Bogomiles were carried by Crusaders to Italy and France, where their gnostic-seeming beliefs flourished and were widely accepted.
“The most interesting, and also the largest, of the heretical sects were the Cathari, who, in the South of France, are better known as Albigenses. [Their beliefs] were widely held in Northern Italy, and in the South of France they were held by the great majority [...]. The cause of this wide diffusion of heresy was partly disappointment at the failure of the Crusades, but mainly moral disgust at the wealth and wickedness of the clergy. [...] The Church was rich and largely worldly; very many priests were grossly immoral. [...] The more the Church claimed supremacy of religious grounds, the more plain people were shocked by the contrast between profession and performance. [...]
It seems that the Cathari were dualists and that, like the Gnostics, they considered the Old Testament Jehovah a wicked demiurge, the true God being revealed in the New Testament. They regarded matter as essentially evil, and believed that for the virtuous there is no resurrection of the body. The wicked, however, will suffer transmigration into the bodies of animals. On this ground they were vegetarians, abstaining even from eggs, cheese and milk. They ate fish, however, because they believed that fishes are not sexually generated. All sex was abhorrent to them [...]. They accepted the New Testament more literally than did the orthodox; they abstained from oaths, and turned the other cheek.”
"History of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell (1946), p438-439
The Waldenses (12th Century)
A popular heresy was the "Waldenses".
“These were the followers of Peter Waldo, an enthusiast who in 1170, started a 'crusade' for observance of the law of Christ. He gave all his goods to the poor, and founded a society called the 'Poor men of Lyons', who practised poverty and a strictly virtuous life. At first they had papal approval, but they inveighed somewhat too forcibly against the immorality of the clergy, and were condemned by the Council of Verona in 1184. Thereupon they decided that every good man is competent to preach and expounded the Scriptures; they appointed their own ministers, and dispensed with the services of the Catholic priesthood. [...] All this heresy alarmed the Church, and vigorous measures were taken to suppress it. [Pope] Innocent III considered that heretics deserved death, being guilty of treason to Christ. He called upon the king of France to embark upon a crusade against the Albigenses [which affected the Waldenses also], which was done in 1209. It was conducted with incredible ferocity; after the taking of Carcassonne, especially, there was an appalling massacre. [...]”
"History of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell (1946), p440
Fundamentalist Christianity
Fundamentalist Christianity has been around for five hundred years, and stands in stark contrast to all the original forms of Christianity, it represents the newest form of Christianity, comparable in all ways to strict fundamentalist Islam. This rapidly growing approach to Christianity looks set to become mainstream Christianity within this century, as all liberal churches are declining, just like Mithraist Christians, Jewish Christians and other Christians all declined under the violent assault of Pauline Christianity.
The Rise of Literalist Christianity
The growth of Church of England Fundamentalism
References: (What's this?)
Ehrman, Bart "Lost Christianities" (2003 hardback). Oxford University Press, New York, USA.
Freke, Timothy & Gandy, Peter "The Jesus Mysteries" (1999). Text taken from 2000 paperback edition. Published by Thorsons, London. [Book Review]
Hodge, Stephen "Dead Sea Scrolls" (2001). Published by Piatkus books, London UK. Paperback first edition. [Book Review]
McCall, Andrew "The Medieval Underworld" (1979). Quotes from 2004 Sutton Publishing softback edition.
O'Toole, Edward "Sophia Bestiae" (2006 Jun 06). Published by Aestheteka Press. Quotes taken from a pre-release edition.
Rubenstein, Richard E. "When Jesus Became God: The Struggle to Define Christianity During the Last Days of Rome" (1999). First Harvest edition, 2000. Published by Harcourt, Inc.
Russell, Bertrand "History of Western Philosophy" (1946). Quotes from 2000 edition published by Routledge, London, UK.
Notes:
2006 Aug 14: Added section: Who Were the Original Christians?
2008 May 16: Added ref to new page on Arian Christianity.
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By Vexen Crabtree 2006 Jun 17
© 2006 Vexen Crabtree. All rights reserved.

