Riddles of the Bible TV - Robert Beckford TV - Manly Palmer Hall - Arthur Dewes - Avesta: Khorda Avesta - Barbara Walker - Keith Thompson - Robert Winston TV -
The Mithra story bears remarkable similarities to the story of Jesus. He was born of a virgin in December 25th, shared a final meal before being called to Heaven, then was resurrected and returned to Earth as the Son of God. By 200 A.D. the followers of Mithra outnumber those of Jesus of Nazareth. Riddles of the Bible s2e6: Rivals of Jesus, National Geographic 1997
The rise of Mithras almost exactly parallels the rise of Jesus ... A saviour God who offered his followers a life after death – did Christianity steal these ideals? Dr Robert Beckford, The Hidden Story of Jesus, Channel 4 2007
One tradition claims Mithras even had a virgin birth. ibid.
They chose December 25th, the winter solstice, which also happens to be the birthday of Mithras. ibid.
The Roman god Mithras and the ancient Egyptian cult of Osiris are just too close to home to be dismissed so easily. ibid.
Among many ancient peoples God was considered as being androgynous, and referred to as the Great Father-Mother. When the Creator was represented by an image, various subtle devices were employed to indicate its hermaphroditic nature. The Iswara of the Hindus is depicted with one side of his body male and the other female. In Greek and Roman statuary frequent examples are found of a masculine divinity wearing female garments and vice versa, or a heavily-bearded god may have his hair arranged in a distinctly feminine coiffure. Again, the structure of the face of such deities as Bacchus and Dionysus often shows a sensitive, feminine countenance disguised by a beard or some article of masculine adornment. In other cases the feminine counterpart of the deity is considered as a separate individuality. For this reason each of the gods was declared to have had his consort or feminine aspect of his own being. Thus Mithras, the Persian Light-Saviour, is considered to be masculine, but a certain portion of himself divided from the rest becomes Mithra, a feminine and maternal potency. As previously noted, in India each god has his shakti, or feminine part. Manly Palmer Hall, Lectures on Ancient Philosophy
Mithras was the ‘divine son’ ... As companion in creation and ‘protector’ of this world he kept the universe standing in its struggle against its enemies. At the head of the heavenly host he fought for God, and with his sword of flame he drove the Demons of Darkness in terror back into the shadows ... descend upon the earth and in a last fierce struggle overwhelm Ahriman and his hosts, and cast them down into the Nether World. He would then raise the dead in bodily shape, and after a General Judgment of the whole world, in which the wicked should be condemned to the punishments of hell and the good raised to heavenly glory, establish the ‘millennial Kingdom of Peace’. Arthur Dewes, The Christ Myth, cited Tsarion
We worship Mithra of wide pastures, possessing a thousand ears, possessing ten thousand eyes, the divinity worshipped with spoken name. Avesta: Khorda Avesta
Mithra was born on the 25th of December ... which was finally taken over by Christians in the 4th century as the birthday of Christ. Some say Mithra sprang from an incestuous union between the sun-god and his own mother ... Some claimed Mithra’s mother was a mortal virgin. Others said Mithra had no mother, but was miraculously born of a female Rock, the ‘petra genetrix’, fertilized by the Heavenly Father’s phallic lightning.
Mithra’s birth was witnessed by shepherds and by Magi who brought gifts to his sacred birth cave of the Rock. Mithra performed the usual assortment of miracles: raising the dead, healing the sick, making the blind see and the lame walk, casting out devils ...
Before returning to heaven, Mithra celebrated a Last Supper with his twelve disciples, who represented the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Barbara Walker, historian
They bring up Mithra. As for December 25th it is irrelevant to origins ... Mithra was portrayed as having emerged from a rock and being fully grown ... Mithra had a number of animal companions ... But not twelve of them ... As for performing miracles, the idea that Jesus’ miracles were inspired by Mithras’ miracles is rather ridiculous ... There is no mention of Mithras dying at all until the fourth century. Keith Thompson, Zeitgeist Debunked
Mithranism centred on the heroic figure of Mithras. The followers of Mithras took part in sacrificial feasts in subterranean rooms. Professor Robert Winston, The Story of God, BBC 2005