St. Paul and the Mystery Religions

PAUL AN D TH E ST . MYSTERY RELIG IO N S

V’ ‘

FRANKLIN i ROUPE . . JO H N , M A OFPH

OCT 1 5 1964

BO STO N : THE GORHAM PRESS K : C PP C co . TORONTO THE O LAR , LIMITED COPYRIGH T 19 17 BY OH N FRANKLIN T ROUP E , , J

A LL R IGH TS R e s a a v e o

m M a d e i n th e Un i te d Sta t e s o f A e ri ca ,

T rh a m P re s s B s n U A . h e G o , o t o , . S . O WIFE T MY

FOREWORD In the following pages I have endeavored to show that Saint Paul is no more indebted to the Mystery u i Religions , for the s pport which he lent to Christian ty , than a ny man is indebted to any other man because he uses the language which they both have in common . I have en deavored to approach the subject with an open and unbiased mind s o that the conclusions a rrived at may be regarded a s the result which the facts them

r i selves wa rant , and not the result o f prej ud ce .

A K P . JOHN FR N LIN TROU E, M . A

e a rk a N w P , P .

CO NTENTS

Ch a p t e r

C I . INTRODU TION

TH E CuLTs — DI ON Y II . MYSTERY DEMETER, S A O P C SU , ND R HI

CYBELE—ATTIS CULT

OS A AP S S . ISIS, IRIS ND SER I CULT

A v . MITHR CULT

HERMETI C MYSTERY LITERATURE .

C STOI ISM .

A G I N TREPRETATI ON V III . LE ITIMATE OF TH E FACTS PRESENTED

X TH E S A S I N I . POS IBILITY OF JUD I M BEING FU EN CED BY HELLENISTI C CULTURE

X . A A A DET ILED REL TION OF ST . P UL TO TH E TERMINOLOGY OF TH E MYSTERY RELIGION S

X I V . APPARENT E IDEN CE OF DOUBLE PERSON ALITY PASSAGES

’ X I I TH E . C P LEADING CON E TIONS OF ST . PAUL S THOUGHT ARE ROOTED IN TH E O LD 6 6

X . AP A A A G III B TISM L RITES OF P G N RELI IONS .

X I V C . SA RIFI CIAL MEALS IN RELATION To TH E MYSTERY RELIGION S

X V . CON CLUSION S

PAUL AN D TH E ST . MYSTERY RELIG IO N S

I ntroduc ti on

O s um up all things in Christ, the things in th”e heavens and the things upon the earth ; in him .

’

: . . Eph . i I O This appears to be St Paul s interpreta

’ ’ lli nclu i hilo s o tion o f the Creator s a s v e plan . Such a p phy o f history arouses a religious enthusiasm , which increases i n intensity as the search for religious truth advances . It teaches us , that St . Paul regarded

Christianity , not as an isolated , abstract entity , but as

’ the absolute and ﬁnal phase of God s dealing with his creatures a n d that we should not be surpri sed i f we

o f Gre e ci a n ﬁnd in it , the noblest elements philosophy , t the highest surviving truths of o her religions , the

o o f the logical fervor the Hebrews , together with a

i o f u i unique revelat on . The origin Pa line Christian ty cannot be attributed to a mere summing up O f these

o f i s e elements , but an understanding it dep ndent upon n u an u derstanding of these elements , j st as an appreciation o f the symphony is dependent upon an appreciation of the individual pieces in the orchestra . Because of the exceedingly scanty knowledge of the i times in which Chr stianity took its rise , and because o f the popular idea that it is an eternally fixed quantity of doctrine , devotion and discipline , it may at first appear difficult for us to determine whether the new I I A T N 1 2 ST . P UL AND H E MYSTERY RELIGIO S

wa s o r religion at the outset a closed revelation , o f i n i n whether it is the product a develop g process , i ﬂuence d by environmental forces . In modern t mes we are beginning to think o f religion in terms o f ex

n e C ha s a s pe ri e c . The loister been abandoned forever ou r the place to cultivate true piety . We now carry

‘ l with us re igion into the market places , believing that it i n is at its best when practice . I f there is any truth in ’ t Jeremy Taylor s O ften quo ed phrase , the child is the

s truc father O f the man , then certainly , the religious ture O f the men o f tomorrow i s dependent upon the

environmental framework of the children of today . And any faith which i s incapable of adj us ting itsel f to

the urgent needs Of the times , is not to be considered a “ o f part that Gospel , o f which Jesus said , my grace is sufﬁcient for the e f

Notwithstanding , many are disposed to foster the claim that early Christianity was entirely free from u such environmental inﬂ ence . Such an attitude , no

i o ut doubt , ar ses O f the \commendable desire to retain S Oi n » o d , Q EQQ EEY But by g it may be that they are snatching Christianity away from its proper rela tions and treating it as an intruder into the divinely de

o f creed course human history . I f there is no source O f inspiration in existence today from which we hesi

to o f no t tate draw , in behal f Christianity , may it be reasonable to suppose that primiti ve Christia nity would

i s a gain rather than lose , i f it discovered that St . P ul wa s wide awake to all pha s es o f human activity ?

o u o s s ibil From this p int o f view , let s consider the p

ity of St . Paul being inﬂuenced by contact with other INTRODUCTION 1 3

le s s s te e me d i t fo di ha t hw a s ”not be a “ g if is ug Winfluenced o 0 o cont c I f It 18 sufic h d w nor more esteemed found that tzw y am l fl

he was not inﬂuenced by such contact . In the light o f

i o f the high conception wh ch Paul had the new faith , it may seem difﬁcult to see how he could derive anything

e from conte mporary sources . He cond mns both Pag ani s m and Judaism and pronounces an anathema upon

’ ’ " ‘ ’ ’ hri ti hi li h fii efifig ?C s t er a h m a vf cii a y6 t t S “ But thou preach unto you any Gospel other than that which we

: 8 preached unto you , let him be anathema . Gal . i . In 2 n i . : a d n . I . Cor i 3 , he harshly criticises Judaism Gal 2 he I 4 , observes tha”t it is only a temporary tutor to bring us unto Christ . The philosophy of the Greeks ‘ ’ he regards as vain deceit a nd the popular reli gions he

‘ ’ o declares to be senseless id latry .

Such sweeping condemnations , however, are not

S s more than hould be expected under the circum tances .

e All criticism must necessarily be harsh . All cont mp o rary religions are regarded as built upon a fallacious principle , consequently , the critic does not pause to dwell upo n the virtues entangled in the mass O f alleged

is error . But it not more than fair to suppose that some valuable truths were occasionally found and sometimes even absorbed , perhaps , by the new faith . It seldom happens that the vi ctorious debater fails to learn some thing from his vanquished opponent, though in the heat of the conﬂict he may sternly condemn a s wo rth hi ’ I s . t less , all opponent s arguments may be that the

i s t i s same true in the case of St . Paul . We know hat h merciless criticism of Judaism did not dete r hi m from incorpora ting into Christianity such o f i ts mate rials a s ST N T T N S 1 4 . PAUL A D H E MYS ERY RELIGIO

hi s were advantageous , nor did opposition to the Gen tiles hinder him from recognizing that it wa s possible for them to please God by following the dictates O f

. t their own conscience Thus it appears , hat opposition no t to other faiths as religious systems , did hinder him from actually appropriating from them all that wa s useful and ofg ood re po ﬂ . Paul further emphasizes this idea in his assertion O f the belie f that Christianity was the legitimate heir

o us l i i . o en y ex st ng go d , maintaining that the course o f past history wa s preliminary to the e s

li hme n S O ta b s t of Christianity . O that not only the ld

he b Testament, which praises very highly as an istori

i a cal revelat on , but also nything in paganism , which w a s found worthy and could be made to harmonize with his thinking wa s used in establishing the new u faith ; for example , he frequently draws ill strations from the pagan games . About a century later, Justin

hi s fo r h Martyr , retained high esteem Greek p ilosophy i So c after his convers on , by persuading himsel f that rates and other Stoics were Christians on the ground that they were enlightened by the eternal Logos , who was later more fully revealed in the person of Christ . Paul believed himsel f to be divinely guided in estab li h n s i . g the new religion He recognized that Judaism , as an historical revelation , contributed certain items to

h no t the new fait , but he did regard it as furnishing a complete equipment for Christianity . Even Christ himsel f did not complete the equipment . Certain links ’ o wn had to be supplied by the believer s experience , in order to complete the chain which binds us back to “ fﬂ God . I ﬁll up that which is behind O f the a ictions INTRODUCTION I 5

l 2 . Co . : s et o ut of Christ, ii 4 This he to do by virtue hi f s . wa s O of faith in Christ The work done , course ,

u a i ts under the g id nce of the Holy Spirit , but result was e m depend nt upon im ediate experience , deter ’ i . co nv c mined by environment Since , then , Paul s

s tion consisted in a revelation , supplemented by the O f Si experience actual life , and nce these experiences i were , to some extent , at least , the product o f env ron n mental forces , we must guard agai st putting into the thoughts of the Apostle , the W_ w i ve r - h w Mg g w w been c ystalized into

Sometimes we fail to recognize that Christianity ‘ ’ l i n arose in a very religious world . The re igious fluence s of the Roman Empire were by no me an-S de l cadent . This fact would not on y have a tendency to make Paul tolerate influence from other religions , but such influence would be likely to mani fest itsel f in his

i s li fe . The strength of Judaism at this time well

n s the know . But it is not to be upposed that Gentiles

s wa s r were any less inﬂuential . Pagani m ve y popular

wa s ff among the masses , because help o ered them from so many deities . These deities , with their varieties o f doctrines and ceremonies , were designed to meet all the

wa s exigencies of the worshipers . Religion not con

ﬁned to the few . It was a matter of common concern . Poets and philosophers made it the theme O f their di s cus s i o ns , and even the structure o f the state claimed to Ci r be reared upon a religious foundation . The very cums ta nce s under which Paul labored , compelled him to be brought into contact with these contempo rary

wa s s o a nd s o ~ faiths , and this contact close long con 1 A A G S 6 ST . P UL ND THE MYSTERY RELI ION

ti nue d o f Of , that it is at once suggestive the possibility h ’ C ristianity being vitally inﬂuenced by them . Paul s

o a nd Co r activities in Syrian Anti ch , Rome , Ephesus i nth us i ts t , remind o f the fact that in plas ic infancy ,

a the new faith was fostered in a p gan home . It is no t to be supposed that the contemporary reli gions easily succumbed to the new movement . Facts ff seem to indicate that they o ered strong resistance . Just as the Foreign Mission Fields Offe r strong resist

o f — ance to the acceptance Christianity to day , so it must be supposed that the other religions opposed it in th e early days . The pagan deities had their devoted fol

- riﬁin e lowers and self s a c c g missionaries a s well as J hi hovah had s chosen people . It certainly cannot be said that there wa s a ny time when Chris tianity was

r the sole possesso r o f the ﬁeld during the ﬁrs t centu y .

O r n i v a te d n the contra y , we k ow tha , not virgin

soil , but soil upon which had N M “ W g ‘ w M m w ” a m - v ” l An i n n e rf s . d e po u competito r § ce St . Paul did not w ﬂ a n M n u —l o m “ w “ the 0 j oy privilege creating anew the religious data , he was compelled to graft his religion onto the already

x r r o f e isting data . The eligious vocabula y the people

ee e r . labored among , had already b n v y well developed

to S e Paul , doubtless would have been able cure con

v erts to the new faith by proclaiming its newness , and

hi s e cts superiority , but pg s p for success would have - ~n “ M a i n

been slight had he no t employed the religious- J a mi ;

Showing them that however novel Christianity might l n seem , it neverthe ess co served the values of the Old

faith .

A S t u new territory was en ered pon , readj ustments

T ST 1 8 ST. PAUL AND H E MY ERY RELIGIONS

i res ent ti o ns o f . a certain th ngs , were presented The ai i m s proper authority would expl n to the nov ce , the y

e r t e e R o . t y O f h se , hence the term , Myst ry eligi ns Certain rites of puriﬁcation ha d to be Observed by the o ne to be initiated , after which he participated in

hi s u certain other rites symbolizing nity with the deity ,

a s i In such s partaking o f the sacred meal , or leep ng

- wa s the bed chamber o f the temple . The votary thus

n wa s no w s u believed to experie ce new birth . He p

- m n posed to be a god a . The deity dwelt in him and

hi H e wa s controlled s life . sure to share the triumph ex e over death with the deity , and by certain ecstatic p ' ri ence s he en o ed o , even in this world , j y anticipati ns o f o f the future state bliss .

