Sacraments and pagan practices?

[Maria Murray]

I am currently reading Williston Walker's A History of the Christian Church and having much difficulty reconciling certain historical developments in sacraments with the Orthodox perspective. I am hopeful that some of you, much more learned in this area, can offer good insights into the proper understanding of the relationship between pagan mystical practices and their resemblance in the Holy Mysteries of the Church. Would it be fair to say that some pagan thoughts "foreshadowed" the true sacraments of Christianity? Let me give some examples:

Walker states that because many converted to Christianity from mystery religions, it is natural that they look at their worship from the same point of view.

- the old Oriental mystery religions such as those of the Great Mother (Cybele) and Attis of Asia Minor, of Isis and Serapis from Egypt, and Mithras from Persia, taught a dying and redeeming god, soul overcoming death; the initiated died and rose with him, became partakers of the divine nature through shared meals, participated in his immortality, cleansed by sacred water, became 'reborn forever' and so on. (p 11)
- Such is the case with only allowing certain "initiated" to partake of the secret mysteries (disciplina arcani).
- As in the mystery religions, baptism became the rite of purification, rebirth. (p 87)
- Fasting and "godparents" are also found in the worship of Isis. (p 88)
- the date for the celebration of Theophany (Christ's baptism) is not unrelated to a pagan water festival in Alexandria in relation to the winter solstice (hence the liturgical stress on the blessing of the waters and baptism) (p 154)
-the date for celebrating the birth of Christ was influenced by the fact that dec 25 was a great pagan festival, that of Sol Invictus, which celebrated the victory of light over darkeness and the lengthening of sun's rays." (p 155)
- veneration of the martyrs and saints, for the masses took the place of the old gods and heroes (p 156)
- To the Virgin Mary, went out much of that feeling which had found expression in the worship of the mother goddesses of Egypt, Syria, Asian minor. (p 156)

Is it this resemblance of the old heathen practices that the Protestants have been trying to rid the Church of? What is a good way to understand these points of similarity?

[Herman Blaydoe]

Easy, pagan beliefs are simply shadows of the Truth. We are created in God's image and likeness. We have an inner desire to seek God, and this is manifested in pagan religions that are attempts to express that which was revealed to the Jews and to us. Walker just has it backwards.

[Michael Stickles]

C.S. Lewis stated pretty much the same thing Herman expressed, though he was speaking of arguments against Christianity itself and not just against the sacraments (and he took a lot more words to say it :-). I think it's relevant, though, because the arguments against sacraments using pagan parallels can easily be widened to attacks against Christianity itself - and with the same validity (namely, none). Here's a segment from Lewis' essay "Religion Without Dogma?" (republished in God in the Dock, pp. 129-146, quote from pg. 132; paragraph breaks added for readability):



I believe that in the huge mass of mythology which has come down to us a good many different sources are mixed ... among these sources I include the supernatural, both diabolical and divine. We need here only concern ourselves with the latter. If my religion is erroneous then occurences of similar motifs in pagan stories are, of course, instances of the same, or a similar error. But if my religion is true, then these stories may well be a preparatio evangelica, a divine hinting in poetic and ritual form at the same central truth which was focused and (so to speak) historicised in the Incarnation.

To me, who first approached Christianity from a delighted interest in, and reverence for, the best pagan imagination, who loved Balder before Christ and Plato before St. Augustine, the anthropological argument against Christianity has never been formidable. On the contrary, I could not believe Christianity if I were forced to say that there were a thousand religions in the world of which 999 were pure nonsense and the thousandth (fortunately) true. My conversion, very largely, depended on recognizing Christianity as the completion, the actualization, the entelechy, of something that had never been wholly absent from the mind of man.

And I still think that the agnostic argument from similarities between Christianity and paganism works only if you know the answer. If you start by knowing on other grounds that Christianity is false, then the pagan stories may be another nail in its coffin; just as if you started by knowing that there were no such things as crocodiles then the various stories about dragons might help to confirm your disbelief. But if the truth or falsehood of Christianity is the very question you are discussing, then the argument from anthropology is surely a petitio.


Unfortunately, historians too often assume that, if A is like B and A preceded B, then A was the cause/inspiration/formative influence of B (the post hoc ergo propter hoc logical fallacy - "after this, therefore because of this"). The idea that some C led to both A and B doesn't get much attention from their neurons (unless, of course, A causing B would upset the historian's pet theory).

