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Was Christianity derived from ancient pagan religions? This question is so repugnant to people of faith, but even the early church fathers had to deal with it. From religioustolerance.org:
Various early church writers, such as Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyons; circa 120CE to ?) Justin Martyr (Christian apologist; 100 to 165), Tertullian (Christian theologian; circa 160 to 220 +) concluded that the Pagan/Christian similarities were a Satanic attempt at "diabolical mimicry." Satan was said to have use "plagiarism by anticipation." That is, the Devil made a pre-emptive strike against the gospel stories centuries before Jesus was born. The reason was to confuse the public into thinking that Jesus was merely a copy of previous god-men. The goal was to demolish the credibility of Christianity in the people's eyes.
Contents of Disk (created on a Windows computer)
Apollonius of Tyana, the Pagan Christ of the third century by Albert Reville 1866
Apollonius of Tyana, and other essays by T Whittaker 1909
Apollonius of Tyana, Identified as the Christian Jesus by Jonathan Manning Roberts 1894
Religions and the New Testament (Article in The Bibliotheca Sacra 1908)
"Even as at the birth of Christ, so with Mithras' birth, shepherds appear, who kneel in adoration. The parallel is striking...."
The Christ of Japan, article in Homiletic review 1913
Antiqua Mater, a study of Christian origins By Edwin Johnson 1887
The Historic Christ in the faith of Today by William Grist 1911
"Mithras and Christ are born on the same day, the Sun's birthday: Mithras in a grotto, Bacchus and Jupiter in a cave, and Christ in a stable, or, according to some apocryphal Gospels, in a cave. The magi, priests of the Sun, worship the Saviour; a star, Astronomy being their science, acquaints them of the birth of the god; and this God, the Lord Jesus Christ, rests in the arms of the Heavenly Virgin (Virgo Calestis of pagan cults), whose constellation rises on 25 December."
Religion and common sense by Donald Hankey 1918
"Several of the Twelve Apostles were fishermen. There were twelve signs of Zodiac, one of which was "Aquarius"—incidentally, there were also twelve tribes of Israel! Mithraism had rites connected with the "Solar Myth," and the dying and rising of the sun-god. Christians believed that Jesus died and rose again."
Religious Systems of the World - a contribution to the study of Comparative Religion 1911
"Even the 'stable' story has a curious connection with Mithraism."
Mithraism and Religions of the Empire, Article in the Open Court Magazine 1902
The Mysteries of Mithra, article in The American Catholic Quarterly Review 1922
The evolution of man: his religious systems and social customs By William Wright Hardwicke 1899
Christ and Other Masters - Historical inquiry into some of the chief parallelisms and contrasts between Christianity and the religious systems of the ancient world by Charles Hardwick 1875
The Early Christian Conception Of Christ by Otto Pfleiderer 1905
The Tree of Life - a study of religion by AE Crawley 1905
"Osiris loses his life through Typhon, and is revived by Isis. Adonis has his death and resurrection, likewise Bacchus and the Phrygian Attis, and always at the same season, the commencement of spring, of the transition to the victory of light by longer days over shorter nights."
The Origin of Paul's Religion by JG Machen 1921
Germany and the New Christ-Myth, article in Current Opinion 1912
Pagan & Christian creeds, their origin and meaning By Edward Carpenter 1921
Gems of Thought from Leading intellectual Lights : education, soul elevating and spiritualizing ; designed to illustrat certain grand truths which are connected with the spiritual philosophy 1906 (Jesus a myth by P.J. Cooley)
The Christ-Myth, article in Bibliotheca sacra 1911
The Christ myth by Arthur Drews 1911
Did Jesus really live? a reply to The Christ myth by H Rossington 1911
The witnesses to the historicity of Jesus by Arthur Drews 1912
Tammuz, Pan and Christ- notes on a typical case of myth-transference and development 1912 by WH Schoff 1912
Primitive Christianity and its Non-Jewish Sources by Carl Clemen 1912
Did Jesus Ever Live, article in The Arbitrator
The Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ according to the gospel narratives by LM Sweet 1906
Ancient Egypt Light of the World by Gerald Massey 1907
GNOSTIC AND HISTORIC CHRISTIANITY by Gerald Massey
Notes on Sun Worship, article in The Broad Views 1906
The Ethnological Background of the Eucharist, article in The American journal of religious psychology and education 1911
Jesus: Man or God, 5 Discourses by J Krauskopf 1900
Religion in the Heavens - Mythology unveiled by Logan Mitchell 1881
Jesus in the Vedas by Gosha Ramchandra
Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions
by Thomas William Doane 1882 589 pages
The Christ Myth by Elizabeth Edson Gibson Evans - 1900 - 129 pages
Jesus is Osiris, Horus, Krishna, Mithra, Hercules, Adonis, Buddha, intellectualized
by passing through the refining processes of Greek philosophy and ...
