Why did Europe end up Christian and not Buddhist?

“Was Europe waiting for a Christ-figure god?  If that was the case, then Mithras, or Horus, the Egyptian god would have been more powerful contenders”

By Dr. Ashraf Ezzat

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Why did Europe become Christian? Why Did Europeans embrace Christianity in particular, I mean during the first few centuries of the common era, when Greece & Rome held the key to the European door, the ancient world was buzzing with old & new religions full of intriguing ideas that competed if not surpassed Christianity in philosophy and moral depth.  

Religions like Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, and religious beliefs conjured up by great sages and philosophers such as Buddha and Confucius … not to mention the ancient belief systems of Egypt and India. Any of those belief systems could have been the perfect candidate to replace the ancient Olympian religion, since it was crumbling anyway.

But while none of those top-notch religions made it to Europe, against all odds, an obscure tribal cult that came out of ancient Arabia did. It is called Judaism (the precursor of Christianity)

But why and more importantly how did that happen? Was Judaism introduced to Europe by accident or device?

Interestingly, the cult of the Indo-Iranian god, Mithras first appeared in the late 1st century CE and, at an extraordinary pace, spread from the Italian Peninsula and border regions across the whole of the Roman empire . In the 3^rd century CE Mithraism had grown up to be a real threat to Christianity in Europe, but Mithraic temples and practices were swiftly banned by the Catholic Church.

One might think that Buddhism or Zoroastrianism was so foreign and local cults that failed to be universal enough to be embraced by ancient Europe. But likewise was Judaism as it came from ancient Arabian land soaked with a violent tribal and inclusive culture. Assimilation and tolerance were two words not to be found in the Israelite guidebook.

So, what did make Judaism more appealing to European taste than say, Mithraism or Buddhism?

When you come to think of it … it seemed that Europe was getting tired of the Olympian Gods and bored with other ancient mythologies like the Celtic, Germanic, etc. Ancient Europe was ready for a change of faith … a change of heart.

Was Europe waiting for a Christ-figure god?  If that was the case, then Mithras, or Horus, the Egyptian god would have been more powerful contenders. But then again, why specifically the Jewish concept of Christ had finally conquered the heart of ancient Europe?

Was it something new in the collective conscience of ancient man during the first centuries of the common era that attracted him towards Christianity and not Buddhism for example?

Was monotheism the next step in the evolution of religious thinking? And who was to say or even insinuate that monotheism is somehow superior to polytheism. And please don’t for a blink of an eye fall for the common trap of viewing the cult of the ancient Israelites as monotheism for it never was.

The Israelite God, Yahweh/El had a female consort who was called Asherah, and by him she was the mother of 70 gods & goddesses. This is common knowledge now amongst archeologists and historians of the ancient Near East.

In essence, the Israelite God Yahweh /El was not much different from the Greek Zeus and his wife, Europa.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, one of the finest examples of ancient European brilliance, was brought up in ancient Greek wisdom and culture and educated by Aristotle himself. He revered the Olympian mythological heroes and ushered in an era of Hellenism that lasted centuries after his death.

In the 4^th century BC, and when Alexander the Great conquered almost the whole ancient world, the European commander and his army were exposed to different cultures and belief systems in the ancient world.

Of all the places the great warrior conquered be it Asia Minor, the Levant, Persia, or even India, Alexander the Great was particularly influenced by ancient Egyptian belief systems and temples.

After all, it was the Egyptian oracle who told Alexander he was the son of the supreme God, Amun, and that he would conquer the world and never be defeated. so, it should come as no surprise that the great warrior wanted to be buried in Egypt after his death.

If we followed the footsteps of Alexander the Great and his European taste for accepting & respecting foreign cultures and belief systems, the Europeans should have adopted the ancient Egyptian religion. They should have embraced Horus as the son of God, and their awaited Christ-like figure, especially that the cult of his mother Isis, the Egyptian Goddess, flourished across Greco-Roman Europe for centuries after the death of Alexander the Great.

But neither Horus, the son nor Osiris, the father were known to the Europeans. Their story of the brutal death of Osiris and his resurrection and the birth of his son, Horus through the divine impregnation of his holy mother, Isis was not made popular beyond the borders of ancient Egypt. Why? Because the story of the (Egyptian) Holy Triad was only written in esoteric Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Ancient Egyptian beliefs & mystic rituals were never translated into the European /Greek tongue.

Another belief system, and much less profound was made accessible to the Greco-Roman audience in ancient Europe. That was the case with the Jewish cult, and the famous translation was called “ the Septuagint Bible “

Interestingly, that translation took place at the ancient library of Alexandria, the Egyptian city that Alexander the Great had established before he continued west and conquered the rest of the world.

The Mediterranean city that was named after Alexander the Great was meant to be a world hub for trade & knowledge. But little did King Ptolemy II, the Greek king of Egypt around 285 BC, know when he gave his orders for the Israelite stories to be translated into Greek that what came to be known as “the Septuagint Bible” was going to be the last nail of Europa and Zeus’ coffin.

While the whole Mediterranean & ancient Near Eastern culture was being Hellenized the Greek psyche was subjected to the Jewish intolerant religion that was somehow presented to look superior under the guise of promoting monotheism. But if we dig deeper we will discover that Judaism is not about monotheism as much as it is about tribalism and racism.

“God’s chosen people” was indeed a whole new concept in the ancient world. New and dangerous for the Jewish dogma introduced, for the first time, the (Arabian) concept of blasphemy which ruled out other cultures and belief systems as untrue and pagan heresy.

The Jewish Ideas of one true god had alienated man of late antiquity from his ancient culture and belief system. A separation that heralded the advent of the dark ages in Europe and which was not undone till the renaissance period.   

Unlike many religions, the religion of ancient Greece was capable of incorporating foreign deities into their belief system. It was a tolerant religion that respected diversity in human cultures until pockets of Jewish followers began to slip into ancient Europe through a dangerous translation.

The Septuagint helped the Jewish tribal Ideas of the only “one true God” and the only “one chosen people” to infiltrate into ancient Europeans and change their mindset and how they viewed their ancient pantheon of gods.

New words like pagan, infidel, and goyim began to show up in the religious discourse. Then, holy wars dominated soon after.

The Septuagint translation gave the stories of the Israelites and their Arabian Patriarchs unprecedented access to seep into the consciousness of the Europeans. Many manuscripts and books had been translated into Greek at the ancient Library of Alexandria. But no translation had the lethal power of the Septuagint for it helped put the Olympian pantheon of gods to rest and more importantly, set the stage for a Christian Europe.

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For more on the Septuagint and untangling the link between the Israelites, and ancient Egypt, read Ashraf Ezzat’s book “Egypt Knew neither Pharaoh nor Moses” … available on Kindle Amazon.