Evidence for the Historical Jesus by Josh McDowell

Author:Josh McDowell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736940184
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.

Fallacy #4: Who’s Influencing Whom?

This error is probably the most serious methodological fallacy committed by those charging that Christianity borrowed its doctrine and practices from the mystery religions. The error here is to propose that Christianity adopted a particular feature of a mystery religion when there is no evidence that the feature existed in the particular religion until after Christianity had begun. What many fail to recognize is that the growth of the church was so explosive that other religions adopted Christian elements in order to attract Christians and to prevent the loss of their adherents to Christianity. Metzger attests, “In what T. R. Glover aptly called ‘the conflict of religions in the Early Roman Empire,’ it was to be expected that the hierophants of cults which were beginning to lose devotees to the growing Church should take steps to stem the tide.” (MeB.MR 11)

The key here is dating. Most of the alleged parallels between Christianity and mystery religions, upon close scrutiny will show that Christian elements predate mythological elements. In cases where they do not, it is often Jewish elements which predate both Christianity and the myth, and which lent themselves to both religions.

There is a flip side to the coin. Following the first century AD, Christianity’s chief rival was Mithraism. Mithras (earlier, Mithra), according to the Romans, was Sol Invictus (unconquered sun). The worship of Mithras therefore became associated with the sun, and, in AD 274, the date of its major festival was established as December 25, the date of the winter solstice. Apparently, “Sometime before 336 the church in Rome, unable to stamp out this pagan festival, spiritualized it as the Feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness.”14 The exact date of Jesus’ birth has been a matter of debate for centuries, but it does seem clear that in this instance the date of the Christmas celebration was influenced by pragmatic rather than historical factors. In addition, after the third century there is increasing evidence of pagan and secular doctrines affecting changes in Christian belief. But these are later developments. There is no evidence that the origin of Christianity occurred by influence of the mystery religions. Its roots were too deeply sunk in Jewish soil.

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