seriously rivaled Christianity, especially among the business classes and the army, two segments of the population that the church had to win over if it was to consolidate its control of the empire. The mystery religions were nonexclusive. Initiates of one cult could join another, as long as they paid the fees and went through the rites. To judge from sermons that survive from this time, some Christians were also taking part in other cults, especially Mithra’s.

One of the most popular aspects of Mithratic worship was the feast of the god, which fell on December 25, the day of his birth from a rock. According to Mithratic legend, shepherds brought gifts to the newborn god. It’s worth noting also that the priests of this cult were called magi. [pp 140-141]

Where did the Mithra religion acquire its beliefs?

In Baptized Paganism, Dennis Crews writes:

Throughout history, the practice and horrors of sun worship have reached every region of the world. The Babylonians called the sun-god Shamash; the Egyptians, Ra; the Assyrians, Baal; the Canaanites, Moloch; the Persians, Mithras; the Greeks, Helios; the Druids, Hu; and the Romans, Sol Invictus -- the Unconquerable Sun. The list continues down through history and encompasses cultures as diverse as the Hindus, the Japanese, and the Aztecs and comes as close to home as virtually every Indian tribe in North America. Most scholars trace the beginnings of sun worship to Babylon.

Nimrod & Semiramis

Babylon, the first metropolis, was founded by Nimrod soon after the flood (Genesis 10:8-10). Countless

 

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