Did Christians Copy from Mithras?

We are back again, looking at some TikTok university claims about Jesus being copied from pagan gods. Despite a common understanding of church history debunking these claims, there is still a very wide populace of people who believe these wild and unsupported conspiracies. As you read the following article, you will discover the truth of these claims.

How Does Mithras Compare to Jesus (According to Mystics)

Shown below is a list of common claims made by internet einsteins (they are practically the same for every pagan god).

-Born to a virgin on December 25th.

-Was a traveling teacher and performed miracles.

-Was followed by 12 disciples.

-Was sacrificed for world peace.

-Buried in a tomb and resurrected 3 days later on an Easter morning.

-promised his followers immortality/eternal life.

-Was called Good Shepherd, savior, redeemer, the way, the truth, and the light.

-His holy day is on sunday, and his followers participated in the lord's supper every week.

These are the most common claims that modern theologians and mystics make against Christianity. There are some very big issues they make to start with, but this will be covered at the end of the post.

Is There Evidence Supporting These Claims?

For Jesus to be a ripoff of Mithras, at least one of these claims must be completely true, and true in the context of copying.

There are 3 different versions of Mithras:

1. Roman Cult Of Mithras

2. Persian/Iranian Mithras

3. Vedic Mithras

Vedic refers to the Hindu Vedas

Sadly, none of these Mithras compares to Christianity with any tangible similarities. The people who claim this are thinking of the Roman Cult, and unfortunately, the Roman Mystery Cult of Mithras has not left any writings or documents behind to study. As a result of this, the only data we can piece together are from second-hand sources and inscriptions that post-date Christ.

Q1) Was Mithras Born to a Virgin on December 25th?

A1) It is very, and I mean very, unlikely that Mithras was born to a virgin. Almost all sources say the Roman Mithras was born out of a rock (David Ulansey and Commodian: Instructions). In some other versions, Mithra is created as a full adult by Ahura Mazda in the Persian/Iranian Version, in which there is never a reference to a virgin birth.

For December 25th, Roger Beck, Professor at the University of Toronto, and the author of The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire (2006), says it is a lie:

“In truth, the only evidence for it is the celebration of the birthday of Onvictus on that date in the calendar of Philocalus. Invictus is, of course, Sol Invictus, Aurelion’s Sun God. It does not follow that a different, earlier, and unofficial Sun God, Sol Invictus Mithras, was necessarily or even probably, born on that day too”.

Q2) Was Mithras a Traveling Teacher Who Performed Miracles?

A2) There is no evidence that Mithras was a traveling teacher. And as for miracles, all deities perform miracles. Trying to use this as “Strong” evidence falls short because that creates a very large umbrella that covers all deities, and thus, is too general for parallels to be drawn.

Q3) Did Mithras Have 12 Disciples?

A3) No evidence for this: In the Persian/Iranian version, Mithras has a single companion named Varvana; In the Roman Cult version, Mithras has 2 companions named Cautes & Cautopatres.

Inscription of Mithra slaying the Cosmic Bull, and 2 pillars with the 12 signs of the Zodiac along them.

This idea comes from a misinterpretation of an inscription where Mithras has 2 pillars in front and behind him, on these pillars appear 12 figures/symbols. The deceivers see this as 12 disciples, which must be where Jesus came from! Not so fast, these figures are the 12 signs of the zodiac, not disciples or followers. This inscription also post-dates Christ entirely, so this “evidence” can be thrown out.

Q4) Didn’t Mithras Sacrifice Himself Like Jesus Did?

Traditional Depiction of the Roman Cult Mithras slaying the Cosmic Bull to birth the Earth after the Sun God commanded him to.

A4) Nope, if anybody tries to claim this, see it as an opportunity to break their ignorance. There is no evidence he sacrificed his own life for any sort of peace. This claim possibly comes from misrepresenting a story of Mithras. In this story, the sun god sends a raven to order Mithras to come to sacrifice a bull, and in the Roman Cult version, this sacrifice was not for “world peace” but slaying the cosmic bull that birthed the world. So there are no parallels to Christ's death anywhere in this, no matter how you look at it, without perverting it.