O f a When Christianity , at the hands Paul , became religion o f personal faith in the cruciﬁed and risen

Wc divine saviour, belief in hom , se ured eternal life , it wa s meeting the same sort o f need which the Myste ry l i s R . eligions were designed to meet Consequent y , it at least only fair to ask , Wa s not ' ' its n h r Wi co tact wit a wo ld h ch

nation along these lines . V A “ WM “ H " Some modern scholars respond to this question with a

a . decided negative . Schweitzer and Clemen for ex mple

D . e r . maintain that in the ﬁrst centu y A , the Myst ry Religions were not widely en ough scattered through

r n a nd s o a s the Mediter a ean world , in far they did l h exist, they were not at this ear y period marked wit the characteristics which later caused them to bea r i such striking resembla nce to Christ anity . Other

o a s modern investigat rs , such Reitzenstein and Diet INTRODUCTION 1 9

e di s rich , beli ve that these Mystery cults had a wide semination in pre - Christian times and that in the ﬁrst

D . t century A . , they already possessed the fea ures the which marked their likeness to Christianity . In O f light these two opposing views , we will endeavor to ascertain : how widely the Mystery Religions were

D . disseminated in the ﬁrst century A . , and what were their characteristics at this time . M s ter Cults — D e me ter Di on s us a nd O r hi c The y y , y p Cults

Wi : E ll consider successively the Demeter, Dionysus and Orphic cults in Greece ; the Cy

- O bele Attis cult in Phrygia ; the Isis , siris and Serapis cults in Egypt ; the Mithra cult in Persia ; the Her

metic Mystery literature and Stoicism . The Eleusi nian Mysteries are associated with the goddess De meter whose name was explained at a very early date

‘ ’ - Ge . as meter , mother earth She was the goddess O f

the the fertile soil , and was associated with under w orld and the abode o f the unburied dead . She was

the mother o f Proserpine , the queen O f Hades , whom

Pluto carried away to the gloomy realms . The worship o f this goddes s is me ntioned by Greek writers be fore the

beginning o f our era . In a myth which forms the sub

e ct j matter of a Homeric hymn to Demeter, we are told how the goddess taught the princess o f Eleusis the rites o f her cult before she ascende d to Mount Olym

pus , forbidding the sacred mysteries to be divulged “ l o n B essed is that man O f dwellers the earth , who has seen th e se things "but he who dies without i ni ti a tidn

e and participation in these rit s , in the dark gloom ” ’ no t o f below will have so ha ppy a lot ( Moore s Hist .

Rels . p . Those who were initiated received 20 TH E MYSTERY CULTS

blesse d life beyond the tomb . The content of the hymn makes it certain that the round of the assurance

the was deliverance Of Kore from Hades , which is the

subj ect O f the myth . When Eleusis was annexed to

i e Attica n the seventh century , the mysteri s became

O f the o e n a part established religi n , and wh n Athe s

became the center o f Greek life , the Eleusinian mys

ri n Me n te e s . became a pa hellenic institution , women

‘ ev n s l e and e a v s were eligible . 4 u . C. In the fo rth century B , Herodotus mentions the popul a rity O f the powerful Demeter and the number

e of persons initiated into her mysteri s , (viii Cic ero remarks that the mo st distant nation-s a re initiated i into the sacred and most august Eleusin a . He also “ Says : Much that i s excellent and divi ne doe s Athens

seem to me to have produced and added to our life , but nothing bette r than those mysteries by which we are formed and moulded from a rude and savage life into humanity ; and indeed in the mys teries w e per

i v ce e the real principles o f life and learn”not only to live happily but to die with a fairer hope . ( The Bib

li ca l World , Jan . The ﬁrst step for one to tak e who wished to become i initiated into the myster es , was to apply privately to

O f O f e one the families in charge the cer monies . He

was then admitted into the ﬁrst stage of the rites , which S was imilar to puriﬁcation from blood guilt . The next ste p consisted in initiation into the Lesser Mysteri es

o which to k place in February . The Great Mysteries

e e cam in the following Sept mber . The participants

gathered in the city o f Athens . On the Sixteenth o f

September they went to the sea and took a bath , hence ST T N 22 . PAUL AND H E MYSTERY RELIGIO S

‘ ’ TO O M s te a the phrase , the Sea y . The following

days were spent in Athens . On the nineteenth O f the

t he s e t o u fo r month , entire company robed in white , t

‘ S r o f Eleusia by the acred street , car ying the image ,

n o d I a k cho s Dio nusu s a d invoking the g ( ) . The pro gress o f the procession was slow because O f the

u o f n mbers and because the sacredness . When the

a Ke hi s s o s company arrived at the bridge sp nning the p , a Signal wa s given fo r an o utburst of sla nderous lan n o i guage . Every o e to k occasion to relieve hi s m nd O f any grudge he might have against any citiz en or f al s o f o ﬁci , by a free and un crupulous loosening the s i tw o r tongue . The ceremonie at Eleusia cont nued o

Th e ri nCi le three days . p p ceremonies took place with a nd o in the great oblong hall , n ne except those who had participated in the Lesser Mysteries were admit

o e ted . The secrets of what to k plac within these walls S a o f were O well kept, th t we know little what really

e But w i t was a fo r happ ned . we kno me nt impression “ s rather than instructi on . Aristotle say : The initiated " n o t t do e r do learn what hey must , but feel c tain emo” m tions and are put in a certa in suitable fra e o f mind . It is believed by Pro fes sor Moore that at these cer

emo ni es i n the beh nd closed doors , sce es from myth O f

na o f P ros e ine a nd Demeter were e cted , also the rape p

t s a s her return to the ear h , j u t took place in the meet wa s o f a ings O f the public cults . Everything such nature a s to excite emotion and endeavor to lend real n fo r ity to the u seen . There was still a higher degree t c hose who had attained unto it . This degree ould no t be received in less time than a year from the ini i i n t a t o into the Lesser Mysteries . To those receiving TH E MYSTERY CULTS 2 3

S it, were hown the contents Of the sacred ark , which , according to some interpretations O f the myth , the god dess employed in establishing the mysteries . These relics always excited the greatest awe and were ven c rated as were the relics O f the Christian church in

e . r the Middl Ages A myste y play was performed , at which time the hierophant explained the signiﬁcance

s of the relic .

w c . There ere also rites of a sa ramental characte'r f lcwcea m One o f these wa s the partaking o the ,

wa s a gruel , which , it believed , Demeter took after

f r mourning o her daughter nine days . It was made of

- barley groats , water and pennyroyal leaves rubbed ﬁne . Clement o f Alexandria reports other sacramental rites as indicate d in the pass word o f the Eleusinian Mys te r i e s : I fasted, I drank the gruel , I took from the ark , and having tasted , I put it away in the basket , and from ” ’ h t . e basket into the ark ( See Moore s Hist . o f Rels . p . 4 57) The popularity o f this cult is also evidenced by the

2 1 . C. wa s e facts that in B , Augustus initiat d into its mysteries and about the middle o f the first century A . D . , Claudius , desired to trans fer the Eleusinia to 1 2 D Rome ; in 5 A . . , Hadrian was initiated into the 1 2 D o first degree , and in 9 A . . , int the third degree . The first assurance o f immortality which the Mys ter i a h y Religions prom sed , m de t em popular among the n o f a s a s oblest souls Greece well the common people . “ i : P ndar says Blessed he who having seen them , passes beneath the hollow earth ; he knows the end o f life a n d ” “ k - n O nows its Go d give origin . Also Sophocles : - a l thrice blessed these mortals , who h ving behe d these S A G 2 4 T . P UL AND TH E MYSTERY RELI IONS

; i s mysteries , descended to Hades to them alone it ” f r given there to live ; o the rest all evils are there .

’ A la o h m Lo k s a us . be c . ( See g p , vol I , p From these quotations it appears clear that salvation depen ded

e t upon initiation into the mysteries . At ﬁrst th re is li tle i di d ntimation that moral defects , so long as they not

e ﬁl m nt d e e the imply religious , excluded from cult or

H e ri cli its salvation . But the ridicule of thinkers like tus against the superstition that physical puriﬁcation

de ﬁle me nt can purify the soul O f moral , ﬁnally led to “ the conception that Purity is holy mindedness .

o f a s From a poem the second century , which is c ribed to Theocritus , we learn that even chi ldren were

o f D o n s us initiated into the mysteries y y . The poem

o . bo re ferred to , is written in hon r o f a nine year Old y, f who was admitted to the cult by . v i rtue o the piety o f “ T o f his father . o the children pious fathers belong im the good things , rather than to those that come o f ” ’ Lobe ck s A l a o ha mus pious fathers , ( g p , vol . I , p . ’ Compare this with Paul s belie f regarding the

i i 1 sanctity O f children as expressed in I Cor . V : 4 “ unb e li ev m For the g husband is sanctiﬁed in the wi fe , and the unbelieving wi fe is sanct”iﬁed in the brother Else were your children unclean .

D o n s us Demeter and y y were not the only deities , whose names were asso ciated with the mo re distinct i l i n v e i . y Greek myster es Proclus , remarks that the ﬂue nce o f the Orphic mysteries was see n on every hand S as early as the middle o f the ixth century , B . C . As O i a means O f individual salvation , rph sm had spread

i ts far and wide , and converts gathered together in

o f societies not unlike Chris tian churches . Rites ini

T T S 26 ST . PAUL AND H E MYS ERY RELIGION

f a avow me that I am o your blessed race . I h ve ﬂown

o u r . I t O f the s o rrowful wea y wheel . have passed e cl with eager fe t from the cir e desired . The assurance “ i s : a a nd o ne given H ppy blessed , thou shalt be god

s f o n u a n in tea d o mortal . This emphasis p rity made - the f o f ever widening appeal , and soon had ef ect making Orphism one o f the most i mpressive a nd in

ﬂ en i l f H u t a o the ellenic religions . III

Cybele - A tti s Cult

UT these more distinctively Greek mysteries were from time to time supplemented by similar reli

i O ~ gions com ng in from the rient . The national reli

l o ld gions of the o d type gradually disappeared . The gods were concerned with the protection of the state and the things o f this world but when the souls of men u i were aro sed to a yearning after a h gher good , the

e new gods were worshiped , because they app aled to the individual . With the downfall of the Greek and m Ro an political powers , men ceased looking for a god who could save a nation and began to look for one who

s a could save the individual . The re ult w s a vigorous struggle for supremacy o n the part o f the various mys te r i n O r y cults , which the riental Myste y cults played a large part .

o f s ne w Such religions , cour e , were by no means a

re k o - creation of the G e Roman world . The redeemer gods worshiped in this period had already existed in ff some part o f the ancient world . They O ered a type of religion not dissimilar in fundamental characteristics t to the ancient mysteries of Greece , and consequen ly ,

o f t by the beginning our era , hey had become popular, a not only throughout Mediterr nean lands , but also in

n r Greece and Rome . Pindar mentio s the Ph ygian god 27 A A E S 2 8 ST . P UL ND TH E MYST RY RELIGION

a s dess Cybele , as known among the Greeks as early

s . . the ixth century B C Attis , her consort , had a pri vate cult in Greece as e a rly as the fo urth century B . u C . Livy , who wrote in the time o f August s , tells us that Cybele worship was formally introduced into

20 . C. Rome in 4 B , to prevent the Carthaginians from R invading the city . The omans were success ful and f o wa s . c nsequently , Cybele worship O ﬁcially recognized

o f fo r The worship Attis soon followed , by the middle

’ ‘O f the first century we find devotees o f Cybele a nd At f tis celebrating an annual festival , under o ficial sanc The i . tion , at the time O f the, vernal equinox worsh p ers mourned for the dead god and rej oiced at his

rm resurrection Various rites were perfo ed , symbol ' Wi izing union th the deity , whose career was portray f in . o ed a mystery play The date the festival , the

e o f vernal equinox , mak s it plain that the story Attis

f o f is a primitive myth o the death and rebirth nature .

The rites symbolized the recalling to life o f nature ,

’ But i n o f after the winter s death . it s the opinio Reit

z e ns te in e the and oth rs , that worshipers found more ,

r i especially in the esurrection o f Att s , convincing dem

o ns tra tio n -o i the li fe after death , to which the goddess h i s e . could raise them as raised Att s By entering, soul

o f the and body into the tragedy the god , and inﬂicting

ff e b e co m same wounds which he su red , in a word , by

s i mlv ing Attis in pas ion , they became sharers of his

Ma te rnu S o f mortality . s peaks the night O f mourning

o d e i i o f over the g ; th n a light is brought n , and the l ps the company being anoi nted they are a ddressed as fol CYBELE- ATTIS CULT 29

: o f lows Be good courage because the go”d is saved , To you also shall be salvation from woes . ( Biblical

World , Jan . ,

r o f The Syrian Adonis was the ival Attis , and fos te re d practically the same religious practices . This Adonis religion was still thriving when Paul was

hi s preaching in Syria and Cilicia , message o f the cru

n e m r ciﬁe d a d risen Re de e o f Christianity . The two

o f chie f centers Adonis worship were Byblos in Syria ,

u a n and Paphos in Cypr s , and it can cert i ly be assumed

’ that many members o f Paul s Gentile chu rch were acquainted with the mystic drama describing the death

e and r surrection o f Adonis , and the religious sancti

ﬁa ti o n wa - c which that faith s supposed to give to its votaries . Another rite which was associated with the worship of the Magna Mater after the middl e o f the ﬁrst c e n ’

Cumo nt O . tury ( See s riental Religions , p was

e that o f the tauroboliu m . The old st known inscription connected with the taurobolium was foun d at Lyons

a n d 1 0 . is dated 6 A . D During the course o f con s tru cti n in e g the present church o f St . Peter Rom , many taurobolium altars O f the fourth ce ntury were

2 to 0 . . unearthed , dating from 9 5 39 A D But in Gaul , i f G . A . Moore claims , ev dence has been ound which indicates that the rites e xisted at a very much earlier

