Christianity's Relationship with Mithraism

Q. I’ve heard a little comment about Mithraism and Christianity. Can you lay out the actual history of such a connection if there is one?

A. Over the years I have given rather detailed analysis on this subject but it wouldn’t hurt to go over some of the basics again. IN the 1st Century, there was no such thing as “Christianity” as we see it today. The believers in the Messiah continued to observe the Torah and taught the Gentiles coming into the faith to observe whatever laws applied to them. They were all seen as part of Israel.

The main contention from the Scriptures was not whether Yeshua was the Messiah or not, but what to do with the Gentiles that were coming into the faith. It was revealed by the Lord that they did not have to be circumcised (become Jewish) in order to have a place in the Kingdom of God. They were accepted by Him without it, but they were to keep the Torah. But, even in the 1st Century, there was opposition to the Torah among believers, and the spirit of the False- Messiah was already at work. That spirit is “lawlessness” according to the Scripture. The word means “without Torah” ( Gk> “anomos”). After the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, the Pharisees survived and restructured the “faith” according to their image into what was called Rabbinic Judaism. Messianic believers consisting of Jews and Gentiles continued, but a third strain was developing that was more Greek and Roman based. This third “strain” was called Christianity and was made up of Gentiles who thought that God was doing away with Israel and they had been replaced. Christianity was contending with an already established religion in the Roman Empire called Mithraism.

This religion followed the sun god Mithra, originated in Persia and it was 700 years old by the time of Constantine. The Roman army picked it up and wherever they went, Mithraism went until it was more popular in the Empire than any other religion. Its monuments have been found as far away as Britain. Some of the basic ideas of Mithraism are as follows: Mithra was co-equal with the Supreme deity, kept Sunday as their day of worship, their chief festivals were December 25th and the spring solstice (Easter). Long before Yeshua was born, Mithra was said to be born of a virgin in a cave and died on a cross at Easter. They practiced baptism, made the sign of the cross on their foreheads and they considered Mithra “savior of the world” because he died to save others. For several hundred years these two religions co-existed until a major event happened.

Constantine was Emperor in Rome and supported Christianity, even though he practiced Mithraism until the day he died. The one advantage Christianity had over Mithraism is that a person could have his sins forgiven through repentance. Constantine had a lot to be forgiven for (mass murder) so he didn’t convert until his deathbed because he was only accountable for the sins committed after conversion. The Council of Nicea was convened because Constantine wanted to consolidate all these political and religious forces into one, thus unifying his Empire. He was a good politician. So, the Council of Nicea was the birthplace of Christianity and it was around that time that Mithraism “disappeared”. In reality, it was absorbed into Christianity along with many other superstitions.

Remember, a rose by any other name is still a rose. Thus, Mithraism continued under a new name and it was the end of all the different sects and cults. They found a new home, everybody was happy and they now had an official state religion. The Emperor Julian followed Constantine and he went back to Mithraism, but he reigned 2 years and could not stop Christianity. His death was seen as divine approval for Christianity and the next Emperor Jovian improved the status of Christianity again and it never lost steam after that, and the rest, well, is history. I know it is popular to think that the roots of Christianity are from Israel, but in actuality it is Mithraism that contributed to it. Constantine said himself that one of the goals of the Council of Nicea was to “root out the last vestiges of Judaism” still remaining.

Not one Messianic leader was invited to the council. So, it is not possible that the roots of Christianity are Jewish when Constantine said himself he was ridding Christianity of them, and that’s what he did. You can get volumes of information on this by going to the Internet and looking up subjects like Mithra, Mithraism, Christianity, Constantine, Council of Nicea and so on for yourself. The information I just gave you is all there but don’t do it if you are not serious with the Lord because you are not going to like what you see if you want to remain in Christianity today. If Mithra is god, than follow him. If the God of Israel is God, than follow him. But you can’t do both, or serve two masters. The choice is yours. I hope this helps.