The Great Law: A Study of Religious Origins and of the Unity Underlying Them by William Williamson 1899
The Evolution of the Idea of God: An Inquiry Into the Origins of Religion by Grant Allen 1908
'At last we find the myth going off into pure mysticism, Osiris being at ...
of Jesus Christ militates against the human existence of Jesus of Nazareth. ...
Jesus: Myth, Man, Or God: Or, The Popular Theology and the Positive Religion by James Martin Peebles 1870
Christianity and Mythology
by John Mackinnon Robertson - 1900 - 484 pages
If then we reject as we do the pseudo-historical Osiris and Dionysos, why do we
accept as historical Buddha and Jesus ?
The Fathers of Jesus: A Study of the Lineage of the Christian Doctrine by Keningale Cook - 1886
The Mythical Interpretation of the Gospels: Critical Studies by Thomas James Thorburn 1916 - 356 pages
Osiris, again, whose rebirth, celebrated under the form of the young Horus (the
Osiris, ... derives the birth-story of Jesus from the Isis-myth; that is, ...
Isis and Osiris, Or, The Origin of Christianity by John Stuart Stuart Glennie 1878 - 432 pages
The Eternal Christ: Studies in the Life of Vision and Service
by Joseph Fort Newton - 1912 - 199 pages
The Trial of Jesus from a Lawyer's Standpoint
by Walter Marion Chandler - 1908
Antiquity Unveiled: Ancient Voices from the the Spirit Realms Dby Jonathan M. Roberts - 1894 - 600 pages
Pagan Christs: Studies in Comparative Hierology
by John Mackinnon Robertson, Rationalist Press Association - 1903 - 442 pages
A Short History of Christianity
by John Mackinnon Robertson - 1902 - 429 pages
The resurrection of Jesus is made to take place like that of Mithra, ... he walks
on the water like Poseidon; like Osiris and Phoebus Apollo he wields the ...
A Critical Examination of the Evidences for the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth - Page 161 by Thomas James Thorburn 1908
The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop
Also: Over 450 pages in pdf format DID JESUS LIVE 100 B.C.?
AN ENQUIRY INTO THE TALMUD JESUS STORIES, THE TOLDOTH JESCHU, AND SOME CURIOUS STATEMENTS OF EPIPHANIUS BEING A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF CHRISTIAN ORIGINS. BY G. R. S. MEAD,
The Christ - A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidence of His Existence John E. Remsberg 1909
Kersey Graves and The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors
Plus you get:
Buddhism and its Christian critics by Paul Carus 1905
Christianity and Buddhism compared by Robert Hardy 1874
Buddhism in its connexion with Brahmanism and Hinduism, and in its contrast with Christianity by Sir Monier-Williams 1889
The Creed of Buddha by Edmond Holmes 1908
Christianity before Christ by Charles Stone 1885
Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions by Thomas William Doane (has a chapter on Christ Buddha and Christ Jesus Compared)
India in primitive Christianity by Arthur Lillie 1909
The Evolution of the idea of God: an inquiry into the origins of religion By Grant Allen 1897 (discusses the Trinity)
The Buddhist-Christian Missing Link, article in the Open Court 1912
Buddhist & Christian gospels by AJ Edmunds 1905
Jesus in the 19th Century and After by H Weinel 1914
Anacalypsis by Godfrey Higgins 1874 (sections include: Orphic and Mithraitic Trinity similar to that of the Christians.—Hindoo Trinity, - Buddha and Christna the same)
Buddhist Legends (has a section on Buddhist-Christian Parallels) by Buddhaghosa 1921
Buddhist Legends and New Testament Teachings, article in the Ecclesiastical review 1922
Buddhist texts quoted as Scripture by the Gospel of John by AJ Edmunds 1906
Studies in the history of religions (has a section on "Buddhist and Christian parallels") by DG Lyon 1912
