Christianity and Mithraism

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“There are many points of resemblance between Christianity and the cult of Mithras. One of the reasons for this probably is that the Persian mystics invaded Italy during the first century after Christ and the early history of both cults was closely interwoven. …

“The so-called chair of St. Peter, in Rome, was believed to have been used in one of the pagan Mysteries, possibly that of Mithras, in whose subterranean grottoes the votaries of the Christian Mysteries meant in the early days of their faith.” ~Manly P. Hall

Mithra1

Mithra killing a bull

There are indeed many correlations in the teachings of the major Christian churches and the cult of Mithra, but not for the reason suggested by Hall. The real reason is because, when Paul started his own church in competition with the original being run by St. Peter and St. James, Paul did not know very much about what was being taught in secret in the real Christian church. In addition, Paul wanted to attract large numbers of people to his church, while the actual apostles of Jesus were very selective following the rules given to them by Jesus. Continue reading “Christianity and Mithraism” →

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Scripture:The Pali Cannon AN 1: xvii

Posted on by Harold Boulette

Just as when a seed of neem, bitter cucumber, or bitter gourd is planted in moist soil, it transforms any nutriment it obtains from the soil and the water into a fruit with a bitter, harsh, and disagreeable taste, even so it is for a person of wrong view. For what reason? Because the view is bad.

That sounds like the way every time somebody come up with a new invention to help people, the military looks for ways to turn it into a weapon. This is why real spiritual teachers limit what they put in writing or teach in public to only the basics. The advanced material is taught only to those of the proper view who are ready to use such knowledge wisely.

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Random Thoughts 11-20-2011

Posted on by Harold Boulette

I was surprised when I heard on the news that the case of the suspicious death of actress Natalie Wood was being reopened after nearly 30 years. What surprises me is that it just doesn’t seem that long. I thing that, as you get older, time seems to get more compressed, at least as far as remembering the past.

Evangelical Christians often complain about the lack of religious freedom Christians have in some other countries, especially the Arab and Muslim ones, yet see no problem in running a dating service for Christians only.

I hope the Catholics complaining about the fake photo of the Pope kissing an Oman for an advertising campaign also complained when a European magazine published comics featuring caricatures of Mohammad.

Gas prices are up and rising just in time for the holiday travelers. Surprise!

While I largely agree that greed at the top levels of the giant corporations and banks is partly responsible for our sluggish economy and high unemployment, I think there is something else that needs to be considered. Decades ago, when technology first started taking a lot of jobs away from people, we were told that the new jobs being created by the technology were better jobs and more than the number being lost.  For a long time, that was true, but I now think that we have reached the point where new technologies are replacing workers and taking over  jobs a lot more than they are creating new jobs.

“God has created us in order that we may become partakers of the divine nature, in order that we might enter into eternity, and that we might appear like unto Him, being deified by the grace out of which all things that exist have come.” ~St. Maximus the Confessor

I serve God through my creative endeavors, and I listen to His voice deep within me.

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The Bhagavad Gita 17:14

Posted on by Harold Boulette

To offer service to the gods, to the good, to the wise, and to your spiritual teacher; purity, honesty, continence, and nonviolence: these are disciplines of the body. To offer soothing words, to speak truly, kindly, and helpfully, and to study the scriptures: these are the disciplines of speech. Calmness, gentleness, silence, self-restraint, and purity: these are the disciplines of the mind.

To become enlightened requires a lot of work and that means that we have to have discipline. It isn’t enough to have a disciplined body, we must also have a disciplined mind and spirit. Especially today when there are so many temptations and so many people who have little, if any, discipline and think that those who do have it are crazy. No one accomplishes much of anything without a disciplined approach, and that includes spiritual enlightenment.

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