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This is an automatic translation.

Mithraism gained tremendous support in Rome, mainly from the 1st to 4th centuries A.D., as a religion of salvation alongside Christianity.
Temples of Mithra were erected in various places, and some Roman emperors not only used the god Mithra for political purposes but also believed in him.


The secret rite of Mithraism is characterized by the killing of cows, and the humans who participated in the ritual performed the cow-slaying ceremony in a dark cave.
This is a reference to the legend that Mithra saved the world by killing a heavenly bull.

We know that old Christian churches were built by destroying Mithraic temples.
Christians built their churches on the Mithraic God because the Mithraic God is Jesus Christ.

The legend that Mithra saved the world by killing the heavenly bull can be interpreted as Jesus' atonement to stop the sacrificial rituals and save the world.
Cows and other sacrifices were offered as living sacrifices to serve as a model for Jesus Christ, who would be sacrificed in later generations during the Old Testament era.
And since Jesus became the final sacrificial victim on the cross, bearing the sins of all mankind, no animal sacrifice rituals are performed after that.


About 40 statues of the lion-headed, winged, serpent-wrapped deities have been found so far, but their names and their role in Mithraism are unknown, as there are no written testimonies or Mithraic inscriptions.

The "lion" represents the lineage of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus Christ is of the tribe of Judah.
When Jacob gave the blessing of the Blessed Master to the child Judas, Judas was likened to both a "lion cub" and an "adult lion," and it was promised that the turban would not leave his offspring until the coming of Christ. (Genesis 49:8-10)
The "wings" represent the power of God.
The "serpent" represents Jehovah.


Mithraism closely resembles primitive Christianity.
The Christian rites of priest, water baptism, and the sacrament of wine and bread are common to Mithraism.
In particular, Christmas, the celebration of Christ's birth, was originally a Mithraic ritual.　
The winter solstice, which falls on December 25th before Christmas, was the prototype of Christmas, which was likened to the death and resurrection of Mithra, the sun god.
Worshipped by the ancient Aryans, Mitra gradually spread to India and Persia.
At first, Mithra was the god of light shining in the bright sky, but later, in Roman times, he was considered to be the same god as Helios, the sun god of Greek mythology, and Apollon, the god of light and brightness.
He came to be worshipped as the sun god "Sol Invictus Mithra," or the sun god.

Commonalities between Christianity and Mithraism

The figure of the shepherd is also common to Mitra.
In fact, the mythological Mithra of Azerbaijan (Baku area) appears to people in the form of a shepherd.

Both Mithra and Christ are called "the Good Shepherd" or "the Good Shepherd.
Mithraism compares the faithful to sacred cows, while Christianity compares them to sheep.

Both Mithra and Jesus Christ are said to have been born of a virgin mother.
　
Mithra is also said to have been born in a rock or cave.
This is reminiscent of the legend that Jesus Christ was born in a cave stable.
Christ was also born again and resurrected from a rocky cave tomb (Matthew 28). (Matthew 28).

The Bible does not say that Christ was born in a stable.
The Gospel of Luke says, "He gave birth to his firstborn, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger. And he wrapped them in cloths and laid them in a manger, because there was no room for them in the parlor" (Luke 2:7). (Luke 2:7).
The word "manger" suggests that the baby was born in a livestock barn.
There is a theory that livestock were kept in caves at that time.
The Gospel of James, an exegetical work dating from the 2nd century A.D., states that Jesus was born in a cave.

Other theories say that when Mithras was born, a strange star appeared in the sky, like the "Star of Bethlehem," the sign of Christ's birth. (Matthew 2)

Both Mithras and Christ have twelve apostles.

Mithras left his body and descended into the netherworld to destroy the root of evil, returning three days later.
Christ died on the cross and went to the spirit world, but resurrected on the third day.

Mithras descended into the underworld and, after severing the roots of evil, took the Last Sacrament with his 12 disciples.
Christ took the Last Sacrament with the Twelve Apostles, after which He was crucified.