The Historical Analogies of Buddhism and Christianity by William Wordsworth 1877
Buddhism and Christianity, a parallel and a contrast by A Scott 1890
The New Testament of Higher Buddhism by Timothy Richard 1910
Parallels in the lives of Buddha and Jesus (A Question of Miracles) by LH Whitney 1908
The Influence of Buddhism on Primitive Christianity by Arthur Lillie 1893
New Testament parallels in Buddhistic literature by KA von Hase 1907
The Metaphysic of Christianity and Buddhism - A Symphony by S Dawsonne 1899
The Lotus Gospel - Mahayana Buddhism and its Symbolic Teachings compared historically and geographically with those of Catholic Christianity 1911 by EA Gordon
The Dhamma of Gotama the Buddha and the Gospel of Jesus the Christ- a critical inquiry into the alleged relations of Buddhism with primitive Christianity 1900 by Charles Aiken
Christ and Buddha by J Cushing 1907
Socrates, Buddha and Christ, by WL Courtney 1892
Christ Or Buddha? A Comparison of the Western Wisdom Teaching with Eastern Occultism by Annette Rich 1914
The Light of Buddha by S Kuroda 1903
Mohammed, Buddha, and Christ by Marcus Dods 1877
The Bhudda and the Christ, by HT Niles 1894
The Unknown Life of Jesus by N Notovitch 1916
Christianity, its evidences, its origin, its morality, its history By Annie Wood Besant 1893
Churchmen's attack on Theosophy By Katherine Tingley 1909 (The beautiful story of Jesus the Christ finds a parallel in the story of Siddhartha. One instance relates how Ananda, the cousin and future disciple of Gautama, was born about the same time as the latter; and how Maia the mother of Siddhartha visited the mother of Ananda, both soon to become mothers, the unborn Ananda greeting the unborn Siddhartha, as happened according to Luke, when the unborn child leaped in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary came in.)
The Ethnic Trinities and their relations to the Christian Trinity by Levi Leonard Paine 1901
Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines by John Pitrat 1857 (chapters include: Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of Trinity and Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ.)
Faith or Fact by Henry Taber and Robert Green Ingersoll 1897 (has a chapter on the Trinity: "The doctrine of the Trinity was held by the Brahmins, who worshipped Brahma. Vishnu and Siva, and by the Buddhists")
The Origin of the doctrine of the Trinity in theb Christian Church, article in The Morning Light 1883 (The attempt to trace the origin of the doctrine of the Trinity to the Jewish Writings is a failure. But when we proceed to the examination of the other probable sources of information upon this subject, viz., the mythology of ancient nations and the Works of Plato and other philosophers, we are rewarded by the discovery of an abundance of evidence. This evidence is thus referred to by Bishop Browne: "In the mythology of all ancient nations, it is plain that the number Three has been a sacred number. The triads of classical mythology {e.g. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades; or, again, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva in the Capitol) are well known.)
Similarity Between The Hindu And The Christian Religions—Doctrine Of Trinity The Same In Both, article in The Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay 1895
Evolution: an exposition of Christian dogmas and pagan myths by PJ Cooley (the Doctrine of the Trinity of Pagan Origin)
The Nature and Origin of the Pagan Doctrine of the Trinity or Triads. article in the Southern Presbyterian review 1855
The Trinity Idea, article in The Open Court 1895 (lots of pictures of trinities. "The old Christian Trinities (e. g.. Fig. 14) bear a close resemblance to Hindu representations of the Trimurti.")
