How Did Christianity Get Started?

I have strong feelings about my experience with religion. Christianity, being a religion, had a serious effect on my life until the last several years when I departed from it to discover my spiritual healing and mental well being. I do not want to offend anyone, but here I am able to express my feelings about my experiences and observations on topics I address. My feelings may reveal that I haven't evolved past some of my pain, but they also reveal a great deal of thought about what I have been through in my spiritual journey. In the end, it will all be left behind and only the love I have tried to give will matter. However, talking about these things helps to work them through and as I evolve, I am sure my feelings will evolve as well. But, for now, this is where it is at.


“The background out of which Christianity emerged was very interesting to me. Our text states, “Both as a religious faith and as a historical phenomenon, Christianity emerged out of three distinctly different cultural traditions: the Greco-Roman, Near Eastern (West Asia) and Hebraic. The factors that contributed to the evolution and rise of Christianity as the religion that would become the largest of the world’s faiths” are discussed below. (Fiero p.4, bk. 2) The most interesting discovery I found was that Christianity was considered an imitation of Mithraism by the Romans, which was strikingly similar to Christian beliefs and practices. The religions shared the same ideas: the man-god hero, ritual baptism, a communal meal, and a promise of deliverance from evil. These features of religious beliefs existed well before the birth of the Christian man-god Jesus who was considered Messiah by many.

“Ancient pagan religious rituals marked seasonal change and celebrated seed-time and harvest.” (Fiero p. 4 bk. 2) This is the basis of religious evolution. All religions “borrow” specific rites or celebrations from the ancient practices and from this basis of ancient human thought about spirituality. The Earth, survival and the sky were the main things in the life of early humans and thus all religious thought started from this point. Mankind’s concern for a life after death and the immortality of the soul/spirit caused the development of religious symbolism and thought. All spiritual understanding or misunderstanding springs from these basic concerns. How do we, as humans, relate to our world and the spirit we know is within us? Why are we here? What are we suppose to do? What is God’s will? Hmmm-big questions! All of the attempts of the different philosophies and religions center on these higher concerns. The basic reality is, we want to believe in something greater than ourselves. “Reason and philosophies, like Stoicism and neoplatonism, the many gods of the Romans/Greeks traditions, creeds and cults readily accepted by the Romans, and the deified theocratic Roman Emperors did not promise retribution in the afterlife or reward of eternal life. In fact, there was wide spread social, political and economic unrest, which fed the rising distrust of reason and fueled the impulse toward mysticism” in the search for more meaning. (Fiero p. 4 bk. 2)

“Near Eastern religious mystic cults existed in Greece, Egypt and Southwest Asia that were less intellectual and much more personal than the philosophies of the day. The promise of personal immortality was the central feature of the mystery cults whose initiation rituals were secret.” (Fiero p. 4 bk. 2) Isis worship was a strong and powerful cult along with other god-cults that “have a heritage dating back to Neolithic times, in which the agricultural societies celebrated seasonal change by means of symbolic performances of the birth, death and rebirth of gods and goddesses associated with the regeneration of crops.” (Fiero p.4 bk. 2) The birth, growth, death and resurrection of the Sun-God are an ancient theme dating back to prehistory. Again, “the ritual baptism, the communal meal, which can include consuming the flesh and/or blood of the deity worshipped, significantly predates the birth of Jesus, the Christian Messiah. The mood of religious longing that characterized the late Classical era was intense: (Fiero p. 5 bk. 2) as shown in a sample writing to Isis where she is attributed with all that mankind needs and desires of life. She is the great One, the Protector, the Earth Mother, etc. She is deified greatly and intensely in the poem on pg. 5. Bk. 2)

“One of the oldest religious philosophies of the ancient world, Zoroastrianism, also had a man-god hero, Mithra, who was associated with light, good, and fertility of the land through the ritual sacrifice of a Sacred Bull, and where devotees looked forward to spiritual well-being and everlasting life.” (Fiero p. 5 bk. 2) “Mithraism featured strict initiation rites, periods of fasting, ritual baptism and communal meal of bread and wine. Mithra’s followers celebrated his birth on December 25, just after the sun’s “rebirth” at the winter Solstice. This religion also excluded women, as many male dominated religions did and still do today, but Mithraism became the favorite religion of the Roman soldiers who emulated Mithra’s heroic self-discipline and was the chief rival of Christianity.

The Romans allowed spiritual practices of any religion as long as they did not challenge the authority of Roman imperial cult or threaten the security of the Roman state.” (Fiero p. 5 bk. 2) How fascinating is this? I wish I had been introduced to this information when I was in high school. Maybe I would have chosen the Earth paths sooner. But, the stronghold that Christianity had on me was powerful. The guilt and fear kept me bound to the doctrines and dogma well past its usefulness as a spiritual path. In fact, I have never found it that useful compared to the peace and contentment in my spirituality that I feel and have now. If Christianity is original, how is it that there are so many similar expressions of the same spirituality in existence before this religion ever existed? The fact is that it is not original and in fact it is just another religion fashioned to accomplish the agenda of men. It is sure that women didn’t fashion the religion as women are pretty much excluded from most all participation in the religion. I found it pretty frustrating. I think I am more like Lilith who was independent and strong.