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Christianity Is The Plagiarized Version OfMithraism - A Persian / Iranian Theology
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Patriarchal Tyranny: - The true origin of the three Abrahamic, Adam and Eve based religions; Judaism, and its two derivatives: Christianity and Islam.
- By Bahram Maskanian - May 09, 1989 - Last Edit and Update, March 2005
The horrifying barbarism of Judaism, Christianity and Islam religious manuals and history is a clear evidence of humanity's desperate need to form a new spirituality, which is based on common sense and ethical standards.
Mithra was a Persian savior. The worship of Mithra became common throughout the Roman Empire, particularly among the Roman civil service and military. The Mithraism and Christianity were competitors until the 4th century. Mithra believed to have been born on December 25. Mithra's birth was witnessed by shepherds and by gift-carrying Magi, or - the three wise men. - This was celebrated as the, - Dies Natalis Solic Invite. - The Birthday of the Unconquered Son. - Many followers believed that Mithra was born of a virgin. During his life, Mithra performed many miracles, cured many illnesses, and cast out devils. Mithra celebrated a - - Last Supper with his 12 Disciples. - He ascended to heaven at the time of the spring equinox, about March 21, the first day of spring.
The above story sounds uncannily similar to the story of Jesus, or ISSAH, his real name. Except Mithra and his religion took place over two thousand (2000) years earlier than ISSAH, or Jesus, which is a Greek name replacing his real name, meaning angel. - ISSAH or Jesus died due to natural causes three hundred (300) years before the Jews made him into a mythical religious figure and the Son of God, just like Mithra. -
Christianity is just a plagiarized religion, an exact replication of Mithraism, which was in existence over two thousand (2000) years earlier than Christianity.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Now let's look at the much older Persian supernatural being: Mithra. The earliest known examples of Mithra worship date back over four thousand (4000) years ago into 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. Along came the Zoroastrians in the 6th century BC who absorbed Mithra and Ahura-Mazda into their own culture where, - Ahura-Mazda - became the supreme holy God of goodness and - Ahriman - became the God of Evil.
Soon after this Zoroastrian / Babylonian takeover around 580-BC, the Babylonians were holding the Jews in captivity. The Jews were Henotheists at this time but became heavily influenced by the concept of one god of goodness and one god of evil.
Mithra was sent by the Father God down to Earth to confirm his contract with Man.
Mithra was born of a Virgin through - Immaculate Conception - He was born of Anahita, an immaculate virgin mother.
Mithra was born in a stable - We celebrate his birth on December 25th -.
Mithra was visited by wise men bearing gifts.
Mithra had 12 disciples - He was called the Messiah -.
Mithra was also the god of Darius, conqueror of Babylon, He was called - - Messiah - - or Christos by Jews during their Captivity.
Mithra made a (Contract) or (Covenant) with Man confirming an older contract with God - The Persian word Mithra literally means - - Contract. - -
Mithra celebrated a last supper with his disciples before his death.
Mithra died to atone for the sins of Man.
Mithra was resurrected on a Sunday.
Mithra ascended into Heaven to rejoin his Father.
Mithra will return to pass judgment on Man - He was known as the judger of souls -.
On judgment day, the dead will arise and be judged by Mithra.
Mithra will send sinners to HELL.
Mithra will send the faithful to HEAVEN.
On judgment day there will be a final conflict between Good and Evil - The forces of Evil will be destroyed and the saved will live in paradise forever -.
Mithra is part of a Holy Trinity the - (Father, Son, And Holy Spirit) -, that took human form.
Mithra is depicted as having a halo, (a circular band of light around his head).
Mithra followers drink wine and eat bread, which represent his blood and flesh.
Mithra followers are baptized.
Saturday and Sunday, the two (2) days of the week to rest and celebrate.
That is a whole lot of remarkable coincidences, all from thousands of years before ISSAH or Jesus was born.