’ time . Prudentius , in describing the rite says , the one to be initiated goes into a pit previously provi ded with i a covering of planks w th many holes in them . A steer is then killed , whose warm blood streams through the “ holes in the planks upon the one ben e ath Through d the thousand crevices in the woo , the bloody dew runs N T TE R N S 30 ST . PAUL A D H E MYS RY ELIGIO

‘ The neo hite a down into the pit . p receives the f lling

o n hi s a nd . H e a drops head , clothes body le ns back

hi s his hi s a nd hi s no s ward to have cheeks , ears , lips tri ls wetted ; he pours the liquid over hi s eyes and does not hi s fo r s hi s even spare palate , he”moi tens tongue i h nd Per te . 1 1 1 a . s 0 . with blood drinks it eagerly p , f U i t o pon coming forth from the p , dripping with bl od , the initiate wa s congratulated by his friends a nd called “ ” n wa s o e . a new man , who born again Thus clearly

wa s showing that he believed to possess divine life . Although this ceremony wa s observed in the mysteries

i i i a s et S o f Cybele at Rome , the or g n s y hrouded in

i e Obscur ty . We must be content to rest in the r sult o f ’ Cumo nt s investigations , which Show that it was observed in Rome soon after the middle o f the ﬁrst century . IV

I s i s s i ri s a nd S era i s Cults , O p

NE o f the best known facts in the history o f reli

o f W- a o f O p y gion is the fact the ide spread, opul rit

- - l the Isis Osiris Serapis cults in the Hellenistic wor d . Isis and Osi ris were familiar ﬁgures in the religio n o f ancient Egy pt . The name of Serapis , which absorbs

u . . that of Isis was introd ced in the third century , B C

Ptolm h wa s by y I , when t is cult virtually made the f f - o ﬁcial religion o Hellenistic Egypt .

us Herodotus , no doubt could have furnished with

a much information regarding the Egypti n mysteries , if he had no t been s o loyally devoted to the Mys te rv Religions and consequently hesitant about divulging

o their secrets . Notwithstanding, he occasi nally tells u s something interesting . Concerning the mysteries at “ : i Sais , he says In the sacred precinct o f M nerva (who corresponds to Isis ) behind the chapel and j oin

We W ing the hol of the wall is the tomb o f one hose

i t o n o name I consider impious to divulge this ccasion .

o b o li s k s And in the inclosure stand large stone , and

e i there is a lak near, ornamented w th stone margin , formed in a circle , and in size as appeared to me much

e the same as that at Delos , which is call d the circular . In this lake they p e rform by night the representation

w vo r o t a of that persons adventures hich they call u jp , 3 1 2 T G S . 3 ST . PAUL AND H E MYSTERY RELI ION

O a o Mysteries . n these matters , however, though cura te l o f y acquainted with the particulars them , I must observe a discrete silence .

s o s a This deity , whose rites Herodotus regards as

o f O . cred , is course , the dying and rising siris He also

o f says Isis , that the second most important o f the Egyptian festivals w a s held in her honor in the City o f “ o f Bus iris . All the men and women to the number ' many mi ria ds beat the ms e fve s after the sacriﬁce ; but

fo r whom they bea”t themselves it would be impious fo r i s me to divulge . The deity referred to again O siris . There i s abundant e vidence o f the dissemination o f

- this religion outside o f Egypt in pre Christian times . Di o do rus in his Histo ry o f Sicily ci tes an inscription

o O i fr m a tomb from Isis and sir s at Nysa in Arabia , ' a nd s imila r s Io in criptions have been found at s . About

2 C. the year 9 B . , Tibullus , who had then abandoned

r o n o f his milita y pursuits account illness , writes from “ to t : Corcyra , Delia , his swee heart , in Rome What

fo r o u ? a does your Isis y now , Delia What vail me those brazen si‘stra of hers so often Shaken by your ? hand Or what am I the better fo r remembering that while yo u were pursuing her rites yo u bathed purely a n d lay alone in a pure bed ( signifying marriage union

w ? N ow no w ith the deity) , , goddess , help me , for ' that man may be hea led by thee is proved by ma ny a

picture in thy temples . See The Biblical World , 1 1 Jan . , 9 4 .

o f 1 B the o 0 . In a city rdinance Pozzuoli in 5 . C men tion o f a Se ra pa e um i s evidence that the cult o f Sera i s l t p had a so found its way o Italy at an early date .

N T 34 ST . PAUL A D H E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

i s O who i s s logos ( that , siris , identiﬁed with the Logo , d e the W”ord) into a n receives all app arances and forms .

o O - Acc rding to Plutarch , siris , in his Logos function , a ll created the world and it contains . He interprets the mourning for Osiris and his resurrection as symbolic o f the death and revival o f nature but he also sees in his triumph something which is spiritual , may we say , “ us e hi s o wn wOrds : and cosmic . To But the avenger

o f Os i s . . no t iris ( that , Isis ) did forget the contests ' s he o he r o wn and struggles had g ne through , nor yet n S ff wanderi gs , nor did he su er oblivion and silence to

o f envelope her many deeds of wisdom , many fetes n courage , but by i termingling in the most sacred

ceremonies , images , hints , and representations of her

ff She su erings o f yore , concentrated at one and the same time both lessons o f piety and consolation for men and women when overtaken by mis fortune . And s he o O a , t gether with siris , having been tr nslated from the rank o f good spirits ( de mons ) up to that o f gods

o f s r and pirits everywhere , both in egion s above the t earth and in hose under ground , possessing the

e O suprem power, ( Is . and s . xxviii) . Plutarch may have been the ﬁrst to explain the Signiﬁcance o f Isis - Osiris worship in these particular

o f terms , but for many generations the devotees these deities had observed these sacred rites and derived n i uff co solation from the memory o f the r s erings , and h wors iped them with hearts full of appreciatio n . This a ppe a rs to be the state o f affairs in many communities before Paul appeared proclaiming his message o f the suffering Redeemer who “was openly set forth cru O RI SI S AN D P S ISIS, SERA IS CULT 35

f hi iﬁed . : I o n o s c , Gal iii ; but who , account humility

- riﬁ - a and self s a c ce for the well being of hum nity was exalted to hi s heavenly reward and honored with an “ authority be fore whom , every knee should bow o f things in heaven and things o n earth and things under

: 1 0. the earth , Phil . ii Mi thra Cult

ET us draw another illustration from the Persian

s . god, Mithra The worship o f Mithras ﬁrst came to the attention of the Romans through Ci ci li a n pirate s

6 . whom Pompey suppressed in 7 B C . In the follow

Mi th ra da te s ing year, the conquest of the kingdom of carried Roman arms into regions where Mithras was

In o f worshiped . the ensuing reorganization some

r m e these provinces were constituted Roman p ov c s . But it wa s not at this particular time that Mithras wor

ship wa s brought to Rome . It was not until the ﬁrst century after Christ that his mysteries a pepa r in the

i a m West . The oldest M thr ea in Rome date fro the

a reigns of Traj an and Hadri n . When it ﬁrst emerges

o ur r v into obse vation , this religion is fully de eloped , but it had had a long histo ry be fore appea rin g in Eu Z r n wa s i n rope . The oroastrian eligio planted Asia

6 00 . . Minor at the time of the Persian conquest , B C

e o Po n H re it took ﬁrm ro t , particularly in Armenia ,

wa s tus and Cappadocia . It in these regions according

M thra s cult the to G . F . Moore , that the y became r ae d most fully developed . The coho ts and al raise in Cappadocia and Pontis brought it with them to the a nd South West . There were severa l degrees in the Mithraic mys

te ri e s i o f , the r tes of initiation which are not known in 36 MITHRA CULT

detail , but it is certain that these degrees and their attendent rites were connected with the legend o f the

o f god , and part the obj ect o f the initiation was to

unite the devotee to the god , who would prepare for

hi s him a place in bliss . Mihras also had baptism and ‘ ’ his oblation of bread which M o ore and others regard

a s a sacred banquet , the representations o f which have

come down to us on monumental remains . In these rites the Christian Fathers s a w a diabolical trans

m o f for ation the Christian sacraments . The baptism in water had not only puriﬁcation o f body for its

’ n obj ect , but removal of sins as well . Accordi g to a l re ie f published a few years ago , bread and presumably

wine are used in the cours e of this mystic meal . A

tripod , supporting two loaves of bread , each marked n O with a cross , sta ds before the participants . ne o f

i h r re s mbl W u the partic pants holds aloft a o n , p y of ine , ff ’ while a persa o ers a second to another communicant , O e n . ( see The p Court , vol xxii) . VI

H erme ti c Mys tery Li tera ture

HEN we turn to the H e rmetic Mystery litera ture we ﬁnd a highly syncretistic blending of

u H e rme ti cum i s co m doctrine and rit al . The Corpus

o o f p sed a number of rather incongruous strata , em bodying notions contained in the Greek philosophy o f

- P o f the religious Stoic eripatetic type , remnants Egyptian religion and liturgic fragments belonging to

o f a s the Hellenized Egyptian communities , all which ,

- Kennedy says , reﬂect the syncretistic Mystery cults

00 . . 00 falling between 3 B C and 3 A . D . The Corpus

H e rme ti cum e , Reitzenstein believ s , was compiled about

00 o f the year 3 A . D . in the reign Diocletian , by an O f Egyptian priest . It consisted eighteen sacred docu ments designed to Show that the religion o f Hellenized Egypt wa s the same a s that practiced throughout the ff whole Empire . These documents , belonging to di erent

d o f ff e s o a a perio s time and di erent p oples , are rr nged “

to . as suit the ﬁgures entering into the dialog Hermes ,

a o f a i the the her ld Egypti n religion , s summoned by od N o iis S o f Po ima ndres g the hepherd men ( ) , to

S o f become avior the whole world . He proclaims the

to hi s i s o n new religion two disc ples , Asclepios , o f the

o wn s o n : god , Ptah , and his Tat consecrates them at o f the close , to be prophets , causing them to be born 38 HERMETIC MYSTERY LITERATURE 39

w a nd Go d and united ith Him , then ascends again to d heaven . The two prophets preach the new octrine to King Ammon who ”adopts it , and thus the Egyptian

wa s . religion founded , ( See Kennedy p The dialog between Hermes and hi s so n Tat o n the subj ect o f regeneration i s the most interesting of the documents

o f i from our p int o view . Reitzenstein pr nts the Greek

i m n r - f Po a e s 8. text o this dialog in d pp . 339 34 The gist of the dia log i s a s follows : Hermes is reminded by

hi s s o n o ne Tat , that he at one time told him that no could be saved ( a wﬂﬁva t ) without regeneration ( wa k cyiyeveo Regeneration can only be obtained ’ ff after one has cut one s sel f o from the world . Tat has

renounced the world , and beseeches his regenerate

r father to give him the secret . In eply , Tat is told that u this must be a comm nication by the Divine Will . By

o f Go d i s w i m the mercy he now granted an in ard ,

o ut o f hi s mortal vision , he passes mortal body , into

d o f hi an immortal bo y . The entire state s being has been cha nged; Tat c a n no longer discern his new

o f m state being with bo dily eyes . He beco es conscious

of trans formation while his father, Hermes , speaks . i He is now freed from the twelve evil propensit es ,

f r which are exchanged o the t e n powers o f Go d . In hi s new state he is now able to have spiritual visions ,

o n and he feels that he i s e with the elements . His

i s O da o s only need now to ascend to g , where God

i s e dwells . Tat taught by his father to r peat the hymn of praise , sung by the Divine powers present in the “ no w : i s regenerate man . Tat declares My spirit O Go d o f illuminated To Thee , , author my new f s h o /eds creation , I , Tat, o fer piritual sacriﬁces ( w 4 0 ST . PAUL AND TH E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

- H us tus O ) God and Father, Thou art the Lord , Thou 6 vo ﬁ S art the Spirit ( s ) . Accept from me the piritual

( sacriﬁces ) which Thou desirest . Hermes then sums u W p the meaning of the hole experience in the words “ In the”spirit thou hast come to know thyself and our Father . The chief result of this mystical experience i seems to be to know God . This s characteristic throughout the Hermetic literature . R 1 1 Reitzenstein ( H . M . . pp . 3 , quotes from ’ ’ “ the closing prayer of the Aoyos TeAet os : We give to

n fo r Thee tha ks , most High , by Thy grace we receive this light o f knowledge Having been saved by Thee

S us we rej oice that Thou didst how thysel f to wholly , that Thou didst deify ” us in our mortal f e e bodies by the vision o Thysel f . Here we s that

o f the knowledge God attained through regeneration ,

i Mi thra s litur i e 1 2 de ﬁe s . . Dietrich ( Eine g p ) points “ out a similar passage : Having been regenerated by

s o u im Thee today , out o f many tho sands called to be ’ cm a ﬂa va rw ﬂeis i n s a to mortal ( ) thi hour”, ccording r eo the purpose o f the most g a c us God . Reitzenstein believes the fundamental strain o f this

to highly syncretistic literature , to be due the evolution ha of ancient Egyptian religious ideas . To this s been

’ f iﬁi n o de ca t o o f added the Stoic idea the elements , to

mr ths a l gether with certain other Hellenistic y , especi ly " -- vﬁco co n A n o . that o f the Divine p s Cumont , on the

r O 2 2 t a r . y, ( See his riental Rels . p 33 , 34 , note “ says : I believe that Reitzenstein misunderstoo d the

Wundererz a hlun en 1 06 facts when he stated ( g , 9 , p ‘ ' Di e herme tis che Li tera tur i s t i m z wei te n und

dri tte n J a hrhundert fur a ll e religi o s - i nteres s i erten d er

S toi ci s m

' BEO ro ce e di n fa rthe r m RE p g , it see s necessary to consider the religious revival associated with Sto i i m f c s . o a s Deﬁning Stoicism in the terms Wendland , “ o f i n that phase development the Stoic school , which

e had become highly clectic , adopting to a large extent f Plato”nic conceptions more particularly in its idea o o - G d . At the time the Greco Roman world was fall

to s ing pieces , Stoici m contributed much to satis fy o u i o p p lar cravings , which were mak ng towards a m re

o r mon o theo lo i z in less vague monotheism . This g g wa s mani fested in the tran s forming o f the earlier dei

o f ties , by the aid the allegorical method , into attributes o f n o e . supreme deity This movement in Stoicism , ‘ O through the inﬂuence o f riental teachers , became

o f O associated with a mysticism great inﬂuence . ne o f the essential features o f the trans formation process was the metamorphosis o f the elements o f the cosmos

to into Divine forces , similar the element worship in

i o f Babylonia and Persia , where the worsh p the starry heavens constituted an important feature in practical

- religion . But the ancient Chaldean star worship received a new impulse under the impulse o f the O Hellenized rientals , particularly at the hands o f Posi 4 2 STOICIS M 4 3

do niuS the eminent Stoic of Syria . He was probably f i - the greatest o the Platonizing Sto cS . He united the highly intellectual astral worship with the highest emo

tions . He regarded the reverent contemplation of the

heavens as culminating in mystic ecstacy . According

to Stoicism , the soul is a fragment to the cosmic ﬁres .

