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- All Subjects: Christianity
- Creators: Bruhn, Karen
Description
One of Ancient Rome's most intriguing pagan religions is that of the mysterious cult of Mithras: the celebration of an ancient Indo-Iranian god, who gained an enormous amount of popularity during the first several centuries of the Common Era. Mithraism, as the cult has been commonly termed, was a mystery religion, one whose nature and teachings remain somewhat secretive today, since the cult left no written works. Mithraism provides a particularly interesting point of view regarding the Roman Empire, since the cult began around the same time that Christianity did, but was entirely forgotten just over 400 years later. In analyzing why one religion succeeded while the other failed, this paper examines beliefs such as astrology, Zoroastrianism, monotheism, and fatalism within the context of life in the Roman Empire.
ContributorsCruz, Ashley Alexandra (Author) / Bruhn, Karen (Thesis director) / Montesano, Mark (Committee member) / Suk, Mina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
In this thesis, I explore the differences between proto-orthodox and gnostic proselytization beliefs and practices as expressed in their respective texts during the era of doctrinal conflict before the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE in an attempt to explain why these differences existed and how proto-orthodox Christian leaders saw their sect’s emphasis of proselytization as an important distinction between themselves and their gnostic counterparts. Proto-orthodox texts reveal a strong belief in global proselytization, and proto-orthodox leaders stressed that evangelism was a divine command from God that contemporary Christians were supposed to obey. However, gnostic religious texts, commentaries, and letters do not place nearly as much emphasis on proselytization and do not see proselytization as a command from God or something that gnostic believers should practice. Rather, gnostic texts reveal that gnostic believers should focus on internal revelation and special knowledge. While gnostic Christians clearly shared their faith with others, the doctrinal importance of proselytization differed from that of the proselytization focused proto-orthodox Christians. These varying beliefs on evangelism and its relative importance demonstrate a contrast in proselytization beliefs as it relates to the doctrinal discussion between proto-orthodox and gnostic believers in the first 4 centuries CE that has not been comprehensively examined by academia. While some of the practicalities of proto-orthodox proselytization were likely similar in some respects to gnostic proselytization practices, such as not sharing complicated doctrine at once, proto-orthodox Christian leaders argued that the differences in proselytization were doctrinally significant and was a point of contention between these two sects.
ContributorsConsalvo, Nathaniel (Author) / Bruhn, Karen (Thesis director) / Bruner, Jason (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12