Expert: Philip A. Stahl - 6/8/2010

Question
What explains best, the worshipping of a Christian God, whose core symbol, is self destruction, in the flesh, of the word, in the one way, and the only way?  All this, where that was the best that the Creator God of All things could offer humanity, was God's Own Eternal Sacrifice?  It all still sounds like transitory animals being converted to transitory humans, by a mostly absent All Powerful God.  Short and sweet, question format, for little children's minds of all the earth, right?  Sounds like Kali, Shiva, or Moleck worship.

Answer
Hello,

My own take, which I also noted in my book: 'Atheism: A Beginner's Handbook', is that the early Christians copied the rituals, etc. and even the (God-man) mythology from the pagan cult of Mithraism.

Thus, Mithra (alt. 'Mithras') he was born of a virgin on the winter solstice, Dec. 25th. The leader of the cult was called a "pope" and ruled from a mithraeum. The Mithraists consumed a special meal (‘Myazda’) completely analogous to the Catholic Eucharist. And just like the Christians, they celebrated the atoning death of a Savior. In addition, those who did not partake of the body and blood of Mithra-Mithras were condemned to “Hell", designated as a “lake of fire”(See, e.g. ‘How Jesus Got A Life’ in The Probing Mind (series), The American Atheist, pp. 46-54, June, 1992, by Frank Zindler – with numerous annotations, footnotes)

The 'Myazda' was also regarded (by the Mithraists) as the literal 'body and blood' of Mithras.

In other words, all the attributes of omophagia, the devouring of a god's flesh and blood to inherit his or her attributes- is not peculiar to or original with Christianity at all.

Hope this insight sheds some light!