Richard Carrier 1st-century Christian Mystery Cults Historical Jesus

Interview:
https://youtu.be/QKidkJYShBU
https://www.richardcarrier.info/archives/15301

Christianity 1st-century Jewish Mystery Cult

Early Christianity has often been categorized a mystery religion, involving secret knowledge and ceremonies known only to initiates of the religion. With other mystery religions, Christianity shares the concept of a savior god that experiences sufferings often including death and resurrection, salvation through rituals, baptism to wash away sins to be reborn, and ritual meals.

Richard Carrier agrees that Christianity is a mystery religion but points out it is not exactly like the other mystery religions.

"Often when scholars deny that Christianity was a mystery religion, they really mean it wasn't just one of the already-existing mystery religions superficially overhauled with Jewish concepts. Christianity wasn't 'Osiris Cult 2.0'. Which is certainly true. But that's all that anyone's evidence can prove.

Even the earliest discernible form of Christianity emulates numerous cultist features and concepts that were so unique to the Hellenistic mystery cults

And any theory of historicity that fails to account for it cannot be credible."

Doctrines of Christianity were originally kept private to senior initiates. They were taught to junior followers only using parables and metaphor.

" We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began."

— 1 Corinthians 2:6-7

"The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them."

— Matthew 13:10-11

Other writers argue that Christianity originated as an amalgamation of earlier pagan religions, often including the mystery cults. In contrast, other historians argue that while Christianity was influenced by the mystery cults, its origin was either a historical or mythical person.