“Judaism is the oldest living religion in the Western world but differs from all other cults and religions of the period because of its strongly ethical bias, its commitment to monotheism and its exclusivity that emphasizes a special relationship, covenant, between God and the Jews, the “Chosen People.” As Alexander the Great expanded the Empire, the Jews were “Hellenized” and by the 2nd Century B.C.E., a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures appeared as the “Septuagint”, (meaning it was translated by 72 scholars in 72 days). This is the first known translation of a sacred book into another language.

The Jews made their homeland in the Roman province of Judea. But when Imperial taxes and loyalty to Rome were demanded of them, the conflict resulted in the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem and an assault on the city. The Romans renamed the land “Provincial Syria Palaestina” and the Jews did not return there until 1948, when the independent state of Israel was formed. There was significant unrest in Judea and conflicts over interpretation of the “bible” The Sagducees and the Pharisees disagreed on what the Messiah would do or who he would be; male, of course.

The Essenes, monastic communities near the Dead Sea, practiced asceticism-strict self-denial and self-discipline. They believed in immortality of the soul and ultimate release from the body. They believed in a coming teacher of truth who would appear at the end of time. The Dead Sea Scrolls include some of the oldest fragments of the Hebrew Bible along with scriptures that forecast a future apocalypse. Along with self-proclaimed miracle workers, the climate of intense religious expectation was extremely receptive to the appearance of a charismatic leader.” (Fiero p. 6 bk. 2)

It is interesting that the scene was set on all fronts for the “next wave of innovative religiosity and the charismatic leader”. It seems that the meaning that was found in being connected to the earth and the spirit characterized by the practices of the ancients in relation to seasons, production and survival has gotten lost. The age of reason and then of religion seems to have carried mankind away from his/her roots in the natural world to a reality that is now quite disconnected from the Earth, caring for her and living a simple spirituality. I find it distressing that the events have led us to the place where we face almost insurmountable problems as a result of steering so far off course from who we are and who we are meant to be.

Perhaps the real challenge is how do we find ourselves in our world today and how can the history of our race help us heal our world? It is certain that one key is realizing we were caretakers and we once reverenced the Earth as our Mother. We were spiritual and didn’t have to figure out how to be spiritual. Sure there are imperfections, but can we utilize the good knowledge to help us now, keeping the good and changing that which doesn’t serve us anymore? The past is a mirror, which can teach us how to do better or we can just ignore it and keep going the way we are going and see what happens. The future scares me sometimes because of what is happening to our planet, how we live and abuse each other so much and how we fight in pointless wars. There are many lessons here. I am glad I took this course. Again, I am grateful.

The evolution of these ancient rites and the integration of them into the main religions of today surprised me. I did not know just how influential these ancient practices were on Christianity and on other main-stream religions of today. From what I was taught, Christianity was original and “from God”. But, I clearly see that it is another form of belief taken from ancient understandings but void of their meanings. For me, Christianity is harmful in many ways to our world today. In my experience, the disregard of the Earth as Mother, the lack of concern for our environment because “we are to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth”, and other such beliefs are not congruent to caring for our world and each other, including all life forms. Religion can give license to "perpetrators" who justify their actions with religious dogma. Many times pieces of truth are adhered to with militant attitudes while the rest of the truth is ignored. Maybe this is a human trait. Maybe it is convenient. Maybe it is a mistake. What ever it is, the point is that without grounded, contextual truth, we are doomed to have the problems we find ourselves in today. I have found Christianity quite controlling and destructive, especially where women are concerned, with no female deity to relate to except Mary, which is the hidden goddess of paganism. I have found that all organized religions are pretty much patterned the same. I do not think they are healthy. I am relieved that I figured this out for myself and became a solitary pagan Earth path practitioner with my own tradition. Perhaps in time, I will find others to share with in meaningful ways.

This chapter dramatically confirms that Christianity became what it is as a result of what was before it. In my opinion, this is narrow, fear based and lacks respect for people outside it. It makes no acknowledgement of women as equal partners with men, but different.They are subservient to them. Different is good. Strong is good. In my opinion this religion does not foster such characteristics in women. My experience of being in this religion was that it was destructive to my spirit, my emotions and my thinking and I am glad I left it. It is not for me and does not work in relation to what I believe reality is about. If the Christian religion works for some people, I believe that they have the right to be in the religion that makes them happy. I expect the same respect from them. I don't want to be treated as "the lost" and get "ministered" to. I want to be treated as a whole person with the same rights that they enjoy. In no way do I want to be invaded and infringed upon with their dogma. I am not at all interested in returning to a religion that was so destructive for me.

A friend once told me that Christianity is for those who are meant to be Christian. It is not for those who are not intended to be Christian. For those who are destined for a different path, whatever that may be, it is important that what is chosen is what works for each person. We are all individually responsible for our spirituality and no one has the right to tell us what that should be. I believe that whatever path you choose, the intention and motivation of the heart is what makes the difference in your path to Creator. It is up to each person to decide what that is for them.

Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition Book Two. New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2006. (pg.4-7)