While I love the way Lewis makes the point, various Church Fathers have also commented on the parallels with pagan or natural concepts. Justin Martyr, in his First Apology (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm) (chapters 20-22) remarks on many similarities between pagan beliefs and Christian truths, arguing that the Christian understanding is the superior one. Augustine, in his Exposition on Psalm 104 (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1801104.htm), after noting various parallels to Christ in the world, states "Observe how numerous are the types of Christ: all these are Christ in similitude, not in essence." The "anthropological argument", as Lewis called it, certainly didn't impress them either.

In Christ,
Mike

[Anthony]

With regard to detailed parallels between the mystery religions and the Christian sacraments, there is also sometimes a problem of dating. Some histories of comparative religion are a bit careless about this (or so I have read, not having the necessary knowledge myself). In particular, phrases such as "renatus in aeternum" are possibly not attested before Christianity, although the religions in which they surface may be older. I can't say much on this (and even the example I have given may be wrong), but it is often worth checking things like this. Sometimes things become "established history" just by being repeated often enough.

[Kosta]

Parralels between Christianity and Paganism shouldnt be problematic. For instance the concept of an immortal soul, and the existence of an afterlife entered the conscienceness of Judaism in the 3rd century B.C. precisely because of hellenistic influence. Before that Judaism didnt really believe in such a concept or at best it was very muddled. In fact many jews today still dont accept it! Remember the saduccees who only believed in the pentateuch contrasted with the pharisees who accepted the prophets as equal to the torah. The Pharisees believed in the ressurection, they came about thru the hellenistic influence brought by Alexandr the Great.

As far as the virgin birth, this was a common belief of the times. It wasnt only limited to deities but to kings as well.

Likewise baptism was commonly practised amongst the many cults of the time. Christian Baptism has its roots in the baptism of John and the baptism of John has its roots with the Essenes. Not only baptism, the Essenes viewed their "common meal" as sacramental and sacrificial in nature. It was prepared by priests following certain purification rites and the essenes were forbidden to eat anyone elses cooking.
Baptism isnt a new concept originating with Christianity, to this day hindus have religious festivals where they travel to the Ganges river and bathe themselves.
In the Iliad baptism was practised by the mother of Achilles when she baptized him holding him by the heel, his heel being his only mortal weakness. This foreshadows the garment of immortality which we put on when we are baptised and put on Christ. In the ancient Finnish epic; the Kalevala, a woman gives a mysterious birth and her infant is baptised by a figure name Virokannas. Virokannas originates from low german; wi'ro- Incense, and Hannes- Johannes. Thus "Incense John" baptises the mystery child but no one argues a link between the two, because their was no contact between the romans and Finns to exchange cultural concepts. (And yes, karelian culture consider this aspect found in Poem 50 of the Kalevala to be a prophecy of Christ).

Christmas on Dec 25 was probably a matter of common sense. Mithraism being a popular holiday during the Roman Empire, it was the best way to eclipse and block the pagan holiday with the Christian one. Of course Christmas may very well pre-date Sol Invictus. The Church Father Hippolytus in 205 a.d. was the first to place the birth of Christ on Dec 25. He also reckoned that the Annunciation took place on March 25. A jewish tradition claimed that martyrs died on the same day they were concieved. Thus Hyppolytus believed March 25 was basically a KyrioPascha. The pagan feast of Sol Invictus was enacted in 274 a.d., thus some Fathers already believed in Dec 25 as the day of the Birth of Christ beforethe emperor Aurelius added Sol Invictus to the pagan calendar of feasts.

Fasting is a common spiritual practise not limited to a particular religion, it is a universal belief. Godparents in christianity are simply sponsors. In pagan times, when a bishop was to baptise a family, he required a christian sponsor known to him, to help the newly baptised to adjust and be instructed so they wont relapse back into paganism.

As far as the Virgin Mary, her feast days were added after the council of Chalcedon in 431 a.d., when the title of "Theotokos" was given a dogmatic status. All pagan beliefs were banned in 394 a.d. At the time most hymns to the Virgin Mary were being written, the pagan female deities ceased by over a hundred years. The Fathers considered the similarites of pre-christian practises as either prophecies of Christ or traps meant to lead astray.