Natas

As the stern state religion of Imperial Rome crumbled under the weight of Oriental mysticisms imported from its conquests in Syria and Egypt, the Empire was rife with the so-called Mystery Religions. The Mystery Religions were systems of gnosis, professing to satisfy the insatiable need of the common Roman to experience “union with God” personally through experience (not infrequently orgiastic or brutal) and contemplation. They imparted “secret” knowledge, which guarded the initiated from the cruel hand of Fate and promised the bountiful reward of a painless and blissful afterlife. They all had as their cornerstone a sacramental drama aimed at producing psychic and mystical effects in the neophyte—striking the twin chords of hope and terror in the heart of men and women.

Sound familiar? Jesus and his turn-of-the-millenium followers incorporated all of this into the proselytizing spin-off of Judaism known today as “Christianity.” The battle for religious dominance raged for centuries against the multiple Mysteries and divided sects of Gnostics who incorporated too much of the “personal touch” for orthodox Christians (budding Inquisitors) to tolerate. With the conversion of Emperor Constantine (who declared Christianity the official state religion of Rome), the compilation of the New Testament (excising several books with especially heretical approaches to “illumination”), and the burning of the library at Alexandria (a storehouse of critical religious writings), the battle was almost won. Two thousand years later, it is especially worthwhile to take a closer look at the actual context and message of the “Good News.” — SS

Reviews

The Mysteries of Mithra

Franz Cumont

“The colorful religion of Mithra originated in Persia and enjoyed an immense popularity in the Roman Empire, becoming so powerful in the valleys of the Danube and Rhine and in Great Britain that for a time Europe almost became Mithraic. When Mithra and Early Christianity met, the result was a ferocious, implacable duel, whose marks can still be detected on the body of present-day Christian doctrine… Cumont reconstructs the characteristics of the principal divinities, the rituals, the mystery teachings, the liturgy and clergy, the attitude towards Mithra of the typical Roman soldier, the rapid dissemination of the religion in the early years of the Christian era.”

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 239 pages
Illustrated

The Mystery Religions

Samuel Angus

From actual Roman and Greek sources, describes the rituals and philosophies of ancient “ecstatic” religions, out of which Christianity emerged victorious. Isis and Osiris, the Magna Mater, Dionysius, Mithra, Attis, and all other Mysteries, their histories, inner teachings, and importance.

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 359 pages

The Mystery Religions and Christianity

Samuel Angus

Mystery religions were a feature of the Greek and Roman worlds at a time when those societies were becoming increasingly multicultural due to the expansion of economic and political empires. These religions were a reaction to the mixing of cultures and the exposure of previously isolated communities to the possibility of many different belief systems—and thus many different gods—which raised the question: How could one be sure that one’s own god was the right one, or the most powerful? Mystery religions were characterized by the hedging of bets, the incorporation of aspects of many religions as well as magic in the face of a myriad of choices. The author contends that these religions had an early and lasting influence on the Christian Church. NN

Publisher: Citadel
Paperback: 359 pages

The Original Jesus: The Buddhist Sources of Christianity

Elmer R. Gruber and Holger Kersten

Convincing case for the theory that the son of God did in fact base much of his Christian teachings on Buddhist beliefs. “The complete mastery exemplified by the Buddha and Jesus gave them the knowledge of the rewards and gains of the inner way, and they spoke out of profound insight.” TD

Publisher: Element
Paperback: 274 pages
Illustrated

Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth

John G. Jackson

Relying upon such notable authors such as Sir James George Frazer, T.W. Doane and Gerald Massey, this informative little booklet condenses much information into a valuable introductory tool for those interested in the subject of comparative religion and the origins of Christian myths. JB

Publisher: American Atheist
Pamphlet: 32 pages

The Secret Book of Judas (Gospel of Judas)

Edited by Dr. Maxwell Selander

“According to this seemingly authentic early Cainite-Ophite text… Jesus had an active sex life, including relations with John, Lazarus, and Mary Magdelene, served an LSD-like psychedelic at the Last Supper, faked his own crucifixion in collaboration with Joseph of Arimathea… and died a natural death in India many years after the alleged Resurrection… Promises to blow more fuses than Holy Blood, Holy Grail and The Last Temptation put together.”—Robert Anton Wilson, writing in Fortean Times

Publisher: Abrasax
Pamphlet: 49 pages

The Unholy Bible: Hebrew Literature of the Kingdom Period

Jacob Rabinowitz

Powerful new translations of some of the “forgotten” work of the Canaanites and Hellenes. The sensuous and artistic highlights that the Bible left out. AK

Publisher: Autonomedia
Paperback: 158 pages

Who Tampered With the Bible?

Pat Eddy

“But is the Bible the infallible word of God? Did the Jesus of the New Testament actually say and do all of the things attributed to him? If not, why is he portrayed inaccurately?… To help answer these questions, I used the skills attained through 15 years’ experience as an intelligence analyst to translate scholarly research, from the jargon-filled domain of universities to the realm of the intelligent, but nonspecialized, reading public… The pattern to the tampering in the gospels emerges with understanding of the first-century Semitic culture; the people depicted in the New Testament saw the world differently than you and I. The pattern becomes even more visible when we understand the prejudice against Galilee and Galileans. Jesus was from Galilee, a land with such an unexpectedly dark reputation that many scholars believe it actually preordained his death… Armed with this knowledge, the weakness in many of the fundamentalist assertions will be evident.”

Publisher: Winston-Derek
Paperback: 306 pages