A history of the origin of the doctrine of the Trinity by Hugh Stannus 1882 ("the fifth century Christianity had conquered Paganism and Paganism had infected Christianity. The Church was now victorious and corrupt. The rites of the Pantheon had passed into her worship")
The Gospel of Buddha According to old Records by Paul Carus 1897
Christ and other Masters, a Historical Inquiry into some Chief Parallelisms and Contrasts between Christianity and the Religious systems of the ancient world by Charles Hardwick 1857
The Jesus Problem - a Restatement of the Myth Theory by JM Robertson 1917
The Light of Asia and the Light of the World- a comparison of the Legend, the Doctrine, & the Ethics of the Buddha with the story, the doctrine, & the ethics of Christ by Samuel Kellogg 1885
Symbols of 'The Way' Far East and West by EA Gordon 1916
The Buddha and his Religion by Saint-Hilaire Barthelemy 1895
Belief in God: It's Origin, Nature, and Basis by JG Schuman 1902
Buddha, his Life, his Teachings, his Order by MN Dutt 1901
Winning Buddha's Smile - a Korean legend 1919
Buddha and the gospel of Buddhism by AK Coomaraswamy 1919
The Story of Gaútama Buddha and His Creed: An Epic by Richard Phillips 1871
The Message of the World's Religions 1898
Ten Great Religions- an essay in Comparative Theology by James Clark 1872
The Religions of the World by G Grant 1895
The mythical interpretation of the Gospels by Thomas Thorburn (Christ and Krishna)
Sacred writings - Confucian, Hebrew, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Mohammedan Volume 2 by Charles Eliot 1910
Debate Between Mr Charles Watts a
and Dr Sexton, article in the Secular Review 1877
Christ vs Krishna by LA Sakes 1883
The mistake of Christendom or, Jesus and His Gospel before Paul and Christianity by George Stearns 1857
IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?
by Marshall J. Gauvin,
"The Fundamentals of Freethought"
Morality Without God by M.M. Mangasarian
Is the morality of Jesus Sound by M.M. Mangasarian
Is Life worth Living without Immortality by M.M. Mangasarian
Commentaries on Hebrew and Christian Mythology By Parish B. Ladd 1896
Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism by Thomas Inman 1884
Revelation, Mythology, Correspondences by James John Garth Wilkinson 1887
A Glossary of Important Symbols in their Hebrew Pagan and Christian Forms by Adelaide S Hall 1912
Sinai and Olympus: Parallels in Heathen Myth and Hebrew Scripture by a Texas Pagan 1899 (illustrated)
Egyptian Mythology and Egyptian Christianity By Samuel Sharpe 1863
The Religions before Christ, being an introduction to the history of the first three centuries of the Church by Edmond de Pressense 1862
The Bride of Christ - a Study in Christian Legend Lore by Paul Carus 1908
The Career of the Christ-idea in history by Hudson Tuttle 1870
The History of Baptism by Robert Robinson 1817
Plus You Get: Books on The Pagan Origins of Christmas
In the early eighteenth century, scholars began discovering the true origins of the Christmas festival. Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the winter solstice, which in ancient times was marked on December 25. In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church.
Myths and Legends of Christmastide BY Bertha F. Herrick 1901
Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions by Thomas Doane 1882 (Searchable PDF)
"This shows that the heathen in those days, did as the Christians do now. What have evergreens, and garlands, and Christmas trees, to do with Christianity? Simply nothing. It is the old Yule-feast which was held by all the northern nations, from time immemorial, handed down to, and observed at the present day. In the greenery with which Christians deck their houses and temples of worship, and in the Christmas-trees laden with gifts, we unquestionably see a relic of the symbols by which our heathen forefathers signified their faith in the powers of the returning sun to clothe the earth again with green, and hang new fruit on the trees."
Cross-Examining Santa Clause in the Century Magazine 1922
Christmas & the Nativity of Mithras (Open Court) 1904
Bibliotheca Sacra - Religions and the New Testament 1908
The Christmas book: Christmas in the Olden Time, its Customs and their Origins 1859
The Religion of Mithra - Eclectic Magazine 1888
Primitive Culture: Researches Into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language by Edward Tylor 1889 Volume 2 "Two other Christian festivals have not merely had solar rites transferred to them, but seem distinctly themselves of solar origin."
Origin of the Sabbath by Parish Ladd in the Free Thought Magazine 1899
The Book of Christmas by Hamilton Wright Mabie 1910
The Christmas Tree in Taylor Trott Magazine 1907
On the Origin of the Celebration of Christmas from the New Monthly Magazine 1821
Early Christmas Carols and Customs in the Bostonian 1896
"Coming at practically the same time as the Roman Saturnalia and the Northern feast of Yule, the respective heathen customs of these two old festivals at once became inculcated into that of Christmas, almost as they stood."
Traditions of Eden; or, Proofs of the Historical Truth of the Pentateuch by Henry Shepherd 1871
"And in pursuance of this idea, the Christmas festival of the Sun-god — identical with Nimrod, Tammuz or Adonis, and also with Bacchus — was celebrated in ancient Babylon for ages before the Christian era. It was identical with the Saturnalia
of Rome, and kept with similar scenes of drunkenness and revelry. The wassailing bowl of Christmas, of the dark ages in Popish countries, had its precise counterpart in the Drunken festival of Babylon."
