Death, Marriage and Dionysus: The tie between Antigone, Eleusis and Christian Mysteries

The first time I read Sophocles’ Antigone I was struck by Antigone’s description of her fate as marriage to death; a description I’d previously been familiar with only as an esoteric term found in Pagan and Christian mystery religions. Early Christianity (Gnosticism) had a ritual of a Wedding Chamber and a Mock-Death which may have been linked together as one: initiates had to “die” to their lower selves in order to “marry” or merge with their higher selves. I believe these basic ideas can be traced back to earlier mysteries, but I hadn’t realized to what extent death and marriage were already linked in ancient Greek culture. I supposed, given the pervasivity of the influence of Eleusis in ancient Greece, that Sophocles may have had the cult center of Eleusis in mind when writing Antigone. After some light research, I’m convinced that he did; moreover, he may have been purposely re-creating the mystery experience in a specifically Greek context, through a play about well-known figures. This brief essay will indicate the reasons and evidence that led me to this conclusion, which I hope to investigate further in the future.

The philosopher G.W.F. Hegel declared Antigone to be not only an excellent tragedy but one of the “most sublime and most consummate works of art human effort has ever brought forth” (Steiner 4). This fascination with the play was mainly derived from Antigone’s noble, heroic death – a death that is embraced rather than resisted. When she is sent to starve slowly in a tomb, she hangs herself in a final gesture of autonomy. Although the themes are powerful, and Sophocles was no doubt an inspired writer, the fact that marriage and death were already tightly linked in ancient Greek culture is often overlooked in the literature. Moreover, the idea that a purgative/restorative function of sacrificial death and marriage was used as a powerful spiritual metaphor in ancient mystery traditions, indicating a possible interpretive function of Antigone, has also received too little attention. Specifically, I will attempt to trace the link between the founding myth of Eleusis – the rape of Persephone – which included Dionysus/Hades as the Deathly Lover, and then examine it in the light of later Gnostic exegesis.

The Myth of Persephone
Sophocles was an initiate of the mysteries of Eleusis, which began around 1500BC. Eleusis was focused around the myth of Persephone, who was kidnapped by Hades and taken into the underworld. She was mourned by Demeter, but then is returned after a deal is struck with Hades; Persephone will spend half the year underground and half the year above. An annual cycle with three phases is thus created, including the descent (loss), the search and the ascent. At its earliest, this was probably a vegetation myth to explain the changing seasons. In late antiquity, the myth was used to justify afterlife beliefs and the hope for immortality. Once Dionysus became identified with Hades or the Lord of the Underworld (and also with the twice-born god that offered eternal life), the story of Persephone also included her return with a divine child that was begotten in the underworld.

Incidentally, this early story manifests in several other religious cults. The cult of Isis, for example, was based on the myth of the death of Osiris. Isis mourns and searches for him, before putting him back together enough to sire Horus, who is born the following year. In Christianity, Jesus dies, is mourned, and then returns. “Mary” is both his companion and mother. In the earliest forms of Christianity, the name Jesus was interchangeable with the name Sarapis – the Horus/Osiris blend that was used in the Roman cult of Isis. This theme of death and rebirth is integral to these spiritual traditions which sprouted amidst the background of the Greco-Roman empires and probably has roots in Eleusis.

Antigone, if taken at face value, does not appear to indicate a return to life or rebirth of the tragic figures that die in the narrative. However, based on the references to Dionysus or Eleusis, some scholars have claimed that a link should be inferred:
In Antigone, when Creon decides to honor the gods’ laws by burying Polynices and freeing Antigone, the chorus rejoices with a triumphal paean (joyful song) to Dionysus, calling him “King of the Mysteries!” (1243). The evocation of the god and the mention of the rites at Eleusis underscore Antigone’s premature burial and the expected joy of her return to life, the promise offered to the initiates of the Mysteries themselves. (The Power of Fate in the Oedipus Trilogy).

It is a striking fact that the Greek theatre – and through it the whole of modern theatre- should owe its birth to the myth of Dionysus. It indelibly marks the profound significance of the theatre for all time. […] The Satyrs bewailing the death of Dionysus and then celebrating his resurrection with cries of joy, a god emerging from a vat of crushed grapes in a fume of intoxication-such was the singular origin of tragedy. ( Edouard Schure 25)

And there are some grounds for this. As a high level initiate of Eleusis, Sophocles would have learned that the founding myth was a spiritual allegory, designed to be interpreted mystically. In Antigone, Sophocles includes a dance/hymn to Dionysus – which is usually sung just before the harvest, before Dionysus’ suffering begins – just before the tragic conclusion (the “wheat” is cut down). Even though the play concludes before any hint of rebirth or resurrection, one could be inferred or taught only to a select group.

Like the Eleusian Mysteries, Sophocles’ tragedies create a powerful emotional — even religious — experience: The terror of a heroic self crumbling under the blows of Fate, followed by the purging of fear and the coming of wisdom. Sophocles’ continued references to the Eleusian Mysteries indicate his high regard for their power. It may be that in his drama, Sophocles was striving to capture a comparable intense experience of dread relieved by hope and wisdom in an open, public context. For the original audience and centuries of readers, the experience of the tragedies of the Oedipus Trilogy, like a mystical ritual, gives a new birth to the human spirit and, perhaps, makes possible civilization itself. (The Power of Fate in the Oedipus Trilogy)

On Death and Marriage
The myth of Persephone had such an ancient influence on Greek culture it is difficult to determine in which direction the influence lay (did the myth inspire culture, or culture inspire the myth?) Persephone’s marriage to Hades is portrayed as rape and kidnap – he steals her out of the fields, without her mother’s permission, and brings her into the underworld. Greek marriage customs seem to be based on this same idea; that marriage always implies a forced death of the girl. The following are some of the more salient similarities.

Both the bride and corpse are covered with a white veil and sheath; both events involve a night journey to a new home, taken by a cart or chariot. The dead and the bride end up lying on a bed (Blundell 47). Blessings are given, both over the married couple and the deceased. Weddings and funerals are both a special concern of the women, and both family festivals represent initiation into another realm (Redfield 187). The purification and adornment of the bride are similar to the washing and adorning of the dead. Loutrophoroi are linked with weddings and funerals since they are used to bring water for the wedding bath and serve as grave offerings for those who died unmarried. The bride and groom, like the dead, are ritually washed in sacred water, dressed, adorned, and crowned by women. In the funeral, the mourners cut a lock of hair and leave it to be buried with the dead; they thus enact their bereavement by sending a part of their life to die with the dead. Before the wedding, brides often dedicated a lock of hair; they thus left behind them a part of their life as they set off to a new life (Redfield 190). These two ceremonies are so intertwined that if a girl died before she married, she was buried in a wedding dress so she could be the bride of Hades.

Like the tale of Persephone, the link between marriage and death is clear in Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone laments that she is to be the bride only of Death. She goes to her grave and cries out,

No, Hades who lays all to rest leads me living to Acheron’s shore, though I have not had my due portion of the chant that brings the bride, nor has any hymn been mine for the crowning of marriage. Instead the lord of Acheron [river of the underworld] will be my groom. (810-816)

She also refers to her tomb as her bridal chamber (891), as does Creon and the messenger. Similar themes are found in the later Christian gospel story: just before his death, Jesus is prepared by the women; washed, adorned and crowned (or anointed – hence his title as “Christos” or “anointed one”). Antigone is prepared for death but finds unexpected “marriage” in the tomb when her betrothed, Haemon, rushes in to die with her. Their bloody embrace in the tomb is heavily symbolic of the consummation of their marriage. Likewise, Jesus is first discovered in the tomb by Mary (who was also the one who prepared him to face death). Osiris is resurrected by Isis so they can bear Horus. Persephone is kidnapped and raped by Hades to produce a divine infant. Although these instances are not exactly the same, given that they developed in geographical and historical proximity, they may well have been inspired by shared sources.

Link to the Gnostic mysteries
Although modern Christianity has left behind its early history as a mystery cult, it also had an esoteric tradition of the Wedding Chamber, which indicated both death and rebirth. Like other mystery cults, the story or hieros logos was interpreted as spiritual allegory or theology. Although this interpretive meaning was mostly kept secret, later Christian initiates spoke plainly about the redemptive function of the mythology. The Gnostic gospel of Philip, for example, claims,

When Eve was still with Adam, death did not exist. When she was separated from him, death came into being. If he enters again and attains his former self, death will be no more. (GPhil 76)

Other passages from Philip speak of light and mirrors, which are common motifs found in other mysteries:

We are reborn by the Holy Spirit. And we are born by the anointed (Christ) through two things. We are anointed by the Spirit. When we were born we were joined. No one can see himself in the water or in a mirror without light. Nor again can you see by the light without water or a mirror. For this reason it is necessary to baptize with two things – light and water. And light means chrism. (GPhil 67)

We can understand this to mean that the bride and bridegroom (light and water) can be joined to create a mirror, with which to see back up to the original unity:

Rebirth exists along with an image of rebirth: by means of this image one must be truly reborn. Which image? Resurrection. And image must arise by means of image. By means of this image, the bridal chamber and the image must embark upon the realm of Truth, that is, embark upon the return. (GPhil 59)

The true meaning of the bridal chamber mystery was kept hidden from initiates of the lower levels, who were familiar only with stories and parables attributed to the savior. Secrecy was very important, because if initiates heard the truth before they were spiritually ready, it would be spoiled for them. Only those who become a bridegroom (pass through the initiation themselves) can witness the ceremony.

If a marriage is open to the public, it has become prostitution, and the bride plays the harlot not only when she is impregnated by another man, but even if she slips out of her bedroom and is seen. Let her show herself only to her father and her mother, and to the friend of the bridegroom and the sons of the bridegroom. These are permitted to enter every day into the bridal chamber. But let the others yearn just to listen to her voice and to enjoy her ointment, and let them feed from the crumbs that fall from the table, like the dogs. Bridegrooms and brides belong to the bridal chamber. No one shall be able to see the bridegroom with the bride unless he become such a one. (GPhil 102)

At higher levels, initiates could freely interpret the philosophical implications of the stories, weaving Greek and Jewish thought together freely. Substituting Christ into the role of the Logos, they explain that his role is to repair the separation that happened in the beginning of Genesis:

If the woman had not separated from the man, she should not die with the man. His separation became the beginning of death. Because of this, Christ came to repair the separation, which was from the beginning, and again unite the two, and to give life to those who died as a result of the separation, and unite them. But the woman is united to her husband in the bridal chamber. Indeed, those who have united in the bridal chamber will no longer be separated. Thus Eve separated from Adam because it was not in the bridal chamber that she united with him. (GPhil 70)

Just as the sun had a female companion, the moon, and the Logos had a female companion, Sophia, the stories about Jesus also incorporated a woman as his friend and companion:

As for the Wisdom who is called the barren, she is the mother of the angels, and the companion of the Savior, who is also Mary Magdalene. (GPhil 48)

Although it is difficult to prove that Gnosticism is interpretative (rather than simply a Greek or Pagan version of Christianity), the above quotes from the gospel of Philip indicates how some believers interpreted the story of Christianity using philosophy and terminology of the mystery tradition, which can be traced at least back to Dionysus and likely also to Eleusis as well.

If Sophocles’ Antigone was based in part on the myths of Dionysus and Persephone, we might expect similar themes to be present behind the text. Sophocles would have been familiar with the Dionysian idea of spiritual death, rebirth and possible immortality, as well as the cosmological idea of a separation between the male and female and the need for their reunion. The interpretation of these themes, although given much later by someone speaking of the Christian mythos, may in fact be implicit in the text. Certainly the tragic ending of Antigone shows the tomb as a wedding chamber, where something tragic and sacred occurs.

Another common theme between Antigone and Christianity is the presence of a hidden God who destroys the ruler who doesn’t believe in him. Creon, in condemning Antigone to the wilderness, says “there let her pray to the one god she worships: Death –who knows?–may death reprieve her from death. Or she may learn at last, better late than never, what a waste of breath it is to worship Death” (875-879). This is very similar to the irreligious remarks of Penthus in Euripides’ The Bacchae. Penthus refuses to believe in Dionysus, and is later brought down low by him. (Euripides also wrote a play about Antigone, in which Dionysus had a more central role and averted the final calamity). Likewise, in the Jesus story, Jesus faces trial by Pilate and later – through his death and resurrection – is vindicated.

One final comparison to point out (but will be left for future study) is the link between these Deathly Lovers and the tradition of marriage and death with the contemporary popularity of Vampirism in all its forms. Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood and other books and movies have exploded in the last decade; it is possible that they offer a psychological reaction to the common themes of forbidden romance, a powerful deathly lover, immortality, sex and blood ritualism, and magic that made these ancient stories as impactful as they are. A research project I’d like to pursue would be to trace this conceptual of Deathly Romance from Eleusis, through Antigone, Mystery Cultures, Christianity and finally to contemporary vampire romance fiction.

At any rate it is clear that the link between marriage and death was normative in Greek society and culture, and it may have roots in the myth of Persephone. Thus it is possible, given Sophocles’ familiarity with the cult of Eleusis and the higher mysteries, that he borrowed central themes from the hieros logos and recreated them into an emotional powerful play that harbored the potential for spiritual allegory. If this link can be established more firmly, it could be the foundation for a larger project exploring the shared spiritual underpinnings of a Death/Marriage connection behind Western religious literature.