The Holy book of Zoroastrian was called the Avesta of Zarathustra, (Zoroaster is the Greek word for the Persian - - Zarathustra - -). The Jews were well aware of this book.
Mithra worship declined with the arrival of the strong Zoroastrian philosophy of - - One True God - -. in the Roman Empire.
Mithra worship increased again and became very popular during the late Roman Empire... When did this happen? Yes. The first Century AD, another remarkable coincidence.
From what race did the mythical Jesus allegedly come from? - The Jews. - Who had already been influenced by the Mithra cult for centuries and have adopted many other Zoroastrian beliefs.
Who convened the Great Christian Council of Nicea in 325-AD? The Roman Emperor Constantine. Who did he worship before his conversion? Mithra!!!
The large number of similarities between the Persian / Zorastrian God Mithra and the Judeo / Christian Jesus are just too many to be mere coincidences... The two stories are just too much alike... even down to the gifts brought by the wise men to the stable for the infant Mithra, born of a virgin, the son of God, savior of mankind who died to save us from evil.
It is blindingly obvious that Christianity is just a plagiarization of the earlier Persian Cult of Mithraism. There is nothing original in the Christian belief system. It is all copied.
Christianity has always practiced this art of absorbing other people's beliefs and calling them their own.... Easter from the pagan festival of Eastre... High Mass, Sunday Sabbath, Holly and Ivy, Decorating trees, Monotheism, The Eucharist... All of it is taken from Mithra.
The bread disks that the Mithra worshipers ate during their Mass to symbolize the flesh of their God was marked with a cross, - - hundreds of years before it became a Christian symbol. - -
And finally, during the Roman Revival of the Mithraism Cult, where do you think the cult centered?
- - - On The One And The Same - Vatican Hill - in Rome - - - !
Christianity is a false religion with no doctrine of its own. All of its dogma, its rituals, its key characters, its very foundation is stolen from Mithraism.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, as usual in the good old Christian fashion, Fanatic Christians deliberately fail to realize that,
Christianity is Mithraism. - The Christian religion is nothing but a plagiarized version of what EVERYONE claims to be pure mythology, therefore so is Christianity.
Even the artifacts have been positively dated to WAY earlier than Christianity, so NO, someone did not just - - Make Them Up. - -
Christianity is what was made up, then spread by a psychotic man called Paul, who had his - - Vision - - while on the road to Damascus. Paul's vision, has since been proven to have been the result of a - - Temporal Lobe Epileptic Seizure. - - For 20 years this delusional man thought the end of the world was coming each and every day he woke up.
Everything this irrational man wrote was while he believed that at any moment the end was coming. This is what Christian Fundamentalist consider - - Words to LIVE by - - instead quite obviously they were - - Words to DIE by, - - written by a psychologically impaired man.
Paul is the first Christian mullah, a figure largely responsible for bringing the Christian message to the Roman Empire. 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.
Paul was arrested while preaching and taken into custody near Troas. He was transferred to Rome and was beheaded in the Neronian persecution when he was 65 or 67 years old. His remains were buried on the road to Ostia.
Paul was instrumental in organizing the fundamentalist Christian Church. Through his disturbed psychotic writings he plagiarized and elevated Mithraism to Christianity.
Paul transformed a minor and obscure sect of Judaism, ISSAH's movement, by copying Mithraism, replacing Mithra with ISSAH and then calling him Jesus, a Greek name-meaning angel.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A spiritual reinterpretation of Persian Mithraism was suppressed when Constantine I decided to transform Mithraism from a Persian originated religion into a Roman version. Pursuant to his command, historians changed the name from Mithraism to Christianity and ISSAH replaced Mithra and was named Jesus. Roman historians began plagiarizing a new book of lies. Soon after, Constantine I converted to Christianity in CE 312.