Now , since like is attracted by like , Posidonius would

say , the soul , in gazing upon the heavens , becomes akin

e to th m . He cannot rest until he participates in the divinity of those sparkling beings above . This ex

e ri e n ce p is associated closely with ethical purity . The inﬂuence o f Posidonius is unmistakable in Hellenistic

o o e religious th ught , and Cum nt thinks some of the ﬁn st

P s i o ni n e mystical ideas of Philo are due to o d a inﬂu nce . The inﬂuence of Posidonius is clearly seen in the pseudo ’ - r e i xoa uov Aristotelian document , p j , a truly religious

meditation upon the harmony o f the cosmos in God ,

from whom , and through whom , all has its being (W .

hr . 1 0 2 a b . . Capelle , Neue J f klass . Altert , 9 5 5 9 “ P la ti o ni ca e ii : 2 Also Plutarch , Quaestiones , Now the soul (of the universe ) has come into being not by Him ’ ’ ’ - ( évr but actually from Him ( cwr a imoi?) and ’ ’ o ut o f Him ( s E a zrroii) . It is not improbable that Paul is employing the same type o f speech in such a “ : 6 : O passage as I Cor . viii ne God the Father, from 3 3 C 01 whom ( 5 ) are all things and we unto Him , and o ne Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things “ and we through Him ; also Colossians i : 1 6 f : For

n in him were all things created , in the heave s and upon

the earth , things visible and things invisible , whether thrones o r dominions o r princi palities o r powers ; all A R G S 44 ST . P UL AND TH E MYSTE Y RELI ION

t u hings have been created through him , and nto

i s i co n and he before all things , and in all th ngs ’ A n t 2 - 2 o s o s . sist , ( See Norden s g Theos , pp 39 54 for m o re examples ) . VIII

A Legi ti ma te I nterpre ta ti on of the F a c ts P res ente d

B i EING then , the yearn ng for communion with ’

S Go d . , which existed in St Paul s environment , let us proceed to what seems to be the natural and legi ti o f mate interpretation the facts . At the outset , let us remember that at the present time it i s the fashion to minimize the inﬂuence o f the synagogue in the re ligious

o f o f thought the ﬁrst centuries our era . It contributed

o s ti ve l o f e u most p y to the spread the Gosp l , tho gh the inﬂuence o f the Mystery Religions can als o not be

denied . Prominent among the elements which enter

the o f into experience Paul , and which are quite com

mo nl y called mystical , are those which he himsel f

r iﬁe S C uc d expresses in uch phrases as with Christ , “ ”“ ”“ Risen with C”hrist , Joined to the Lord , Baptised t into his death , etc . , together with cer ain visions and ff 2 : I . revelations , particularly the one of Cor . xii Is it necessary to attribute such spiritual phenome na to the inﬂuence o f the Mystery Religio ns ? Possibly it is no t necessary to identify them with a ny previously

existing system , for wherever religious experience

exercises an intense control over personality , such

s c spiritual phenomena come to light . But in e it is commonly possible to trace such an experience as i n

di ca te d 2 to in Cor . xii some environmental inﬂuence , 4 5 4 6 ST . PAUL AND TH E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

in the case of St . Paul we would be committing a gro ss inj usti ce if we neglected considering his Judaistic n enviro ment , his ancestral faith . Reitzenstein ( H . M . “ : R . p says Paul was a mystic be fore his conver

f a le o ri ca l o f sion , this is”a ﬁrmed by his g exegesis the f . o Scriptures In the history Israel , such socalled mystic phenomena are associated with the prophetic

f - . . : 1 0 o ﬁce To cite a few examples , I Sam x 5 , here S m the band o f prophets under the pell o f stirring usic ,

o mm r li i S are swayed by a c o n e g o us excitement . aul

ro he s i s e s contracts the contagion , he p p , strips himsel f o f his clothes , and falls to the ground exhausted . 2 i ii : a Again , in Kings I 5, Elish , at the sound of music , is seized by the prophetic inspiration and proclaims r the wo d of the Lord . The phenomenon related in the ‘ ’ i s c d Elo he im Samuel passage asso iate with Ruach , which , in the early stages of popular religion , probably Old indicated demoniac possession , but in the Testa

o f ment , was already associated with the person “ - o f Jahweh . In the Kings passage the phrase the hand

Jahweh is used . In Ezekiel , this same phrase is used in connection with ecstatic conditions .

o f V 18 10nS In the experiences the greatest prophets ,

o f are rare , but the idea close fellowship with Jahweh

o ut as stands prominently , and is often described “ ” : 20 : knowing God . In Hosea ii , we read I will even betroth thee un”to me in faithfulness , and thou e l shalt know the Lord . This knowledge is a rev ation

e of God in the inne r being . This asp ct appears most

e . : 1 1 fo rcibly , p rhaps , in the Psalms So Psalm ii m k Cast me not away fro thy presence , and ta e thy xxn : 2 Holy Spirit not from me Again , Psalm 3 AN INTERPRETATION or FACTS PRESENTED 4 7

26 : i l Nevertheless , I am cont nua ly with thee . . who have I in heaven but the”e a nd there is none o n earth that I desire beside thee . It is clear that there is a close relation between the “ ” Old Testament idea o f the kno wledge o f God and ’ ’ u f véi a ts Pa l s conception of y , with which we will deal t at a later stage . A the present , let us take a glance

at the standpoint of Ezekiel . He too , appears to pos

s u ess a nat re sensitive to ecstatic impressions , which e “ play an impo rtant rol in his prophetic activity . And

r the spi it entered into me when he spake unto me , and

s et me a nd a ” upon my feet , I he rd him that spake unto Ez 2 : . me , . ii Volz believes that Ezekiel received the divine mes

in s sage , while a tate of ecstacy , which was associated

s t with intense bodily ensations . In the hird chapter , the prophet describes how the Spirit lifted him up w bet een the earth and the heaven , bringing him in the

visions o f God to Jerusalem . This took place after “ ” the hand o f the Lord Go d had fallen upon him .

- In contrast to the pre exilic prophets , Ezekiel quite frequently makes mention of the Spirit of Jahweh in

hi s connection with inspired messages . All through the post- exili c times the Ruach Jahweh becomes i n r in c e a s gly regarded a s the special gi ft of the prophet . — In Deutero Isaiah , the process becomes ethicized , and a s ff Kennedy remarks , it is di icult to refrain from com paring this process with that by which Paul ethicized the ecstatic conception of the pneuma current in early

Christianity . It must be observed that in the ca s e o f the Old

Testament prophets , the ecstatic condition did not 4 8 ST . PAUL AND TH E MYSTERY RELIGION S

n no r cause themto lose conscious ess , to forget what “ ” e a s wa s they had exp rienced while in the Spirit , i f frequently the case w th people in the state o ecstacy .

o f i i s E 2 : 8if Evidence th s furnished in . ii , where the Lo rd says : Open thy mouth and eat that which I give

a wa s thee ; and when I looked , behold a h nd put forth

a nd o f o wa s unto me ; lo , a roll a bo k therein ; and he spread it be fore me and it wa s written within a nd with

o ut t n , and there were”wri ten therei , lamentations and i s was mourning and woe . Thus it clear the prophet

not dealing with phenomena wholly external to himsel f, “ ” but the Spirit o f Jahweh , working through him , uti lized hi s senses a nd preserved his memory unbroken s o that he wa s able to record what he had experienced “ ” in the Spirit .

50 ST . PAUL AND TH E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

. n c times The description given above , from the Slavo i ’ Enoch is very s imilar to Paul s mystic experience r 2 : I ff ecorded in Cor . xii , and Gunkel indicates many

o parallels between Paul and these ap calyptic ideas . In the Rabbinic literature the ecstatic experiences

e are held in check . Especially is this true o f the Rab

s o f A i . z z a binic school the second century Simon ben , i s said to have died after glancing into the mysteries ‘ ’ ‘ ’ o f the garden . Yet the existence of pneumatic

phenomena in Rabbinic circles cannot be denied . In S I the Wisdom o f olomon ix . 7 we read : Who hath

known thy council , except thou hast given him wisdom and sent thy holy spirit from o n high ? Such a

a s w a s a s notable Rabbi Hillel , regarded inspired by

o l the H ly Spirit . Schechter quotes the fo lowing from “ h a M”idrash : Holiness means nothing else than p rop o f ecy . But the most striking evidence the mystical

i s element in Rabbinic literature , to be found in the

o f conception of the Shechinah . In the earlier forms Rabbinic writings the Shechinah i s represented a s

a s . a clothed in material forms such ﬁre and light L ter , a this usage appears a s symbolic . The Shechinah is lso frequently represented a s an emanation o f Go d em

i s l bodying His presence . It sometimes direct y per i f a i s o n ﬁe . a o s d The v riety usages o f the Shechin h strikingly Similar to the New Testa ment idea o f the

Holy Spirit . i n co n But Judaistic thought , we never seem to be f l fronted with the idea o abso ute unity with the deity , No r a s in the Mystery Religions . do mortals ever appear to become deiﬁed through mystical communio n s a with Go d . And these fact are of import nce when JUDAIS M AND HELLENISTIC CULTURE 51 con sidered in relation with the mystical notions o f

Paul . The passages which most nearly approach such

a s o a mystical union , for example , th se passages collected from Rabbinic literature by Klein , in which “ o f we - hu the mystical name God is Ani , I and God ,

Go d indicating close relation with , are thought by some

“ scholars to be traceable to foreign inﬂuence .

