Christianity and Paganism
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Early Christianity developed in an era of the Roman Empire during which many religions were practiced. The intermingling and interaction of peoples and cultures facilitated by the Pax Romana resulted in the competition and cross-fertilization of religions.
It has been proposed that Christianity either evolved from or was strongly influenced by one or more of the non-Judaic religions of the time. Although these theories are not generally accepted by mainstream academic communities and religious institutions, they have garnered and continue to enjoy support from a minority of scholars.
Three layers of pagan influence on the Christian Church have been proposed:
- Influence on the New Testament narrative and doctrine itself. This is mainly located in Hellenistic mystery religions such as Mithraism, partly inspired by Ancient Egyptian religion, as well as the mythology of the Old Testament, but Buddhism is also named as a possible influence;
- influence on Christian dogma in Late Antiquity, that is, the doctrine of the Church Fathers in the 4th and 5th century, the Nicene and Chalcedonian creeds, including the questions of the Trinity and Christology. A strong influence here was Roman imperial cult, Hellenistic philosophy, notably Neoplatonism, and Gnosticism. Christological disputes continued to dominate Christian theology well into the Early Middle Ages, down to the Third Council of Constantinople of AD 680;
- influences of pagan religions Christianized in the Early Middle Ages. This includes Germanic paganism, Celtic paganism, Slavic paganism and folk religion in general.
According to this theory, Christianity was both greatly influenced by, and exerted influence on, non-Christian (pagan) cults and mythologies.
One theory suggests that Christianity developed in the 2nd and 3rd centuries leading an underground existence as an illicit mystery religion. According to this theory, it underwent a syncretism with the Roman imperial cult and Hellenistic philosophy in the 4th century; this syncretic process completed by AD 391 with the ban on pagan cults by Theodosius I.
In the course of the Christianisation of Europe in the Early Middle Ages, the Church adopted many elements of national cult and folk religion, resulting in national Churches like Latin, Germanic, Russian, Armenian and so on.
One goal of the Reformation was to return the Church to the state of Early Christianity, discarding such flavours, and Restorationists like Jehovah's Witnesses continue to argue that "mainstream Christianity" has departed from "original" Christianity due, in part, to such pagan influences.
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[edit] Influence on New Testament narrative
Assertions of pagan influences on Christianity have been made since the beginning of the Christian era. Justin Martyr made the following defense against the assertion that Jesus Christ was modeled after the Greek god, Dionysus.
Be well assured, then, Trypho, that I am established in the knowledge of and faith in the Scriptures by those counterfeits which he who is called the devil is said to have performed among the Greeks; just as some were wrought by the Magi in Egypt, and others by the false prophets in Elijah's days. For when they tell that Bacchus, son of Jupiter, was begotten by intercourse with Semele, and that he was the discoverer of the vine; and when they relate, that being torn in pieces, and having died, he rose again, and ascended to heaven; and when they introduce wine into his mysteries, do I not perceive that the devil has imitated the prophecy announced by the patriarch Jacob, and recorded by Moses? [1]
[edit] Influence on early Christian theology
There was a complex interaction between Hellenic philosophy and Christianity during the early years of the church, particularly the first four centuries A.D.
Christianity originated in the Roman province of Judah, an Aramaic culture with traditional philosophies and modes of thought distinct from the Classical Greek thought which was dominant in the Roman Empire at the time of Christ and centuries following. However, Judah itself was already Hellenized in the first century, and the "Hebrew Bible" most commonly used was the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the original Hebrew scriptures.
The conflict between the two modes of thought is recorded in scripture, in Paul's encounters with Epicurian and Stoic philosophers in Acts [1], his diatribe against Greek philosophy in 1st Corinthians[2], and his warning against philosophy in Colossians 2:8[3].
Over time, however, as Christianity spread throughout the Hellenic world, an increasing number of church leaders were educated in Greek philosophy, leading to a fusion of the two modes of thought.