Constantine I was raised at the Eastern court of Emperor Diocletian. In 305 Constantius and Galerius succeeded Maximian and Diocletian as the Western and Eastern emperor, respectively. In 306 Constantius died at York, north of England. Soon after Constantine was acclaimed as the Western emperor by the Roman army.
Galerius, however, 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 Milvian Bridge (312). 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 Roman Empire. In 324 Constantine crushed Licinius and became sole ruler.
Constantine presided over the first ecumenical council of the Christian church at Nicaea (325), which condemned Arianism. In (330) Constantine rebuilt Byzantium as his capital, renaming it Constantinople, (today's Istanbul).
Constantine I centralized imperial power and minted a new gold coin, the solidus, that remained the basic unit of Byzantine currency for a thousand years. Above all, Constantine was responsible for the Christianization of the Roman Empire.
His commitment to Christianity was reflected in the building of the Church of the Holy Wisdom (the original Hagia Sophia), Constantinople, the first St. Peter's basilica, Rome, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Definition Of Faith:To have faith is to have confident belief in an unquestioned and unexamined set of mythical values, or trustworthiness of a divine power, an idea, or a symbol. - To believe in what does not rest on reason, logical proof, or material evidence. - A mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust and confidence in superstition. - Loyalty and mental acceptance, conviction in myths as the truth, actuality, or validity of something. - Faith is also the theological virtue defined as secure belief and allegiance with those who claim to represent God, trusting and acceptance of God's will. - A set of dogmatic myths, or beliefs, or opinion, or doctrine held as being true by a group of persons. - Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and to be certain of the existence of what we would never know.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Thousands of years before the invention of monotheistic dogma, the doctrine and belief system manufactured by men, that there is only one God, the matriarch system of social governing flourished successfully and peacefully for as long as eight thousands (8000) years, according to Persian, Indian and Chinese history. Lugu Lake province in China today in the twenty-first (21) century is free from religion and communism, run by women based on the good old matriarch system of, No Wars, No Murder and No Rape.
Power hungry, greedy and sexually confused men invented the monotheistic dogma making this absurd claim that, GOD is a HE and he told Moses that he made Men in his own image. The Jewish manual, Old Testament is full of hateful, anti women, terrorizing, murdering commands, by far the scariest text written by men, placing women in a slave subservient position, it is obviously a counter offensive to overthrow matriarchy, replacing it with a brutal war mongering, war profiteering, rapist, and murderous patriarchy system. The patriarchy system brought us slavery, rape, sexism, racism, terrorism, imperialism, communism, fear, war, hate and religious fundamentalism, just to name a few. Other by products of patriarchy system is the huge environmental degradation humanity is suffering from all over the world today.
It must be noted that the Judaism theology including the Ten Commandments, was stolen from the Egyptian Book Of Death, obviously an Egyptian theology. Christianity was stolen from the Persian Mithraism, evidently a Persian theology, and finally, Islam’s, criminal manual, which is almost identical to the barbaric dogmas of Jewish manual, Old Testament, with the exception of a few names changed. It is no secret that Muhammad idealized Moses and that Muhammad's criminal genocidal conquests rivals those of Moses.
Besides of the true character of Moses, as stated and acknowledged in the Jewish manual, which is the most revolting as it can possibly be imagined. Moses clearly was the first of the so-called GOD Messengers who began the religious genocidal wars to conquer, plunder and advance the false pretences of religion; under the mask of all that is holy, committed the most unexampled atrocities that are to be found in the history of any nation on earth, of which I will state only one instance. When Moses and his Jewish army returned from one of their plundering and murdering excursions, the account goes on as follows:
- - And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp; and Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle; and Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the - thous ands, and captai commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now, therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known a man by lying with him; but all the women-children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. - - (Chap. xxxi., ver. 13)
Muhammad did almost exactly the same, following Moses footsteps, using the same revolting doctrines and tactics to become the Islamic Emperor of the world, calling himself last god messenger. Through the same brainwashing methods Muhammad and his criminal army converted, subjugated and murdered the nonbelievers, followed by the plunder, enslavement and rape of the captive virgins of any age.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
MEN CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE:Power hungry, greedy, psychotic, criminal and sexually confused MEN who preferred to live in caves on intimate terms with domesticated animals and small boys have invented the monotheistic dogma of the 3 Abrahamic, Adam and Eve based religions; Judaism and it’s 2 derivatives Christianity and Islam. These men have claimed that when no one was around, an image and a voice of a man told them, that GOD is a HE, and he has created MEN, in his own hideous image.