Religion, Theology and Morals By Harvey W Scott 1917
"But every custom and every doctrine of long standing has departed far from its original. The Christinas festival, in its
main featiires, relates more to paganism, so-called, than to Christianity. The genesis of the Holy Trinity is traceable,
through ecclesiastical and personal disputes, through politics and speculative philosophy, back to Philo and Plato; and the
paganism of old Rome, transformed more or less, is still reflected through the Vatican."
The Galaxy Magazine 1878
Christmas brings us, with its religious ceremonies, festivities, and pleasant customs which, it is to be hoped that advancing rationalism will never cause to be forgotten. Yet it is worth while, at least for descendants of the Puritans, to remember that the 25th of December is probably not the date of Christ's birth; there being reason for believing that he was born in the Spring of the year, a fitting season it would seem for such an event; and that our festivities at Christmas are of pagan origin— the dressing of houses with greens being a Druidical custom, and the giving of gifts being a remnant
of the Roman Saturnalia. The feast of Yule, now confounded with that of Christmas, was observed at the Winter solstice by all the Northern nations long before the introduction of Christianity.
Article on the pagan origins of Christmas in the Christian Review 1840
Yule and Christmas, their Place in the Germanic Year by Alexander Tille 1899 (searchable PDF)
Folk Lore/Superstitious Beliefs in Scotland with an Appendix Showing the Probable Relation of the Modern Festivals of Christmas, May Day, St. John's Day, and Halloween to Ancient Sun and Fire Worship 1879 by James Napier
Sun Lore of All Ages, a Collection of Myths and Legends Concerning the Sun by William Tyler Olcott (searchable PDF) 1914
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge Vol. 12, 1912
"It has also been conjectured that the day was selected because of its significance in the Roman calendar, where it bore the name of dies invicti solia, "the day of the unconquered sun", since on this day the sun began to regain its power and overcame the night."
Sun Worship in Bihar - Calcutta Review 1904
Pagan & Christian Creeds: Their Origin and Meaning by Edward Carpenter 1920
The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop, excerpt: "It is in the last degree incredible, then, that the birth of Christ could have taken place at the end of December. There is great unanimity among commentators on this point. Besides Barnes, Doddridge, Lightfoot, Joseph Scaliger, and Jennings, in his "Jewish Antiquities," who are all of opinion that December 25th could not be the right time of our Lord's nativity, the celebrated Joseph Mede pronounces a very decisive opinion to the same effect. After a long and careful disquisition on the subject, among other arguments he adduces the following;--"At the birth of Christ every woman and child was to go to be taxed at the city whereto they belonged, whither some had long journeys; but the middle of winter was not fitting for such a business, especially for women with child, and children to travel in. Therefore, Christ could not be born in the depth of winter. Again, at the time of Christ's birth, the shepherds lay abroad watching with their flocks in the night time; but this was not likely to be in the middle of winter. And if any shall think the winter wind was not so extreme in these parts, let him remember the words of Christ in the gospel, 'Pray that your flight be not in the winter.' If the winter was so bad a time to flee in, it seems no fit time for shepherds to lie in the fields in, and women and children to travel in." Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties * that the day of our Lord's birth cannot be determined, ** and that within the Christian Churchno such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance."
Christmas In Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan by Clement A. Miles 1912
The Sacred Tree: Or, The Tree in Religion and Myth by J. H. Philpot, Isaline Philpot 1897
THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS IS HE A MYTH? by M. M. Mangasarian
We can only offer a few additional remarks to what we have already
said elsewhere in these pages on the Pagan origin of Christmas. It
will make us grateful to remember that just as we have to go to the
Pagans for the origins of our civilized institutions--our courts of
justice, our art and literature, and our political and religious
liberties--we must thank them also for our merry festivals, such as
Christmas and Easter.
Christmas and the Saturnalia - Article from Bibliotheca Sacra and Theological Review 1855
"While, therefore, we would not say with Prynne, that all pious
Christians should abominate this festival, we do say that it has
neither the historic dignity, the moral significance, nor the sacred
associations, that every such institution should possess to command
the approval of the Christian world."
