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Photo 16 |
The lion headed god |
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Mithraism |
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During the third century after Messiah Yahshua, The Mithraic, and pagan christian catholic cult churches were very similar both in appearance and in the character of their ritual. A majority of such places of worship were underground, and both contained altars whose backgrounds variously depicted the sufferings of the savior who had brought salvation to a sin-cursed human race. However, similar there were, also, differences. The Mithraic Cult was a cult of men called Fathers, and women were not allowed. This is in contrast to the Cult of Cybele which was made up of only women called Mothers, and men were not allowed. Of course, the Catholic church appears to have been made up of both Mithraic and Cybele cult practices. The Day of The Sun was held in high esteem by the Mithras. It had always been the practice of Mithraic worshipers, on entering the temple, to dip their fingers in holy water. And since in some districts there were those who at one time belonged to both religions, they introduced this custom into the majority of the pagan catholic-christian churches in the vicinity of Rome. Both religions employed baptism made the "Sign of the Cross", and partook of the sacrament of bread and wine. In the end, the nominal catholic-christian faith dominated Europe. Greek philosophy supplied the concepts of ethical value; Mithraism, the ritual of worship observance, and control; and Messianic-Judaism, as such, the technique for the conservation of moral and social values. Of course, these values only applied to the followers of the faith, while the leaders of the faith were at liberty to follow the MILITANT Mithraic doctrines. Mithras was originally an Indo-Iranian god of contract and friendship, beginning around the fifteenth century BC. The Persians incorporated him into their system of beliefs as a sun god (Apollo, Zeus, etc...), but he eventually lost popularity to the religion of Zoroaster, which (supposedly) did not allow worship of pagan gods. From about 330 BC to 100 AD, there is very little mention of Mithras in Persian or Greco-Roman literature. However, in the early second century AD, there was a rapid resurgence of popularity throughout the Roman Empire. This was probably spread in part by the ROMAN MILITARY (A Soldier's Religion). Mithraism quickly became one of the most common religions in the Empire and did not start to decline until Roman Emperor Constantine's political support of catholic-christianity occurred around 321 AD. The festival of Mithras' birth was December 25th (Julian Calendar), the winter solstice, and the rebirth of the sun's light. Refuse pits accompanying Mithraic sites indicate that feasting was part of their ritual, and the drinking of the bull's blood; if no bull was available, other animals were used, or bread and fish were used as substitutes for meat, and wine for blood. They believed that by eating the bull's flesh and drinking its blood they would be born again just as life itself had once been created anew from the bull's blood. Isaiah 1:11 It was believed that the partaking of the sacrament ensured eternal life, the immediate passing, after death, to the bosom of Mithras, there to tarry in bliss until the Judgement Day. On the Judgement Day the Mithraic keys of heaven would unlock the gates of Paradise for the reception of the faithful; whereupon all the unbaptized of the living and the dead would be annihilated upon the return of Mithras to earth. It was taught that, when a man died, he went before Mithras for judgement, and that at the end of the world Mithras would summon all the dead from their graves to face the last judgement. The wicked would be destroyed by fire, and the righteous would reign with Mithras forever. Mithras, after performing his deeds, was said to have ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire, to become the intercessor for the human race among the gods on high. |
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Otherwise |
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