And if you, the reader, believe that, clearly your educational system has failed you.
The truth is that these psychotic pedophile men, based on many recorded historical facts, have created GOD, in their own horrible parasitic image and character, these men founded Judaism, the first of the 3 Abrahamic, Adam and Eve based religions and it’s religious manuals, to support their decadent idiotic claims. - They fabricated a patriarch image of GOD, to be a brutal war monger, war profiteer, rapist, slave trader / owner, racists, murderous, sexist, terrorist, fear and hate monger, imperialist and religious fundamentalist, as they, themselves were. - The absolute truth is that men throughout human history have perpetuated the 3 Abrahamic, Adam and Eve based religions; Judaism and it’s 2 derivatives Christianity and Islam mythical barbaric crap, only to maintain their own patriarchal criminal power and control over women and society.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We all are well aware and familiar with the luxurious life style and the power of the patriarch religious mullahs representing the three (3) Abrahamic, Adam and Eve based religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These religious mullahs have been claiming that we, the humankind must sacrifice and are here only to Glorify God and obey HIM, - - which in reality, it means to Glorify the barbaric elitist mullahs and obey them as the self-proclaimed ambassadors and voices of the ultimate holy criminal, the murdering, sadistic, chauvinist, racist, sexist, anti-reason, blood thirsty masculine MALE GOD. - - A God so confused who fools but assures, - Jews, Christians and Muslims -, all, the very same nonexistence promised heaven above, only if they convert each-other to their faith, even if they had to kill them to go where it does not exist!!!
Religious mullahs and their fabricated belief system are responsible for most of the large scale genocidal wars, and today's, - Homicide Bombers, - Ethnic-Cleansing and mass systematic planned extermination of many nations, are all driven by the greedy barbaric mullahs. Even though many religious mullahs claim to be peaceful and against killing of the innocent, they promote extermination of those who do not believe in their myth by promising the stupid brainwashed followers / killers a special elitist treatment and status in the nonexistence promised heaven.
Religious competition between the three (3) Abrahamic, Adam and Eve based religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have robbed the humankind of an enormous amount of knowledge, wisdom, dignity and compassion, by killing those who dared to challenge the barbarism of religion and think differently. Humankind had suffered thousands of years setback and lost countless scientific advancements and wisdom due to the religious mullahs conducts of burning scientist, free thinking philosophers and millions of books to prevent humankind from finding out the truth. Religious mullahs brought us brutal torture, slavery, genocide, terrorism and religious wars, as did their bosses, the so-called GOD Messengers, sadly ever present in all of the so-called civilized and the not civilized nations on Earth, even today and have been for the most part of human recorded history, ever since the invention of religion by MAD MEN.
Fundamentalism of any kind and color is a big fatal mistake. No philosophy or religion ever had the answer and none ever will. Reality based on hallucination and assumptions is not reality. It's a myth. Theocracy pushing the public to be favorable toward a theoretical idea of one form or another will only bring us to where we are today and even worse, if we, the people continue on this self-destructive journey. The truth must be told about these barbaric widespread mythological beliefs. The deeply rooted hatred caused by mullahs for thousands of years must be openly and honestly discussed to remedied this old nasty wound, before we, the humankind are annihilated.
The three (3) barbaric Abrahamic, Adam and Eve based religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and their manuals of human slavery, subjugation, conquest, looting, murder and hate are humankind's problem all over the world, more dangerous and deadly than any weapons of mass destruction - WMD - ever invented. We must solve these deadly problems through conversation not confliction, by shedding the bright light of truth and common sense on Judaism, Christianity and Islam's criminal mullahs deceptive lies and their manuals.