Resources
Alexiou, Margaret. The Ritual Lament in Greek Tradition. Cambridge University Press: New
York, 1974. Avagianou, Aphrodite. Sacred Marriage in the Rituals of Greek Religion. Peter Lang: Bern, 1991.
Boardman, John, Donna C. Kurtz. Greek Burial Customs. Cornell University Press: Ithaca, New
York, 1971.
Blundell, Sue. Women in Ancient Greece. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1995.
Cullyer, Helen. “A Wind That Blows from Thrace: Dionysus in the Fifth Stasimon of Sophocles’
“Antigone”.” The Classical World 99.1 (2005): 3-20. Print.
Duby, Georges and Perrot, Michelle. A History of Women in the West: From Ancient Goddesses
to Christian Saints. The Belknap Press: Cambridge, 1992.
Foley, Helene P. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter.
Princeton University Press: New Jersey, 1994.
Garland, Robert. The Greek Way of Death. Cornell University Press: Ithaca, 1985.
Humphreys, The Family, Women, and Death, Routledge and Kegan Paul: Boston, 1983
Kurtz, Donna, John Boardman. Greek Burial Customs.Cornell University Press: Ithaca, New
York, 1971.
Morris, Ian. Key Themes in Ancient History: Death-Ritual and Social Structure in Classical
Antiquity. Cambridge University Press: London, 1992.
Nagy, Gregory. Greek literature in the classical period . New-York: Routledge, 2001. Print.
Pomeroy, Sarah. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves. Schocken Books: New York, 1975.
Powers, Jennifer. Ancient Greek Marriage. 17 May 2000. Tufts University. 22 Mar. 2005 .
Rose, H. J.. “The Bride of Hades.” Classical Philology, Vol. 20, No. 3 20.3 (1925): 238-242.
Print.
Redfield, James. ‘Notes on the Greek Wedding,’ Arethusa (1982) Vol.15, 181- 199.
Rehm, Rush. Marriage to Death: The Conflation of Wedding and Funeral Rituals in Greek
Tragedy. Princeton University Press: New Jersey, 1994.
“Ritual and Transcendence in the Oedipus Trilogy.” CliffsNotes . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2011.
.
Seaford, R. ‘The Tragic Wedding,’ Journal of Hellenistic Studies cvii (1987) 106- 130.
Shopcorn, Jana.Till. Death do us part. Tufts University. 22 March 2005.
Sophocles. Antigone. Ed. Sir Richard Jebb. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1891.
Vermule, Emily. Aspects of Death in Early Greek Art and Poetry. University of California Press:
Los Angeles, 1979.
Critical Essays Ritual and Transcendence in the Oedipus Trilogy
Genesis of Tragedy and the Sacred Drama of Eleusis, Edouard Schure

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Harry Potter Refutes Historical Jesus?

John Lennon once said The Beatles were more popular than Jesus, a claim that ignited a public relations firestorm. These days, one could easily claim that Harry Potter is also more popular than Jesus. Like Beatles albums after Lennon’s remarks, Harry Potter books have landed in the angry fires of Christian fundamentalists attempting to draw attention to the stark differences between the two superstars.

But what if the reason Harry Potter and Jesus Christ are so popular has to do more with their similarities rather than their differences? What if both, in essence, drew from the same literary template? …(read more)

Originally posted at www.examiner.com by Miguel Conner of Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio. Click here to read the rest of the article!

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“Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I charge you, in the name of his appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it.” 2 Timothy 4

Believing that Jesus Christ was a radically new kind of savior, Christians were excited to spread the word. Obeying the scriptures and the commands of the church fathers, many gave up their possessions and began actively converting people.

Mimicking the gospel stories, Christians enacted a great number of social services like feeding the poor and taking care of the sick. Unlike the other mysteries which charged admission fees, Christians invited everyone to be baptized free of charge. They gained a reputation for their healing prayers, care of the poor, and selflessness. Emperor Julian, hoping to revive Paganism against the spread of Christianity in the mid 300′s, notes that it was this philanthropy which greatly advanced the Christian cause.

“(Christianity was) specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers and through their care of the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar and that the Christians care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help we should render them.” Cyril of Alexandria, Against Julian

New followers were told that they would be saved from death through only a few simple rites, and for publicly pronouncing the name of Jesus. Christian leaders expected very little other than blind faith in the historical figure of Jesus Christ, and as neither wealth nor intellectual prowess were required, many of their recruits were poor and uneducated. Paul admits that the Christian message was popular among those who had no merits in the worldly sense.

“Consider, brothers, how you have been called; not many of you are wise by human standards, not many influential, not many from noble families. No, God chose those who by human standards are fools to shame the wise; he chose those who by human standards are weak to shame the strong, those who by human standards are common and contemptible-indeed those who count for nothing-to reduce to nothing all those that do count for something, so that no human being might feel boastful before God.” 1 Cor. 1:26

Belief in the bodily resurrection allowed Christians to face their own deaths courageously, almost to the point of reckless living. While everyone else ran away during plagues or natural catastrophes, Christians would stay and tend to the victims. Some even sought out danger, eager for heavenly rewards. Christians became known for their fearlessness and disregard for personal safety. It may also be assumed that these Christians had trouble obeying the law and respecting the proper authorities, because Paul often had to remind them to keep out of trouble.

“Everyone is to obey the governing authorities, because there is no authority except from God and so whatever authorities exist have been appointed by God.” Romans 1

Rome asked its citizens to honor the emperor as a god, and offer a small prayer or sacrifice to him. This rule was seldom enforced, unless specific complaints were made, and even then the accused was allowed to make a public offering to clear his name. Many Christian communities saw no difficulty in this, and encouraged their followers keep a low profile.

“I urge then, first of all that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving should be offered to everyone, for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live peaceful and quiet lives with all devotion and propriety.” 1 Timothy 2

Those Christians who read scripture literally identified Jesus with the jealous god of the Old Testament and saw these offerings as idolatry. They received a reputation for stubbornly refusing to obey the law. When brought to trial, they were sometimes asked to worship the emperor and deny Christ. For many, the basis of Christian faith consisted in affirming the name of Christ Jesus, even though they hadn’t been taught its mystical significance, and so this request was adamantly refused.

The church fathers taught that the important part of being Christian, virtually the only part, was to proclaim the reality of Christ against critics. They promised initiates immediate rewards in heaven if they faced persecution bravely; much like the spiritual leaders of today’s terrorists. The Romans were primarily concerned with maintaining peace and order, and would sometimes make allowances to let Christian go free.

However, some Christians refused to cooperate, hoping for the esteem of a martyr’s death. For slaves, the poor, and melodramatic teenagers, exchanging their lives for an eternity of paradise was an attractive proposition.

“I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly die for God, unless ye hinder me. I beseech you not to show an unreasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for the wild beasts, though whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep (in death) I may be no trouble to anyone. Then shall I truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body.” Ignatius, Romans (chap. 4)

This reckless disregard for life, a nuisance to the Roman government, was considered the very image of courage to new converts. Passionate novellas were written about the virtues of martyrdom. Several young idealistic women practically threw themselves to the beasts in spite of their family’s attempts to reconcile them. These acts agitated the public, and Christianity continued to draw numbers, although almost exclusively from the poorer classes.

Convinced that they had received a radical new truth which was superior to all others, Christians treated the philosophers and other religious traditions with condescension and scorn. They even sullied the sacred mysteries by learning about them and then going public, breaking the strict code secrecy.

“And now, for it is time, I will prove their orgies to be full of imposture and quackery. And if you have been initiated, you will laugh all the more at these fables of yours which have been held in honor. I publish without reserve what has been involved in secrecy, not ashamed to tell what you are not ashamed to worship.” Clement, Exhortation to the Heathen

Taking Pagan myths at face value and interpreting them literally, as they did their own scriptures, Christians accused spiritual mythology of being merely ludicrous fables. They mocked and ridiculed everyone outside of their faith as superstitious fools.

“Poor wretches that ye are, who have filled with unholy jesting the whole compass of your life a life in reality devoid of life! Oh, happier far the beasts than men involved in error! Who live in ignorance as you, but do not counterfeit the truth. There are no tribes of flatterers among them. Fishes have no superstition: the birds worship not a single image; only they look with admiration on heaven, since, deprived as they are of reason, they are unable to know God. So are you not ashamed for living through so many periods of life in impiety, making yourselves more irrational than irrational creatures? Clement, Exhortation to the Heathen, 1

It is hard to imagine the public outrage caused by Clement of Alexandria when he declared that the ancient Pagan gods were dead; it would be nearly 1,500 years before Nietzsche could claim the same blasphemous statement.

“For Zeus is dead, be not distressed, as Leda is dead, and the swan, and the eagle, and the libertine, and the serpent.” Clement, Exhortation to the Heathen, 1

Like the Jews, these Christians obeyed the Second Commandment, which forbid making and worshiping “an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below.” Although this commandment forbids religious art in general and is now broken in every church and Christian home around the world, strict adherence to it was one of the defining characteristics of the early church. Christians challenged the local deities, seeing them as bits of wood and stone, and called attention to themselves as blasphemers and enemies of the divine powers.

For the Pagans, everything in life was governed and provided by some demi-god. The public feasts were ways of thanking the universe for the food and drink they had received, for their good health, the fine weather, and blessed fortunes. To withhold gratitude to these forces showed marvelous audacity, and was seen as taking life for granted. Christians who refused to participate in public feasts and events of thanksgiving to these gods were considered self-absorbed ingrates. The philosopher Celsus tried to explain to them that they should either respect the positive forces of life, or embrace death without delay.

“They must make their choice between two alternatives. If they refuse to render due service to the gods, and to respect those who are set over this service, let them not come to manhood, or marry wives, or have children, or indeed take any share in the affairs of life; but let them depart hence with all speed, and leave no posterity behind them, that such a race may become extinct from the face of the earth.” Celsus, recorded by Origen (8:35)

To fuel the fire of public indignation, Christians refused to offer either evidence or argument in favor of their faith. They could not describe their own rational motives for believing nor answer even basic questions about the savior they claimed was historically crucified. When pressed, they would announce they believed what they believed because it was true, and that you should too.
The Pagan philosopher Celsus wrote an entire book in order to discredit these Christians. He claims that when interrogated, they exclaim, “Do not examine, but believe!” and, “Your faith will save you!” He also refers to what was assumed to be a common phrase of the early Christian community, “The wisdom of this life is bad, but foolishness is a good thing!” (Contra Celsus 1:9) Celsus characterizes Christianity as a faith of fools, opposed to reason.

“The following are the rules laid down by them. Let no one come to us who has been instructed, or who is wise or prudent (for such qualifications are deemed evil by us); but if there be any ignorant, or unintelligent, or uninstructed, or foolish persons, let them come with confidence. By which words, acknowledging that such individuals are worthy of their God they manifestly show that they desire and are able to gain over only the silly, and the mean, and the stupid, with women and children.” Recorded by Origen, Against Celsus 3:44

As Christians grew in numbers and spread through the empire, Christianity became seen as a threat to Roman order. The Christian religion was called strange and unlawful by a senatorial decree of the year 35. Tacitus called it deadly and hateful, Suetonius said it was new and harmful, and Minucius accused it of being mysterious and opposed to light. For these reasons it was persecuted by different emperors throughout the first several centuries of its existence. It wasn’t until 313, under the emperor Constantine, that the Christian movement had a sudden change of fortune.

Constantine reportedly had a miraculous dream, wherein he saw a figure of the cross (the Chi-Rho) and was told, “with this, conquer.” After he won the battle which made him emperor, he was Christianity’s new champion. In 313 he issued the edict of Milan, which granted liberty of worship to all Romans, and restored Christian church property that had been confiscated during earlier persecutions.
Constantine was particularly attracted to Christianity because of its monotheism. His mantra, “One God, One Emperor” reflected his ambitions to unify the entire empire under one universal religion. In an attempt to turn Christianity into the empire’s official faith, Constantine changed the face of the Christian movement.

He made it as easy as possible for his people to accept the new religion, by tailoring Christianity to pre-existent Pagan customs. Constantine decreed Sunday the day of rest, as opposed to Yahweh’s preference of Saturday, further aligning Christ with the cult of Sol Invictus, and turned the invisible God of the Christians into a savior with a human face.

The Pagan festival of Saturnalia continued nearly unchanged, even though it was officially changed to Christmas. Candles, incense and garlands were adopted, as well as Pagan temples, with their doors facing East to greet the sun.

Veneration of Mary became an easy substitute for Pagans who had previously worshiped goddesses. Egyptian statues of Isis with the infant Horus can still be found in some Christian churches. Although Christians proclaimed one God, saints and martyrs rapidly filled the ranks of the minor deities, sometimes even moving directly into their temples.

The Jews, and the early Christians after them, had been meticulously careful not to venerate any “graven image”, that is, any statue or picture made by man to represent God. A large part of their previous persecution had been based on their respect for this custom. Their God was silent, invisible, and did not live in grand temples or images but in the heart.

When Christianity became the state religion, the Pagan obsession with art proved too difficult to break, and grand cathedrals, built in the style of Pagan temples, were flooded with statues and paintings depicting divine stories.

Constantine further helped the church by making clergy exempt from government duty. Positions in the clergy became reserved for wealthy families with powerful ties, and could be bought and sold. In order to stifle disagreements and unify the empire under one, simplified religion, Emperor Constantine summoned the Council of Niceae in 325.

One of the biggest controversies during this council was whether or not Jesus was a physical man. Many of his followers believed that Jesus was all powerful and completely divine. Others argued that this made his suffering inconsequential, and preferred a human Jesus who felt genuine pain on the cross. A consensus was not reached at this council, and the emperor himself composed a compromise to be signed by all the bishops, under the threat of exile.

Jesus was declared both fully God and fully man, the first of many logical inconsistencies in the Christian faith. Rather than through the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit, this insight was hammered together by a Pagan emperor, who had no interest in theology. The Nicene creed, still a staple of faith in many Christian churches, is the result of this council.

In 330 the temple on Vatican Hill, a center for Pagan worship of the goddess Cybele for hundreds of years, became the site of the St. Peter’s Basilica of Rome. The books of the biblical canon were chosen in 340, and Eusebius of Caesarea, Constantine’s personal theologian and church historian, wrote a new history for the Christian empire. Although today scholars conclude that it is largely erroneous and full of propaganda, it was viewed as the definitive historical reference for well over a thousand years.

Constantine’s own mother traveled to the Holy Land and after three centuries, claimed to have found the actual cross used in the crucifixion. She founded the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, on a plot of land that even Christian scholars believe could never have been the true site of the crucifixion, and Christian pilgrimages to the site have been made ever since.

Although Christians had found favor with the empire, it would be impossible for Pagan customs to continue alongside of Christianity because of the obvious roots they shared. Christians, with the power of the empire behind them, now had the means to eradicate Paganism and erase its own embarrassing history.