Co m; o n Sir William Ramsey , in his Hist . Gal . pp . ff 8 . o ut 93 , points how Judaism was brought into con

i n s tact with Paganism A ia Minor . From the narra tive in Acts , it is also evident that the Jews had come o o f into cl se contact with the natives Phrygia , be fore ’ Paul s ﬁrst missionary journey through Asia Minor . 2 n hu 00 C. A to c s In B . , the Great, founded Jewish i colonies in Asia M nor, and through the inﬂuence o f o f Phr these colonies , Cumont thinks the worship the y

’ [cuws Z a d i o i O gian deity, p B é s was blended w th the ld

a nu t o Testament J hweh , designated in the LXX as p s flu Ba ud o f / . The mysteries this cult were strikingly similar to those o f the go d Attis . Another source o f Jewish contact with the Orient

o f o als , is that the Babylonia captivity . The c smo log ical speculations o i the Ethiopic and Slavonic Enoch are clearly traceable to the Babylonian astro n mi a l To os o c theology . this source it may also be p

a roc ei a sible to trace the element worship ( x ) , which ff I V : . we find in Judaism , But in Gal . 3 , we find that Paul , instead of being influenced by this element h i wors ip , admonishes the Galatians aga nst it . Cumont ha s pointed o ut the contact of Jewish n thought with Persian beliefs , but Kennedy co cludes that the Persian influence has bee n greatly exa gge r T 52 ST . PAUL AND H E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

a o f a ted . It has lso been the opinion some scholars that the Jewish idea of the a ll - powerful Na me is o f o Egypti a n origin . But similar n tions were almost

c universal in primitive so iety , and the magical papyrus , which have recently come to light , reveals the fact that Egyptian magical religion had i nco rpo r ated many distinctively Jewish elements , especially

’ ’ o I f rms of the Divine Name , as for example , a w ‘ dw ’ A i . 20 I ff . Bp See Dietrich s Abraxas p . There i n seems to be little possibility , then , that Paul was ﬂuence d by Pagan thought through the channel o f

Judaism . X

i e el i o n t P a ul to the Termi nolo D e ta l d R a t of S . gy of the Mys tery R eligi o ns

ET us now endeavor to determine the detailed i relat on of St . Paul to the terminology and the ideas of the Mystery Religions . Enough has already ’ been s aid to show that in all the main centers of Paul s

v d th e acti ities , he was brought into irect contact with An d r Mystery Religions . by this time , these myste y cults had become sufficiently Hellenized to be purged from their barbarous tinges so that their whole atmos h e re . n p was becoming spiritualized Co sequently , we need be no more surprised to find Paul borrowing met a pho rs from the heathen myths than to find him em ploying figures o f speech drawn from the heathen ath l e i c e b e w t gam s . There seems to little doubt but hat Paul employs terms which have acquired a technical

n the fre meani g in mystery c ults . Such terms are most

i i - quently found in the mpr sonment Epistles , and the

Epistles to the Corinthians , all o f which were address ed to communities whe re the myste ry brotherhoods

S e e ﬂourished . Side by ide with these t rms , th re are ideas

e s tri nk i n re in the Pauline writings , which also b ar g

m r se blance to the Myste y Religions . The question now arises : to what extent does the use of the Mystery terminology involve the adoption of the underlying ideas ? A S 54 ST . P UL AND TH E MYSTERY RELIGION

e ho wev e re Before proce ding, , it seems necessary to ’ remark that R e itz e ns te i n s postulate that Paul had an

acquaintance with the Hellenistic religious literature , is a mere hypothesis . There is no evidence to'support r u this view . But , regarding liturgical fo m lae , and o f ma t the technical terms ritual , we y safely posi that Paul used such o f these terms a s were in common i f c rculation . It is not di ﬁcult to imagine that the Corinthian brotherhood Of Chri stians had some links o f m Wh connection with any o were formerly members

ds . In Co r of the mystic guil such passages as I . vii “ 11 : I give charge , yea not I but the Lord , that the wife depart no t from the husband— but should s he

o r depart, let her remain unmarried , else let her be reconciled to her husband— and that the husband leave not hi s wi fe ; and xii : 1 4 : For the bo dy is not o ne e s to member but many , there s em be indicated a danger o f the Christian co mmunities falling back

into the customs of the pagan cults . It must not be forgotten that many o f the mystery

o f c ideas , and many the terms in whi h they are set ' co me di re otl s forth , y from the universal train of

e r mysticism ev ywhere latent in religion , and which

reveal themselves under favorable conditions . From

s o f i thi point view , Christ anity and the Mystery Relig

e ions are bound to have som things in common . But , on the other hand we ﬁnd running through the Pauline s r o Epi tles , terms and ideas , which have di ect ass cia tions with the Mystery Religions and which cannot

el Co r. : 6 be mer y accidental . In the context of I ii ,

o f e o f we meet with groups id as the type in q uestion , ’ S us the u which how trend of the Apostle s tho ght , and A E A G S REL TION O ST . P UL TO MYSTERY RELI ION 55

which also furn ish evidence for the i nﬂuence of the

r e i . Myste y R lig ons Yet , even here we cannot deny the possibility of the mystery being only the symbol

of an actually experienced conversion . Our discussion of terminology is based largely o n

’ ’ Kennedy s presentation of St . Paul s Relation to the

- Mystery Terminology , which constitutes the fourth

o f . chapter his book , St Paul and the Mystery Relig

o f ions . First all , we will examine the term - o v i o f uva n jpt . It s used nineteen times in the Epistles

Paul . The underlying idea which it conveys , is funda

o f re mentally that something once hidden , but now

I l a fo r o r . t vealed a so st nds any ritual magical action ,

i . from which , according to Reitzenste n ( H . M . R

- e f pp . 9 5 9 7) is dev loped the idea o a document con

taining a revelation , or a divinely taught prayer, which f is believed to be e fectual . In the LXX . , it invariably ‘ ’ ‘ ’ the S o r men means ecrets or secret plans o f God , i usually the latter . It occurs once n Daniel , where ’

s . it tands for the king s dream In the Gospels , it ’ ' ' occurs in Matthew xiii : I I : 6 3e cm oxpt deis ei rrev ' '' ' u2v Oe Bo ra L vcii vcu 7 a va ri ta Ti a a tk e t a (i n T, y u jp js B s ’ im Oiz a vcii v 1 1 1 0 Tr . : : p , also Mk iv , Luke viii where it s tands for the s ecrets o f the Kingdom which are being made man ifest in the work and teaching of So o f Jesus . me the instances in the Pauline Epistles correspond with the usage made of the word in the ' LXX An example o f this is found in Romans X I

2 no t o u h 5 ; For I do wish y , bret ren , to be ignorant ' va n t o v e of this u jp that callousn ss has , in part , fallen upon Israel until the fullness o f the Gentiles

s o al l l s e . come in , and Israe hall be sav d Paul can S M T 56 T . PAUL AND TH E YS ERY RELIGIONS

’ only explain Israel s rej ection o f the Gos pe l on the i s r ground that it the secret pu pose o f God , whereby the salvation of th e Gentiles shall ulti mately prove to be a compelling force to save Israel also . Old For the New Testament , the Testament and a r - o is lso for the Myste y Religions , the pr phet the o ne who can declare to his fellowmen the hidde n will o f s God . So Paul in I Corinthians de c ribes the tra ns ' o f a s va n i ov i s formation believers a u jp , that , a be Divine secret which has en revealed to him al o ne .

: o f Again in I Corinthians iv i , he speaks himsel f and his fellow laborers as “ ministers o f Christ and

varr i o v stewards o f the u jp of God . This gift o f revealing the secrets o f God Paul regarded as even” o f i more important than that speaking w th tongues ,

ll r f though the a tte was als o o the Spirit . While the

e Apostl was held a prisoner at Rome , he writes to the “ : ff : Ephesians , chapter iii i For this cause I , Paul ,

o f o n the prisoner Christ Jesus behal f o f you Gentiles , if a s a matter o f fact ye heard o f the stewardship of grace o f God granted to me with a view to you , how that by revelation was made known to me the uvo rnpt a which was not made known in other generations that the Gentiles are fellow - heirs and

- - f fellow members o f the body and fellow partake”rs o the promis e in Christ Jesus through the Gospel . A wider aspect o f the same idea is brought forth in “ Ephesians i : 9 ff : Having made kno wn to us the

va w t ov o p jp o f his will , acc rding to his good pleasure which he purposed in him for the dispensation o f th”e m s u . fullness of the times , to up all things in Christ Without dealing with any mo re o f the passages i n

S 58 T . PAUL AND TH E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

m he s speaks of instructing in divine ysteries t ”initiate who are worthy o f such sacred mysteries . The ’ i f mv s te r es . r e Aei oe may belong to this class o In Plato , ’ f ' ' the phrase 7 a r e Aea [ca l cu o wruca ( uva n jpi a ) is used to deno te the higher initiation a nd describes the ma n who employs the memories o f what his soul once

Go d a o evde a a 96 saw in fellowship with ( v p i 93”) as being ever initiated into perfect mysteries ' ’ eKoﬁevo TeAe ovs cz ei rek er as T u s ) and alone b eco m “ ” TéAeo dv w ae 2 s r . ing truly perfect ( s ) , Ph drus 4 9 C

. . 1 6 S Reitzenstein , in his H M R . p . 5 hows us that in i m the Hermetic literature , those rece ving the baptis ' ’ f n vo ﬁs b e co me r e Aet o . o the Divi e s ’ o two Paul uses the term r e xei ; seven times . In ’ o f r e k ei o the passages where it occurs , s is contrasted

m m o . : 20 : e with j s ( I Cor xiv , Eph . iv Her

the te rm. ha s the meaning o f full grown as contrasted

i l — o with ch dish . It is the stage of mature kn wledge

r as opposed to elementa y knowledge . The w'ord , wvev a ruco i i fo r Te O u s used a s an equivalent AGL l. ff Co r. : 1 . a o in the context o f I iii , and is ls put in

m o to m c. opposition j In a general way , the term “ ” mature mi ght be used to suit all the Pauline pa s i n hi o . . s n Co r. : sages J Weiss , Commentary I iii 3 po'i nts o ut that some o f the Stoics and Philo us e r e Aet os to describe the culminating period o f a good l ii . i 8 life Philo ( Leg . Al eg . , 59 ) puts it after the ' ’ ' x rr w two earlier phrases o f 6 apxouevos a n d 6 vrpo o r v. En che i ri do n Epictetus , in The throws some light on ’ 7 5 r e Aew 1 s Co r. : 0 , which in I xiii , Paul cont'rasts W’ i e L 7 6 tc n . o T Mw ith e nepovs . He also sheds light o 1 m of Philipians iii : 5. In both these passages the ter T RELATION OF ST . PAUL o MYSTERY RELIGIONS 59

e seems to have an anticipatory m aning , for the Apostle has just spoken of himsel f as having not reache d the goal . Epictetus applies the term to the man who has s et out on the true path and who is still advancing . He w arns against not making any progress . This seems

’ to be s trictly in accord with the Apostle s usage o f the w n term . In vie o f the associatio s with the

r Myste y Religions , which the communities had , to w hich Paul is speaking, it is only fair to suppose that the Mystery atmo sphere had some inﬂuence upon him though no deﬁnite conclusions can be reached as to i how far Paul agrees with the Mys tery deas .

ﬁa The term wve u is employed in the Epistles more

o ne than hundred and ﬁ fty times , and in all but about thirty it refers to the direct inﬂuence of God . It is

c the Divine response to faith in Christ cru iﬁed , risen

o a : 1 0 and alive for evermore . In R m ns viii 9 , , he

a l n identifies the wvefiu with the i ndewe l i g Christ . “ But ye are not in the flesh but in the spirit , i f so S be that the pirit of God dwelleth in you . But i f any n man has not the spirit of Christ he is one o f his .

And i f Christ is in you , the body is dead because o f sin ; but the Spirit is life becaus e of righteousness . The new life o f the Christian may be regarded as

eﬁa wv u in contrast with because the Spirit s o trans forms the inner life that it becomes one with

r veﬁa the Divine life of Christ . Sometimes the p seems to stand for merely the inn er li fe of man with

e out any special re ference to Divin inspiration , so I “ m n . : a Cor ii I I What man knoweth the thin”gs of , except the spirit of man which i s in him . ’ Paul s use o f the wo rd ra ve in this circle o f ideas 60 ST . PAUL AND TH E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

to i ha s the seems be a little perplex ng , but generally

meaning given to it in the popular usage of the period ,

i s o f a to that , the power j udging th t which belongs

n i s t the inner life . Whe this j udgment true to i sel f ,

l i o f the a s ns it wil dec de in favor Divine law , in Roma “ oﬁ V ii : 2 : o f v s 5 So then , I myself with the indeed ,

o f God c a } the serv”e the law , but with the p; law o f S i s a s in . That , apart from Divine inﬂuence with

o l vo ﬁ ﬁ a w Go d s my v q I serve the of , but if the

ﬁa i s not enlivened by the Divine wve u it will be

i vo ii limited by ts ﬂeshy asso c iations . The s provides

ﬁa the basis for th e action o f the Divine wve u . So in Romans he speaks o f the renewing o f the voiis i 1 ff X v : . and in I Cor . 3 , he distinguishes between

o fia wvefia o 6 oii u wve u y u and v s y , u denoting hi s n S vofis o d inner life the inspire ide , while the denotes coo l j udgm ent which regulates spiritual ex

e ri en i n p ces with a view to pract cal u ity . It must

r 1 6 o s : Co . : be noted that in R man xi 34 and I ii , Paul

o f x1: 1 a quotes the LXX . Isaiah 3 , ret ining the ex ' ’ vo zi x i ov oﬁi LXX s v v . pression p , s be ng the translation ‘ ’ o f e ua the Hebr w rauch , which is us lly rendered

a wueﬁu . Rei tzenstein a sserts that the various uses o f wveﬁua ’ in Paul s Epistles are all to be found in the Hellen

i s ti c rel i o a a s the ig us documents . He m int in that antithesis between wvevua rucbs and «Irvxucbe was ’ current be fore Paul s time ; that r vevua rmbs wa s a deﬁnite religious conception i n the myste ry faiths ; a nd

vo i that i s , had already been regarded as an important

f veﬁa . o n religious term , and the direct equivalent u “ i s e It noteworthy, that all the passag s in Paul can A A To T 6 1 REL TION OF ST . P UL MYS ERY RELIGIONS

be explained from Hellenistic usage ( particularly those in which we cannot decide whether he i s speaking

i efia o f the wvefiua o f ma n o r o f a Div ne wv u a s I ff o r. : a C v 4 ) . Whether all may be e sily understood ‘ ’ ‘ ’ us e e o r from the Hebfirew of rauch and n phesh , from the wve ua in the LXX the theologian must ” ’

Re i tz n i n . 1 0 . . e s te s . determine H . M . R p 4 Let us examine the evidence which Reitzenstein

wveﬁa f adduces . The term u is used in dif erent senses

- H veﬁa i i s in the Hellen stic mystery documents . u ’ ’ ' G a a a a xo ﬁa i a c o v contrasted with ma and plj : em fc u r ’ ' a r a a v xa ve ii xr i a v a n d a a p/ca i w ua ; s e e H . “ 1 Il ii a i . . 6 . ve s : M R page 3 u also used o f God Hail , Spirit that enters into me according to the Divine “ s e e ; . . . 1 . will , in graciousness H M R pa”ge 37 And straightaway enters the Divine Spirit . H . M . R . p .