On his return to heaven, Mithras promised that one day he would come back here to walk with his friends.
Christ will also return.
Jesus Christ will appear riding a white horse, and Mithras will descend on a white horse as well. (Revelation 19:11)

Both Mithras and Christ observe Sunday as a holy day.

The Maitreya Bodhisattva who will descend in the future is Jesus Christ who will descend again to the earth at the end of the world.
Avalokitesvara is Jesus Christ, and Maitreya is the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The Maitreya of Maitreya Bodhisattva is called "Maitreya" in Sanskrit.
Maitreya is a divine name appropriated from Mitra.
Originally, Mitra meant "contract," but later it came to mean "ally" in a contractual and intimate relationship.
Maitreya is a derivative adjective and noun, meaning "friendly, amiable, merciful.
Both mercy and friendship are attributes of Jesus Christ. (John 15:14-15)

Jesus Christ is also a covenant God.

Around the 4th century BC, Alexander III began an expedition to the east, merging the Greek, Persian, and Indian worlds.
This created a situation where religions mixed with each other.

More of a case of Christianity becoming Mithra-like. Their "baptism" involved being drenched in blood by a cow. A bit different. Christianity's rituals are easier to practice in private.

Mithraism seems to have been partly a corruption of Zoroastrianism which does seem to have connections with Jeremiah.

In particular, Christmas, the celebration of Christ's birth, was originally a Mithraic ritual.　
The winter solstice, which falls on December 25th before Christmas, was the prototype of Christmas, which was likened to the death and resurrection of Mithra, the sun god.

Christmas in December was not celebrated by early Christians for centuries. It was a later introduction.

The prototype here would probably be Sol Invictus, a later Roman sun god.

The Maitreya Bodhisattva who will descend in the future is Jesus Christ who will descend again to the earth at the end of the world.
Avalokitesvara is Jesus Christ, and Maitreya is the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Be careful with this one. There is a "Maitreya" on here which we've discussed before, and he sounds like the Antichrist. Theosophists' version of him was.

thank you.

Be careful with this one. There is a "Maitreya" on here which we've discussed before, and he sounds like the Antichrist. Theosophists' version of him was.

I'm not interested in Theosophy Maitreya.
I think Theosophy is a person's idea that contains some truth.

More of a case of Christianity becoming Mithra-like. Their "baptism" involved being drenched in blood by a cow. A bit different. Christianity's rituals are easier to practice in private.

In the Old Testament, cows were used as a substitute for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, so the blood of a cow is thought to be a symbol of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

Their "baptism" involved being drenched in blood by a cow.

What is the source of this?
I would like to read more, so please let me know.

Baptism by bull's (or cow's) blood was widespread in the Roman Empire. It was known as "taurobolium". I note Wikipedia does not link the practice to Mithraism but it is commonly associated with it elsewhere.

Mithras we know little about, like most pagan faiths had secret initiations, were said converts after a period of time if they were worthy and faithfull were taken to the pagan temples away from the eyes of the world, and there were shown a series of plays by actors to reveal the mysteries of said pagan faith and enable the initiates to progress thru the varied levels in the afterlife to become Gods, Immortals. They were given signs, tokens, grips, etc that would enable them to pass by the various gods that stood gaurd at ascending portals in the afterlife. The initiates also had to swear a fearfull oath never to reveal what they had been shown on pain of death.This is why we know so little concerning these ancient pagan faiths.

TheChristian wrote: ↑November 12th, 2023, 9:49 am Mithras we know little about, like most pagan faiths had secret initiations, were said converts after a period of time if they were worthy and faithfull were taken to the pagan temples away from the eyes of the world, and there were shown a series of plays by actors to reveal the mysteries of said pagan faith and enable the initiates to progress thru the varied levels in the afterlife to become Gods, Immortals. They were given signs, tokens, grips, etc that would enable them to pass by the various gods that stood gaurd at ascending portals in the afterlife. The initiates also had to swear a fearfull oath never to reveal what they had been shown on pain of death.This is why we know so little concerning these ancient pagan faiths.

Interesting. Sounds very similar to what we teach in our Mormon temples.