Between 375 and 383 Emperor Gratian confiscated temples and abolished privileges for heathen priests. In 380 Christianity was declared the official religion of the empire by Emperor Theodosius I, who forbid heathen religious observances from 379 to 395. By 435, Theodosius II commanded that all temples be destroyed or turned into churches. Emperor Justinian prohibited heathenism on pain of death, and abolished the 900 year old school of Athens in 529. The ancient temple of Alexandria, with the world’s largest collection of academic books and scrolls, was burned to the ground during this period.

Christian similarities to Greek philosophy and Pagan mystery texts were obscured when the gospels were translated into Latin by St. Jerome. Between 340 and 420, the Latin Vulgate Bible became the standard Western Christian Bible. The translator, despite his reputation as hot-tempered and quarrelsome, was made a saint.

Christianity was steered further towards its present state by a young bishop named Augustine. Unable to read Greek, he relied only on Jerome’s Latin translation which did not express the original spirituality found in the Greek version. Augustine made a radical departure from previous Christian doctrine. While the church had always taught that each person was completely free to heed the call of God, Augustine claimed that, through the original sin of Adam, we were born sinners.

Sin was no longer an action that stirred the lake of the soul, but a birth defect, which we had no way of repairing. No one was capable of redeeming themselves, or of even choosing to break with sin. Humanity was irreparably humbled in sin, and it was only through God’s actions that we were saved. Augustine was made a saint on the basis of this theological twist, even though late in his life, Augustine denounced his earlier writings, which he admitted were mistaken.

Various interpretations of Christianity were no longer acceptable. If Christ was historical, and had really given a specific message to his apostles, then there must be only one version of it. All Christian churches were ordered to bow their heads to the authority of Rome, or be cast out of the fold, and in this way only the orthodox version of events was passed down.

After 2,000 years, in a time of unparalleled technological and scientific advancement, when research has questioned the historical Jesus and logic conflicts with central tenets of Christian belief, the passion of Christ is still considered a historical fact by Christians and non-believers alike. Those who keep the faith continue to cling desperately to the historicity of Jesus rather than explore and fulfill his spiritual message.

In Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ”, we see the same story repeated, full of human emotion, gore, grief, and touching kindnesses between strangers. Subtly reasserting the message of Christ’s historicity are objects which will later become prize relics in Cathedrals throughout Europe; the cloth that caught an imprint of his face, the thorned crown and the nails, laid out and ready to be enshrined.

This really happened, the story says, and there is a surplus of evidence to prove it. The bloody mess of Jesus is triumphantly raised to life in the body, still bearing his wounds from the crucifixion, continually ignoring the obvious disadvantages of spending eternity in our physical bodies.
Like the early communities who strayed from Paul’s teachings, Christians today claim that Jesus was a real historical man, who urged us to share his message and spread the good news. They are also wary of any investigation, whether rational or scientific, which may conflict with their beliefs. Finding solidarity with one another against those mysterious forces of evil who are seeking to disrupt, they inspire each other to keep believing, despite the criticism, despite the questions, despite reason.
Many Christians are also waiting, some a little too eagerly, for the end of the world. They are excited to receive their rewards, to be greeted by Jesus at the final judgment; excited to be proved right after all these years. Although Jesus says many times in the Bible that the kingdom of God is within them now, and not somewhere in the future, they rely on another passage, which reads, “I will be with you until the end of the age.”

Usually assumed to mean that Jesus will be present until the end of time, the word age was an astrological concept that corresponded to one zodiac rotation caused by the precession of the equinoxes. 4,000 years ago Mithras conquered the age of Taurus by slaying a bull, initiating the age of Aries. 2,000 years ago Jesus slaughtered a lamb, and begun the age of Pisces. The sun continues burn, and the earth continues its annual orbit. For 2,000 years, the myth of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, crucified for the sins of the world, has been mistakenly viewed as a historical figure.
Maybe after all this time, we can finally remove the training wheels and appreciate the spiritual meaning of the Christian myth. Maybe we can move from milk to solid food. However, if we are going to start the story all over again, it is time to take down the lamb from the cross. The age of Pisces is ending. This time, we need to crucify a fish.

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

Some people may feel, after finishing these articles, that I haven’t proved my point at all. Just because Christianity borrowed some ideas from the Pagans doesn’t prove that Jesus didn’t exist. After all, it’s only natural that after a community’s founder has passed on, it will continue to grow and expand, borrowing things from other traditions. That doesn’t mean that Jesus couldn’t still have been a real man.

I’ve had some Christian friends say, “I know that December 25th isn’t really Jesus’ birthday, and I understand that Christians chose that date because it was important to the Pagans, but that doesn’t change my belief that Jesus was historical. Why can’t a Christian have this information and continue to be a Christian?”

Well, first of all, they can! There is nothing at all wrong with Christianity. It is a fine spiritual tradition, full of wisdom and good advice. Jesus Christ is also a great moral example. However, if we want to continue believing in a historical Jesus, we need to recognize that some of the defining characteristics of Christianity did not originate with him.

Most people can agree that December 25th wasn’t Jesus’ real birthday, so let’s give up that idea. We’ll say that it isn’t important to the Christian message. But what about all the other things Jesus shared with the Pagans? How about the Virgin Birth? A lot of Pagan gods were born of a virgin, so we’ll have to give that up, too.

The tough question is, where do we stop? Pagan gods also had a death and resurrection. Many were crucified, all of them were sons of God and saviors. They redeemed their followers through a great sacrifice. The cross was already a sacred symbol, and many mystery religions even practiced Baptism, Confirmation, and the other sacraments. Can we take those things away from Christian faith without influencing it? How far can we go without stripping Christianity of all of its meaning and spiritual value?
The purpose of this website has been to show that the Jesus we all know and love, the one we learned about in Sunday School, the one who performed miracles, raised the dead, died for our sins, and is seated at the right hand of the father, never walked on earth as a physical human being. Although this may still seem like a controversial assertion, it doesn’t necessarily undermine the valuable spiritual tradition which records the stories of Jesus Christ.

It’s true, I can’t prove that there wasn’t some historical man that acted as a nucleus for the beginning of Christianity. But if there was, he did very little to inspire anyone, his disciples forgot about him, he said nothing new or original, and his promises of salvation were vague echoes of earlier traditions. Shepherds didn’t follow a star to his birth in a manger, he didn’t walk on water, feed the 5,000, raise the dead or turn water into wine. He wasn’t the Son of God, he wasn’t crucified or resurrected from the dead, and his name definitely wasn’t Jesus Christ.

If affirming Christ’s historicity makes us focus on his physical shell and give up all of the principles and values of Christian faith, how can this concept of Jesus still be important to us? At the end of this line of investigation, the emphasis lies with faith in a reality that can’t possibly be true, which cannot help but clash violently with all progressive and free-thinking societies.

On the other hand, by accepting and appreciating Jesus Christ’s mythological legacy, very little about Christianity has to change. Jesus is still the Son of God, the Savior, who was crucified (symbolically, at the beginning of time), for the removal of our sins (to remove our separation from God, by giving us the light of wisdom, Sophia). All the motifs of Christianity remain unchanged, as does Christ’s spiritual significance, importance, and active role as an ever-present moral guide.

Jesus Christ does save; he is our higher selves, our voice of reason and guidance, our intuition and goodness. He is what separates us from animals and what drives us to become better people. He has many names, and the expressions of his faith are as diverse as all the world’s many distinct cultures.
Regardless of personal opinions about this controversial subject, this much is true: we are on a threshold of a very great change in human spirituality. We can either continue to view Jesus as a real person and remove the body of mythological literature from our ideas about him, or we can relinquish his physical reality and keep his transcendent, omnipresent, spiritual influence.

Please check back as we are constantly updating our site with new evidence for the mythical Christ!

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I believed in Santa Claus until I was nearly thirteen years old. Like my friends, I’d been brought up to think of him as a real person, who made his rounds on a sled pulled by magic reindeer. One day in my parent’s kitchen, my best friend told me the truth. His parents had just revealed to him that it was really his own father who ate the cookies and filled the stockings.

I had accepted the idea of Santa Claus for so long, it wasn’t possible for me to entertain the notion that he wasn’t real. Instead of listening to my friend, I began to try and justify my beliefs. I argued that just because something was unlikely didn’t make it impossible. How do we know he isn’t real? Can you prove it? I began providing examples to show how it was possible that Santa Claus really did do all those amazing things.

Paul’s Gnostic communities were generally educated Greeks or Jews, who could easily see the relationship between Jesus and other mystery faiths. When they wrote stories about Jesus, they would often use Greek terms and images. Sometimes they would even take pre-existing texts from other traditions and just add, “Jesus said” to every statement of faith in order to expand their spiritual literature. For them, it was the spiritual message, and not the words or the details that were important.

The other Christian communities, which refused to change their initial understanding of the faith, had more trouble expressing themselves. When they heard from Paul and the Gnostics that Jesus didn’t exist, they reacted in the same way as I had when my friend told me that Santa Claus wasn’t real. Rather than face the evidence, they asked, “why couldn’t he be real?”, and then tried to prove that he was. They were met with much opposition.

The idea that Jesus could have been a historical man was a ridiculous concept to many. The Logos, the Son of God, was the collection of all of the sparks that existed in every person. His sacrifice and crucifixion were the story of how he became divided and stuck here with us, giving us the opportunity to return to God through him. The Greeks, Gnostics, and Romans who were familiar with the motifs behind the story told the Christians, “You’ve got it wrong. You’ve got the basics right, but let us tell you what it means.”

Believing in Jesus as a historical figure, Christians met opposition from every side. Paul and his Gnostic communities viewed them as “infants in Christ” and called them “animal men”. Greek philosophers were astounded at their simplicity, and the ruling Roman authorities were unnerved by their lack of common sense. Of all of the communities who believed in Jesus Christ, they seemed to be the only ones that declared Jesus was historical rather than mythological. Letters between these groups generally communicated the same point: beware of what everyone else is saying.

When they were told that the story of Jesus Christ was an obvious myth copied from Pagan sources and was not meant to be taken literally, they could not show otherwise. They rarely appealed to Christ’s actual words, or deeds, or events in his life, except through Old Testament passages which seemed to prophecy a future savior. They could find no physical proof that Jesus Christ had ever lived, even less than a century after his supposed death.

In Greek and Roman culture, arguments were won through their rational appeal and the speaker’s powers of persuasion. As Christians became more outspoken, adamant about the physical death of their Lord Jesus, Pagans engaged them in a battle of wits. Some Pagans published whole books to display the inherent absurdity of the new faith.

The spirit-saving philosophy of the Logos which was taught through the mysteries had developed over thousands of years. The novelty of pinning this philosophy into one historical man required a philosophical dexterity which, unfortunately, these Christians didn’t have. Their arguments, though full of zeal, were logically weak, inconsistent, and often missed the point entirely. Many times, when they couldn’t answer their opponents questions, they would resort to character attacks and personal insults.

Christians who believed in the historical Jesus also differed among themselves in serious points of doctrine. They called each other heretics, each claiming to be the true church. Assuming Jesus to be real, they invented the idea of “apostolic tradition” and made the claim that Jesus had personally taught the message that had been transmitted to them with apostolic authority.

The most serious point of contention between these communities and their adversaries concerned the resurrection of the flesh. Against the rumor that Christ was crucified in appearance only, they struggled to prove that he had been crucified and resurrected from the dead physically, “in the flesh.” Since he never died, he must have ascended bodily into heaven, meaning that the real, physical body of Christ flew up through the seven heavens and remains there still.

In the other mysteries, resurrection was a symbol for personal transformation. Each initiate could die in this life to his physical body, and be resurrected, in this life, to a spiritual body. Christians who had been taught about the resurrection but couldn’t understand the spiritual significance of the doctrine began to believe that they would, like Jesus, be resurrected along with their physical bodies. This was extremely controversial. In Neo-Platonism and other contemporary philosophies, the body was little more than a dirty beast, which trapped the pure soul like a prison. The point of philosophies like Stoicism, Epicureanism, Platonism, and the other mystery schools, was to release the soul from the body. Even Paul clearly said that what was to be resurrected was a spiritual body, not a physical one.

“It is the same too with the resurrection of the dead: what is sown in perishable, but what is raised is imperishable; what is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; what is sown is weak, but what is raised is powerful; what is sown is a natural body, and what is raised is a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:43

“What I am saying, brothers, is that mere human nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God: what is perishable cannot inherit what is imperishable.” 1 Corinthians 15:50

Christians who affirmed the resurrection of the flesh knew that they were diverging from Paul’s original message, and complained that this difference of doctrine was often pointed out to them. Instead of responding to the criticism, and recognizing that the heretics were closer aligned to Paul’s theology, they pushed ahead undeterred.

“Among the other [truths] proclaimed by the apostle, there is also this one, “That flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” This is [the passage] which is adduced by all the heretics in support of their folly, with an attempt to annoy us, and to point out that the handiwork of God is not saved.” Irenaeus, Against the Heresies, 5:9

Dismissing Paul and his higher mysteries, these Christians wanted their bodies preserved until some future period when they could reclaim them. The idea was met with disgust and contempt. Justin Martyr succeeds in representing the opinion of the opposition, without answering any of the questions raised by them.

“They who maintain the wrong opinion say that there is no resurrection of the flesh; giving as their reason that it is impossible that what is corrupted and dissolved should be restored to the same as it had been. And besides the impossibility, they say that the salvation of the flesh is disadvantageous; and they abuse the flesh, adducing its infirmities, and declare that it is the cause of our sins, so that if the flesh, say they, rise again, our infirmities also rise with it. By these and such like arguments, they attempt to distract men from the faith. And there are some who maintain that even Jesus Himself appeared only as spiritual, and not in flesh, but presented merely the appearance of flesh: these persons seek to rob the flesh of the promise.” Justin Martyr, Fragments of “On Resurrection” chapter 2.

Significantly, the Christians who believed in the physical resurrection of the dead did not point to their own savior as proof, nor did they mention the miraculous raising of Lazarus found in the gospels. They neglected to offer the woman Peter raised to life in Jaffa, or the boy that Paul raised to life at Troas after he’d fallen out of a three story window, both of which were later recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. When asked to provide even one example of someone who has physically risen from the dead, they don’t.