One early Christian writer of the second and early third century, Clement of Alexandria, demonstrated the assimilation of Greek thought in writing: "Philosophy has been given to the Greeks as their own kind of Covenant, their foundation for the philosophy of Christ ... the philosophy of the Greeks ... contains the basic elements of that genuine and perfect knowledge which is higher than human ... even upon those spiritual objects." [2]
Augustine of Hippo, who ultimately systematized Christian philosophy, wrote in the 4th and early fifth century: "But when I read those books of the Platonists I was taught by them to seek incorporeal truth, so I saw your 'invisible things, understood by the things that are made' [3].
When Christians first encountered Manichaeism, it seemed to them to be a heresy, as it had originated in a heavily Gnostic area of the Persian empire. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) converted to Christianity from Manichaeism. Until the 20th century, most of the Western world's concept of Manichaeism came through Augustine's negative polemics against it. According to his Confessions of St. Augustine, after eight or nine years of adhering to the Manichaean faith (as a member of the Manichaean group of "hearers"), he became a Christian and a potent adversary of Manichaeism. It is speculated by some modern scholars (Alfred Adam, for example), that Manichaean ways of thinking had an influence on the development of some of Augustine's Christian ideas, such as the nature of good and evil, the idea of hell, the separation of groups into elect, hearers, and sinners, the hostility to the flesh and sexual activity, and so on.
How much long-term influence the Manichaeans actually had on Christianity is still being debated. It has been suggested that the Bogomils, Paulicians, and the Cathars were deeply influenced by Manichaeism. However, the Bogomils and Cathars, in particular, left few records of their rituals or doctrines, and the link between them and Manichaeans is tenuous. Regardless of its historical accuracy the charge of Manichaeism was levelled at them by contemporary orthodox opponents, who often tried to fit contemporary heresies with those combatted by the church fathers. The Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathars were certainly dualists and felt that the world was the work of a demiurge of Satanic origin (Cross), but whether this was due to influence from Manichaeism or another strand of Gnosticism is impossible to determine. Only a minority of Cathars held that the evil god (or principle) was as powerful as the good god (also called a principle) as Mani did, a belief also known as absolute dualism. In the case of the Cathars, it seems they adopted the Manichaean principles of church organization, but none of its religious cosmology. Priscillian and his followers apparently tried to absorb what they thought was the valuable part of Manichaeaism into Christianity.
[edit] Influence on Christian liturgy and ritual
- Further information: Christianised rituals
Lisa Ann Bargeman asserts that many Christian rituals and beliefs, particularly Roman Catholic ones, may have been borrowed from ancient Egyptian traditions. She compares the Bible with the Egyptian sacred text, The Book of the Dead; she further cites similarities between specific themes and ceremonial practices to argue that Christianity directly evolved from the beliefs of the Egyptians.[4]
Others believe that the relationship was more indirect, passing through Hellenic and Roman adaptations of the Egyptian traditions. For example, the cult of Isis was popular in the Roman Empire in the form of a Hellenized adaption of Egyptian ritual. This cult believed that Isis gave virgin birth to Horus (she was often portrayed suckling the infant Horus). It also believed in the resurrection of Osiris, who thereupon became the Judge of sinners. The use of holy water, in turn, was similar to the water from the Nile that was kept in a cistern as a protection against evil.[5]
It has been suggested that Christianity originated as a mystery religion, a secret cult of initiates. According to this view, Christianity began as a Jewish adaptation of Greek mystery religion, and that Paul developed Christianity in another, more public, Hellenized direction, ultimately more acceptable to mainstream Roman culture.
...knowledge of the Mystery religions is important for any serious study of the history of Christianity. It is well-nigh impossible to grasp Christianity through and through without knowledge of these cults. 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.
Mithraism is most famous because of suggestions that it was a rival of or resembled early Christianity.
There is much debate on whether Christianity is a re-branded version of many Mithraic beliefs. Ernest Renan, in The Origins of Christianity, promoted the idea that Mithraism was the prime competitor to Christianity in the second through the fourth centuries, although some scholars feel the written claims that the emperors Nero, Commodus, Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and the Tetrarchs were initiates are dubious as there is little evidence that Mithraic worship was accorded official status as a Roman cult.
A better determinant of borrowing, is to compare core doctrines between Christianity and Mithraism. The adoption of imagery or icons or festivals is fairly peripheral (such as the adoption by Christendom of winter solstice or Saturnalia festivals as Christmas) but seldom reflects basic religious tenets. A further example of this is the various Gnostic cults (such as the Marcionites and Valentinians) which adopted the personage of Jesus or the concept of a Savior, yet did not adopt the underlying doctrinal elements.
