Mith-ras (m¹th“r…s) n. Mythology: The ancient Persian god of light and guardian against evil, often identified with the sun.

Per-sia (pûr“zh…, -sh…) Abbr. Pers.. 1. Also Per-sian Empire (-zh…n, -sh…n). A vast empire of southwest Asia founded by Cyrus II after 546 B.C.E. and brought to the height of its power and glory by Darius I and his son Xerxes. Alexander the Great conquered the empire in 334 B.C.E. A later empire was established by the Sassanids (226-637CE). 2. See Iran.

I-ran (¹-r²n“, ¹-rän“, º-r²n“). Formerly Per-sia (pûr“zh…, -sh…). A country of southwest Asia. First inhabited c. 4000 B.C.E., the region was overrun (c. 2000) by Aryans, who later split into two groups, the Medes and the Persians. The Persian Empire was founded c. 550 B.C.E. by Cyrus the Great and dominated the surrounding area until the time of Alexander the Great. In World War II Russia and Great Britain occupied the country and installed Mohammed Reza Pahlevi as shah (1941). He was overthrown (1979) by a revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. The name of the country was officially changed to Iran in 1935. Tehran is the capital and the largest city. Population, 40,777,000.

Mes-o-po-ta-mi-a (mμs”…-p…-t³“m¶-…). An ancient region of southwest Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq. Probably settled before 5000 B.C.E., the area was the home of numerous early civilizations, including Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, and Assyria. It declined in importance after Mongol invaders destroyed its extensive irrigation system in A.D. 1258. --Mes”o-po-ta“mi-an adj. & n.

Ar-y-an (âr“¶-…n, ²r“-) n. 1. See Indo-Iranian. 2. A member of the people who spoke the parent language of the Indo-European languages. 3. A member of any people speaking an Indo-European language. 4. In Nazism, a Caucasian Gentile, especially of Nordic type. --Ar-y-an adj. 1. Of or relating to Indo-Iranian. 2. Of or relating to the Indo-European languages or the hypothetical language from which they are derived. 3. Of or relating to a speaker of an Indo-European language. 4. In Nazism, of or relating to a Caucasian Gentile. [From Sanskrit ³rya-, noble, Aryan.]

In-do-Eu-ro-pe-an (¹n”d½-y‹r”…-p¶“…n) n. 1.a. A family of languages consisting of most of the languages of Europe as well as those of Iran, the Indian subcontinent, and other parts of Asia. b. Proto-Indo-European. Also called Indo-Germanic. 2. A member of any of the peoples speaking an Indo-European language. --In”do-Eu”ro-pe“an adj.

Reading through the definitions should have sent a chill down many people’s spines if they realized the implications. People of western cultures who condemn Arabian peoples as "ignorant, bestial savages" do not realize how much of their heritage and lineage they share, not only genetically but also of their religions' origins.

A god named Mithras began in ancient Persia (now Iran) about 4000 years ago, before that area gained its name as a country. The faith spread over the then-known world, from China and India to the Sahara Desert and northward as far as Scotland. Sites where Mithra was worshipped have been found in most European countries including the British Isles to Italy, and Israel and Northern Africa. Christianity adopted the patterns and stories of several of those religions as its own, set in its own words. This is about just one of those.

Mithraism, as the Persian cult became known, was certainly a part of Zoroastrianism when Romans encountered it in the far east, although that is subject to controversy. They brought the god home with them sometime during the early Roman empire, and the cult spread through the fourth century BCE while becoming influenced with Greek and Roman mythologies. Regarded as a "soldiers' religion" its adherents maintained secrecy and revealed its workings only to initiates, the way occultism is practiced in modern times. A cross served to represent a stylized sword, the soldiers’ weapon of practical choice in those times. Remains of their temples can be found wherever the Roman Empire reigned, from Palestine through northern Africa and as far north as England. More than a hundred Mithraic inscriptions have been located, 75 fragments of sculpture, and Mitraic temples located all over the city of Rome, including one of the largest temples in Italy.

In Persia, Zoroaster (Zarasthustra), a prophet from the kingdom of Bactria, reformed the Persian pantheon by elevating Ahura-Mazda to the supreme god of goodness, versus Ahriman as the supreme embodiment of evil. Mithra got demoted from his role as a protector god (in the way the sun chased away the darkness, he kept the light to fend away evil, his role now usurped by Ahura-Mazda) starting around 628 BCE. Zarasthustra now claimed all those powers, and the powers of all the gods, all of whom got relegated to lesser positions in the new hierarchy of a system known as henotheism. This persists today within the dualism inherent to Judaism, Islam and especially Christianity, wherein the lesser gods are no longer ackowledged as gods, but perceived as various angels and demons.

Mithras was regarded to be the guardian of arms, and to watch over soldiers and armies. In Persian, the word Mithras meant "contract". His name as God of Truth and Integrity was invoked as solemn oaths were given. With his new title as Judger of Souls, perceived as omniscient, infallible, never resting and eternally watchful, he was said to guarantee the authority of contracts and the keeping of promises in order to promote general prosperity as the divine representative of Ahura-Mazda upon the Earth. He would judge souls at death, and watched over the demons of Hell. Seen as the protector of the righteous, he would intervene against demons attempting to drag the just souls into Hell, and became incarnated into human form to become the Savior expected by Zarasthustra. The handshake became a token of friendship by those who worshiped him, and a sign they carried no weapons. This practice spread throughout Europe during the ventures undertaken by Roman soldiers.