Humanity has paid an extremely heavy price of time, blood and treasure in order to evolve, to reach, and gain the little wisdom that we have today. - We must realize that the destructive patriarchal extent of tribal religious supremacy wars for the past few thousand years have destroyed countless works of art, science books and the scientists who wrote them. - Undoubtedly humanity would have been in a much better place had it not been for the criminal atrocities of the tyrannical patriarchal religious men.
The scope of tribal religious supremacy wars is no longer limited to genocide, ethnic cleansing and burning down villages and towns on horse back anymore. We have now entered the age of religious Atomic Annihilation of our one, and only home, Planet Earth, and all of its inhabitants. The extremely dangerous and racist tribal supremacy if not stopped, it would stop all of us, the humankind.
- - I believe that religious duties consist of doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow creatures happy, - my own mind is my own church - - Thomas Paine - The Age of Reason
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sources: Book of Mithra, Book of Zoroaster, Avesta - History of Persian Empire, Prior to Islam - History of Roman Empire - The Three (3) Barbaric Adam & Eve Based Religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam's Manuals.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
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The Odyssey is Non-Profit, but Not Non-ProphetApril 15, 2000
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You've no doubt heard the story before -- God speaks to one man, and gives him a message that will save all of humanity. That man goes out and, against all odds, shares that message with the people and converts many to his new religion. It hasn't happened to any of the trekkers yet, but if it's going to, I think we're in the right place.
Are we closer to God here, or are the people more spiritual than in other parts of the world? Is it in the water? Maybe it's the vast deserts, or the beautiful rugs. Why is it that so many influential prophets have come from the Middle East through the ages? There was Abraham who was born in what is now Turkey, and Jesus, of course, and then came Mohammed in Saudi Arabia.
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Not to be outdone, Persia has produced at least two similar "messengers of God," and two subsequent major religions. The first, named Zarathustra or Zoroaster, lived anywhere from 1500 BCE to 1200 BCE (depending on whose research you believe) and his religion, Zoroastrianism, strongly influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The second Persian prophet, Bahá'u'lláh, started the Bahá'í faith here in the 1800s, and a lot of his teachings stem from Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. Since the revolution in 1979, when Iran became an "Islamic Republic" ruled by Muslim clergy, many followers of Zoroastrianism, and almost all of the Bahá'í, have left the country.
The Bahá'í faith, which we learned about back in Haifa, Israel, has five million followers worldwide and is still growing. Zoroastrianism, however, has fewer (some estimates say up to 150,000; other say less) and could be dying out. Still, in the big picture, Zarathustra has had a larger effect on the world.
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Expert Fact Did you know that Zoroaster is older than Moses?Dr. Badi Badiozamani is the author of "Iran & America: Rekindling a Love Lost" (soon to be published), is a scholar, journalist and expert on Iran. Before Zarathustra came along, the people of ancient Persia worshipped many gods. But Zarathustra's God, Ahura Mazda, the "Wise Lord," came down and told him to reject these "demons." For Zoroastrians, life is a battle between good and evil, and everyone -- man and woman alike -- is a warrior. The battle, however, is spiritual, not physical.
About 10,000 devout Zoroastrians live here in Yazd, Iran. Ateshkadé, the Zoroastrian fire temple, holds a fire that has burned for 1,530 years!
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"We believe that fire is a living thing," my new Zoroastrian friend Parvis told me. "So when a fire is made, it is important to remember, kind of like a birth certificate."
We were really fortunate to meet Parvis. He showed us around the fire temple and the old homes of his grandparents. The homes are built in the shape of a cross, to represent the four directions, a building custom which reminds me of ancient Native American religions and European pagan symbolism.