“Then, as to your denying that the dead are raised for you say, “Show me even one who has been raised from the dead, that seeing I may believe…but suppose I should show you a dead man raised and alive, even this you would disbelieve.” Theophilus, To Autolycus, chapter 8.

Instead, they argue that God, who causes the dying and rebirth of wheat, grain and grass, must also have the power to raise a man from the dead. One gives the example of a sparrow who swallows a seed, and later leaves the seed in its droppings. If the seed can still produce a tree after such an ordeal, why couldn’t God re-animate a dead body?

They even attempt to prove the physical resurrection through the example of the planets, which lead to the development of the spiritual symbolism in the first place.

“And if you would witness a more wondrous sight, which may prove a resurrection not only of earthly but of heavenly bodies, consider the resurrection of the moon, which occurs monthly; how it wanes, dies, and rises again.” Theophilus, To Autolycus (8)

Again, they offer no eye-witnesses, and no physical evidence. The only argument ever put forward to defend Christ’s physical death and resurrection was, “It isn’t impossible. It may have happened; and we believe that it did.”

One common criticism of the idea that the Logos had a physical incarnation, was the impossibility of what is eternal and unchanging to lower itself and become mortal while maintaining its divinity. God could not be fully god and fully man any more than white light could remain both white and another color at the same time.

Another point was raised by the philosopher Celsus, who questioned why God would send his spirit down to one fixed geographical location, rather than allow it to be accessed by the entire human race equally.

“Again, if God, like Jupiter in the comedy, should, on awaking from a lengthened slumber, desire to rescue the human race from evil, why did He send this Spirit of which you speak into one corner (of the earth)? He ought to have breathed it alike into many bodies, and have sent them out into all the world.” Recorded by Origen, Contra Celsus, 6:78

This is still the strongest argument ever made against Christian faith: only a very small fraction of the human race has ever been Christian, and today the numbers, while healthy, are declining. Over 90% of Christians live in the Americas and Europe, while over 90% of people in many other countries, like India or China, are not Christian. This implies that salvation is given out by God randomly and unjustly. Someone lucky enough to be born in the right country is likely to be saved, while being born in the wrong country will most likely result in damnation.

The Christians could not compete with the skilled Greek debaters, nor with the Gnostics who also claimed to be disciples of Paul. They couldn’t even provide answers to the logical inconsistencies that arose out of their faith. Constantly confronted by rational arguments and logical debates, of which they never seemed to get the upper hand, they began to see reason itself as a threat to the truth they believed in.

The gospels, which were written in the guise of history in order to transmit spiritual truths, became a source of information for the wished-for savior that Christians were proclaiming. They took examples from the stories, which were originally meant as mythological narratives, and tried to use them to support their theology of the flesh. This would be like proving that Santa Claus really flew a magical sleigh because it was written down by an eye-witness in “The Night Before Christmas.”
Groups that believed in Jesus as a historical being would use scripture to back up their opinions about him. When the scriptures didn’t support their views, they would edit them, inserting passages and then quoting those same passages in their arguments.

By comparing handwriting and literary style, scholars can identify alterations that have been made to original texts. The passages in the Bible which scholars agree were later insertions add geographical and political details to show that the story actually happened in recent history, and edited the resurrection story to show that Jesus not only lived in the flesh but also rose from the dead in the flesh.

Later insertions include post-resurrection passages such as doubting Thomas poking his finger into the wounds of Christ, or of Jesus being hungry and eating fish, or Jesus appearing to such and such number of disciples. They are all attempts to justify the historical Jesus and the physical resurrection. Unfortunately for Jesus, having been lifted up in the flesh, he will presumably bear these physical wounds for all eternity.

Once the texts adequately represented the beliefs of the community, they were considered sacred and without error. However, because most of these scriptures were taken straight from the original mysteries of Jesus Christ, they were full of mystical symbols and formulas which didn’t make sense if accepted at face value. The Old Testament in particular was meant to be interpreted. Moses Maimonides, a respected Jewish spiritualist, taught that scripture was allegorical in nature.
“Every time that you find in our books a tale the reality of which seems impossible, a story which is repugnant to both reason and common sense, then be sure that the tale contains a profound allegory veiling a deeply mysterious truth; and the greater the absurdity of the letter, the deeper the wisdom of the spirit.” Moses Maimonides

Paul often uses scripture allegorically in order to present spiritual truths. Even stories from the Old Testament which are commonly assumed historical were used by him symbolically. For example, in the letter to the community in Galatia he describes how Abraham’s two sons represent the physical and spiritual aspects of our dual natures.

“Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave girl and one by the free woman. The son of the slave girl came to be born in the way of human nature; but the son of the free woman came to be born through a promise. There is an allegory here: these women stand for the two covenants.” Galatians 4:22

Many of the stories in the gospels also have mathematical significance, like the name of Jesus, and use numbers to convey geometrical truths. Jesus often says things like, “Let those who have ears, hear!”, or “Let those who have eyes, see!”, alluding to the need to seek a deeper interpretation for his parables. He also chastises his apostles frequently for not understanding the actual significance behind his stories.

One example is the appearance of Jesus on the shore of Tiberias, after he has been resurrected. He comes to his disciples, which had all abandoned him and gone back to fishing, and helps them catch exactly 153 fish. While this number may seem like a supercilious detail, it’s very lack of significance lending credence to the idea that this miracle really took place, in fact it has a very serious role to play.

There is a similar story about Pythagoras, and although the exact number of fish that Pythagoras caught has been lost, it may well have been the same figure. 153 was a sacred number Pythagorean communities, a number with special significance. The fish, and the number, are references to a mathematical principle often used in the mysteries called Vesica Piscis, or the “measure of the fish.”

When two equal circles are joined so that the perimeter of one passes the epicenter of the other, it produces a third, intermediate section, which resembles the shape of a fish. This section further contains two equilateral triangles. The mathematical ratio of its width (measured to the endpoints of the body) is nearly 265:153, yielding the number 1.73203, or the square root of 3.

This symbol was used in the mysteries to show the unification of divine principles. Three circles joined this way were used to represent the eternal trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, united in one God. In the mysteries of Ephesus, the Goddess wore this symbol over her genital region, and in the Osiris story, the lost penis was swallowed by a fish which represented the vulva of Isis.
Having refused allegorical meaning and interpretation, these details were left unexplained, and subsequently lost. Much like the original story, Christianity has maintained the external form of the Vesica Piscis, seen on a thousand posters, bumper stickers, and websites, without retaining any of the symbolic wisdom. Instead it became an acronym for Jesus Christ, his nature and title, which can be made from the Greek letters for “fish”.

Iesous Christos Theou Huios Soter = Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior

Without access to the allegorical meaning, the scriptures became obtuse and difficult, full of contradiction and confusing parables. Church fathers had to keep their flock away from communities who actually knew how to interpret these symbols, and taught that some of scripture’s secrets, like the natural world, were meant to be known only by God.

“If, therefore, even with respect to creation, there are some things (the knowledge of) which belongs only to God, and others which come within the range of our own knowledge, what ground is there for complaint, if, in regard to those things which we investigate in the Scriptures (which are throughout spiritual), we are able by the grace of God to explain some of them, while we must leave others in the hands of God.” St. Iraneaus, Against the Heresies (book 2, chap 8:3).

The very word, “mystery”, which used to represent a level that had not yet been attained, began to mean something which was simply forever kept a secret from us, or something that God had chosen not to reveal.

“We should leave things of that nature to God who created us, being most properly assured that the scriptures are indeed perfect, since they were spoken by the Word of God and his Spirit; but we, inasmuch as we are inferior to, and later in existence than, the Word of God and His Spirit, are on that very account destitute of the knowledge of His mysteries.” St. Iraneaus, Against the Heresies (book 2 chap. 8:2)

The teachers of this form of Christianity, who had all the details but none of the spiritual implications, didn’t know what to tell their initiates when they came asking questions. Reason began to be viewed as an enemy to the truth, while blind faith in scripture, and a blind eye to anyone teaching different ideas, became the highest virtues.

“You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet believe.” John 20:27

Rather than question why their faith had so many critics, they claimed that God had made the gospel sound foolish as a stumbling block to all but the chosen.

“Since in the wisdom of God the world was unable to recognize God through wisdom, it was God’s own pleasure to save believers through the folly of the gospel. While the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, we are preaching a crucified Christ: to the Jews an obstacle they cannot get over, to the Gentiles foolishness.” 1 Corinthians 1:21

The Roman empire of the first few centuries of the Christian movement had hundreds of religions to choose from, as well as dozens that appeared very similar to Christianity. Their relative success depended mostly on professional contacts, the clarity of their doctrine, and the ability to produce some kind of spiritual transformation.

While lacking in these categories, there was still something so intoxicating about the Christian movement that it quickly became popular among the masses. In the next chapter we will focus on how the most repudiated form of Christianity, whose beliefs met with so much opposition, rooted out all the competition and became the controlling power in Europe for over a thousand years.

The articles in this section are part of a 50,000 word treatise on the historical Jesus and Christ Myth Theory, dealing with Christian history, the mystical significance of Christian symbols, and the mistaken belief that Jesus Christ was a historical person. You can download the entire collection for free as a PDF file ebook by clicking here!

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The New Testament is arranged to appear chronological: the four gospels present the story of Jesus’ ministry, Acts of the Apostles narrates the adventures of the disciples, and the letters of Paul – written to the growing Christian communities – are included at the end. This arrangement is misleading. The letters of Paul are the earliest. Once you’ve already read the gospels and established the idea that Jesus was a physical person, you subconsciously bring that image with you into Paul’s letters – however, Paul never talks about Jesus in terms of a recently executed historical figure. Instead, he makes it clear that his “Jesus Christ” is a Jewish version of the Greek mysteries, which have been around for some time. The only difference is that it is a mystery religion for Jews, God’s chosen people, and is thus superior because it is enhanced by Israel’s holy covenant.

“I was made a servant with the responsibility. . . of completing God’s message, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his holy people. It was God’s purpose to reveal to them how is the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ among you.” Colossians 1:25

He was saying, “The Greeks have used this mystery for years and it works great for them. Now I’m giving it to you, under the name of Christ, so that you can participate too.” Paul was a priest charged with rounding up the Diaspora Jews who were participating in the Jewish Mysteries – but once he started to investigate them, he converted and became a supporter. Because of his connections and his priestly training, he was a persuasive missionary. To Jews and Gentiles alike, he told the story of Jesus Christ, Son of God, who was crucified and resurrected from the dead. New initiates would be baptized and urged to control their physical desires through fasting and abstinence. Paul would then leave a few initiates in charge and promise to return with further revelations.

The epistles of Paul are notoriously obtuse and contradictory, because he seems to be saying different things in every one. This is because not every community was at the same level in the process of initiation. As a mystery religion, Christianity had several layers of meaning that would be divulged slowly as initiates proved their worth. To the beginners, Paul was careful not to reveal too much; the higher teaching would be wasted on them if they weren’t spiritually prepared, and the process could be ruined if rushed. To strengthen their willpower, Paul told them have faith, to be strict in their habits and diet, and to become masters over their physical bodies.

Once members had shown a certain level of spiritual maturity, they would be initiated into the higher mysteries and told that the Christ story was a metaphor for spiritual transformation. These advanced pupils, who believed in developing personal wisdom, or Gnosis, are the communities referred to by historians as Gnostics. To these higher level initiates, Paul left behind the initial steps and skipped ahead to more advanced topics.

“Let us leave behind all the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to its completion, without going over the fundamental doctrines again; the turning away from dead actions, faith in God, the teaching about baptisms and the laying on of hands, about the resurrection of the dead and the eternal judgment.” Hebrews 6

He could also write freely now about the mythical interpretations of the stories he’d shared with them. While in the beginning they had learned that their savior Christ was a man from Palestine, they were now to leave even this idea behind.

“From now onwards, then, we will not consider anyone by human standards: even if we were once on familiar terms with Christ according to human standards, we do not know him in that way any longer.” 2 Corinthians 5:16

Paul revealed Christ as the Logos and explained his role as divine intermediary. Initiates would undergo the ritual of the Wedding Chamber to unite the Sophia with the Logos, or the Magdalene with the Jesus, and finally perform a ritual death of their lower, personal selves. After that, they would be one with the Logos, or Christ. “I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me.” Galatians 2:20

Paul used unambiguous terms and images, exhibiting a mastery of Greek language and mystery school philosophy. After removing the seven veils of corporeality, Paul’s higher initiates could reflect the light of God like living mirrors. “And all of us, with our unveiled faces like mirror reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter glory; this is the working of the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:16

Although the early stages of the mysteries prescribed strict rules of conduct, after their own rite of resurrection initiates were theoretically dead to their animal selves. Moral action from then on was supposed to come directly from the Logos within them and be spontaneous. However, eradication of desire through this symbolic death was a continuous process; Paul often had to remind his pupils of the implied morality that came with their elevated status.

“You have stripped off your old behavior with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator.” Colossians 3:8
“All who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified self with all its passions and its desires. Since we are living by the spirit, let our behavior be guided by the Spirit and let us not be conceited or provocative and envious of one another.” Galatians 5:24

Initiates at the highest level, including Paul, understood that in reality there was no right and wrong, no good and evil, because all opposites were united in the Logos. For these initiates, moral excellence was not found in empty physical posturing, but in natural accord with the internal spirit. The laws and rules of the early stages had been like training wheels, which had served their purpose and could now be removed.

“If you have really died with Christ to the principles of this world, why do you still let rules dictate you, as though you were still living in the world? “Do not pick up this, do not eat that, do not touch the other,” and all about things which perish even while they are being used according to merely human commandments and doctrines!” Colossians 2:20

The important thing, rather than moral codes of external action, was to cultivate an internal state of tranquility. The soul was described as a pool of water which needed to be kept still in order to reflect the image of God. This peaceful internal state was more important even than specific details of the faith.