Observations on Popular Antiquities, Chiefly Illustrating the Origin of our Vulgar Customs, Ceremonies and Superstitions by John Brand Volume 1, 1813
Observations on Popular Antiquities, Chiefly Illustrating the Origin of our Vulgar Customs, Ceremonies and Superstitions by John Brand Volume 2, 1813
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion by James George Frazer
The Star of the Wise Men - being a Commentary on the Second Chapter of St. Matthew by Richard Trench 1850
The Wise Men: Who They Were and how They Came to Jerusalem by Francis William Upham 1901
The Origins of Christianity by Charles Bigg, Thomas Banks Strong 1909 (Easter Controversy)
CHRISTMAS - ITS ORIGIN, CELEBRATION AND SIGNIFICANCE AS RELATED IN PROSE AND VERSE by ROBERT HAVEN SCHAUFFLER 1907
Excerpt: The pagan nations of antiquity always had a tendency to worship the sun, under different names, as the giver of light and life. And their festivals in its honor took place near the winter solstice, the shortest day in the year, when the sun in December begins its upward course, thrilling men with the first distant promise of spring. This holiday was called Saturnalia among the Romans and was marked by great merriment and licence which extended even to the slaves. There were feasting and gifts and the houses were hung with evergreens. A more barbarous form of these rejoicings took place among the rude peoples of the north where great blocks of wood blazed in honor of Odin and Thor, and sacrifices of men and cattle were made to them. Mistletoe was cut then from the sacred oaks with a golden sickle by the Prince of the Druids, between whom and the Fire-Worshippers of Persia there was an affinity both in character and customs."
Sex and Sex Worship by Otto Augustus Wall 1920 EDIT
The egg has in all ages been considered a sacred emblem of
spring; of the rejuvenation of nature after the winter sleep. In
Pagan times ornamented eggs were presented to friends, to celebrate
the re-awakening of life in the spring; and this Pagan
festival, but thinly disguised as being emblematic of the resurrection
of Christ, persists in our Easter festival and its attendant
gifts of Easter eggs.
CHRISTMAS: ITS ORIGIN AND ASSOCIATIONS, TOGETHER WITH ITS HISTORICAL EVENTS AND FESTIVE CELEBRATIONS DURING NINETEEN CENTURIES BY W. F. DAWSON 1902 (searchable PDF)
Esoteric Christianity, Or, The Lesser Mysteries: Or, The Lesser Mysteries by Annie Wood Besant 1913
"The relation of the winter solstice to Jesus is also significant. The birth of Mithras was celebrated in the winter solstice with great rejoicings, and Horus was also
then born: "His birth is one of the greatest mysteries of the [Egyptian] religion. Pictures representing it appeared on the walls of temples. . . . He was the child of
Deity. At Christmas time, or that answering to our festival, his image was brought out of the sanctuary with peculiar ceremonies, as the image of the infant Bambino is still brought out and exhibited at Rome." On the fixing of the 25th December as the birthday of Jesus, Williamson has the following: "All Christians know that the
25th December is now the recognised festival of the birth of Jesus, but few are aware that this has not always been so. There have been, it is said, one hundred and thirty-six different dates fixed on by different Christian sects. Lightfoot gives it as 15th September, others as in February or August.
The Secret Teachings of All Ages By Manly P. Hall 1928
STUDIES IN THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SEX VOLUME I BY HAVELOCK ELLIS 1927 (searchable PDF)
"Frazer (Golden Bough, 2d ed., 1900, vol. iii, pp. 236-350) fully describes and discusses the dances, bonfires and festivals of spring and summer, of Halloween (October 31), and Christmas. He also explains the sexual character of these festivals."
Pagan Christs: Studies in Comparative Hierology by John Mackinnon Robertson 1903
"The Mithraic Christians actually continued to celebrate Christmas Day as the birthday of the sun, despite the censures of the Pope, and their Sunday had been adopted by the
supplanting faith. When they listened to the Roman litany of the holy name of Jesus, they knew they were listening' to the very epithets of the Sun-God...Others than
Mithraists, of course, would offend, Christmas being an Osirian and Adonisian festival also.
Plus You Get Books on the Pagan Origins of the Easter Holiday:
Teutonic Mythology by Jacob Grimm Volume 1
Teutonic Mythology by Jacob Grimm Volume 2 1882
Lippincott's Magazine Article (1884) - Customs and Traditions of Easter
"Moreover, the Easter egg, or something like it, can be traced to countries in which the Christian religion has no influence over popular customs. In Persia, for instance, eggs are used very much as the people of rural England use Easter eggs, and in the religion of ancient Persia eggs seem to be a symbol of many things."
