Avoiding Syncretism
The world the early Christian missionaries encountered was that created by Roman conquest and established by Roman order. This was the age of religious syncretism, to which Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC) was the major contributor.
Formation And Struggles: The Birth of the Church AD 33-200, by Veselin Kesich
By expanding beyond Palestine, the early Church and its missionaries encountered a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religious traditions. Alexander would expand Greek culture from the eastern Mediterranean to the Indus River, yet local practices were not eliminated.
After his death and the division of his empire into four, a slowly weakening Greek empire gave way to Rome. Yet, in the eastern half of the Roman Empire, the Greek culture and language was predominant. In the meantime, Roman armies would take their gods with them, and return with the gods of the people they conquered.
During this time, a search for the one god above all gods was occurring – a monotheistic supreme god. Zeno, founder of the Stoic School, would be one of the first to recognize and encourage this tendency to search for this one true god of gods. Yet even in this search, Stoicism would reject none, and allegorize all in order to save all.
The masses would cling to their god or gods, and these would all somehow get blended together – different masses, different gods, but somehow all one story. The Church, through its missionaries, would run headlong into a culture of syncretism – a blending of religious traditions and customs.
Eventually, Christian missionaries to the Gentiles encountered many of the varied beliefs and traditions practiced in the pagan Roman Empire.
Yet, this movement toward finding the one god above all gods would aid these missionaries. Add to this an increased desire for a personal relationship with this god, and a path to personal salvation; the Christian message was tailor-made for such an audience. Almost as if God, in His providence, destined this!
The cult of Ascepius, the great healer, spread all over the Greco-Roman world. Perhaps at least four hundred sanctuaries were dedicated to him, likely to include the Pool at Bethesda where Jesus healed the sick man – hydrotherapy being one of the major characteristics of healing in these centers.
Ascepius was concerned with the individual, his needs, and his well-being. Of all Greek deities, he was considered the most humane. His cure, however, required moral purity. If one’s conduct in life was impure, he was likely rejected as a candidate for healing.
Jesus, of course, was not like this. He did not require a purity test. He merely asked: do you want to be healed? The church continued this mission – healing, reconciliation, and salvation. Throughout the first two centuries, Christian missionaries would encounter pilgrims heading to one of these healing centers. In turn, they would tell of the healing of Christ, and argue about whose god was better.
Encounters would likely occur daily, especially in cities like Pergamum and Corinth. Pergamum was one of the seven churches in Revelation:
Revelation 2: 13(a) “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.”
Corinth, of course, was a cosmopolitan city, with ships and traders an ongoing feature. It also had a temple to Ascepius.
Celsus would write in praise of Ascepius and against Christ. Little of his work survives, other than select quotes in Origen’s Contra Celsum. What Christ and His missionaries accomplished was through “magic”; there was nothing of god or God in this. Origen would counter: Christians offer nothing but the supreme name of God, and of Christ who lived in history and was crucified by Pontius Pilate.
Phrygian Cybele, the Great Mother, Attis, all pitted against the Isis cult. The emperor Julian, after renouncing Christianity (hence, “the Apostate”), would join the cult of Cybele. Fertility and resurrection feature in this mystery religion. Devotees would whip themselves to the point of drawing blood, allowing these to fall on the image of Attis. Several days later, the priest would announce the resurrection of Attis! Some see in this the influence of the Passion week on this cultic mystery religion.
The cult of Mithra, with seven stages of ascent, culminating in an encounter with the godlike Mithras. Having to swear secrecy, the “reborn” receives a seal on his forehead – a new member in the army of Mithras.
Blood, washing, a common meal, anointing, and healing – these are not found in one practice but in many. The Apologists – Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Origen – would all note similarities between these mystery religions and Christianity – dismissing these cults as “demonically inspired imitations” of the truth of Christianity.
Conclusion
External similarities of rites do not touch the inner core and differences between the mysteries and Christianity. The basic difference is that the mysteries deal with myth and Christianity with history.
Jesus is the event that is unrepeated and unrepeatable. This is the difference. It was His death and resurrection that was preached – events in history. Resurrection – a cornerstone of Christianity – a was something for which there is no evidence of such an expectation in the mystery cults (except added long after, likely in reaction to Christianity).
Neither the church before Paul nor the churches founded by Paul were dependent on the mystery religions.
Paul had opponents everywhere he went, but he was never accused of coopting or yielding to the mysteries. His teaching was firmly rooted in one thing: the events of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.