“Within yourself, before God, hold on to what you already believe. Blessed is the person whose principles do not condemn his practice. But anyone who eats with qualms of conscious is already condemned, because this eating does not spring from faith and every action that does not spring from faith is sin.” Romans 14:22

Any action that caused worry, guilt, or internal discord was a sin because it splashed the water of the soul, and God could no longer be seen clearly. Those initiates who could act without rippling the water had total freedom from the strict Jewish dietary laws and moral customs. However, they needed to be careful around the lower level initiates, who had not yet reached this ambivalent attitude towards sin.

“One person may have faith enough to eat any kind of food; another, less strong, will eat only vegetables. Those who feel free to eat freely are not to condemn those who are unwilling to eat freely; nor must the person who does not eat freely pass judgment on those who does…the one who eats freely, eats in honor of the Lord and makes his thanksgiving to God; and the one who does not, abstains from eating in the honor of the Lord and makes his thanksgiving to God.” Romans 14:2

Stupid Galatians!

The Greek mysteries were well established in Greek and Roman culture, and most likely had an established network of teachers. The basic initiation process would have been common knowledge to new initiates. Paul’s Diaspora Jews, on the other hand, were not familiar with the procedures involved in this type of religious system. When Paul came preaching the arrival of the Messiah, Diaspora Jews were excited. They believed him, and told their friends the good news. After Paul had left, his communities continued to meet and talk about what they had learned.

Some of them, believing that they were adequately versed in the faith, assumed leadership roles and began to teach new initiates. However, since they themselves had not yet received the higher mysteries, they taught only the basics and made no mention of further revelations. The Acts of the Apostles gives us an example of one of these teachers, a confident and bold, who created many new disciples of Jesus. He even traveled to spread the good news. And yet, the Acts of the Apostles makes it clear that he did not have the full message.

“An Alexandrian Jew named Apollo’s now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with sound knowledge of the scriptures, and yet, though he had been given instruction in the way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual fervor and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had experienced only the baptism of John. He began to teach fearlessly in the synagogue and, when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they attached themselves to him and give him a more detailed instruction about the way.” Acts 18:24

Who were the women that instructed Apollos about the Way of the Lord? How did they know about the baptism of Jesus while Apollos only knew about the baptism of John? It appears that there was already a Gnostic community in Ephesus when Apollos stumbled in proclaiming Jesus Christ. Unlike later Christians who took the Wedding Chamber at face value and assumed women were of lower status than men, Gnostics had no qualms about letting women teach and assume leadership roles.
If anyone doubts that Christianity was originally a mystery religion, this passage is the Biblical proof. We can assume that the two baptisms refer to different levels of initiation, the baptism of Jesus being the higher level which Apollos hadn’t yet received. In the Bible, John the Baptist warns against being satisfied with his baptism, because Jesus would come later with more powerful rituals.

“I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the holy spirit and with fire.” Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16
Each baptism marked a special initiation into a higher level of Christian spirituality, and involved a complicated ritual of herbs, oils, proper attire, special numbers and magical seals. The following ancient passage from the Coptic church describes the ceremony of the baptism of fire in great detail.

“Jesus said to his disciples, “Bring me grapevines, so that you may receive the baptism of fire.” And the disciples brought him the grapevines. He offered up incense. He sent up juniper berries and myrrh, along with frankincense, mastic, nard, cassia flowers, turpentine, and oil of myrrh. And he also spread a linen cloth on the place of offering, and set upon it a chalice of wine, and set loaves of bread upon it according to the number of the disciples. And he had all of his disciples dress themselves with linen garments, and crowned them with the plant pigeon grass, and put the plant doghead in their mouths. And he had them put the pebble with the seven voices into their two hands, namely 9879. And he put the plant chrysanthemum in their two hands, and put the plant knotgrass under their feet. And he placed them before the incense which he had offered up. And he had them put their feet together. And Jesus came behind the incense which he had offered up and sealed them with this seal.” Ancient Christian Magic

Once Christianity divorced itself from metaphorical interpretation, and denied the secretive esoteric wisdom of the higher initiates, it was decided that one baptism was more than enough. A new creed was written, “We believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” Incidentally, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit – the Baptism of Fire became transformed into the tradition of Pentecost – the Holy Spirit came down and “enlightened” all of the apostles with Wisdom, so that they could go and spread God’s word. Modern Pentecostal Christians have revived these Baptisms, in the form of intensely enthusiastic evangelism.

Unfortunately, Apollos seems to have spread his limited version of Jesus Christ to a lot of people before he was stopped. Paul faced entire communities who had somehow been cut off from the higher levels of initiation.

“Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered, “No, we were never even told there was such thing as a Holy Spirit.” He asked, “Then how were you baptized? They replied, “With John’s Baptism.” Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him- namely Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 19

Due to the ease of communication within the Roman empire, some of Paul’s communities began to interact with each other independently. Followers who had only been taught the lowest levels of the mysteries got wind of other groups doing things differently, even believing in Jesus Christ differently. The community of Corinth seems to have received only the basics of the Jesus mysteries, which were, in Paul’s own words, “the turning away from dead actions, faith in God, the teaching about baptisms and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and the eternal judgment.” Hebrews 6
They heard rumors of “secret knowledge” that Paul was revealing to other Christians, and wrote to him demanding answers. Was there really more to the story? And if so, why hadn’t they been told? Paul responded that they were not yet ready to hear the higher mysteries, and that by demonstrating their personal rivalries, they had shown that they still weren’t ready.

“And so, brothers, I was not able to talk to you as spiritual people; I had to talk to you as people living by your natural inclinations, still infants in Christ; I fed you with milk and not solid food, for you were not yet able to take it and even now, you are still not able to, for you are still living by your natural inclinations. As long as there is still jealousy and rivalry among you, that surely means that you are still living by your natural inclinations and by merely human principles.” 1 Corinthians 3:1

Apollos and the community at Ephesus were happy to be instructed in the nuances of the faith, but others weren’t so cooperative. Paul wasn’t sure which communities would still accept his authority, and expressed concerns to his communities about how he would be received during his next visit. He described his fears in such detail it seems clear that he was already experiencing most of them, and becoming frustrated.

“I am afraid that in one way or another, when I come, I may find you different from what I should like you to be, and you may find me what you would not like me to be; so that in one way or the other there will be rivalry, jealousy, bad temper, quarrels, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.” 2 Corinthians 12:19

Trying to restore order, and make sure that the higher mysteries were preserved, Paul may have returned to some of the younger communities and hastily given the “baptism of Jesus” or other rites to initiates who weren’t yet spiritually ready to receive them. Uncomfortable with the new philosophical view of Christ, or perhaps afraid of making themselves unpopular by refuting an earthly Messiah, some of these initiates reverted back to firmer ground, and continued to teach only the basics that they were familiar with. Paul was furious.

“You stupid people in Galatia! After you had a clear picture of Jesus Christ crucified, right in front of your eyes, who has put a spell on you? There is only one thing I should like you to tell me: How was it that you received the Spirit – was it by the practice of the Law, or by believing in some message you heard? Having begun in the spirit, can you be so stupid as to end in the flesh? Can all the favors you have received have had no effect – if there really has been no effect?” Galatians 3:1

In the ancient world, the planets were gods who had influence over the physical body. The Pagan mysteries celebrated astrological events as a method to keep track of celestial movements, such as solstices, and related these dates to stories about their savior. In the early levels of the Jewish mysteries, Jesus Christ was introduced as a real person, and initiates were allowed to celebrate these special times in the guise of commemorative events, such as Christmas and Easter.

However, for the initiates who had reached the higher levels and died to their physical bodies, these special dates should have lost their meaning. Some of Paul’s communities continued to celebrate these dates even after they had received the full initiation, proving to him that they hadn’t really understood his message.

“But formerly, when you did not know God, you were kept in slavery to things which are not really gods at all, whereas now that you have come to recognize God, or rather, be recognized by God, how can you now turn back again to those powerless and bankrupt elements who’s slaves you now want to be all over again? You are keeping special days, and months, and seasons and years – I am beginning to be afraid that I may, after all, have wasted my efforts on you.” Galatians 4:8

It is interesting that the Pauline letters preserved in the Christian Bible were written to communities he was unhappy with; these are the communities that became the modern church. Besides constantly reprimanding these communities for their selfishness, contentiousness and debauchery, Paul was also frustrated by their inability to understand the finer points of his message.

“On this subject we have many things to say, and they are difficult to explain because you have grown so slow at understanding. Indeed, when you should by this time have become masters, you need someone to teach you all over again the elements of the principles of God’s sayings; you have gone back to needing milk, and not solid food.” Hebrews 5:11

The pattern of Paul’s initiation was to first tell the stories about Jesus as a man, and later expand those teachings into a transformative spirituality in which the figure of Jesus Christ as an actual person could be discarded. Initiates at higher levels were told to develop Gnosis, and use the Logos as a mirror to transform themselves into Christs. They were also told that laws concerning specific moral conduct were no longer necessary, because the Logos living in them would spontaneously seek out the greater good.

For some communities, the philosophical notions of the Logos were impractical, and the “everything is permissible” morality of Paul’s Gnostics was too difficult to enforce. These initiates turned away from Paul, denying his higher mysteries and refusing to accept any interpretation of the original message. They preferred the idea that Jesus was a real man, who said and did real things, and constructed a simple faith based on ritual and moral law. It was these groups, who considered Christ as a historical person, that eventual won control of the church and assumed the name, “Christian”.

When Paul and others criticized them, these communities attempted to defend themselves by providing rational arguments in favor of their misguided beliefs. They developed their own, independent theology, based on Hebrew scripture and a literal reading of sacred texts. Paul complained that his followers were being stolen away from him and his teachings perverted.

“By the grace of God which was given to me I laid the foundations like a trained master builder, and someone else is building on them.” 1 Corinthians 3:10

Some groups even began forging letters from Paul, attempting to justify their beliefs through the authority of his name. Only 7 of the 14 Pauline letters included in the Bible are considered authentic. Timothy 1 and 2, along with the letter to Titus, are universally considered forgeries, while Ephesians, Colossians and 2 Thessalonians continue to be disputed. Many of these letters end by affirming that they really are from Paul, and try to use Paul’s signature as proof.

“This greeting is in my own hand – PAUL. It is the mark of genuineness in every letter; this is my own writing.” 2 Thessalonians 3:17

While Paul taught that Jesus Christ crucified was the Sophia inside us, and that the kingdom of God had already come, these rebellious communities believed that Jesus was a real man who had recently risen from the dead. Rather than create our salvation inside of us, they believed Jesus would return at some point in the future to restore the kingdom of God on earth. Using Paul’s own name against him, they warned other communities against believing that the kingdom could be accessed immediately.

“About the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers, and our being gathered to him: please do not be too easily thrown into confusion or alarmed by any manifestation of the Spirit or any statement or any letter claiming to come from us, suggesting that the Day of the Lord has already arrived.”2 Thessalonians 2:1

Which letters were considered genuine would depend on which ones arrived first. Through this kind of letter, even communities who remained loyal to Paul may have been tricked into refusing his instruction. The forged letters turn away from the ideology of Paul’s mysteries, and focus on creating a modest and chaste society, based on a literal reading of scripture and strict moral obedience. Unlike Paul, whose close companions and fellow teachers included Priscilla and Aquila, the groups who wrote these letters were uncomfortable with women in roles of authority, and severely limited their function.

“Similarly, women are to wear suitable clothes and to be dressed quietly and modestly, without braided hair or gold and jewelry or expensive clothes; their adornment is to do the good works that are proper for women who claim to be religious. During instruction, a woman should be quiet and respectful. I give no permission for a woman to teach or to have authority over a man.” 1 Timothy 2:9

Paul left a legacy of two very different types of Christianity. The Gnostics emphasized the return of the spirit to God and believed Christ’s death was a philosophical truth, necessary for the restoration. They had at least three ritual baptisms and holy seals, (water, fire and spirit) representing stages of spiritual initiation.

The Christians, who placed their faith in Christ as a historical reality and believed that he would come back at the end of time, focused on good works and faith alone. Like the modern church, Christian communities had just one baptism, for the forgiveness of sins, and adopted only one magical seal, the upright cross. The theology inherited from this early period of Christian history, which continues today in most Christian churches, is the repressive theology of Paul’s least favored students.

The articles in this section are part of a 50,000 word treatise on the historical Jesus and Christ Myth Theory, dealing with Christian history, the mystical significance of Christian symbols, and the mistaken belief that Jesus Christ was a historical person. You can download the entire collection for free as a PDF file ebook by clicking here!

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However, as we approach the end of my argument that Jesus was never a historical person, I am finally ready to divulge the core of the Christ Myth theory – the proof that shows Christianity itself was really based on previous Pagan ideologies. Not simply by pointing out the similarities between mythological traditions and budding Christianity, but by analyzing the early Christian writings which clearly describe Christianity as a “Mystery religion”, demonstrating that Paul and the early church leaders were spreading an initiation cult with different levels of meaning, and most importantly, showing that Bible records exactly how some of Paul’s followers began to accidentally think of Jesus as a historical person. In this article, I’ll focus on what are called “The Ancient Mysteries”, and demonstrate that Christianity was one.

“A mystery religion is any religion with an arcanum, or secret wisdom. In a mystery religion, an inner core of beliefs, practices, and the religion’s true nature, are revealed only to those who have been initiated into its secrets. (The ancient Greek term μυστήρια (mysteria) means “initiation”, notably in the context of the Eleusinian Mysteries.) Ancient mystery religions of the eastern Mediterranean area generally focused on mythic figures who had descended into Hades and returned or who otherwise exemplified death and rebirth, such as Bacchus, Orpheus, Osiris, and Tammuz.” http://en.wikipedia.org

The earliest mysteries may have been brought from Egypt by Greek travelers – in fact, although Western philosophy attributes its birth to the early “Naturalist Philosophers” of Greece, these same philosophers admit to have gained their wisdom in Egypt, where they had become initiates of the mysteries there. (Thales made this claim around 600 BC.)