The Antiquarian magazine - Easter Egg article
"The practice is not confined to Christians; the Jews used eggs in their feast of the Passover; and we are told that the Persians, when they keep the festival of the solar year (in March) mutually present each other with coloured eggs."
Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines by John Claudius Pitrat 1871
Paganism surviving in Christianity BY Abram Herbert Lewis 1892
The Two Babylons by the Rev. Alexander Hislop
Easter - Pagan or Christians (Article in the Michigan Churchman 1921
Bible myths and their parallels in other religions By Thomas William Doane
"Even the name of "Easter" is derived deavored to give a Christian significance to from the heathen goddess, Ostrt, of the Saxons, such of the rites as conld not be rooted out..."
THE RESURRECTION AND IMMORTALITY in the Open Court publication, 1907
The Golden Bough: a study in magic and religion by Sir James Fraser
Easter Miscellanies from Good Housekeeping Magazine 1897
The Evolution of Spiritism, from "Continuity of Life a Cosmic Truth" by William Maynard Lockwood 1902
"Easter is one of the oldest feast days known to the calendar of time, and by an act of the Nicene Council in 325 A. D. this pagan day of phallic worship and incest, was fastened upon future generations by a born pagan who lived and died a pagan, and who during his earth life was titled, "CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, PONTIFIX MAXIMUS, EMPEROR AND SUPREME DIGNITARY OF THE PAGAN HIERARCHY.""
Some Easter Thoughts, as posted in The Industrial Enterprise 1909
The Secret Doctrine by By Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
The Christians—especially the Greek and Latin Churches—have fully adopted the symbol, and see in it a commemoration of life eternal, of salvation and of resurrection. This is found in, and corroborated by, the time-honoured custom of exchanging "Easter Eggs." From the Anguinum, the "Egg" of the Pagan Druid, whose name alone made Rome tremble with fear, to the red Easter Egg of the Slavonian peasant, a cycle has passed.
Sex and sex worship by O.A. Wall
The egg has in all ages been considered a sacred emblem of spring; of the rejuvenation of nature after the winter sleep. In Pagan times ornamented eggs were presented to friends, to celebrate the re-awakening of life in the spring; and this Pagan festival, but thinly disguised as being emblematic of the resurrection of Christ, persists in our Easter festival and its attendant gifts of Easter eggs.
Easter - Pagan or Christian by Henry Liddell in Public Opinion (periodical) 1899
The Great Law: A Study of Religious Origins and of the Unity Underlying Them by William Williamson 1899
The very name by which our spring festival is called, is traced by Landseer to the virgin-mother of this Babylonian sun-god; for what is Easter but a modem version of the old names of Ishtar, Ashtoreth, and Astarte?
The Evolution of the Idea of God: An Inquiry Into the Origins of Religion by Grant Allen 1908
The Evolution of Man: his Religious Systems and Social Ethics By William Wright Hardwicke 1899
Every festival of the Christian Church, apart from saints' days, was originally a Pagan festival.
Christianity and Mythology by John Mackinnon Robertson - 1900
The Rising Son, in Flowers of Freethought by GW Foote 1893
The very name of Easter is of heathen origin. All its customs are bequeathed to us from far-off Pagan ancestors. Easter eggs, symbolising the life of the universe, have been traced back to the Romans, Greeks, Persians, and Egyptians.
Pagan Christs: Studies in Comparative Hierology
by John Mackinnon Robertson, Rationalist Press Association - 1903
That, nevertheless, survived with the equally pagan symbol of the Easter egg, which has no place in the sacred books, but was taken by the Gnostics from the lore of the Orphicists.
A Short History of Christianity
by John Mackinnon Robertson - 1902
The Christ (Searchable pdf)
A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidence of His Existence John E. Remsberg 1909
The festival of Easter belongs to this religion. It was observed in honor of the Saxon goddess Eastre, or Ostara, the goddess of Spring. It celebrated, not the resurrection of Christ, but the resurrection of Spring and flowers. It still retains the name of this goddess. Nearly every festival of the church -- and the Catholic and English churches have many -- are of Pagan origin.
