ISIS AND CHRISTIANITY
The early Christian church emerged from a cultural melting pot at the beginning of the Common Era (CE). This melting pot had been simmering away for many centuries before the empire of Alexander (1) turned up the heat and began exporting the spiritual traditions of Egypt back to Europe.
Greek and Egyptian deities were deliberately syncretised (2) in ways that lent to Hellenistic culture a powerful influence. This influence impacted upon the later Roman Empire and established a cultural precedent that carried into the Christian era.
The spiritual influence of Egypt upon the early Christian church was the result of a long-standing legacy (3). This legacy was already known throughout the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions long before the rise of Greco-Roman culture.
For thousands of years the stories of Isis and Osiris accompanied Egyptian trade throughout the known world (4). What Greco-Roman culture did was to extend and broaden this legacy into mainland Europe (5).
As the proto-Christian church gained momentum it absorbed parts of this cultural inheritance. Various calendar dates, symbols, rituals and terminologies that had there origins on the banks of Nile were adopted by Christianity. (See PARRELLELS BETWEEN ISIACISM & CHRISTIANITY below)
The significance of Isis worship lies in the influence it had on the fledgling Christian church. Many features of Isis worship (Isiacism) were shared, borrowed or otherwise confused with early Christianity and eventually became enshrined within the Catholic tradition (6).
Many aspects of Catholicism are not original to the Catholic faith, but are remnants of the cultural melting pot from which Christianity first emerged.
This fact does not imply that Catholicism (or any other part of Christianity) is invalid or otherwise lacking in authenticity. Nor does it suggest that Catholicism is simply a Christianised version of Isiacism (7). Rather it is intended to demonstrate the enduring influence and significance of pre-Christian forms.
The cultural legacy of pre-Christian worship has not been widely recognised in Western culture nor accorded its proper place within educational curricula (8).
This lack of recognition has contributed to misunderstandings and inaccuracies in the way Western history is taught. It has also helped to confuse many people of European descent who have lacked an appreciation of their ancestral traditions.
The lack of cultural identity experienced by many people is related, in part, to a lack of understanding about the true nature and origin of certain cultural forms (9).
In a nutshell, we have not honoured our ancestors in the same way as other cultures (10). This is because much of our ancestral tradition was destroyed or re-packaged at the beginning of the Common Era (11).
‘The time has come for Christian churches to acknowledge that the roots of the ‘new’ religion they exist to uphold were abundantly watered not just by the Jordan but also by the Nile, and that one of their holy cities long ago was Alexandria. Even when the cause of the monks and the bishops had triumphed the distinction between the ankh and the cross was blurred, and the Sanctus bell still tinkled like the Isiac sistrum.’ p – 280
The worship of Sarapis spread widely throughout Europe in the third and second centuries B.C. and anticipated the ritual that was to appear in the Christian era. Unlike the cult of Sarapis, the essential idea of Christianity, as of the teachings of Buddha, was a new concept of universal unselfish love, but the garments it wore were woven in the cult of Sarapis and Isis and in the rituals of the Egyptian temples.
The following information was sourced from Isis in the Ancient World by R. E. Witt. The page numbers where this information appears in the book are in brackets.
* The names Isis and Jesus are both Greek in origin.
* Osiris (the husband of Isis) was killed and later brought back to life. This notion of resurrection was in existence thousands of years before the Christian period and pre-dates the ancient Hebrew culture.
* One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria was dedicated to the Goddess Isis. A common title assumed by the goddess was Isis Pharia. (65)
* The references in the bible (Jeremiah 44: 17 - 19) concerning the ‘Queen of Heaven’ and ‘make her cakes to worship her’ and ‘plenty of victuals’ clearly relate to the worship of Isis. This worship took place, according to the bible, in Judah and Jerusalem itself and illustrates the wide influence the goddess had even in the Holy Land. (133)
*The Roman emperor Tiberius closed the Roman Iseum and had its priests crucified (94). Both Isiacism and Christianity were repeatedly persecuted by the Roman authorities.