"Every time they (Zoroastrians) want to bless anything, they touch the four corners," Parvis explained. "All the prayers, they spread to the four corners. So a cross of equidistant sides with four dots is a very important symbol. In all of the Persian rugs you'll see the central medallion will be a cross. In the Mitraic religion you have hot cross buns way before in the Christian religion!" (Mitraism is a sect of Zoroastrianism that has spread to the West.)
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There are seven elements in Zoroastrianism that represent the one God. You can learn more about that in Kavitha's article, or go straight to the source: the holy book of Zoroastrians is known as the Avesta, and it was passed down orally for more than 1,000 years, until it was written down during the Sassanian dynasty in Iran, between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE. The oldest parts of the Avesta are the Gathas -- seventeen intricate poems supposedly written by Zarathustra himself.
After 10 years of getting NO converts, Zoroastrianism started growing, and eventually became the official state religion of Persia under the Sassanians, who controlled this area between 224 and 637 CE. Instead of the Islamic Republic of Iran, did they call it the Zoroastrian Kingdom of Persia? Well, it really doesn't matter, because once Mohammed brought Islam to the Arabs, they went out and conquered all of the Middle East, and Zoroastrianism went into decline. But despite Islam's hold on Iran, many of the traditions and customs date back to the Zoroastrian days.
Vocabulary
clergy - people involved in religious service (a priest, or an Imam, for example)subsequent - following in time, succeedingpagan - a person who has no religion, or whose beliefs predate Christianity, Judaism and IslamNow, Parvis told me, there is a large, thriving Zoroastrian community in Bombay, India, where they still leave their dead on the Towers of Silence. Whoah! We visited these desolate hilltop structures here in Yazd, where the local Zoroastrians used to leave their dead to be eaten by the vultures.
"Once a person dies," Parvis explained, "the fire of life is gone from them." Therefore, the body is polluting and shouldn't be buried in the earth or burned on the fire, two of the sacred seven elements. Cool!
THE ZOROASTRIAN CREED
Come to my aid, O Mazda (3).
I profess myself a Mazda-worshipper, a Zoroastrian, having vowed it and professed it. I pledge myself to the well-thought thought, I pledge myself to the well-spoken word, I pledge myself to the well-done action.
I pledge myself to the Mazdayasnian religion, which causes the attack to be put off and weapons put down; which upholds khvaetvadatha (kin-marriage), which possesses Asha; which of all religions that exist or shall be, is the greatest, the best, and the most beautiful: Ahuric, Zoroastrian. I ascribe all good to Ahura Mazda. This is the creed of the Mazdayasnian religion. (Note: Asha, which has been translated variously as truth, righteousness, world-order, eternal law and fitness, is a key concept in Zoroastrianism.)
Related LinksFrequently Asked Questions About Zoroastrianism
Traditional Zoroastrianism Home Page "When I die," I told Brian as we climbed the dusty hill, "I want my body to be eaten by vultures!" Brian thinks I'm weird.
Seriously, though, I've really enjoyed learning about the Zoroastrian religion. I like it that they believe in guardian angels, because we trekkers can really use them. I also like some of the quotes I've found from the Avesta, so I'll leave you with a parting inspirational scripture -- words to live by 'til the vultures come!
"A thousand people cannot convince one by words to the extent that one person can convince a thousand by action." (The Avesta, SDk6.e15)
Abeja
p.s. - Please e-mail me at ...abejahummel@bigfoot.com
Brian - A Chat with a MosqueJasmine - No More No RuzKavitha - Trekkers and Mongols in Iran's Desert PlateauKavitha - An Iranian Dead Poets' SocietyTeam - Turn Off That Faucet! Water Doesn't Grow on Trees, You Know
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Hypotyposeis
Sketches in Biblical Studies by Stephen C. Carlson
Sacraments in Mithraism and Early Christianity
ProfileLink("Andrew Criddle")
Andrew CriddleTuesday, July 31, 2007
Justin Martyr in his First Apology chapters 65-67 compares Christian sacraments to those in Mithraism.
