Are Christian Beliefs Rooted in Paganism

A distinction must first be made between the foundational principles taught in the scriptures that have found fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ and the various traditions not supported by scripture that have filtered into the numerous church denominations throughout the centuries. Among Christians the latter is definitely debatable, but the former is certainly not. Liberal scholars have claimed that early Christianity borrowed certain core beliefs and practices from a number of pagan mystery religions, but under scrutiny the allegations prove to be exaggerated and oversimplified. The ancient pagan belief systems were called mystery religions because they involved secret ceremonies known only to those initiated into the group and it was thought that such practices would bring some kind of relief or salvation. There were several sects that evolved in the Mediterranean area because each region produced it’s own set of beliefs. The cult of Demeter and Dionysus originated in Greece; Asia Minor gave birth to the veneration of Cybele and Attis; devotion to Isis and Osiris emerged from Egypt; and Persia saw a rise in the belief of Mithras just to name a few. The mysteries were still confined to their respective localities before 100 AD and it was only afterward that they gradually began to gain influence throughout the Roman Empire. As the various cults spread, they also underwent significant changes that resulted from the absorption of different elements from each other.

It’s not until the third century that one finds sufficient source material to allow for a complete reconstruction of each belief system. It is bad scholarship to examine information about a particular sect that’s dated hundreds of years after the close of the New Testament canon and reason back that the beliefs were the same in the first century, but that is exactly what some critics have done. Additionally, the mere fact that believers in Christianity practice things such as baptism and a sacred meal does not prove that these ceremonies are borrowed from paganism. The more important consideration is the meaning of each teaching. The initiation rite of sacred washings in the mystery cults were thought to bestow immortality in a mechanical or magical way without the person undergoing any moral or spiritual transformation. Whereas, the Christian baptism symbolizes a person’s belief in the saving work of Jesus Christ and the desire to live a repentant lifestyle. Early believers were told, "repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38) and those words still hold meaning today. The only mystery religion that had anything resembling the Lord’s Supper was Mithraism, where bread and water were placed before initiates while the priest spoke ceremonial words, but it did not hold the significant meaning of a Savior’s body being broken for restoration and blood being shed for redemption. 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 records, “when He (Jesus) had given thanks He broke it (unleavened bread) and said, take, eat, this is my body that is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me: after the same manner He also took the cup when He had eaten saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood, this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me”.

The proposed similarities between Christ’s death and resurrection to the pagan myths completely collapses upon close investigation. The notion of the Son of God voluntarily dying in the place of His creation and being “delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25) in a physical return to life is unique to Christianity. None of the supposed gods in the mysteries died for someone else, but instead died from causes such as murder and mutilation in the case of Dionysus, self-emasculation as with Attis, or murder and dismemberment as with Osiris. Furthermore, the death of Jesus Christ was not a defeat, but a triumph that secured “the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:18), which stands in stark contrast to the mysteries where followers wept and mourned for the terrible fate that overtook their deities. Followers of Dionysus believed that only his heart was left and it was then eaten by one of the other pantheistic gods so that he could be reconceived as another being. No early texts refer to a resurrection for Attis and the cult of Osiris believed he became lord of the underworld after the pieces of his body were gathered. Moreover, the idea that Mithras was a dying and rising god as some have postulated cannot be accepted because it’s not supported by the historical record. Nothing can be compared to the bodily resurrection of Christ who was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4).

Efforts made to argue for Christian dependence upon the cults of mystery only results in hyperbole or outright fabrication. Liberal academics often use language borrowed from Christianity to describe pagan rituals. Careless use of language could lead one to speak of a “last supper” in Mithraism or a “resurrection” for Osiris, but to make such statements would be disingenuous at best. Also, the late introduction of the rituals into paganism precludes them from having any influence upon the New Testament and instead might have even been absorbed from Christian beliefs. Early Christianity was an exclusivistic faith as opposed to paganism that was non-exclusive. A person could become initiated into the mysteries of one without ever having to give up beliefs in another, yet for a person to be accepted into the body of Christ it was necessary to forsake all other teachings. The early churches were even warned against the attempts at such syncretism as they were told, "beware so that no man takes you captive by philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Even a hint of pagan infiltration would have immediately caused controversy. Any quest for historical antecedents that influenced Christianity would only be successful if one recognized the Jewish foundation of the Christian faith that started approximately 1,500 years earlier. The writers of the New Testament were ardent Jews (or under their instruction) who were devoted to the legitimacy and inspiration of the Old Testament scriptures. It would have been totally blasphemous for them to incorporate cultic practices into what they knew was the fulfillment of the earlier scriptures concerning the Messiah. The strongest point of all is the fact that Christianity is grounded in actual events that transpired and were recorded by eyewitnesses into a historical document that has repeatedly been proven accurate. While the mystery religions were based on myths that symbolically represented the harvest cycles and other natural phenomena which were dramatized in secret rituals. It makes more sense that if there were any similarities in later years it would have been due to the adaption of cult groups in order to take advantage of the Christian doctrines that spread so rapidly during the first and second centuries.

“But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed”

Galatians 1:8