* The Egyptian high priests at the temple of Karnak were known as ‘prophets’. (89)
*A Gnostic (Christian) sect ‘the Peratae’ are described by Hippoolytus as recognising both Isis and the teachings of Jesus. (195)
For anyone of European descent the cultural and spiritual significance of Isiacism is considerable.
This significance runs deep into the roots of Western culture and has survived as an enduring feature of Christian worship. Many aspects of the Catholic tradition retain a memory of pre-Christian ritual and symbolism. Particularly those surrounding the Virgin Mary.
Acknowledging the cultural debt that Christianity owes to Isiacism is not intended as a criticism of the modern church, rather it is a recognition of the importance of pre-Christian traditions.
By familiarising ourselves with these traditions we stand to gain a deeper, more informed understanding of our cultural origins. We stand to gain a valuable insight into the legacy of our ancestors and the world they helped to create.
‘The ritual of the Christian Church owes a considerable and unacknowledged debt to the Egyptian religion that preceded it in the Greco-Roman world.’ p - 184
(1) Alexander I of Macedonia (356 – 323 BCE) conquered Egypt and established the city of Alexandria. Alexandria rapidly became one of the most important centres of trade and culture throughout the whole Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions. Ptolemy Stoter (saviour), one of Alexander’s generals and the newly appointed ruler of Egypt called upon two theological experts to syncretise the religious traditions of Greece and Egypt.
One of these experts was a Greek scholar, Timotheus and the other an Egyptian priest called Manetho. The syncretised beliefs established by these two theologians paved the way for Isis and her consort Osiris to be exported throughout the Greco-Roman world.
(2) The god Serapis was an amalgamation of the Greek Zeus with the Apis bull of Egypt. Likewise, Isis was commonly associated with Demeter and Artemis.
(3) Dynastic Egypt began more than thirty centuries before the birth of Christ. The largest spiritual centre in the ancient world was located at Karnak on the Nile and attracted religious pilgrims from all over the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.
The religious teachings of Egypt which emphasised the spiritual death and rebirth of Osiris later influenced the Hebrew tradition and the Greek worship of Zagreus and Dionysus.
(4) Egyptian trade extended as far East as Afghanistan, as far north as the Black Sea, south to central Africa and West to Libya. Crete, Mycenaean Greece, Asia Minor, Cypress and Palestine were regular trading partners from early dynastic times.
(5) Greek trading cities like Athens, Corinth and Miletus were early converts to Isiacism.
(6) This applies especially to the worship of the Virgin Mary. Mary shared numerous symbols and titles with Isis and was often portrayed wearing black – a common feature of Isiacism.
(7) Many popular writers have attempted to use the similarities between Christianity and the pre-Christian tradition as a stick with which to attack the modern church. These attacks, I believe, are more a product of religious intolerance than of genuine scholarly research.
(8) The teaching of ancient history at both secondary and tertiary levels focuses overwhelmingly upon political events, military conquests and chronological timelines. The importance of religious worship, spiritual symbolism and theological links with the modern Christian church are seen to be controversial or otherwise taboo subjects!
(9) The spiritual traditions of our ancient European ancestors are commonly portrayed as simplistic and superstitious. The term pagan is still used today in reference to pre-Christian believes.
This perforative term was used during Roman times to describe people living on the fringes of the civilised world. Pagans were simple country bumpkins who lacked culture and intellect.
(10) A common feature of indigenous cultures throughout the world is the worship of ancestors. This formal recognition of cultural heritage provides a social continuity and depth of identity that is lacking in modern Westernised societies.
(11) The edict of Theodosius I (346 – 395 CE) established Christianity as the only legitimate form of religious worship. This edict prompted the destruction of non-Christian temples, shrines and books throughout the Roman Empire.
The most tragic consequence of these events was the burning of the Sarapeum (and accompanying library) at Alexandria were many thousands of scrolls and literary works were lost to religious intolerance.
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