Many critics of Christianity have taught that the Christian religion was not based upon

divine revelation but that it borrowed from pagan sources, Mithra being one of them. Are
both Jesus and Mithra the exact same thing, as some have said? Mithra was said to have
been born of a virgin, walked the earth, gathered 12 disciples, taught the people using
parables, was sacrificed for the sins of the people, and was resurrected three days later.
This sounds like the same story by a different name and it appears likely the Jesus story
really is a simple rehashing of the Mithra narrative. Here are the claims of Mithra.
1) Mithra, like Jesus, was born of a virgin. This claim is blatantly false, and nobody even
nominally familiar with Mithra accepts it. Multiple carvings and reliefs depict the birth of
Mithra and all of them show the god being born of solid rock. There are many aspects of
Mithraism that scholars disagree on, but his birth is not one of them. Mithra is shown
being birthed directly from solid rock, with the upper half of his body emerging while the
lower half remains still encased inside the rock. In some of the carvings (such as at Dura-
Europos) flames shoot up from the earth around the emerging body of Mithra. A few of
the birth depictions show the new born Mithra holding a bow and arrow, and he stands
ready to hunt.
2) Mithra had 12 disciples. In the Hindu tradition Mithra had a companion called Varuna,
who was a fellow god. In fact the two deities appeared together so often their two names
were often strung together into one word. In the Roman Mithraism tradition, Mithra had
two torch bearer companions, named Cautes and Cautopatres. Some carvings show the
two companions helping to pull Mithra from the rock at his birth. However, those
companions are not humans, they are god like creatures. Nowhere does it record Mithra
having 12 followers or disciples. In many paintings, Mithra is shown standing among the
stars. In one specific carving he is shown with two rows of 6 figures on each side of his
head. One might assume these could be 12 followers, right? Actually, the scene is clearly
a representation of the zodiac with Mithra in the center in the place of the sun. The zodiac
is a very common theme in the ancient world, and as a solar deity Mithra’s proper place
is at the center.
3) Mithra taught the people using parables. Roman Mithraism was a very secretive affair.
As such, they wrote nothing down. No books or scrolls with Roman Mithraic teaching
has ever been found. Thus all we know from Roman Mithraism comes from statues,
paintings, and carvings. None of these record any type of teachings of Mithra, in parable
form or any other form. The Avesta of Zoroastrianism also doesn’t record any parables of
Mithra. As the god of contracts and treaties Mithra expected his followers to be true to
their word and to hold to promises made. He upbraided his followers to generally be good
and ethical people, but never in any kind of metaphoric or story telling manner.
4) Mithra partook of a sacrificial last meal of wine and bread. Here at last we have a
claim that can be verified (to a degree) to be true. In several underground chambers
dedicated to Roman Mithraism rituals, there is a four paneled scene which depicts what
appears to be an initiation ritual. A bound figure (who appears to be the initiate) drinks
from a cup while holding what may, or may not, be a loaf of bread. The figure is then
symbolically slain. So here we do have what appears to at least be a ritualized final drink
if not also the eating of bread. The drink may be water or may be wine, it's impossible to
tell. So there could be a genuine parallel here between the Christian last supper and this
Mithraic ritual.
5) Mithra was sacrificed for the sins of the people, after three day, he was resurrected.
None of the holy books that describe Mithra from Iran or India show him being
sacrificed, nor is he ever shown to be dead or dying. The Avesta contains no story of
Mithra’s death, nor is there any suggestion that he will be sacrificed for the sins of the
people. The same is true of the Rig Veda where Mithra is never described as dead or
dying. In later Roman Mithraism, the god is often depicted as slaying a bull. However
these portrayals show Mithra as the one doing the sacrificing, not the one being
sacrificed. The bull slaying motif in Mithraism is a much later development in the myth
of Mithra, and post dates the Judaic notion of sacrificing an animal for the sins of the
people by many centuries. None of the carvings or paintings or statues associated with
Roman Mithraism show the deity being slain, nor being resurrected. Since there is no
record of Mithra dying or being reborn, the “three days” concept is invalid. The Best of
Josh McDowell: A Ready Defense states that, "While there are several sources that
suggest that Mithraism included a notion of rebirth, they are all post-Christian. The
earliest...dates from the end of the second century A.D."