“Thales was the first to go to Egypt and bring back to Greece this study [geometry]; he himself discovered many propositions, and disclosed the underlying principles of many others to his successors, in some cases his method being more general, in others more empirical.” Proclus

However, the Eleusinian Mysteries and Orphic rites go back at least to the 7th century BC. It is possible that early versions of the mysteries, such as those found in Egypt, used spiritual symbols and mythology to preserve geometrical and scientific knowledge, which was then passed on through initiates or the “priestly castes.” However, it is a mistake to view initiates as hard-nosed scientists alone. These philosophers were passionate mystics, who searched into the natural and physical laws in order to find the absolute essence of the universe. Pythagoras, for example, is often remembered for his “Pythagorean theory”, but Pythagoras was much more than a mathematician.

Pythagoras once said that “number is the ruler of forms and ideas and the cause of gods and demons.” After returning from his studies in Egypt, he founded a community of followers who lived together in a school, owned no possessions, followed strict rules of moral conduct and ate no meat. There were also codes of silence. Time was spent reading, playing music, and studying. He may have based this school on the early Orphic Mysteries, which some consider to be the first proper mystery school based on esoteric wisdom and initiation.

Perhaps in the beginning, only those with the dedication, perseverance and intelligence were admitted into the higher mysteries. However, when these ancient practices were assimilated into the cosmopolitan societies of Greco-Roman civilization, initiates opened schools and actively recruited members. These schools were usually centered around highly charismatic leaders, who were attributed with miraculous powers. As membership became a sign of status, some schools charged fees, and became high society clubs rather than genuine havens for wisdom.

It is estimated that in Athens alone there were over 600 mystery schools. Nearly all of the Greek philosophers were members of at least one branch. It is likely, in fact, that what we know as Greek philosophy was really just an attempt to describe the cosmology of the mysteries in academic terms. Unfortunately, much of what we know about the mysteries was preserved by condemnation or criticism from external sources. Due to the secretive nature of the mysteries, we may never know exactly what was taught at the higher levels. However, we can piece together something about these groups from the clues they left.

Initiates of Mithras, for example, could ascend up through seven levels, represented by the seven planets. After each level they would be awarded a new title as well as some external symbol of their status. An initiate at the highest level was called “Father”, and wore a red cap, a mantle, a ring, and carried a shepherd’s staff. (Like Jesus, and the Egyptian Osiris, Mithras was called the “good shepherd”.) The traditional outfit for the Catholic Pope is very similar.

Initiates of Mithras would first be baptized and born again as infants into their new life, and then made to fast and keep a special diet in order to gain control over their bodies. Once their physical drives were in check, they would perform a ritual death, often actually dressing in death rags and being buried or sealed in a tomb. The goal of Mithraism was the unification of the lower self with the Logos, for which they used the name “Perseus”, during a ritual called the Wedding Chamber. Having completed all of the levels, initiates would be branded or tattooed with a symbol of the organization and allowed to teach.

Although there are few written remains of Mithraism, we can tell a lot about how his followers viewed him by looking at the artwork left in their tomb-like temples. Mithras was often shown standing on a globe with a cross through it, wearing a lion’s head mask, to identify him with the victorious sun on the spring equinox. Sometimes he was shown with the zodiac circle surrounding him. Many statues give him wings and a snake around his legs, and show him raising a lit torch – like the symbol of the Caduceus. He was seen as the bridge between heaven and earth.

We also have the testimony of early Christian apologists, who recognized the similarities between Mithraism and Christianity and claimed that they were inspired by Satan. The following passages by Justin Martyr and Tertullian include Baptism, Communion, Confirmation (formerly known as the Chrism – anointing the forehead with oil, a magical symbol and sometimes a tattoo) and even the Resurrection. Tertullian also mentions a rite of initiation which may have been lost from the Christian tradition, which includes kneeling before a sword and being crowned.

“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.” Justin Martyr, First Apology 60

“The question will arise, By whom is to be interpreted the sense of the passages which make for heresies? By the devil, of course, to whom pertain those wiles which pervert the truth, and who, by the mystic rites of his idols, vies even with the essential portions of the sacraments of God. He, too, baptizes some-that is, his own believers and faithful followers; he promises the putting away of sins by a layer (of his own); and if my memory still serves me, Mithras there, (in the kingdom of Satan, ) sets his marks on the foreheads of his soldiers; celebrates also the oblation of bread, and introduces an image of a resurrection, and before a sword wreathes a crown.” Tertullian, De praescriptione haereticorum 40

“Blush, ye fellow-soldiers of his, henceforth not to be condemned even by him, but by some soldier of Mithras, who, at his initiation in the gloomy cavern, in the camp, it may well be said, of darkness, when at the sword’s point a crown is presented to him, as though in mimicry of martyrdom, and thereupon put upon his head, is admonished to resist and east it off, and, if you like, transfer it to his shoulder, saying that Mithras is his crown. And thenceforth he is never crowned; and he has that for a mark to show who he is, if anywhere he be subjected to trial in respect of his religion; and he is at once believed to be a soldier of Mithras if he throws the crown away—-if he say that in his god he has his crown. Let us take note of the devices of the devil, who is wont to ape some of God’s things with no other design than, by the faithfulness of his servants, to put us to shame, and to condemn us.” Tertullian, De corona. 15.

Already, I hope you can see that there are some similarities between Mithraism and Christianity. Modern apologists denounce these parallels by claiming that either A) they aren’t there or B) Christianity came first, so any “borrowing” was done by Mithraism. But neither of these defenses were used by the early Christian communities, who had serious difficulties explaining how and why the Mithras cult seemed to have so much in common with Christianity.

Mithras is the Persian sun-god, but his mysteries share much of the symbolism from other forms of Greek and Roman mysteries. In fact, all of these initiation cults are related, because it was usually an initiate of one who then moved into a new location and started his own version based on the local gods. In this picture of Hercules, the Greek sun god (strictly speaking, Apollo is the sun God, but Hercules absorbed a lot of sun myth symbolism), Hercules is being crowned with Laurels. He is surrounded with all of the symbols of the mysteries – a conquered dragon at his feet, a dragon head behind him, a sacred tree, the tips of a pair of wings, his consort who “kings” him, and even a globe showing the intersection of the celestial equator and the ecliptic. These are the same symbols found in the pictures of Mithras above, and – although they are very well hidden – in the story of Christ’s ministry.

Look closely at the two pictures above. In the first, a mystery god (probably Hercules or Mithras) is present with all the symbols of his ministry. At his feet is the defeated dragon. Behind him is his symbol the Lion, hanging on the tree. He’s holding a staff (to symbolize the tree or bridge), has wings, and is about to be crowned by his companion goddess – who is holding a small stature (Nike, the Greek goddess of victory) over the world; showing him as king of the world. On the globe is the T or X shape of the zodiac path intersecting the sun’s path. These are symbols that any mystery initiate would know.

On the right – is Jesus being anointed by Mary, there are no other symbols present (because the interpretation of such symbols has been lost, along with the higher mysteries) however the symbols do continue, in tradition. Jesus is the Lion King – “Christ” means anointed, or crowned. He is always associated with a lion, and called the Lion of Judea. He is the defeater of Satan, the serpent. He was born in a cave and surrounded by animals – often mistranslated as “in a manger”. He is the tree of life, the bridge between heaven and earth, and like Mithras he is the controller of the precession of equinoxes. While Mithras defeated the bull under Taurus, in the time of Jesus the spring equinox had already progressed into Aries, the lamb. Jesus receives his kingship, christ-hood or “anointing”, at the hands of his consort, Mary Magdalene.

This is not ‘similarity’. Jesus Christ was a Jewish version of the same mythological figures worshiped by the various mystery cults. His sacrificial role, and the rituals designed to save his followers, were also based on mystery religions. We know this because we have an abundance of evidence from many directions. On the one hand, we have all the similarities between Christianity and other mystery religions. On the other hand, we have Christian testimony from both the Bible and apocryphal gospels which clearly describe Christianity as a mystery religion. What we don’t know, for certain, is how and why somebody created a Jewish version of the mysteries – but it doesn’t really matter. Given the evidence, they must have. I’m going to tell you what I think happened, and then I’ll bombard you with physical evidence until you’re weak in the knees.

The Jesus Mysteries

“Jesus said to the 12 apostles: “You have been given the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to those, the ones outside, everything is given in parables, so that seeing, they may see and not perceive, and hearing, they may hear but not understand.” Mark 4:11

Starting from around 230BC, the land of Israel fell under Roman rule. The Roman policy was to conquer, improve public facilities, collect taxes, and have people honor the emperor. While many communities lived peacefully under foreign rule, the Jews believed that Israel was given to them by God and could not be taken from them. They considered themselves a holy people, and thought that they were to stay pure by separating themselves from the world in dress, custom and diet.
When Romans began to raise temples and statues to Roman gods in Jerusalem, it presented Jews with a theological problem. They reasoned that either they had forgotten to fulfill their religious duties, and were being punished, or that God was expecting them to fight back against Rome and reclaim their homeland. There were many rebellions during this period, but every uprising against the Romans finished in heavy losses for the Jews.

Taking pieces from their scriptures which spoke of a future prophet or king and weaving them together, they formed a description of a savior figure who would liberate them from Roman rule. They pictured a powerful ruler from Israel’s royal dynasty, the line of David, who would unify the country, restore the tribes of Israel, and defeat the Romans in a final holy war. Kings were always anointed on the forehead, so they referred to this messiah as The Christ, which means “anointed one.”
At the same time, Jews who lived outside of Jerusalem sometimes became less austere with their dress and customs, assimilating into their new surroundings. Some became educated in Greek thought and language, and no doubt they came in contact with mystery religions and sun gods through public festivals and holidays. Some may have even become initiates themselves, but even if they didn’t, Greek philosophers spoke plainly about concepts like Sophia and Logos and it would have been impossible not to learn something about them.

Around 2,000 years ago, probably in Alexandria, someone began writing a Jewish version of the Greek mysteries. Maybe someone found in them some pearl of wisdom they wished to share with their people. Or perhaps they felt guilty for allowing themselves to become involved with Pagan culture and were trying to justify their actions through a Yahweh centered version of the Logos myth. (Editor’s note – I’m currently researching the cult of Sarapis, a deliberately created religion, harnessing all the best parts of many different religions, made specifically to unite the growing spiritual values of the Roman empire. If Sarapis could be created, and yet still worshipped as a God, Jesus Christ could have easily also been made as a conscious attempt to dismantle the religious barriers between Rome and its conquered Jewish tributaries.)
At any rate, the new, Jewish version of the mysteries offered Jews a way to integrate culturally while preserving their own theological heritage. These stories were written by people who had most likely never been to Israel, and like the Egyptians used locations metaphorically to describe the sun’s ascent and descent. Using a number substitution code, a common practice among the Greek mysteries and Jewish mystics, they created a name for this savior with special mathematical significance.

Jesus (Iησους) = I.E.S.O.U.S = 10+8+200+70+400+200 = 888

The principles behind this equation were well known in the first few centuries AD, and the church father Iraneaus, although he doesn’t seem to believe it himself, can clearly do the math involved.

“This is the name of Jesus; for this name, if you reckon up the numerical value of the letters, amounts to eight hundred and eighty eight. Thus, then, you have a clear statement of their opinion as to the origin of the super celestial Jesus. Wherefore, also, the alphabet of the Greeks contains eight Monads, eight Decads, and eight Hecatads, which present the number eight hundred and eighty-eight, that is, Jesus, who is formed of all the numbers; and on this account He is called Alpha and Omega, indicating his origin from all.” Iraneaus, Against the Heresies

This figure was not only a sacred number, it was also a pictograph of the nature of God. 8 turned on its side becomes the symbol of eternity. Three 8′s show the three identical persons of the eternal trinity. The numbers 888 can also be reversed, flipped, and substituted with each other without causing any change in their nature, reflecting the unchanging constancy of God.

The concept of the Logos, represented by the divine number 888, was combined with the image of the awaited messiah and became the name Jesus Christ. It was an attempt to bridge Greek salvation philosophy and Jewish religious history, and did not refer to a real or actual person. This explains the few often quoted passages in the Bible which portray Jesus as a special name, a name above all others. It is not Jesus the historical man who holds the key to salvation, but the Logos and his innate relationship with the Father and original unity.

“I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 13:14
Similar to passages in the Egyptian book of the dead, the secret to immortality in the early church lay in knowing God’s true name, almost like a secret password. It was the name Iesous itself, and not just the person or function of Jesus, that held power. Like abracadabra, Iesous was a special word, that when pronounced properly could produce marvelous effects.

“But some itinerant Jewish exorcists too tried pronouncing the name of the Lord Jesus over people who were possessed by evil spirits; they used to say, ‘I adjure you by the Jesus whose spokesman is Paul.’” Acts 19:11

Although for Greeks this new mystery was just one among hundreds, to some Jews this was their first glimpse of the mystery salvation philosophy. The permanence of the soul in particular may have been an attractive idea for them, and a community grew up around these stories. These groups taught the Greek mysteries in a Jewish framework, and offered Diaspora Jews the opportunity to become initiates without feeling guilty for abandoning their own culture.

Rather than believe the Messiah to be a historical figure, they imagined that he was the Logos, who gave mankind internal salvation. Paying taxes and living under Roman law was inconsequential after having been saved by the Logos, and even death held no power over those saved. Instead of depending on external forces to liberate them, initiates believed each person could become their own messiah. Because of this, they called themselves anointed ones, or “Christians”.

The Bridal Chamber

The writings from some early Christian communities, later branded as heretical and lost for centuries, clearly fall within the mystery tradition. Many of these texts have re-emerged only this century, quickly changing the traditional understanding of the early church. Although cast out of the Roman Catholic fold, these communities considered themselves to be the true followers of Christ.
Like other mysteries, these early Christians had a baptism, a communal meal, and a bridal chamber aimed at uniting the upper and lower selves.