The similarities (particularly the iconographical ones) that occur between Christianity and Mithraism are due to a number of different factors. Perhaps the best examination of the complexity of trying to identify these factors can be found in the article, “Christ and Mithra”, which was written by Samuel Laeuchli. Laeuchli offers four potential explanations as to the nature of these similarities. Laeuchli writes that it is important to distinguish that the four explanations must be constantly weighed against one another because more than one possible connection could be involved. It is therefore impossible to consider any of the following ideas as being one more ‘correct’ than another. However, each of the following explanation is valid reasons and suggests that any one or more of these factors could lead to the similarities between Mithraism and Christianity. Something else that one needs to take into consideration is the fact that there is a lack of information on Mithraism that scholars could access, compared to what is known about Christianity. It is also important to remember that Mithraism was neither static nor homogeneous. Therefore, Mithraism from the second century is quite different than Mithraism from the third century. Likewise, just as Christianity varied from one region of the Roman Empire to the other, so too did Mithraism. [7]
[edit] Medieval Christian mythology
- Further information: Christian mythology and Germanic Christianity
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (May 2007) |
- Idolatry in Christianity
- Folk Catholicism
- Veneration
- Patron saint
- Intercession of saints
- Saint symbology
- All Saints
- All Souls' Day
- Allegory in the Middle Ages
- Christmas
- Easter egg
- Carnival
- Reliquary
- Witch-hunt
[edit] Mystery plays
The passion plays of Christianity had their counterpart in pagan mystery plays, the most famous of which were the Eleusinian mystery cults which originated in Attica.
[edit] Christian positions towards paganism
- Further information: Christianisation, Evangelization, and Heresy
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (May 2007) |
- Virtuous pagan
- Mission (Christian)
- Historical persecution by Christians
- Christian views on magic
- Crusades
- European colonization of the Americas
- Christianity and world religions
[edit] See also
Topics of Christianity and Paganism:
- Decline of Hellenistic polytheism
- Neoplatonism and Christianity
- Origins of Christianity
- Constantine I and Christianity
- Germanic Christianity
- Historical persecution by Christians
- Persecution of Christians
- Orthopraxy
- Liturgy
- Sacrifice
- Temple
- The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors
[edit] References
- ^ Justin Martyr http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-dialoguetrypho.html
- ^ Clement of Alexandria. Miscellanies 6. 8
- ^ Augustine of Hippo. Confessions 7. 20
- ^ Bargeman, Lisa. "The Egyptian Origins of Christianity"
- ^ Painter, Douglas. Pagan Influences in Christian Culture: The Hidden Legacy. http://www.litjournal.com/docs/fea_pagan2.html
- ^ Martin Luther King Jr. "The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity" http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/papers/vol1/500215-The_Influence_of_the_Mystery_Religions_on_Christianity.htm
- ^ Laeuchli, Samuel (1967). in Laeuchli, Samuel: “Christ and Mithra”, in Mithraism in Ostia: Mystery Religion and Christianity in the Ancient Port of Rome. Northwestern University Press. pp. 88.
[edit] Further reading
- Samuel Angus, The Mystery Religions and Christianity, 1966. University Books, New York, NY. 359 pp.
- Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds: Their Origin and Meaning, 1921. Harcourt, Brace & Co., New York, NY. Reprinted by Health Research, Mokelumne Hill, CA., 1975. 319 pp.
- T.W. Doane, Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions, 1882. Reprinted by Health Research, Mokelumne Hill, CA., 1985. 589 pp.
- John G. Jackson, Christianity Before Christ, 1985. American Atheist Press, Austin, Texas. 237 pp.
- Gordon Laing, The Church Fathers and the Oriental Cults, The Classical Journal (1918).
- Gerald Massey, The Historical Jesus and the Mythical Christ, or Natural Genesis and Typology of Equinoctial Christolatry, 1886. Reprinted by Health Research, Mokelumne Hill, CA. 224 pp.
- J. M. Robertson, Pagan Christs, 1966. Dorset Press, New York, NY. 171 pp.