Q5) So was Mithra Buried and Resurrected on Easter?

A5) Also, Nope. There is no evidence that Mithra was buried, or even resurrected. Since he never sacrificed himself, how was he buried and revived? He wasn’t.

Santa Prisca Mithraeum Graffiti Dated after 200 A.D. https://www.roger-pearse.com/.../images-from-the-santa.../

This claim comes from a piece of Graffiti that is speaking about the slaying of the Cosmic Bull. This evidence, dated to after 200 A.D. and reads: “And us too, you saved by spilling the eternal blood”. All Mithraic scholars agree that this is about the Bull that was slain.

Q6) But Mithra Promised His Followers Immortality and Eternal Life, Right?

A6) First, religions practically promise some sort of eternity (Most, not all), so even if this were true, it would be too general to stand on its own two feet. To make this claim is faulty because the original cult members (Men Only) left no original records behind, so we don't even know if there is an afterlife involved with this Cult. “There might have never been any ritual specific to the soul's journey after death” ~Roger Beck.

Q7) Was Mithra Given Titles like Good Shepherd, Savior, The Way, The Truth, and The Light?

A7) Mithra is never called any title similar to Jesus; nothing more to say here. No sources of Mithra being named any of these.

Q8) Was Mithra’s Holy Day Sunday, and Did His Followers Participate in The Lord’s Supper?

A8) Mithra did have a Holy Day on Sunday, but given that the first day of the week was significant in most cultures, it is strong evidence that it was copied from Early Christian traditions. But how can you draw that conclusion so soon? It’s because all the data on this holy day is from dates after Jesus. So it is more reasonable to follow that the Cult copied Christianity. The only way that statement draws to a Jesus copying the cult is when you want it to be that way, no evidence points that direction, only when you manually move your fingers your own way.

Michele Salzman even reports that the Cult's use of Sunday post dates the New Testament entirely! That is exactly what we would expect to find if these claims were as bogus as they are. https://www.academia.edu/.../_Minding_Time_Pagan_and... There is also no evidence of a Lord’s Supper; any mention of this fabrication is from very late medieval texts that cannot be trusted as containing information that predates Christianity.

The Opposing Side’s Big Mistake

The #1 Mistake that internet mystics are committing is the Fallacy of Faulty Appeal to Authority. Specifically, 2 forms of this Fallacy.

The Faulty Appeal To Popularity is when the argument is that a claim is true simply because another person believes it, and is used as some “credible” and “strong” argument. But the logical truth of this is as follows: The truthfulness of the claim at issue is not necessarily relevant to the popularity of the individual making the claim, but rather the substance of a counterargument.

Example: Bill Maher and College professors making these claims and saying they are true. "They must be true because these are people who are known and loved by many."

This still does not support that these claims are true, because when the actual evidence is looked at, Bill Maher and these others are simply ignorant, or deliberately lying about the truth. One side of the coin is understandable, but the other is rather questionable (maybe a bit more than rather).

The Faulty Appeal to Majority is when a person argues that a claim must be true simply because most people believe it. There is one attribution from Dr. Jason Lisle in his article named “Faulty Appeal to Authority” on Answersingenesis.org, and I just love this as a response:

“History is replete with examples of when the majority was wrong.”

(Truth is not a vote), and couldn't be said better. This line of thinking would only work if truth is relative, but that in and of itself is a fallacy. The claim that truth is relative is a suicide statement. It is claiming that, while there are no absolute truths, the claim itself is the only knowable absolute truth: that there is no knowable truth. It is modern new age, and new thought ideologies and worldviews like these that we must be aware of when discussing issues such as these.

May God walk with you, talk with you, and guide your hand to eternity with Jesus. Amen.