“The Lord did everything in a mystery, a baptism and a chrism and a eucharist and a redemption and a bridal chamber.” Gospel of Philip

The Greek word used for “mystery” in this fragment can be found frequently in the Bible under its Latin counterpart, “sacrament”. Although the church has always argued about the nature and number of sacraments, those cited by Philip are roughly the same as those still used by many churches. The chrism is an anointing of oil, marking the initiate’s forehead with the cross to make them “christs”. It continues today in the form of confirmation. Although the Apostle Paul clearly recommended celibacy over marriage, when the true meaning of the Wedding Chamber was lost, the sacrament changed from a mysterious transformation of the soul into a binding love between a mortal man and woman.
Despite claims that marriage is a sacred institution, priests of most Christians denominations aren’t even allowed to enter into it. How could the marriage between two people be both a sacrament, sanctified by God, and unacceptable for priests? The answer is that originally, the sacrament of marriage referred to the mystery of the Wedding Chamber, and the fusion between the Sophia and the Logos inside each person. The mysteries of Jesus Christ copied the Greek mysteries in every fashion, including the universal sun myth figure. Initiates would first be introduced to Jesus as a resurrecting son of God, and later guided to understand the mythical interpretation of the story. The final purpose of the Christian mysteries, identical to the mysteries of Mithras, was to use the re-joined bride and groom like a mirror, to see back to the beginning.

“There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth: It is necessary that they should be born again through the image. What is the resurrection? The image must rise again through the Image. The bridegroom and the image must enter through the Image into the Truth: this is the Restoration.” Gospel of Philip

The bridal chamber was a metaphysical union between the male Logos with the female Sophia, or the soul’s return to God. Its true meaning was kept hidden from initiates of the lower levels through stories and parables attributed to the savior. Secrecy was very important, because if initiates heard the truth before they were spiritually ready, it would be spoiled for them.

“If a marriage is open to the public, it has become prostitution, and the bride plays the harlot not only when she is impregnated by another man but even if she slips out of her bedroom and is seen. Bridegrooms and brides belong to the bridal chamber. No one shall be able to see the bridegroom with the bride unless he becomes one himself.” Gospel of Philip

At higher levels, initiates could freely interpret the philosophical implications of the stories, weaving Greek and Jewish thought together freely. Substituting Christ into the role of the Logos, they explain that his role is to repair the separation that happened in the beginning.

“If the woman would not separate from the man, she would not die with him. His separation became the beginning of death. Because of this Christ came to repair the separation which was from the beginning and unite them. But the woman is united to the husband in the bridal chamber. Indeed, those who have been united in the bridal chamber will no longer be separated. Thus Eve separated from Adam because she was never united with him in the Bridal Chamber.” Gospel of Philip

Just as the sun had a female companion, the moon, and the Logos had a female companion, Sophia, the stories about Jesus also incorporated a woman as his friend and companion.

“As for the Wisdom who is called the barren, she is the mother of the angels, and the companion of the Savior, who is also Mary Magdalene.” Gospel of Philip

Many texts describe the ecstasy encountered between Mary and Jesus, which represent the Logos and the Sophia as they are fused into one in the Wedding Chamber. It is no wonder that there are so many books written about the sexual exploits of Jesus and Mary, and even the possibility of their royal offspring. As long as Jesus is assumed to be historical, Mary must be viewed as his real, physical companion.

Like Sophia, Mary was sometimes called a whore, as were many consorts of the sun. She was the one who was lost, sullied in matter, trapped and in need of rescue. Significantly, Mary is identified in the Bible as the woman out of whom seven devils were cast. After Mary had her seven demons removed, or ascended past the seven illusionary heavens, she was able to become Christ’s partner and lover in the bridal chamber.

In an ancient manuscript called the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Mary was not only Christ’s beloved disciple, but also the revealer of secret mysteries.

“Peter said to Mary, Sister we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of woman. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember which you know, but we do not, nor have we heard them. Mary answered and said, what is hidden from you I will proclaim to you.” Gospel according the Mary Magdalene

Later, when a certain branch of Christianity refused the higher mysteries, they viewed this form of Mary as a threat because of the authority it gave to women. The symbol for Sophia, the bride of Christ, changed from Mary Magdalene into The Holy Mother Church.

Christ was viewed as the head of his body, the Church, and his great sacrifice was undertaken for the sake of this body. The Church, like Sophia, was the collection of individual sparks trapped in the world. (If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll recognize that this relationship is identical to the body/tail division of Draco.) Once the meaning of the Wedding Chamber was lost, this relationship between Christ and the Church became a metaphor for human marriages rather than the relationship between the higher and lower selves.

“Husbands should love their wives, just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy by washing her in cleansing water with a form of words, so that when he took the Church to himself she would be glorious. . . .This is why a man leaves his mother and father and becomes attached to his wife, and the two become one flesh. This mystery has great significance, but I am applying it to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:25

Jesus also shared a common heritage with Mithras as the body of the Caduceus. When Moses came down from the mountain and found his people with the golden calf, he smashed the idol and replaced it with a bronze serpent fixed it to a pole. He claimed anyone bitten by poisonous vipers could look at it and live.

While the bull was a symbol of astrological precession, the snake on the pole represented the soul’s ascent to the One. Moses was introducing a new spirituality based on personal transformation rather than celestial observation. The writer of John’s gospel links Jesus to the serpent on a pole, giving him the role of Mithras as the pathway to spiritual perfection.

“As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” Ephesians 5:25

Jesus has fallen into matter, and in this state he appears crucified, or stuck. All of the pieces of him, his body, need to be lifted up and rejoined to the head. The pieces of him were called Sophia, the wisdom of God, and many biblical passages state clearly that Jesus crucified is Sophia. The relationship between these two is obscured by translating Sophia into “Wisdom”.

“We are preaching a crucified Christ…who is both the power of God and the wisdom (Sophia) of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:22

Prometheus, who brought fire to mankind, was chained to a rock and tortured. Krishna and Attis died at the base of a tree, pierced by arrows. Dionysus was ripped apart by his followers so that they could have life by eating his flesh, and in the Egyptian story, Osiris was butchered into little pieces. Heraclitus, developing into a mythological figure himself, was reportedly torn apart by dried dung. According to the text attributed to the apostle Philip, Jesus met the same fate on the cross.

“My God, my God, why, O Lord, have you forsaken me? It was on the cross that He said these words, for it was there that he was divided.” The Gospel of Philip

The reason that these passages seem strange to us today, is that for most of the past 2,000 years Jesus Christ has been considered a historical person. Our preconceptions about Jesus radically and fundamentally alters our reading of the stories about him. Although the early Christian communities that believed in a historical Jesus had to battle long and hard against their critics, they eventually won the war and erased all traces of their adversaries. They structured the Bible in a way that makes the historical Jesus appear obvious, and almost completely hides traces of the mythological Christ. When we re-read the Bible without the assumption that Jesus was a historical figure, we can find not only evidence that Christianity was a mystery religion, but also the most crucial of answers: If Jesus was a myth that was accidentally mistaken for a historical person, how could such a colossal mistake have been made?

The articles in this section are part of a 50,000 word treatise on the historical Jesus and Christ Myth Theory, dealing with Christian history, the mystical significance of Christian symbols, and the mistaken belief that Jesus Christ was a historical person. You can download the entire collection for free as a PDF file ebook by clicking here!

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This topic is very difficult to discuss because it assumes that symbols have hidden layers of meaning, and that I alone of all people know what the real meaning is. I’ve come to appreciate the symbolic interpretation of common religious symbols because of my studies of esoteric philosophy. Most religious traditions have a history of mysticism and also a caste system – members could progress up the levels of spirituality, and the motifs and imagery of the religion was revealed to them piece by piece. While many modern religions have lost track of the metaphoric interpretations of their own symbols, the writings of certain philosophers, mystics and spiritualists, can help us explore the original meaning of these symbols.

In nearly all early cosmology theories, the universe began as a single point and expanded downwards into the physical world. (This is also the “Big Bang” theory, which has matured little in the 2,000 since Plato.) The transition from above to below, and the process of going back up, is the secret principle underlying all religious symbols. For example, as demonstrated in Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, the primal symbols for Man and Woman are both triangles, one pointed up and the other pointed down. The one pointing up is the masculine energy, positively charged, pointing upwards towards unification. The one pointing down is the feminine energy, negatively charged, pointing downwards. (Incidentally – this isn’t to signify that “females” are lowly, to be dominated by males. Each human being, regardless of sex, is a product of this balanced system and is ruled by both energies.)

Together, the two triangles form a magical symbol, the Seal or Star of Soloman – which represents the unified universe in much the same way as the Yin-Yang symbol does. While the six-pointed star symbolizes balance and completion, a five-pointed star shows movement. The pentacle has 4 points for the 4 elements, wind, water, fire and air, with a 5 point for spirit. Pointed upwards it is a holy symbol, aimed at restitution, but pointed downwards it becomes a symbol of evil – sometimes exaggerated with the image of the demon “baphomet”, which can be formed from an inverted pentacle. Strictly speaking, there is nothing satanic about the physical world, other than the obvious drawbacks of sickness and death – but the process of dividing and separating was seen as sullying the pure, clean original substance. (Much like smashing a diamond into pieces. You end up with equal amounts of diamond, but the little pieces are worthless. The value was in the unified gem.)

Rather than a specific mastermind ruling the underworld, Satan is a composite character whose images reflect the process of expansion and separation. We can see this more clearly by contrasting two of the cards from A. E. Waite’s Tarot deck.

The Devil is crowned by an inverted pentacle, which seems to cut his horns in two which then curve down – demonstrating both the separation, and the downward expansion, of the polar energies. In case we missed the point, his head is also an inverted triangle, and he is even pointing a torch downwards to signify the fall of the Logos, or divine spark. (Many myths have a hero who “stole fire” from the gods and gave it to humanity). The male and female are separate, naked and in chains, signifying their helplessness to their physical desires. They are also horned and tailed, (governed by their animal senses), and gazing downwards.

The Lovers card, on the other hand, demonstrates the restoration. There is a large triangle, (the mountain,) in the middle of the card pointing up. The woman represents the fallen Sophia. She is next to a snake in a tree. As we will see in a few moments, a snake winding around a pole always symbolizes spiritual awakening. The man on the right has his own tree – but it is almost barren. There are exactly 12 leaves, hinting that, until the restoration, he is still stuck beneath the 12 Zodiac signs, and subject to Time and Death. They are both looking up, at the large welcoming angel and dazzling sun.

I give this lengthy interpretation of the Tarot cards because it helps to see the same pattern in less obvious symbols. Take, for example, the upright cross. Ancient philosophers used the cross to represent the physical world, which they believed had four directions and was made of four elements. It also, however, demonstrated the path between heaven and hell (vertical bar) and the process of time in the physical world (horizontal bar.) An upright cross places the horizontal bar up high, showing the restoration.

This is why it is the symbol of Jesus – who, as the Logos or First Born Son very literally is the bridge between heaven and earth. In most paintings of the crucifixion, there are two criminals crucified with him. One is looking up, and the other is looking down. (In the Bible – Jesus tells only one that he will go up to heaven.) Jesus is in the middle of the two – the animating principle, or consciousness, which fell from the original unity and which we need to get back up. However, Jesus wasn’t the first to use this cross – it was also the symbol of Mithras. Like Christians, the followers of Mithras used to have a ritual meal with flat bread imbued with the power of this cross.

Of course, rather than a symbol of the crucifixion, the sword of Mithras was supposed to commemorate his act of slaying the zodiacal Bull of Taurus. It is easy to play up differences and claim the cross and the sword are only alike in appearance, but they have precisely the same function. Mithras slew the sacred bull (initiating the age of Taurus), and his followers were cleaned of their sins through its blood. Jesus slew the sacred lamb (initiating the age of Aries) and his followers were cleaned of their sins through its blood. In a fascinatingly prophetic passage, Jesus even says, “Do you think I came to bring peace? I tell you, I came not to bring peace but the sword.” The modern peace symbol is actually a picture of an inverted cross with broken arms – showing the defeat of Christianity, but more importantly, the process of downwards expansion. The “sword” Jesus mentions is probably the opposite, a vertical cross. (Although, the true opposite of the peace symbol would look like Poseidon’s trident, another ancient symbol of magic.)

Incidentally, the inverted cross has always been associated with the apostle Peter. It was said that he chose to be crucified upside down out of respect for Christ, however, there is a more logical reason. Peter was singled out by Jesus to represent humanity as a whole. He was even renamed Cephas, or “the rock”, to make this symbolism more concrete. It is no surprise that, while Jesus symbolizes the higher power of the logos and is represented by an upright cross, Peter represents fallen humanity and is represented by an inverted cross.

An elaboration of the cross is the anchor symbol. This ancient magical icon is a representation of the created universe, including the fall and the division of polarities. Pictures of anchors are more common in early Christian art and architecture than crosses. The anchor shows the trinity (the top point is sometimes a loop, to show the eternal unity), the descent, and then the two polarities which are divided. Many anchor symbols are drawn with either a snake, or a rope winding up it, to show the process back up to the top.

If you look again at the Lovers card above you will see that, if you combined the two trees, the entire picture would also form an anchor. This symbolism is common in Christian iconography and church paintings. In the following picture from Oregon’s Portland Grotto, the bird or Holy Spirit is on top, then the Father and Son, holding a crown out to Mary, who is descending down below them. At her feet are two angels, a male and female. Around her head are 12 stars – the Zodiac. Until the restoration, she is bound within the limits of time. I’ve overlaid the anchor symbol to show how precisely the scene was laid out. The other picture below is a mystical symbol, depicting the anchor as a kind of fishing hook, cast back up to the cross from the heart of the world.

The Tree of Life

Jesus calls himself the “Tree of Life”, referring to Genesis and the gospel story. There were two trees in the Garden, the Tree of Life (eternity, unity) and the Tree of Knowledge (self-consciousness, division, time, death.) Once Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge, God took the Tree of Life away from them, afraid that they would live forever and become gods themselves. Of course, if Jesus really is the Tree of Life, it means that God has changed his mind about the whole garden thing and decided to let us have the tree after all.

The symbol of the tree is not limited to Christianity – it was often seen as bridge between heaven and earth, with its roots in the ground and its leaves in the air. Many other deities are associated with a sacred tree, including Attis, Buddha and Krishna.

As we mentioned before, the process of restoration, of going back up and uniting the polarities, is always represented by a snake climbing up a pole. In India meditation is practiced with the aim of releasing the Kundalini energy, often described as the serpentine energy located at the base of the spine. It is believed that the seven Chakras must be opened, in order, and then the Kundalini can connect with the universal energy located at the crown of the head.