6) The death and resurrection theme in Mithraism. As already noted above, there are
panels in Mithraic cave temples that show what some think is an initiation ceremony. The
initiate kneels with arms bound, while a devotee raises a sword above his head. Later,
after the initiate drinks from a cup, he is released. This is believed to be a ceremony that
imitates the symbolic death and resurrection of the initiate. What is interesting to note
here is the bound hands. Many ancient pagan religions required the sacrifice of a human
being to their god. This was quite common. And it turns out some of those who were
chosen for sacrifice didn’t feel too enthused about it, so their hands were bound and they
were forced to kneel to keep them from escaping. This position is reproduced by the
Mithraic initiates, leading one to believe that this ritual was actually a reenactment of a
pagan human sacrifice ritual. Only in this case the initiate was let off, and was only
“symbolically” killed. So, there does seem to be a general theme of death and, if not
resurrection, then at least escape from death. But this is only for new initiates and there is
no evidence that the god of the religion, Mithra, ever actually endured this fate.
7) Mithra was born of a virgin on December 25th in a cave, and his birth was attended by
shepherds. There is no support for the idea that Mithra was born of a virgin. And since
nowhere in the New Testament does it state that Jesus was born on December 25th, this
could not be called a comparison. Again, Mithra was formed within a solid mountain, not
within a cave. While, logically, a cave was left behind once Mithra dug himself out,
saying he was born in a cave is wrong. There are texts suggesting that shepherds were
present at Mithra’s birth and helped dig him out of the mountain, but these are Roman
texts dating to no earlier than the 2nd century A.D., and thus were most likely influenced
by the New Testament writings, instead of being an influence upon them.
8) Mithra was considered the "Way, the Truth and the Light," and the "Logos,"
"Redeemer," "Savior" and "Messiah." Mithra was never called any of these things, even
in the Roman version of Mithraism.
9) Mithra had his principal festival of what was later to become Easter. Mithra had
several special days, but all were in September or October. Mithraists did apparently
celebrate the beginning of each season, so there was a celebration at the beginning of
spring, but this wasn’t any ‘principal festival’, and the celebration was only for the season
itself, not for Mithra.
10) Mithra's sacred day was Sunday, the "Lord's Day," hundreds of years before the
appearance of Christ. The Mithraists did not appoint Sunday as Mithra’s day until post-
Christian times.
Conclusion
The book "Christianity and the Hellenistic World" also points these facts out.
"Allegations of an early Christian dependence on Mithraism have been rejected on many
grounds. Mithraism had no concept of the death and resurrection of its god and no place
for any concept of rebirth -- at least during its early stages. During the early stages of the
cult, the notion of rebirth would have been foreign to its basic outlook. Moreover,
Mithraism was basically a military cult. Therefore, one must be skeptical about
suggestions that it appealed to nonmilitary people like the early Christians."
Roman Mithraism was highly secretive religion without scriptures or holy books.
Christianity was completely open and has a sacred text. Roman Mithraism only allowed
men to partake of its secretive rituals. Christianity allowed both men and women equally
to join. Jesus taught of the supremacy of love, and implored his followers to treat others
as you would like to be treated. Jesus preached the virtue of having compassion and
reaching out in service to those in need. Mithraism had no teachings that are similar to
this. Without doubt that there are some broad parallels between the Mithraic cult and
Christianity, just as many religions across time have shared themes and motifs. However,
I do find it disturbing that so many who claim to be speaking truth have either
manufactured imaginary parallels between Jesus and Mithra, or are parroting those who
have. Either they have simply decided to begin lying and deceiving, or they have
unquestioningly reproduced the lies of others with no research or investigation of their
own. Neither one is acceptable.
Lastly, I would like those who say that Jesus has no power or is a fake to see a believer
baptized into His name. (Remember that when our faith is applied to His grace, that
salvation is the result. And the itself water has no magical qualities in it. Rather, it's our
obedience of His word that now saves us. And baptism was a command given to every
believer by Jesus Himself in His name). The change is incredible to the individual. One
person who I personally had the privilege to baptize immediately felt the Holy spirit
within her. Another was given great insight into various matters by the Lord. One
perceptive person was given even a great intelligence by God. While many others have
felt God touch them or heard Him speak to them. These things were not done by a myth,
nor are they hidden from those who seek to know them. Only foolish and ignorant men
would speculate on that which they have no understanding of. You can learn the truth by
simply reading and applying His word for yourself. But if you have any questions pray to
God in faith and He will give you the answers in due time. God can do anything but fail.