He was born of the virgin Anahita, once worshipped as a goddess of fertility before the reformation, impregnated by the seed of Zarasthustra in the province of Sistan. She gained the title "Mother of God". He ascended into Heaven at the age of 64, thus setting the Christian precedent (as mentioned, this story is a feature common to many ancient religions).

While Persian Mithraism was mainly a collection of rituals and traditions, the Babylonians developed a refined theology around it by assimilating their own gods into the mix along with their own laws and traditions derived from Hammarabi, which resulted in the Romans referring to Mithra as the "Sol Invictus" (the invincible sun). His connection with the sun as the life giving force led to the belief that he caused the plants to rise from the ground. This belief led to celebrations of the various crop cycles with festivals. Present day crowns are designed around the symbology associated with the sun's rays, a heritage that began with the Persian crown's design.

¹As was true in many places, Roman religions recognized many spirits as gods, or ‘numina’, each dedicated to a specific purpose or need. Our funeral traditions of today likely evolved from the ancestor worship of the time. Foreign gods were imported as a matter of course, which set a precedent for the later evolution of Catholicism, and which served to provide a sense of commonality among the various peoples. In like manner, the Romans connected several of their gods to the Greek traditions. As Rome grew, so did their population of deities, who arrived from points as diversely located as Britain, Egypt, Germany, India and Persia, the most important of whom appear to be Mithras, Cybele and Isis.

Tutelary deities or spirits of an ancient Roman household, probably of Etruscan origin, known as lares and penates, were honored as specific to individual families, at alters in the various homes. While those were regarded as private practices, public practice included deification of the emperor, who then endorsed the various popular cults, practices which served to promote unification and loyalty.

Some roots of Christianity can be found in Judaism, of course, especially in the Talmud’s prophecies regarding the appearance of a future messiah, but one must keep in mind that Judaism shares the same prehistory as the other religions of the area. One Jewish Essene cult, ²The Way, adopted Mithra (or a character of similar traits) as the messiah. Arguments persist whether an actual Jesus of Nazareth ever lived, especially since ³no civil records of such a person can be found in those well-documented times, and all that can be discovered about him is completely anecdotal and written well past his lifetime.

Paul (AKA Saul of Tarsus), acclaimed to be the first gentile (non-Jew) Christian, is responsible for almost a third of the New Testament scriptures. Zoroasterism, the official Roman army cult, incorporated Mithraism into its doctrines, and so carried that influence wherever soldiers went. Accessible only by men, this Persian cult impacted developing Christianity in many ways, as also did stoicism, Neo-Platonism, and even the organizational structure inherent to the Roman Empire.

In spite of seeming like a backward process, like its Jewish forbears, Christianity thrived and spread as a result of persecution and pogroms. The earliest Christians were tolerated in Rome, until they refused to indulge in emperor worship. Persecuted under Nero and ⁴Diocletian (who had come to the throne in A. D. 284 and who attempted to eradicate them), Christianity bloomed. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 312 CE to legalize the cult, and established it as his official religion during the construction of Constantinople, around 325 CE. (From WIKIPEDIA: “The name of Constantinople is an honorific eponym referencing its founder, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Constantine established the Greek city of Byzantium as the second capital of the Roman Empire on May 11, 330 CE , naming the city Nova Roma (New Rome). That particular name, however, enjoyed little common use, and it was as the 'City of Constantine' (Constantinopolis) that it lived through the subsequent centuries.”

That represents the “official” version of the events. Thom Blaylock, in the Honest Man’s Philosophy, presents a completely different story. A retired minister, Thom had many occasions to browse manuscripts regarding Christianity’s origins, and much exposure to documents from all kinds of sources in his long career.

More to the point is the influence of Mithraism on Christianity’s development. Early Christians used symbols as a way to escape notice from persecutors. The earliest symbols were the fish and the peacock, and (until about the fifth century) the Persian sword symbology inherited from the military. Modern depictions were developed during the Middle Ages, wherein the cross gained its current still-not-so-sedate significance. As was set by Roman precedence, Christianity spread by assimilating common beliefs during its evolution, and so gained prominence by its appeal to the masses. While becoming “Everyman’s Religion” the early significance of symbols and dates was slowly banished (note the five centuries of the sword-as-cross before adopting the new meaning).

Christians must understand that the nature of their religion and its artifacts is still viewed according to the original meanings by a wide variety of people, many from religions that preceded theirs. The blood on the cross was not always that of their religious icon, but many times issued from Roman soldiers and their victims, and from the actions of Persian soldiers before them. Most crosses carried on the various crusades were viewed according to that light, and stirred up ancient sentiments that the warring factions we ⁵inherited in modern times still express in bitter anger.

We tend not to possess the memories, concepts and images that died along with our forbears, and to consider current conceptions as though they always existed. To demonstrate the result of that truth, read your bibles with the idea in mind that the original meaning of the word “cross” was “sword”. Oblique statements suddenly spring to life and make complete sense when you try that. Next time a preacher tells you anything about “the cross”, let yourself dare to imagine it as a sword, and see a new image come alive in your mind. You’ll be amazed! It is not Satan, but the dawning of truth’s light.

Think of the meaning at the time expressed, and then try it on these commonly referenced verses:

Matthew chapter 16: 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross [sword] and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27 For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

Luke 14:26-33— 26 "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross [sword] and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Luke 19:27 (As the finale of a parable) "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence."

Luke 22:36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”

Copyright ©2005 by Lloyd Harrison Whitling. All rights reserved.