When the lower spiritual self unites with the universal Spirit, a person experiences ‘enlightenment’, which is the absolution of opposites, the end of death and time. It is often described as being one with everything. The Biblical book of Revelations records a similar spiritual process, which it claims that the 7 seals from the book of life are opened the world will come to an end.

The Jewish Kabala uses the symbol of the “Tree of Life” as a guide or plan for spiritual purification. In some images, the 10 points of the tree are connected with a snake, showing the proper order. The symbol of a snake climbing a pole is known as “The Staff of Aesculapius.” A similar symbol is “The Caduceus”, which has wings at the top of the pole. While the snake represents the physical world and its rise towards redemption, the heavenly world is usually represented by a bird. (The snake lives in the ground under the roots of the tree, the bird lives in its branches – the tree represents the path or bridge between the two.) Therefore, another symbol representing the union of heaven and earth is a bird and a snake together. Many modern health organization continue to use either the Staff of Aesculapius of The Caduceus in their Logo, because of their ancient associations with healing.

The Number 7

The snakes in both these symbols often cross the poles exactly 7 times. In the ancient world, it was believed that the Sophia fell through 7 heavens before getting stuck in our universe, and that when we return, we will also have to pass through these 7 heavens. The number 7 is not merely an arbitrary choice – the Pythagoreans in particular believed that the universe was built on musical principles. There were 7 known planets, each with its each own frequency. (There are 7 notes on a scale, the 8th note in an octave is just the beginning of a new chord.) White light can also be divided into the seven colors of the spectrum.

In Asia, there is a story about the goddess Nuwa creating the rainbow. Nuwa is often shown a creature with woman’s torso and a serpent’s body. She is almost identical in form and function to the serpent in the Garden of Eden – through the descent and separation of the tail (feminine) part of the original unity, the universe was split into 7 layers. Yahweh in the Old Testament, makes his the rainbow a symbol of his covenant with Israel – reaffirming the practical implications of the covenant: The uniting of the 12 tribes into one kingdom.

We find the number 7 in many myths. In the story of Hercules, the Hydra he kills has seven heads. When Buddha reached enlightenment, a seven-headed cobra spread its hood over him to protect him from the rain. When Jesus met Mary, he cast out 7 demons. And when Snow White gets lost in the woods, she meets 7 dwarves. You might think, “Bah! A coincidence – Snow White can have nothing to do with ancient mystic symbolism.” Actually, most “fairy tales” were actually stories used to preserve mythological wisdom that was being lost under the persecution of the Catholic Church. Snow White is a very clear and obvious reference to a universal and ancient story of love between Sophia and the Logos.
Snow White pines for a prince she’s never met, but knows intuitively. She gets lost in the woods, but meets the 7 dwarves. (The 7 planets, who have to go to work every day and are only around at night.) She eats a poisonous apple and falls into a deep sleep. (A fruit or apple is often the root of “death”, just like in the Garden of Eden.”) But, when the charming prince comes and kisses her, they go off to live happily ever after. Originally, the story was told about Sophia. Later, she was transformed into “The Holy Mother Church.” When Jesus (the Logos) comes down and we reunite with him, we will live forever. The early Church had an extra sacrament called “The Wedding Chamber”, which was an explicit sexual/metaphysical union with our higher and lower selves.

All these stories suggest that the fallen spark has to get past the seven layers of the fallen world, before reuniting with the universal Logos. Certain institutions were set up in the Greek and Roman world to teach this kind of transformative spirituality. Because of their secrecy and levels of initiation, they were called the “Mystery” schools. In the next article, I will explore some of the early beliefs of these schools and prove that Christianity, from its earliest stages, was one of them.

The articles in this section are part of a 50,000 word treatise on the historical Jesus and Christ Myth Theory, dealing with Christian history, the mystical significance of Christian symbols, and the mistaken belief that Jesus Christ was a historical person. You can download the entire collection for free as a PDF file ebook by clicking here!

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In the biblical story of Genesis, God created the earth, the stars, the trees and animals before creating the first humans, Adam and Eve. Everything was made perfectly, according to his plan, and he announced that it was all very good. In the world he created, there was no death and no suffering, which suggests that Time, and the basic laws of physics which usually come with it, hadn’t yet been installed. It is only after the snake tempted Eve that the real world, with the moving planets and consequential seasons, came into being. This is farther demonstrated by the penalties incurred from the fall. They are the characteristics of the natural world: humanity would be cold and hungry, and there would be pain and death. They were given clothes to protect themselves from the weather and told that they must provide for themselves by the sweat of their brow.

Expulsion from Eden

Adam and Eve may have begun as symbols for the sun and moon. It is the moon, like Eve, that falls first into darkness, and it is the sun, like Adam, who follows her. Adam, like the sun, becomes an eternal enemy of the snake, and begins the daily cycle of light and darkness.

“I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between her offspring and hers; it will bruise your head and you will strike its heel.” Genesis 3:1539

The Christian interpretation of the story is that God must be obeyed at all costs, and that the snake is a liar and deceiver. Another interpretation, however, is that the snake was the real creator of the world. Death and suffering may be scary, but without them we would never experience joy and happiness. It seems that Adam and Eve even gained self-consciousness from eating the apple – they became aware that they were naked, and felt fear for the first time. They covered themselves with leaves and hid from God.

While some Christians would still like to view the garden story as recorded history, the biblical creation myth is not unique to the Christian tradition. Early explorers to the Middle and Far East were shocked to find ancient relief carvings and paintings of a very similar story, including a man, a woman, a snake and a tree. In fact, creation stories about a man and a woman and a snake are universal in world mythology. Unlike Christianity, most other religions treated the serpent as a sacred icon, and he can be found in temples everywhere, from Mexico to Japan to ancient Egypt. This doesn’t mean that the snake was always seen as good – only that he was a very important spiritual icon. Generally, the snake was a symbol for this world, sickness and death, and the desires of the physical body. Many heroes or gods are shown stepping on, clutching or killing snakes, to demonstrate their power to transcend the snares of the flesh.)

Associate Professor Sheila Coulson, from the University of Oslo, recently discovered that the San people of Botswana worshiped a python diety in a little cave around 70,000 years ago – making it the world’s oldest known ritual. Where did the symbol of the snake really come from? Why is it always found in conjunction with stories about the beginning of the physical world and the end of a balanced unity? Many Christians identify the snake of the Genesis story with the devil, but if the snake is a symbol of evil, why give him such a powerful role in creation?

The only thing that these early people had in common was the night sky, shared among them equally. And in the very center of all those whirling stars and planets, there was one constellation that always stayed in the middle. As the heavens spin around, the point in the sky that is above the North Pole seems to remain in place, while the other stars revolve around it. This led to the idea that this spot was the center and birthplace of the universe.

Today, the North Pole points roughly towards the star Polaris, but because of the precession of the equinoxes, the North Pole wobbles and changes its orientation. About 4,000 years ago it was pointing at the star Thuban, which is in the tail of the S-shaped constellation, Draco the Dragon.

In the Greek myth about Draco, Minerva the Goddess of Wisdom seized the great dragon by its tail and hurled it from the Earth. As the dragon sailed away into the void of Heaven, it started to spin and got itself twisted up in knots. The dragon struck the dome of the stars and became tangled in the rotation of the heavens. Before it had time to undo all the knots in its body, the dragon froze because it was so close to the North Celestial Pole where it is always very cold.

In India, in order to produce a liquid of immortality, the gods wound the snake Visiku around a mountain and began to spin him, gods at the tail, and demons at the head. They spun until venom began to pour downwards towards the earth out of his mouth. To save the world from destruction, Siva drank the poison. The venom became a sea of milk, and produced many things, including the world. This story is remarkably similar to the account in the biblical book of Revelations:

“As soon as the dragon found himself hurdled down to the earth, he sprang in pursuit of the woman, the mother of the male child, but she was given a pair of the great eagle’s wings to fly away from the serpent into the desert, to the place where she was to be looked after for a time, two times and half a time. So the serpent vomited water from his mouth, like a river, after the woman, to sweep her away in the current, but the earth came to her rescue; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river spewed from the dragon’s mouth.” Revelations 12:1

Draco used to spin around the Celestial North Pole like the hands of a giant clock. In its central location it looked like Draco was actually causing the rotation of the other fixed stars. Because of this, Draco was made the epicenter of all ancient star charts, and given the role of creating the cosmos and time.

The spinning Draco may have been the inspiration for one of humanity’s oldest symbols, the swastika. Draco would complete a full revolution every 24 hours, which, given its shape, would appear as a cross with its arms bent at right angles. A spiritual symbol since pre-history, the equal armed cross with arms at right angles is still considered a holy icon by Hindus, Jainists and Buddhists. The swastika symbolizes prosperity and well-being, but also represents the wheel of time.

Before compasses, finding north at night would have been nearly impossible without the fixed stars over the North Pole. In hundreds of thousands of jade carvings found throughout asia, Draco is presented in the center of a small disk, with the constellations spinning around him. Sometimes there is a hole in the center of these discs, which are always decorated with dragons. This may have been used for navigational purposes – by placing Thuban or Draco in the hole, you would be able to find north. In the most rudimentary jade carvings, Draco is depicted as a simple S-shaped line in the center of a circle, an image which is probably the origin of the modern “Yin-Yang” symbol.

Most people know that Yin and Yang represent forces of positive and negative energy, which balance each other and sustain the universe – but an older myth gives the same role to the serpent. Many stories tell how the serpent was divided in half – given a male, positive head and a female, negative tail. (However, in many versions the tail has been completely severed and thus appears as entirely feminine.) This is why Draco is always spinning, or “chasing its tail”. Draco had been divided and was trying to get back together. The sun often become a symbol for the dragon’s head while the moon became a symbol for the tail.

The Tao and the Logos

In Chinese, “Yin” literally means “moon”. The dark patch, with the white sphere inside, represents the moon (often portrayed as a woman with a snake’s body, as in the picture of the garden of Eden above). Yang literally means “sun”, and is represented by a Tiger (similar to the Western sun-symbol, the lion. The interplay and balance of these two forces is known in the East as the Tao.

“The Tao begot one. One begot two. Two begot three. And three begot the ten thousand things.” Tao Te Ching, 42

The Tao was the original unity that expanded into all things. A similar idea can be found in early Western creation stories. They begin with an original unity, that somehow made a perfect copy of itself. Greeks, Romans and Egyptians referred to these two powers as the Father and the Son. Together, they created a third, and from the three emerged the physical world.

Around the 6th century BC, a philosopher from the Ephesian school named Heraclitus associated the ultimate unity, and specifically the 2nd person or Son, with the Greek word Logos. He described the Logos as a kind of divine logic which created and sustained the universe, in language that is almost identical with Eastern concepts of the Tao.

Heraclitus taught that the Logos was a common truth, a voice of wisdom inherent in every person. Equating the Logos with fire, he saw this wisdom as a kind of divine spark. He complains, however, that most people do not even recognize that it is there.

“Men have no comprehension of the Logos, as I’ve described it, just as much after they hear about it as they did before they heard about it. Even though all things occur according to the Logos, men seem to have no experience whatsoever, even when they experience the words and deeds which I use to explain physics, of how the Logos applies to each thing, and what it is.” Quoted in Sextus Empiricus

The Logos is a mysterious, unknown force, a piece of divine energy which resides inside us. It is the fire that Prometheus stole from the gods and brought to humanity, but it is ignored by most people. Philo of Alexandria later equated the Logos with the sun, and almost all of the resurrecting sun-saviors, including Mithras and Osiris, were identified as the 2nd person in the Trinity as well as with the concept of the Logos. Christian theologians borrowed terms from this philosophical tradition to clarify the cosmic nature of their own savior, Jesus Christ. The gospel of John in particular relies heavily on the concept of Logos, which is usually translated into English as “The Word”.

“In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning, through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.” John 1:1

Jesus became not only a sacrificial offering, crucified on the cross of heaven, but also a super transcendent, eternal force. He was a pre-existent quality of the Father, that created and sustained the universe, and also came into the physical world.

“The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone, he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognize him. He came to his own and his own people did not accept him.” John 1:9

Something that comes with time, of course, is death. With the division of the polarities, the expansion of matter into the universe (which Draco was given credit for) there is constant change, uncertainty, instability. Draco was up there spinning the seasons and the years like a conductor – so he became seen as the cause of suffering. In the West, myths were created about gallant knights who would go out and slay dragons. In the East, the dragon is our spiritual energy, winding upwards to be reunited with the universal Tao or Logos.

The secret meaning in both traditions is that the masculine and feminine principles had been divided – this caused what Heraclitus called “Love and Strife”, the two polar energies. (Imagine them like two magnets that either repel or attract.)

Yearning for immortality, the serpent became seen as the enemy of goodness and the lord of evil. She was the inevitable beast of time and the earthly passions which led men into death. Even the constellations once worshiped became symbols of evil. In Persia, Draco was called Ashdehj, the Man-eating Serpent, and Arabian astronomers referred to it as the Poisonous Dragon.

Sun gods no longer slayed dragons in order to end winter; now they fought them as symbols of darkness in general. The literal battle between light and dark became a symbolic battle between good and evil. Despite the shift, the symbols and language used in the story have continued to this day. In the mythological paradigm of contemporary culture, Harry Potter faces his nemesis, Malfoy Draco.

To cheat death and achieve immortality, mystics and spiritualists began to try and unite the divided polarities within themselves, in this lifetime. The male had to seek out and rejoin the female; the sun had to catch up with the moon. As above, so below. Draco became the guardian of immortality, as in the Greek myth of Heracles and the golden apples, where he has to defeat the dragon Ladon in the garden of Hesperides. In the next chapter, we will explore how most religious traditions, all based on the same background, focus on reuniting these divided energies.

The articles in this section are part of a 50,000 word treatise on the historical Jesus and Christ Myth Theory, dealing with Christian history, the mystical significance of Christian symbols, and the mistaken belief that Jesus Christ was a historical person. You can download the entire collection for free as a PDF file ebook by clicking here!

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