Christianity and Ancient Paganism

Halloween is an example of syncretism between ancient Celtic religious traditions and Christian ones. We’ve been saving this conversation until Halloween because we thought it fitting to discuss the relationship between Christianity and paganism on a holiday which, though it finds its origin in a paganism, has also been appropriated by the Roman Catholic church over the course of its history. You can find a history of Halloween according to the History Channel here: http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=713&display_order=1&mini_id=1076

But I digress. Our subject for discussion for this week will not be Celtic paganism or the traditions which Halloween has been based, but rather the ancient religions in the region surrounding the Mediterranean and their influence, or lack thereof, on the development of Christianity. A member of the Tuesday Night Discussion Group comments:

A topic that I think many will find interesting and deserves some analysis is the connection between Christianity and Greek paganism. We all know that most Christian holidays occur on the same day as pagan festivals and that many elements of Jesus' life are strangely similar to those of pagan gods/heroes. What are we to make of this?

What are we to make of this, indeed. Is Christianity, like some scholars believe, the Jewish embodiment of the cultural ideas and religions popular in ancient time? Or is the development of Christianity a historically unique process which relies upon its singular Jewish roots and factual events?

Throughout pre-Christian religious history, traditions in the regions surrounding Palestine comprise myths* concerning gods with dual divine and human relations and resurrection and recreation stories of gods. Could those traditions have fed into Jewish thought, thus creating a new mystery cult, called Christianity by its Hellenistic and radical Jewish followers?

The myth of Dionysus (Bacchus) is one myth that scholars believe could be a significant ideological contributor to the plot of Jesus‘ life. Two versions of the birth of Dionysus exist; however the main feature of both is that Dionysus was born of a divine male and a human female. In one version of the story, a disguised Zeus impregnates a human woman, Semele. Hera, Zeus’ wife, is jealous when she discovers the affair and tricks Semele into asking Zeus if he is a god and begging him to reveal himself. Because any human who sees a god must die, when Zeus reveals himself, Semele dies. Zeus rescues Dionysus, not yet carried to term, and sews him into his thigh until he is developed. Thus, Dionysus, according to some, has the same type of equally human and divine parentage as Jesus.

In a second version of the story, the young Dionysus is born as the son of Zeus and Persephone, but a jealous Hera has him torn to pieces by the Titans. The Titans eat all but his heart, which Athena rescues and gives to Zeus. Zeus uses the heart to reconstruct Dionysus inside Semele. Again, Dionysus is twice born, but also received back from the dead. Some versions of this story indicate that Semele was to eat the heart of Dionysis in order to birth him again, a potential indication of a ritual communion-like in nature.

Dionysus is also considered to be similar to Jesus in his relationship to wine. Dionysis was considered to be the god of wine, and Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana, according to the gospel of John.

Even considering these similarities to Christianity, most scholars think that Dionysis is merely a copy of another god, the Egyptian Osiris, whom many consider to be the first savior who is the form for all saviors of all other religions.

I will direct you to two other sites which have a deeper explanation of the Dionysus myth, and paganism’s potential influence on Christianity. Though neither may have the most solid academic basis, they will provide a solid understanding of the stories of Dionysus and Osiris, and seem consistent with the academic accounts that I’ve read on the subject.

Wikipedia on Dionysis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysis
About Jesus.com: http://www.about-jesus.org/paganism.htm#Dionysus

Scholars acknowledge the existence of these myths, yet there is great debate over the relationship between these myths and Christianity.

Scholar Shirley Jackson Case claims that these myths are supremely influential, and make Christianity richer for their influence. He claims,

We are leaving the cloister and going to the marketplace, believing that there we shall find religion at its best because we find it there in the making. If we believe that Christianity today should draw upon all sources of information available in modern life, why should we so religiously strive to make a purely other worldly product? Will it not gain rather than lose significance if we discover that even in the first century its foundations were broad and its inspirations as wide as those of life itself? (3-4).

One view on the matter then, is that Christianity can be the most inclusive and pertain the most to life itself if it in fact incorporates many ancient religious traditions.

Drs. John Ankerberg and John Weldon counter Case’s argument:

One consequence of interpreting Christianity as an embellished mystery religion is the conclusion that the Christian faith per se is the invention of man, not a revelation from God. In the end, virtually all the unique teachings of New Testament theology, including the distinctive doctrines of Jesus Christ, God, man, sin, salvation, ect. Are viewed as mere religious innovation after the fact. For example, concerning Jesus Christ, this would mean his incarnation and virgin birth, miracles and teachings, atonement for sin, physical resurrection from the dead, promised return are not historical facts, but later revisions of pagan myths. In essence, the cardinal teachings of orthodox Christianity become lies and falsehood, a conclusion that warms the heart of some people today.

In these scholars’ estimation, the association of Christianity with pagan myth is its very undoing.

To be sure, this idea seems to be either one of the most constructive or destructive to Christianity, depending on your perspective. Which will it be? The task comes to us to enter this dialogue about the origins of Christianity, and make judgments about its relation to its ancient counterparts. Please comment with your analysis the matter.

To ponder:
1. This question pertains to the origins of Christianity. Is Christianity the divinely inspired revelation of a historical son of God? Or product of the influence of a series of cultural exchanges between Jews in Palestine and their conquerors the Romans (who had a Hellenistic culture) and their near neighbors the Egyptians?

2. What difference does the origin of Christianity make to the claims of Jesus Christ? In other words, what if the “one and only Son” is not so unique after all?

3. How important is the historicity of Christianity?



*Contrary to popular notions of myth as fictional, in religion studies, myth indicates “a story which conveys spiritual truth” -- that is, one beyond the possibility of contradiction. In this sense of the word, the narratives in Genesis 1-11 can be called myths, regardless of their literal or figurative interpretation, in the sense that they reflect basic truths in ancient Israel.

Sources:
Ankerberg, John and John Weldon. “Did Christianity Arise Out of the Mystery Religions?” http://www.johnankerberg.com/Articles/historical-Jesus/DaVinci/PDF/Mystery-Religions.pdf

Case, Shirley Jackson. “Christianity and the Mystery Religions.” The Biblical World. Vol. 43, No. 3, p. 3-Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1914.

Fossum, Jarl. “The Myth of the Eternal Rebirth: Critical Notes on G. W. Bowersock, Hellenism in Late Antiquity” Vigiliae Christianae. Leiden,Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 1999.

Wikipedia on Dionysis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysis

About Jesus.com: http://www.about-jesus.org/paganism.htm#Dionysus