The influence of Buddhism on primitive Christianity by Arthur Lillie 1893
The Pleroma, an essay on the Origin of Christianity by Paul Carus 1909
The various reports of the different countries in Asia Minor indicate that the same ceremonies prevailed everywhere, even also in the North, for we must remember that the word Easter is a Teutonic word and that the festival of the goddess Ostara (compare Ostern, the German "Easter") has been identified with the Christian-Jewish passover on account of the many resemblances which rendered the two synonymous.
A Dictionary of Religion and Ethics (1921) by Shailer Matthews
Credulities Past and Present by William Jones 1880
The mystical woman and the cities of the nations, Or Papal Rome by Thomas Dennis Rock 1890
"Easter," alias Ishta, Ashta, or Astarte (the woman). Easter, as now celebrated by the Roman Church, with its carnivals and six weeks Lent, was unknown, even at Rome, till so late as about the middle of the sixth century. But a feast, preceded by a forty days fast, seems to have been observed in ancient times by the Heathen world; as in Egypt, also to this day by the Yezidis of Kurdistan, and Mr. Hislop evidently thinks this feast had some reference to the commemorative weepings in honour of Tammuz.
The Young Woman's Journal (Latter Day Saints) 1919
The term Easter was first used when Christianity was introduced among the Saxons and the poet-historian, Bede, traces it to Easter, a Saxon goddess, whose festival was celebrated annually in the Spring. This is another example of the way the early Christian Church was influenced by the paganism with which it came in contact
Tammuz and Ishtar: a monograph upon Babylonian religion and theology by Stephen Langdon 1914
Bel, the Christ of ancient times (1908) by Hugo Radau
"Easter and Ishtar are one and the same word. It has come into the English
language from the Germans, who worshipped the goddess Ostara."
Ancient faiths embodied in ancient names by Thomas Inman 1868 Volume 1
Ancient faiths embodied in ancient names by Thomas Inman 1868 Volume 2
Ancient faiths embodied in ancient names by Thomas Inman 1868 Volume 3
The Image of the Cross and Lights on the Altar, in the Christian Church, and in heathen temples before the Christian era, especially in the British Isles, together with the history of the triangle, the dove, floral decorations, the easter egg, and other heathen symbols by BH Dixon 1879
The Book of Common Prayer, the American prayer book, and the three revisions By Bernard Homer Dixon
Even the hot cross buns of Good Friday are Pagan, and were made and marked with the cross of Tammuz, and called " boun," ages before the Christian era. Then they were offered to Tammuz and eaten by the priests. Now we eat them ourselves. Two were discovered in Herculaneum. The wafer used in the Roman Mass is identical with the thin round cake called Kollyris which they formerly offered to Astarte.
Tracts for the times respecting ritualism By Bourchier Wrey Savile 1877
"Few persons in England seem to know that the eating of "hot-cross buns" at Easter is another Pagan custom, which has come down to us from our heathen Saxon ancestors, who used to worship Astarte (from which our word Easter is derived), and offer cakes to her as "Queen of Heaven."
A Few Mistakes of Rev. Dr. Newman (Catholic World) 1886
But what does this Christian clergyman mean when he inferentially assumes that Christmas-time is but the pagan "Saturnalia"; that Easter-time is the pagan festival of spring; that "Candlemas Day" is copied from a feast in honor of the goddess Neith...
Romanism as it is: an exposition of the Roman Catholic system By Samuel Weed Barnum 1871
Origin of Easter (article in the Liberal Review) 1904
Ostera or Eostre, derived from "Ost," meaning East, was a Saxon Goddess, who presided over the luminous powers which revived the earth, and resuscitated life out of the shadow of darkness and the mold of the grave.
Essays on Romanism by Robert Seeley 1839
The First Easter Dawn by Charles Gorham 1908
Faiths and Folklore Volume 1 by William Carew Hazlitt 1905
Faiths and Folklore Volume 2 by William Carew Hazlitt 1905
The Masculine Cross and Ancient Sex Worship by Sha Rocco 1874
The buns known, too, by that indentical name were used in the worship of the
Queen of Heaven, tho Goddess Easter (Ishtar or Astarte), as early as the...
Egyptian belief and modern thought By James Bonwick 1878
The hidden side of Christian festivals by Charles Leadbetter 1920
Esoteric Christianity Or The Lesser Mysteries by Annie Wood Besant 1905
Easter has been traced to the virgin-mother of the slain Tammuz, Ishtar
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