1 v ﬁa i w e . 7 37 The u s also contrasted with l if t/X 5. H e Here Reitzenstein quotes Philo . admits that

h m z ﬁ e a i s w ile u used to describe the higher life , ’ ’ dr um') is also used in the same connection : c wa i ua m ‘ ' Be Oa oc it a l f v mz dew e 7 a d'a m Bava vra i o i y u i v u u , ' p p y - ’ - x v an e l; o a i a ri i i i/ re p xgj p u { s , s e e H . M . R . pages 1 - 6 4 5 . Reitzenstein quotes but o ne instance where the a d j e cti ve correspo nding to wveﬁua is employed in de

scribing the spiritually possessed person . Eros is

d a s o f o f ad ressed the lord all spiritual perception , ' ' i 7rda 7 wvev a r cf a i a a all h'dden things . 79 u u js di j ews ic vc twv wdvr w d v va s ee . . 1 p b f; H M . R . p 39 . With regard to the term xyvw s the adj ective correspo nd ' ‘ ’ rv t i Mi h r s li r i ing to y xj , Dietr ch , in his Eine t a tu g e

. s p 4 , cite the only place where it occurs in the extant ST A T ST E 6 2 . P UL AND H E MY ERY R LIGIONS

i f fragments . It s in a liturgical prayer o the Mithra r cult . The initiate , afte beholding God in a vision : o f l prays For today , I , a mortal born morta womb , exalted by Almighty power and incorruptible right hand , with immortal eyes shall behold my immortal

i o f spirit , the mmortal Aeon and Lord o f the crowns a ﬁre , I , who have been s nctiﬁed by sacred rites , while ' ' avd wm m s ov for a little , my human powers ( p j u

« r i d ew v uc s v s . j x j u ) stay behind Here , without doubt «Ir vxueijs re fers to human nature as distinct

wveﬁ C a s from u . The other passages Reitzen tein ites , are taken from Gnostic literature o f post - Christian date . XI

Appa rent Evidence of D o uble -P ers ona li ty Phra s es

E turn now to examine the phrases in Paul and the Mystery Religions which seem to give

- . : 20 evidence of double personality In Galatians ii , “ re d z I we a have been cruciﬁed with Christ ; ”and it is no longer I that live , but Christ liveth in me . But ’ this does not at all mean that Paul s life was disim “ te ra te d : g , for in the next line we read And that life i n which I now live the ﬂesh , I live in the faith which

i s o f and in the So”n God , who loved me gave himsel f me t up for . This is not Pantheism , for Pan heism identiﬁes all o f God with all o f the world and vice ’ versa , whereas in the passage quoted above , Paul s

identity is not lost i n the vague experience of God . Reitzenstein clai ms that he ﬁnds a double - personality

r in the initiates o f the Myste y Religions . In the

: i s Liturgy of Mithra , an aspirant cries out It not

r possible for me a mortal bo n , to rise up ”on high with o the g lden radiance o f the immortal light . He quiets his human nature while he attains the vision o f God i h i i e M thra s li tur . e . w t his Divine , see Ein g p 4 Reit z e ns te i n quo tes from a vision of the alchemist Zosi

mus - , who reﬂects the popular Mystery theology ' ' ' o i fya de o r es dvd am oc ci erﬁs 7 11 6 211 386 ei a e p p p 93 9 px ’ ' ' “ o vra foa l r i vo r a f O t y v t vrveéua ra (pv yo vres T a eli na . For the men who desire to reach virtue enter in here and 6 3 A S 6 4 ST . PAUL ND TH E MY TERY RELIGIONS

o . H become spirits , escaping from the b dy . M . R. 1 1 e to p . 4 . R itzenstein seeks a parallel the passage

s to n above quoted in the ﬁrst Epi tle the Corinthia s , m two . chapter Here , he clai s Paul uses the term ’ ‘ ’ r v ucos o f m d x in the sense the man pure and si ple , - ' ‘ ’ -nd o n a the wvevua ra c s i s o longer man at all . But there does no t seem to be any evidence here at all that

i s a s i s any ecstatic state implied , the case in the

Th s s e s i n f th e . e o s o o u r e d j o “ P ns “ v m Mysteries p u p o n aul w is the t s tia q 50 the . z i . ‘ w b us he d to O COii rs e parallel cannot e p o far. f it must m i be borne in ind that the exerc se o f special gifts , such as prophecy and speaking with tongues were due

o f a nd a to the act the Spirit, prob bly to these gifts were due the e cstatic character which wa s manifested in the phenomena . But Paul always subordinated these “ o f o to the permanent fruits ”the Spirit, love , j y, peace , - ff . long su ering , gentleness

a a us e P ul occasionally adopts from the LXX . o f which may indicate that he and his readers were

' u No w t familiar with the sage . in the Herme ic litera

veﬁa voﬁ s i w nd ture , s used as a synonym for u a

Po im ndre 1 02 n i o a s . ut in the p , Reitze stein po nts that ‘ 0 vofi s i s de s c ribed o d And the g gy v o . again , j m sfl w aw g i x “ fi vo s All who are baptised'in the , these partake o f e ud a te a nd Te7t emi dvd w‘rroc x become p , having received vofi H . . . 1 6 t s . o the , M . R p 5 Hence , it appears be a

ma s a a ha s Thus far , then , we y y th t Reitzenstein produced evidence which will warrant the conclusion tha t in the H ell e nisti c Mystery Religions vrveﬁp a

XII

’ he L e di n once ti ons o St P a ul s Thou h T a g C p f . g t A re R o o ted i n the Old Tes ta me nt

T is not too strong to s a y that most o f the lea ding ’ I conceptions in this particular range o f Paul s religious thought are rooted in the Old Testament . ‘ ’ ‘ ha s s The Hebrew word, basar, meaning ﬂesh, a p y cho lo gi ca l connotation in such passages a s Job iv : 1 5 ‘ : 26 : 2 : Ezek . xxxvi , lxxxiv and in some cases ﬂesh is used o f man in contrast with God to emphasize the ’ k s s o : former s wea nes and dependence , Psalm lvi 4 , t i s 6 : . s : . Isaiah xl , Jer xvii 5 Here , no doub , the oil

f a d . fro'm which Paul extracts his notion o pf This cm u pf with its conseq ent evils , the Apostle maintains , ' wvefz a ﬁa the wve can be overcome by u , The u as the indwellin g Spirit o f Go d o r Christ is als o capable o f being traced back to the Old Testament ‘ ’ wa s a s conception of rauch , which regarded the

instrument of Divine revelation in general , and even

-s : the endowment for special function , as Isaiah lxi

- 1 . n o a 4 Wheeler Robi son in his bo k , The Christi n 1 2 O Doctrine of Man , p . 5, states that in the ld Testa ’ “ ment man s relation to Go d is conceived along two

n o f o f Go d principle lines amely , that the Spirit acting

o r i more less ntermittently and externally upon man ,

a s and th t o f spiritual fellow hip with God , which 66 ’ r LEADI N G CON CEPTIONS o ST . PAUL S THO UGHT 6 7

o n a o f sought realizati in m ny ways . Paul , because his personal experience o f Christ was able to unite

these lines .

’ Paul s use o f wveﬁp a denoting the inner life of

i 18 man , apart from its Div ne elements , also traceable

to Old Testament usage . Rau ch and nephesh are e used interchangeably esp cially after the Exile . In “ Isaiah xxvi : 9 we read : With my soul have I desired thee in the night , yea”, with my spirit within me will

s n . Old I eek thee ear estly Likewise , the Testament

. Si ni usage of nephesh , g fying the life principle in itsel f and as a basis of individuality furnishes the source f ’ ﬁ o wve a a ntithe Paul s religious use o f p , and of the ' ' ' L xr s i s between e v/ a mcos and I vXt/cos .

vofz The term s in the Pauline sense , does not

s eem to be s o clearly traceable to the Old Testament . ’ ’ f xa BLa o ut i s Paul s usage o p , a s Kennedy points ‘ ’ u O “ y obs synonomo s with the ld Testament leb . But

as Paul puts it , has a far more limited signiﬁcance ‘ ’ ‘ ’ than the Old Testament leb . The term leb in Judges

: 20 o xviii , which Kennedy qu tes , seems to signify the

o f h o f the seat the emotions , rat er than the seat intel ' ’ o vve t S o t lect . Also the term n s which belongs to the

o f s vocabulary Greek philosophy , seem to indicate the ’ inﬂuence of contemporary usage upo n Paul s psycho ’ oﬁ lo i ca l R e itz ens te in s i o n v s terminology . citat of as an equivalent of n od / y a seems to have more

force than Kennedy is disposed to give it . Kennedy m aintains that Paul is quoting from the LXX . and “ cannot th”ere fore be made the basis of any general h f u ypothesi s . But there are three kinds o q otations

to which Paul resorts . He either quotes directly from 68 ST . PAUL AND THE MYSTERY RELIGIONS

. h the Hebrew , or directly from the LXX , but w en these do not meet hi s requirement he puts the thought

s s o he wishes to expre s , into his own language , we

the must conclude that in this case , when Paul q uotes l . a LXX , he was fu ly s tisﬁed with it or he would ha ve m odiﬁed it . Paul wa s well aware o f the existence o f ecstatic experiences in the Myste ry- cults which bore s ome

ne w i n relation to the Chr stia n e thusiasm . In I Cor . if xii . : I he re fers to these ecsta tic sta tes a s being

hi s known to readers while they were yet Gentiles , and suggests a te st whereby they may distinguish the se o f o from the Spirit the t'rue G d . In this connection s e Xo f o vai o em f Paul u s the term y s y s , the word o

’ h l e r véxa ts k o w e dg . This word y sta nds out very

r P e prominently in the Myste y Religions . In the a py

rus n en Mima t , Reitz stein points out an illustration o f the us e o f gnosis in connection with the Hermetic

- the a n Mystery literature . By aid of Latin tra slation

the - u found in Asclepius o f Pseudo Ap leius , he has

succeeded in reco nstructing the Greek text . The f r Highest i s given thanks by the worshippers o” grac i o s l a u y gr nting them the light of knowledge , which h a s been bestowed upon them in order th”at knowing

H . . thee truly we may rej oice . . M R i n 1 1 . e p . 3 Hav ng bee sav d by thee we rejoice that

f us thou didst reveal thysel to wholly , we rej oice that i us wh le in o”ur bodies thou didst deify in the sight o f k s f thysel f . Then after further than giving ollows “ : H s t the closing pe tition aving thus wor hipped hee , n s s s we have made o req uest o f thy goodne , but thi hear our supplication that we should not fall a wa y ’ N LEADI G CON CEPTIONS OF ST . PAUL S THOUGHT 69

from this manner o f li fe . Compare this with the

im n r o 8 . prayer Reitz enstein cites in P a d e s p . 33 Listen to me when I pray that I ma y no t fall away from knowledge and strengthen me and ﬁll me with this grace that I may enlighten those in igno r

m n r s Po i a d e 6 . ance . Also another pas age in s p . 33 “ This i s the blessed issue for those who have attained ’ ' r - d wd v véso t e a c. y s , to be deiﬁed ﬁ From these quota tions it follows that in the Herme tic literature

‘ «yué wts means th e apprehension of God which results

i s s i in salvation . It the mean of attain ng to the high

o f vé o est p int attainable by the initiated . The y ts i d s accompanied by the powers o f Go . So in the hy'mn o f regeneration the i nitiate invokes the v a y s te ' o s f voi o ts d i a to j in with him in praise , he appeals to y y hi as the source o f s illumination . ' '’ The term eEo vo ta i s used in magical literature to denote supernatural po wer dependent upon super

natural knowledge . So we also ﬁnd 7 1”: a used in " “ ' magical formulae I am he whom . . thou didst ' f vé mts i - grant the y o f his m ghty n”ame , which I shall 1 2 keep secret, sharing it with no one . H . M . R . p . 3'. P n r i n ar d . In o ima d e s p . 337 emphasis s laid o v a The “ earth born who have given themselves over ’ '' cu o t a f o r) dea r} to drunkeness and slumber and v , - are admoni s hed to be sober ( inﬁrm e) and quite the

spell o f unthinking sleep . Compare this with I Cor . “ énv x a re u : . xv 34 Awake to ( ﬁp ) soberness , righteo s”

l s in no t . y, and ; for some have no knowledge of God ’ '’ Reitzenstein contends that since cwvwo ta is a positive a nd as conception in both cases , since in both c es ’ ' cv a ta a nd v ew i n a v ﬁd occur the s me context , Paul TH E 70 ST . PAUL AND MYSTERY RELIGIONS

must have been inﬂuenced by th e Hellenistic - litera ture . Kennedy , on the contrary thinks there is nothing

o o f extraordinary in this j uxtap sition the two words , 1 ﬁ : and cites Thessalonians v 4 . as a parallel . But it is to be noted that in the latter passage the word ’ a m a n i o t . s v is used There , however a passage in ” Wf x11 1 o : the isdom Solomon , where the word is

used in the same sense in which Paul uses it . Reitz e ns te in quotes from a doctrinal treatise o f the Ophite “ : o o f sect of the Peratae , which begins I am the v ice ” » n awakening from sleep in the aeo o f the night . Kennedy thinks this passage and similar passages in Po ima ndre s Show evidence o f semi - Christian Gno s ti

ci s m , rather than that Paul was inﬂuenced by the

A no s to s Hellenistic literature . Norden , in his g Theos ,

6 e z i ha s pp . 5, , holds that R it enste n conclusively proved by a great number of examples that the Her metic - literature was no t inﬂue nced by Chri stian

thought , but even though Reitzenstein had not proved

os it , Norden says it would be imp sible to suppose that Chris tian li terature had any inﬂuence o n the Hermetic - O literature , for the thought expressed in the de in ’ i c ‘ co nte n question s distin tly unchristian . Norden s ’ - ’ ov t tion is that the theme o f v o a . is associated with a stereotyped form o f mission ary discourse belonging

to Hellenistic religion . A fter examining the evidence w wa s we may conclude that St . Paul a s a man who thoroughly awake to all that was taking place about

i s him , consequently it not improbable that he made use o f a well known formo f discourse through which

o n he expressed his w message .

