Lord of the Cosmos: Mithras, Paul, and the Gospel of Mark

by Michael Patella

In Lord of the Cosmos, Patella demonstrates the ways in which the Roman Imperial religion imbues Paul's letter and subsequently Mark's Gospel. Mark resonated in the imperial capital and beyond because of its inherent participationist theology, a theology probably augmented by Paul and possibly introduced by him. In his own writings, Paul draws from Mithraic vocabulary and symbolism. Mithraism itself functions within the cosmic framework outlined in Plato's Timaeus. Pauline theology, with its Mithraic overtones, coheres with the Markan theme of Christ's cosmic victory over Satan; Paul and Mark share a similar view of Christ's salvific act. With the Bartimaeus pericope (10:46-52), the Markan Gospel demonstrates that believers, by their call to discipleship, participate in that victory. This whole process is signaled by the baptism with its divine communication and actions of descent and ascent, a strong Pauline concept. Patella shows that the Markan presentation of Jesus' death, the climax of the narrative, brings the act of divine communication full circle. At the baptism, God communicates to creation, and with Jesus' cry from the cross, creation replies in despair. Jesus' death is not the end of the story, however. The women at the tomb realize this fact and are awestruck at its significance, which is the reason that they do not tell anyone what they have witnessed. The notice to meet Jesus in Galilee is an affirmation of the resurrection. By moving from the area of the dead, that is the tomb, to the land of the living, Galilee, Mark echoes the cosmic theology in Paul, which moves from life to death, and back to eternal life.

146 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

Reviews

[Joseph Soltero · Rating 3 out of 5]

WARNING - misleading title

Even though I'm halfway through the book now, I feel compelled to write a review on what I've read so far.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but the title itself is misleading. It should be: "Lord of the Cosmos: The Gospel of Mark, Paul, and Mithras". Mithras proudly slaughters the bull on the front cover, but he scarcely makes an appearance in the text. Patella spends more time giving short, section-by-section commentary on the Gospel of Mark. This is great in itself - that's why I gave it three stars - and I plan to re-read this book with the Gospel of Mark by my side, but if you're looking for a more in-depth comparison between Jesus (as presented in Mark) and Mithras, then this book is not for you.

Maybe Mithras will show up in the last half of the book, but I doubt it. According to the index, Mithras (along with mithraea and Mithraism) is mentioned on pages:

1-5, 9-17, 22-26, 29, 67, 75-76, 98, 121-122

That's just 26 pages out of 122!

[vitorio Baldan · Rating 5 out of 5]

there is more. much more to christianity than just the hebrew scriptures.