But we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized [illuminated] person, and for all others in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. This word Amen answers in the Hebrew language to so be it. And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion.
And this food is called among us the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body; "and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood; "and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.
And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.
The immediately odd thing about this is that Justin compares the use of water and bread in Mithraic initiation to the Christian Eucharist which (normally) involves bread and wine (mixed with water). Tertullian in a parallel passage in the Prescription of Heretics has “Mithra there, (in the kingdom of Satan, )... celebrates also the oblation of bread” with no mention of a parallel involving the cup.
Some scholars have paraphrased Justin’s statement about a cup of water in Mithraic initiation as really meaning a cup of wine mixed with water as in the standard early Christian Eucharist. However, water itself is important in the mythology of Mithras (Mithras shoots an arrow to bring water out of a rock) so it is more plausible to take water here as meaning simply water.
One problem is that the phrase from chapter 65 of Justin’s Apology “There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water” should be better translated as “Then bread and a cup of water and mixed wine are brought to the president of the brethren” as at ccel.org . The Greek is ἄρτος καὶ ποτήριον ὕδατος καὶ κράματος. A complication is that codex Ottobianus omits καὶ κράματος here. Harnack and others have suggested that this is the original text. (See McGowan Ascetic Eucharists) However the omission is probably due to homoteleuton, a scribe copying καὶ ποτήριον ὕδατος καὶ κράματος καὶ as καὶ ποτήριον ὕδατος καὶ.
How should we understand ‘a cup of water and mixed wine’? Justin is speaking of a Eucharist after baptism and an important parallel is found in the Apostolic Tradition attributed to Hippolytus and which preserves liturgical practice at Rome from the period shortly after Justin. The baptismal ritual in chapter 21 has, immediately after baptism, the following:
Then the deacons shall immediately bring the oblation. The bishop shall bless the bread, which is the symbol of the Body of Christ; and the bowl of mixed wine, which is the symbol of the Blood which has been shed for all who believe in him; and the milk and honey mixed together, in fulfillment of the promise made to the fathers, in which he said, “a land flowing with milk and honey,” which Christ indeed gave, his Flesh, through which those who believe are nourished like little children, by the sweetness of his Word, softening the bitter heart; and water also for an oblation, as a sign of the baptism, so that the inner person, which is psychic, may also receive the same as the body. The bishop shall give an explanation of all these things to those who are receiving. Breaking the bread, distributing a piece to each, he shall say, “The Bread of Heaven in Jesus Christ.” And the one who receives shall answer, “Amen.” The elders, and the deacons if there are not enough, shall hold the cups and stand together in good order and with reverence: first the one who holds the water, second the one who holds the milk, and third the one who holds the wine. They who partake shall taste of each three times.
Here we have a cup of water drunk, after baptism, for inner cleansing, as well as a cup of milk and honey and a cup of mixed wine. Justin’s statement ‘a cup of water and mixed wine’ should be taken to mean two cups, one of water and one of wine mixed with water, used in the special Eucharist immediately after baptism. If a cup of water was used in the baptismal Eucharist in Justin’s church then the parallel with the Mithraic use of bread and a cup of water in initiation would be apparent. However the similarity to the standard Eucharist involving bread and (mixed) wine would be much weaker.
Hence Justin’s claim that in Mithraism a cup of water was used in initiation should be taken at face value, and the parallels between this initiation ceremony in Mithraism and the Christian Eucharist appear to be based upon a special form of Eucharist used in baptism in his church, rather than upon the standard form of the Eucharist.
Labels: Andrew Criddle, Background, Patristics
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Tuesday Round-Up (7-31-2007)
Yeehaw! It’s Tuesday, and here’sa daily dose of “Round-Up”:. Andrew Criddle of Hypotyposeis explores the similarities between Christian Sacraments and Mithraic rituals in Justin Martyr: “Sacraments in Mithraism and Early Christianity. ... posted by stephen @ Tuesday, July 31, 2007 5:00:26 PM
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