R e . . . . 1 eitz nstein , H M R p 33 , states that the ’ A G P S A S G 1 LE DIN CON CE TION OF ST . P UL THOU HT 7

‘ ﬁa n r w e i s a yvéun s H em? as an inﬂuence which produces v p , O i rienta l Mystery Religion concept on , and owing to the similarity between Paul and the Mystery - Religions

‘ in the pneumatic circle o f ideas , he thinks the

’ Apostle s use of wa n ts is due to the inﬂuence o f the ' r z éi o ts Mystery Religions . Paul certainly regarded y as

: 2 : a a gift o f grace . Thus in I Cor . xiii if I h ve ' r c prophecy and know all p vd ﬂ jpt a and all yvcb n s . In

’ : 8 o i e ve a r a . , ﬁp I Cor xii we ﬁnd it ass ciated w th py ' ’ r a e Ovvdp ecov wpo dme t and other gifts . We may agr e with Reitzenstein that for never me ans

merely rational knowledge .

In some passages , Paul subordinates knowledge to

: 1 - fo r love . In I Cor . viii 3 instance , where he

r addresses the stronger Ch istians at Corinth , who “ d think they all have knowledge . He says : Knowle ge

ff iﬁe hﬁ e d t pu eth up , but love I f any man thinketh

that he knoweth anything, he knoweth not yet as he o u th ; a g to know bu”t if any man loveth God , the s me n n is k own by him . Love conditio s mutual under

standing between man and his God . This love is

o f A s fellowship spirit . still more triking passage is “ i : 8- 1 0 : that o f Philipp ans iii Yea verily , and I call things to be loss for the excellency o f the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I suffered the loss ma of all things , and do count them but refuse that I y hi m gain Christ , and be found in not having a right

eo us ne s o wn s o f my , even that which is in the law ,

the but that which is in faith through Christ , right

e o usne s s which is in God by faith . Compare this with such a passage from the Myste ry Religions a s “

t x . 1 : Corp . Herme , , 5 For God does not ignore man , S ST 72 T . PAUL AND TH E MY ERY RELIGIONS but thoroughly knows and desires to be Fo r known by him . this alone is salvation for man , - ” f v o the y éi te o f God . The question which naturally ’ arises i s ; wa s Paul s us e o f «yr/ {oa ts inﬂuences by the r o r e O Myste y religions , can it be trac d back to the ld

Testament . The conception which the prophets o f the Old

Testament had concerning knowledge o f God , was

‘ o f something experimental . Any number passages f might be quoted in substantiation o this . In Isaiah “ xi : 2 we read : And the spirit o f Jehovah shall rest

S i unde rta ndin the upon him , the pirit o f w sdom and g ,

S a nd the pirit o f council mi”ght , Spirit o f knowledge and the fear o f Jehovah ; Hosea ii : 20 : I will even betroth thee unto me in faith fulness and thou shalt — ” i ’ o f a know Jehovah . In view Paul s close ssociation

O i s u with the ld Testament though , it seless to deny ' ’ ' that the Apostle s us e o f ryvém tst wa s inﬂuenced by the “ ”“ ” ideas contained in the Hebrew words dath , Jehovah But on the other hand it appears eq ually certain that Paul presupposed a knowledge o f the terms and its implications On the part o f hi s hearers through the

- medium O f the Mystery Religions . We have already seen that for the Mys tery- cults ryvéi cn s wa s the medium through which ma n becomes deiﬁed . It is also true o f these cults that when the - knowledge and vision ma fi a s r xa i o f the Divine light i s o f received , all the senses the body are dormant .

The vision enlarges the whole inner li fe , drawing the

a s an soul out of the body it were , d trans forming it ’ ’ ’ o zz a into m . Compare this with a passage in Dei tri ch s Mithr litur i e 1 a s d . . : o o Eine g , p 4 Gaze up n the G

T S 74 S . PAUL AND TH E MY TERY RELIGION S

2 : 1 6 - h . . Wt e liturgie In Cor iv , the passage here ‘ ’ S i s u piritual organism introduced , are fo nd these “ : o ur i s e t words But though outward man d”ecaying, y o ur n re i ward man is renewed day by day . This

the newal , o f course stands in close relation with ’ ‘ ’ i n the believer s pneumatic li fe , which ﬁnally issues ' ' G a a wvev a ruco s . . 1 m p . Reitzenstein ( H . M . R p 77) makes an interesting re ference to an idea brought o ut

‘ Zo s imus whi ch i by the alchemist , ass gns to the inner ' c li fe of every man a xa i wvevua ruco; dvdpwn os . o i s Be fore proceeding any farther , h wever , it nece ssary to point o ut that whatever similarity o f thought may be traced o ut between Paul and the

n o n o o f two Mystery Religio s this p int , the aim the

f r is quite dif erent . In the Myste y Religion , the emphasis is laid on the quasi - magical transmutation the of essence , while Paul puts in the foreground S moral igniﬁcance O f the process . Yet , there does ’ appear to be a difﬁculty regarding the A'postle s state

ev a o . me nts concerning the G ama. wv p ruc s In such

: 2 1 a passage as Philippians iii , we Observe he says

hi s o s Christ , at c ming is to trans form the earthly bodie o f hi s believers . This will result in assimilation to ’ ‘ a é a i So a . p , the characteristic of which s f Even

o f l as we have borne the image the ”earthly , we sha l f : . also bear the image o the heavenly . I Cor . xv 4 9 ' ' But certainly the idea o f the a d ma wvevp a rucos

o f is based upon his conceptio n the exalted Christ ,

o f us the which , course , immediately takes back to

o n vision the Damascus road . The two passages which Reitzenstein cites in sub ’ s ta nti a ti on o f his view that the c oma wveva a rmos ha s ’ LEADING CON CEPTIONS OF ST . PAUL S THOUGHT 75

P im n r o a d e s . i ts roots in the Mystery Religions , ( See p Show very little evidence o f the Pauline con cep ff tion . J . Weiss gives several extracts which a ord a

e . . : I g reat d al more evidence In Corp . Hermet , xiii 4 , a fter Tat has been regenerated he inquires whether

’ o oi u a his trans formed j will ever be dissolved . He is

a ssured by his father, that though his former body was

e i s ubject to dissolution , his pres nt body , com ng from “

i . the true being is mmortal You do not recogniz”e 9 t hat you are now e and a child of the One .

Here it must be remarked , however , that the notion

o f l the comp ete trans formation, making subj ect a god , ’ ﬁnds little parallel in Paul s thought . The other passage is in an opening prayer O f the Liturgy of

M . s ithra A fter the initiate has addres ed the elements , he then appeals to “ my perfected body formed b i y a glorious arm n the world”which is unlighted , f and in that which is full o light . Here the appeal o f the prayer i s made be fore the regenerating process

has begun , but as Weiss points out , in these passages “ ” we get the notion of a supra earthly body . The natural inference which it seems can be drawn f rom this exami nation o f facts which we have made

o f o f e the relation Paul to the Mystery t rminology ,

is simply this . The parallels which exist between Paul a nd the Mystery terminology enable his hearers to

o f grasp the meaning the new faith , which is rooted i n i i Judaism , but which has fallen into new l ngu stic m l olds through contact with contemporary re igions , w ith which they are acquainted . XIII

Ba pti s ma l Ri tes Of P a ga n R eligi ons

ET us no w turn to an examination o f the baptism

o f a l rites of pa gan religions . Rites puriﬁcation

Eleus mi a n existed in all ancient religions . In the ‘ s e a ci Aa Be mysteries , the bath of cleansing in the , wa s p oa ra i played a prominent pa rt . A similar rite O . observed by the , rphic cult Part of the ceremonies connected with Is is consisted in sprinkling the neo

phyte . Tertullian distinctly asserts , ( De Bapt . , 5) that the idea o f regeneration was associated wi th these

ou r o f ceremonies O f puriﬁcation , but knowledge the rites o f baptism in connection with the Mystery

i s i s o f Religions very meagre . It worthy notice , that an examination o f the Mystery literature which ha s to come down us , results in no evidence whatever O f ‘ ’ baptism into the name o f an y of the Mystery deities . a nd s Heitmuller others , empha ize the fact that Paul associates the rite o f baptism with the death and a nd resurrection O f Jesus , would compare this with

to i i s the the idea of dying live , wh ch found in

i r Mystery Religions . But the evidence s ve y scanty, u and besides , it m st be admitted that the Pauline s a u o f conception O f the de th and res rrection Jesus , and the corresponding conceptions in the Mystery f n rituals , are quite di fere t . In the Paris Papyrus 76 BAPTISMAL RITES OF PAGAN RELIGIONS 77

i s o ut ( No . 4 7) a passage pointed by Kennedy, P . 2 1 am oa vezv 3 , in which it is possible to associate ’

l a n r i eo da i . direct y with B é Apollonius , a novice in

the temple of Serapis at Memphis , uses the words in

a . a letter addressed to his spiritual advisor , Ptolem eus The closing words o f the letter -are : xa i o i} Ovvdti e'da ’ ’ e o o wﬁi va t To re cwro da vei v [ca l 78 9 37 6 h h ev , 37 p p j

’ a n n é eﬂa Pto le ﬁ , é p Apollonius has j ust reproached

mac us and the gods for delaying his full initiation , and quotes some words which Ptolemaeus had used in reference to a warning which came to him in a

dream . Reitzenstein ( H . M . R . p . 77 ) interprets the ‘ ’ ’ words we cannot die of Ptolemaeus warning, that

death is the penalty o f premature initiatio n . Then “ Apollonius s a y-s : I f yo u see that we are destined t”o attain salvation , then we may proceed to baptism . Reitzenstein ﬁnds a parallel to this in the case o f

o f Lucius Cenchreae , where the spiritual father of Lucius informs him that it is death for those who go forward to initi ation without the call o f the god m i dess . But seeing in a drea that salvat on is destined

fo r o f Lucius , he admits the latter to the initiation ,

i z e n which baptism is the preliminary part . Here Re t

’ dwo da vei v n m no a n n d eﬁa stein takes as s y o o us with B é m but this i s the only trace o f such a conception

of baptism found in Hellenism, as Reitzenstein him i ‘ sel f states . Here bapt sm is regarded a s working ex ’ e o f op re operato . But Paul has no such conception

r . Fo r i s the ite Paul , salvation Obtained by a right l to i re ation God through faith in Chr st , cruciﬁed and risen again as a demonstration o f the marvelous love o f Go d m n : 1 mani fested towards e . In Romans v , S A G 78 T . P UL AND TH E MYSTERY RELI IONS

we ﬁnd a statement o f all tha t i s necessary for salva ‘ “

: . tion There fore , having been j ustiﬁed by faith , we

o ur have peace with God through Lord Jesus Christ ,

through whom also , we have Obtained access into the grace in which we sta n

WWe are not saved by any external baptism , e hich is accompanied by new birth . In

i s - the other words , baptism not inevitable means of n salvation . The possession o f the Spirit is the i ev it “ i i the able cond t on o f Christian li fe . I f any man

n o t o f have” the Spirit Christ , he does not belong to o n him , Romans viii ; 9 . In the Mystery doctrine ,

the contrary, there does not seem to be any hint that ' the Di vine wveiJ/t a is ever co nnected wi th the ritual

o f lustra tion . The closest analogy to Christian baptism which c a n n n be fou d in the Mystery Religio s is the taurobolium ,

o i o r o f already re ferred to . The taur bol um , the bath

blood put the idea o f regeneratio n in the foreground . ‘ Various inscriptions speak of the baptized a s in ’ n aeternum re a tus . The descent into the pit seems to

h o f ave symbolized the burial the old li fe , and the wa s votary , coming up from the bloody baptism , ‘ feasted as a god and spoken o f a s born again for ’ to eternity . Cornford ( From Religion Philosophy “ p . re fers to this rite as that passionate sym ’ pathetic contemplation ( Bempi a ) in which the spec GM tator M ”, dies in his i n death , and rises again his new birth . Some have also thought that a formula which has come down ’ - o f n a ex To i duve t) to us from Clement Alexa dri , m BAPTI S MAL RITES OF PAGAN RELIGION S 79

