Alleged pagan roots - or, fun with Mithraic fodder

[losh14]

Of all the many bizarre things I’ve come across in Yahoo!Answers …
One respondent keeps trying to tie Christianity to the ancient pagan sun cults. Finally I asked her where she was getting this from. Her response was two links and a quip. I’d like help with finding sources to confirm or refute what she says about Mithraic worship and Church history:

1. A “qualified source” which she said was one that had nothing to gain or lose by publishing this info (doesn’t mean it’s reliable):
   near-death.com/experiences/origen048.html
2. A video with some …ahem… contrived similarities (ie, that the Cross is a re-forming of the “T” that stood for Tammuz…nevermind that Babylonians didn’t use Latin letters):
   youtube.com/watch?v=efQZW3efP_E&feature=related
3. And this quip:
   " Christianity was founded in 325 ad, Mithra vanished without trace soon after, despite being the most popular and largest religion at the time. A great many of the oldest Christian churches were once dedicated to Mithra.

Christianity underwent a name change and an overhaul to allow the masses. Constantine was a devout fanatical Mithra follower, he was the Roman emperor who commissioned the bible, dedicated the Vatican site to the new Christianity, and enforced it as the new Roman state religion. Mostly on the teaching of Saul of Tarsus using Mithratic scripture.

Constantine was historically a worse insane despot than any 10 Hitlers put together. A rare survivor of the plague that killed 50% of the population, scared his brain and left him completely insane. His beloved wife also caught it but died, which did not help his disposition. He was totally evil and the complete oposite to how the church portrays him, ie as a saint. Constantine was a monster. "

So what we have is somewhere between a Jack Chick tract and calabrinous ponk, but I’m looking for something more compelling to refute it. Please feel free to have fun with debunking the above claims if you have the time and interest.

 

[juliamajor]

Any good modern History of Ancient Rome will squash that nonsense.
I have a very good book in my library called “religions of Ancient Rome” Vol.1&2 by Beard, North and Price. try a public Library… There I a book on Mystery relgions and another one on How the Romans saw Christianity. Whose authors fail me. If I find the titles and authors in the meantime -I’ll post it.
It’s total rubbish that mithraism competed with Chrsitianity- It was the Gnostic movement that really gave Christianity a run for it’s money.
I would beware of internet sources- too many idiots and weirdos with agendas out there. You want a good solid historical , no agenda site.Beware of the internet rubbish history and Black Legends which have proliferated there Good Luck
God Bless