' ’ ' ’ - v é o v ele Kv . oixo v elce voc d a a in ro TOv r a m oi} a y p B p p pn ,

1571 suggests a sacred meal , in which the parti

c ipa nt entere d into communion with the li ving de ity . O But this is only an hypothesis . Cumont , ( riental

ii e 6 6 . Religions , p . ) thinks the rite originally b longed

e to the worship o f the P rsian goddess , Anahita , who was closely associated with Mithra in the religion O f

the Achaemenidae , and was assimilated to Cybele in

the mi r . Asia Minor, soon after ddle of the ﬁrst centu y o f Here , course , the evidence is scarcely strong enough to warrant us in using it as the doctrine of the Mystery m Religions on im ortality prior to Paul . XIV

Sa criﬁcia l Mea ls i n R ela ti on to the Mys ter R eli i ons y g

THOROUGH consideration o f the subj ect O f sacra A mental meals i n their relation to the Myste ry R eligions i s also greatly handicapped by the lack o f evidence . The several extant fragments we possess , an o n which have y bearing the subj ect , have in many cases been exaggerated . The Eleusinian fragment preserved by Clement, ( See Kennedy , Paul and Myst .

i des c ri Rel . p . s interpreted by some as being a p tion O f a sa cra ment in which the initiate drunk from d the same cup a s the go dess Demeter . This fragment u and the other Clementine form la , already re ferred to t , seem to indicate that hese actions were symbolical o f no new life , but there is explicit evidence that they n were i tended to be sacraments . The passage cited “ Mithr li r i a s tu e . 1 0 by Dietrich , ( Eine g , p 5) lengthen ing o ut a life of purity from the day that I became a n initiate o f the Idaean Zeus and a herdsman o f

- t i Z o f o f night om ”ng agreus , a celebrant the meal i s raw ﬂesh , in all probability , a re ference to the ancient Dionysiac orgies in which the votaries , in their frenzied state laid hold upon the sacriﬁ cial victim and devoured it raw . Dietrich and Heitmuller have collected evidence in

o f o f -n o d support the idea communi g with the g , by 80

2 A A 8 ST . P UL ND TH E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

this do , as O ften as ye drink it in remembrance o f

me . For as Often as ye eat this bread and drink the

’ ’ e cup , y proclaim the Lord s death until he come . O Prof . Percy Gardner of xford holds that the words , “ I receive”d o f the Lord also that which I delivered unto you , re fer to a vision which Paul had received . i Most exegetes , however , rej ect this v ew . There can be no doubt but what Paul means that he is practicing a custom which has been i ns itute d by the Lord Jesus ’ Lo rd s Su e r himself . For Paul , the pp was a sacrament u thoro ghly ethical , grounded in genuine religious ’ faith . It commemorated Christ s death and announced

his death to the world . It wa s the setting forth o f his b e death in symbolic form as expiatory , in which li e v e rs participated in the beneﬁts of hi s expi ato ry a de th , and in which believers held living fellowship

hi s with him by the power o f Spirit , through faith , and in which believers also looked forward to meet n Christ in heave . In I Corinthians we ﬁnd three pa ssages which throw ’ ’

n o r. light o Paul s idea of the Lord s Supper . I C

- - - : 1 : 1 2 2 : 1 . x 5, x 4 , xi 7 34 In the ﬁrst passage , the Apostle merely remi nds them that the chosen peopl e

n r no twiths ta nd have e j oyed ma velous privileges , but

ing , they fell into idolatry and impurity , for which

o ff reason God cast them . So Christians are also i capable o f being seduced into heathen pract ces , con ’ sequently , let them beware . The Lord s Supper and ’ Bapti sm are typical o f God s favor under the ne w

Go d. covenant , but they do not insure acceptance with “ O ur fathers were all under the cloud , and all passed through the sea and were all baptized unto Moses in SA CRIFI CIAL M EALS 83 the cloud and in the sea ; and did all eat the same Spiritual food and di d all drink the same spiritual drink , for they drank O f a spiritu”al rock that followed k them and the roc was Christ . The Apostle here i merely means , that the Divine prov sion for food was no safeguard against idolatry . In other words , the sacrament does not work ex opere operato , as seems to ‘ ’ be implied in the pagan idea of eating the god . “ -2 b e Co r. : 1 1 : In I x 4 we read Wherefore , my loved , ﬂee from idolatry . I speak as to wise men ; i j udge ye what I s a y. The cup o f blessing wh ch we

i s o f o f ? bless , it not a communion the blood Christ

e no t The br ad which we break , is it communion o f the

o f ? body Christ seeing that we , who are many , are

: o f o ne one bread , one body for we all partake the n bread . Behold Israel after the flesh : have o t they that eat the sacrifices communion with the altar ? What say I then ? that a thing sacrificed to idols i s

o r ? th e anything, that an idol is anything But I say , things which the Gentiles sacriﬁce , they sacriﬁce to demon s and no t to God : and I would not that ye S hould have communion with demons . Ye cannot drink the cup o f the Lord and the cup o f demons ' f f ye cannot partak”e o the table o the Lord and the o f table demons . Here the Apostle Openly charges with idolatry those Christians who have participated

o f To in the sacriﬁcial meals the pagans . share in

o f n the table the Lord , according to Paul , mea s to

a o f particip te the bread and wine , and this is described as communion with the body and bloo d o f Jesus . But no t d o f the bo y and blood Jesus as such , is partaken

no t hi s c Of by the believers , huma n person as cru iﬁed ST T T R N 84 . PAUL AND H E MYS ERY ELIGIO S

‘ find o n the cross . We never Paul speaking o f eating ’ ‘ ’ the body and drinking the blood o f Christ . This e idea is wholly lacking in Hebrew thought . Mor over, ‘ ’ ‘ h a nd t e phrases , drinking the cup of demons par ’ a t aking of the t ble of demons , appears to indicate t hat Paul regarded the pagan gods a s being hosts at the sacrificial meals . This harmonizes with a passage - n Re co niti on 1 es . in the Pseudo Cleme tine g ( ii , 7 ) 2 quoted by Kennedy p . 73 . Every one who worships ns o r those whom the paga call gods , tastes meat ” “ ” “ fi i s o f n h s sacri ced to them a guest demo s , and a fellowship with that demon . whose aspect he ha”s hi s o r . fashioned in mind , whether from fear love

i s a ev ide nce ha s There no cle r , then , that Paul bor a rowed from the pagan ide of the sacrament . The o r 2 ff h C . : . a s third passage , I xi 3 , a lready been con i s de re d. hi s It proves conclusively , that Paul derives authority to administer the Lord ’s Supper from the o f f words and actions Jesus himsel . XV

Conclus i ons

N the previous part of this paper we h a ve exa mined hi the facts regarding St . Paul and s relation to the

Mystery Religions . In this concluding section we will endeavor to draw the conclusions which the facts seem d ha s to warrant . Ample evi ence been adduced to ’ Show th e relation of the Mystery Religi on to Paul s O environment . wing to the fact that many o f the converts o f Paul were reared in the atmosphere of the a the Pag n Mysteries , it seems inevitable that wide awake Apostle to the Genti les wa s well in formed a s - to doctrine o f these Mysteries , in order to help

o v e r ‘ h i r diﬂi lti e his converts t e cu s . Sometimes such ' ' f é w e o Trv v a r cd a s v w Te lk t e u s . words y s , p , etc , were n o f b e ri n found , which Paul recog ized were capable a g

S o f wa s real piritual content , and thus a point contact i i n d scovered for presenting the true relig o . What was true regarding separate terms , may also be said to have been true occasionally regarding certai n groups o f ideas . The mystery idea o f trans formation by the

‘ knowledge O f Go d seems to ﬁnd a close parallel i n “ : I O : Philippians iii , where the Apostle says That I may know him , and the power of his resurrection , and

hi s ff the fellowship O”f su erings , becoming con formed i . s r unto his death It ve y dangerous , however, to dogmatize with respect to how far Paul was inﬂuenced 85 A A T G 86 ST . P UL ND H E MYSTERY RELI IONS

fo r from the mystery terminology, it may safely be said that the domi nating conceptions which actuated f the Mystery Religions , were di ferent from those in i which Paul moved . There s no parallel in the

mysteries to the Cross O f Christ , as it ﬁgures in the

’ Pauline sense . There is also no parallel in Paul s

. to o f doctrine , the idea union with deity as it ﬁgures

two - in the mysteries . The fold element of faith ,

‘ ’ S la r e in t which looms up O g Paul s doctrine , ﬁrst , fai h o n the part o f the individual to receive the promises o f

- . Go d an almighty and an all loving , and second , faith , o n the part O f the surrendered soul to appeal to God

‘ o f hi s for the fulﬁllment promises . This seems to be

f r lacking in the structure o th e Myste y Religions . For ’ e Paul , Baptism and the Lord s Supp r did not work e automatically , whereas , the n arest approach to these

rites , which we were able to ﬁnd in the Mystery i R a . eligions , had a m gical s gniﬁcance ’ The center o f Paul s religious history is rooted in

hi s o n experience the road , above the gates O f Damas ‘ ’ cu s a o . This real , vital cont ct with the L rd of glory ,

r S o f wrought a t ans formation in the oul the Apostle , ‘ ’ s o no w s a i s Chi‘ i s t marvelous , that he can y, he in ‘ ’

2 : a nd . : ( Cor . v Christ is in him ( Gal i H i s expe rience transcends all spatial a nd tempo ral ‘ ’ i s forms , it an ideal relation with the risen Christ ,

m o f bearing him into the real the Eternal Reality , i - f a s and producing such a l fe enhancing, a ter value , i h s o h i . to impart to teachings , a vig rous et ical qual ty Each succeeding vi sion only served to deepen hi s “ So n o f Go d who a nd faith in the” , loved me gave him fo r : o f sel f me ( Gal . ii This Ethical Idealism CON CLUS ION S 87

i a the Apostle , s the Divine answer to f ith , impelled by f o . a love , responsive to the redeeming love the cross “ I have been cruciﬁed with Chris”t and it is no longer : I that live but Christ liveth in me , ( Gal . ii This is a fellowship which involves the exercise O f will , and cannot be identiﬁed with the idea of absorption in the deity , which is found in the Mystery Religions . Paul

S o f n never loses ight the existe ce of the independent ,

: 1 - 1 6 : human personality . In Romans viii 5 , he says

O f re You did not receive the spirit bondage again , s ulting in fear ; but you received the spirit of adoption s whereby we cry , Abba , Father . The Spirit it elf bear”s f w o ur a re O . itness with spirit , that we children God This passage is the key to the Apostle ’s conception o f

e our r lationship to God . We are the children of God .

This implies intimate , personal , conscious , free rela ti o ns hi i s p , in a word , it an idealistic in contrast to a pantheistic relationship to God . Schweitzer lays a very peculiar emphasis upon the

“ eschatology o f Paul , which he claims arises out o f f o I n . his conception union with Christ . his book , St

a nd o o ut Paul His Interpreters , he p ints the contrast ’ o f between Paul s conception union with Christ , which a nd i we have stated above , the dea in the Mystery

Religions , namely , that the Divine essence passes into o f ma n f the soul the living , by means o gnosis and the

’ n Go d visio of . He then goes o n to interpret Paul s conception in the light o f his theo ry o f Consistant

. Eschatology The point which interests us , is the ’ fact that Paul s eschatology i s not due to the inﬂuence ’ of the Mystery Religions . The Apostle s idea o f

i id ntiﬁ union with Chr st may be said to be a willing e ST 88 . PAUL AND TH E MYSTERY RELIGIONS

e cation with the death of Christ , responsive to the lov

a S . of the cross , accomp nied by cessation from in “ i n n m Paul certainly had ” mind the glorious co s u n f i s a n matio o the future , but it equ lly certai that

he presents no ﬁxed program o f events for that future .

wa s Death , for him , a passing from the present life

n r into the presence of the livi g Lord . Life in Ch ist

meant for him , continued personal existence beyond ” e o f the conﬁn s space and time , in conformity with “ i Fo r the life o f the glor ﬁed Lord . i f we have become

o f hi s S united with him in the likeness death”, we hall o f hi s e a be also in the likeness r surrection , Rom ns

vi : 5. Our investigation ha s resulte d in the discovery that there is nothing in Paul which ma y not be traced to n o n r Judaism or the visio the Damascus oad . At the ’ i o ur a beg nning o f investigation , it appeared th t Paul s close and long continued contact with the Myste ry Religions wa s suggestive of early Christianity being no w a inﬂuenced by them , but it appears th t even where there are parallels between Paul and the

ha s Mystery Religions , he used the mystery termin Ology as a vehicle to convey the true religion to hearers

who were well a cq uainted with tha t form o f speech .

90 BIBLIOGRAP HY

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Ramsay , W . M . Historical Commentary on Gala

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39 . Tertullian De Baptismo .

0. im 4 Volz Der Geist Gottes A . T .

1 . r 4 Weiss , J . Commenta y on I Corinthians . 2 4 . Wisdom o f Solomon