While some scholars have denied that there is a connection between the Therapeuts and the Christians, "Catholic writers maintain that it is quite impossible to make any historical gap or line of severance between the Therapeuts...and the Christian monks of Alexandria."[2145] One Catholic writer who insisted upon the connection between Philo's Therapeuts and the Christians was Eusebius during the fourth century. In The History of the Church (2.17), in speaking of "Philo's account of the Egyptian ascetics," Eusebius remarks: Whether he invented this designation [Therapeutae] and applied it to them, fitting a suitable name to their mode of life, or whether they were actually called this from the very start, because the title Christian was not yet in general use, need not be discussed here.[2146]

As demonstrated previously, Philo did not invent the designation of "therapeutae," as it was connected to religious associations or collegia centuries prior to the common era.

Eusebius goes on to compare Philo's description of the Therapeuts with Christian monastic life, as found especially in the Acts of the Apostles. Although Eusebius asserts that the Therapeuts were the "original Christian community converted by St. Mark,"[2147] the case could be made that this rare moment of candor from an early Church father will prove deleterious to the implausible claim of Christianity's supernatural genesis, since Philo's account preceded the creation of that faith. In actuality, Eusebius's claim of Mark founding the Church in Alexandria is anachronistic, as according to Jerome (On the Illustrious Men, 8),[2148] the evangelist died there in the eighth year of Nero's reign, which would be 62 AD/CE, when, according to Paul, Mark was with him, very much alive, in 65 AD/CE. Moreover, Eusebius contends that Mark was at Alexandria from around 41-44 to 61-62; yet, Acts depicts him at Jerusalem and Antioch in 46, as well as in Salamis around 47, and then back at Antioch in 49 or 50.[2149] In addition, neither Clement of Alexandria nor Church father Origen, an Egyptian who taught at the Alexandrian school, make any mention of this story connecting Mark to the Therapeuts or of his presence in their city at any point,[2150] which they surely would have done to increase their own credibility as spokesmen for a "sanctioned" church. The reason Eusebius wanted Mark to be in Alexandria, of course, was to explain why there were "Christians" there at so early a time. The reality, however, may be that the Therapeuts morphed into Christians because it was they who essentially created much of Christianity, with no "historical Jesus" in fact founding the faith in Judea.

In his commentary, Eusebius springs another surprise on us with his assessment that the Therapeuts' "allegorical writings" represented the basis of the canonical gospels! After quoting Philo's discussion of the Therapeuts' "short works by early writers, the founders of their sect, who left many specimens of the allegorical method," Eusebius (2.17) remarks: It seems like that Philo wrote this after listening to their exposition of the Holy Scriptures, and it is very probable that what he calls short works by their early writers were the gospels, the apostolic writings, and in all probability passages interpreting the old prophets, such as are contained in the Epistle to the Hebrews and several others of Paul's epistles.[2151]

A more blatant identification of the Egypto-Jewish origins of Christianity we could not hope to find. Yet, scholars who hold onto the received Christian history have assiduously ignored or dismissed this "smoking gun."

Despite the dismissal of them by modern scholars, Eusebius's remarks regarding the Therapeuts being "proto-Christians" are quite pointed, as summarized by de Bunsen, who was the son of Baron C.C.J. Bunsen and a member of the Society of Biblical Archaeology: ...Eusebius...declares it "highly probable" that the ancestral commentaries of the Alexandrian Essenes were made use of in the Gospels as well as in the Epistles of Paul, especially in the "Epistle of the Hebrews." The words of Eusebius clearly assert even, that these Essenic commentaries "are the very gospels and writings of the Apostles," that is, that they formed the foundations of Apostolic writings. Eusebius insists upon it that the religious rites of the Therapeuts, which Philo "has accurately described and stated in his writings, are the same customs that are observed by us alone at the present day, particularly the vigils of the great festival," which precedes the feast of Easter, and the Greek Fathers call "the great week."[2152]

As can be seen, Eusebius declared the Therapeuts to be Christians, their writings to be the basis of the New Testament texts, and their customs to be the same as those of the Christians. The question remains, was the Church historian just grasping at straws in order to find an early path for Alexandrian Christianity, or did he know more, unwittingly admitting, perhaps, that this Therapeutan network, by whatever name, was the real source of the Christian religion?

Discussing the same material in Philo, although under a different title ("On the Iessaioi"), Church father Epiphanius-who was very keen to denounce as heretical any type of sect outside of the realm of orthodox Christianity-concurred with Eusebius's declarations regarding the Therapeuts being Christians (Panarion 1.29.5.1-3): If you are a lover of learning and read the writings of Philo, you would find an account of these people in the book entitled on the Iessaioi. He describes their way of life and their praiseworthy customs and recounts their monasteries in the vicinity of the Marean marsh, speaking about none other than the Christians. For he himself was present in the area (the place is called Mareotis) and spent some time with them, receiving hospitality in the monasteries in this locality. Since he was there during the time of Pascha [Easter], he observed their practices, how some of them prolonged their fast for the entire holy week of the Pascha, others ate every second day, while yet others broke their fast every evening. All these matters are dealt with by the man in his account of the faith and practices of the Christians.[2153]

Epiphanius thus was quite sure Philo was describing Christians-"Christians," in fact, who lived at Alexandria before Christianity was created in Judea!

Describing these circumstances, the Encyclopedia Britannica comments: To the modern reader the importance of the Therapeutae, as of the Essenes, lies in the evidence they afford of the existence of the monastic system long before the Christian era. We have no clue to the origin of the Therapeutae, but it is plain that they were already ancient when Philo described them. Eusebius was so much struck by the likeness of the Therapeutae to the Christian monks of his own day as to claim that they were Christians converted by the preaching of St. Mark. He goes so far as to say that "the writings of ancient men, who were the founders of the sect" referred to by Philo, may very well have been the Gospels and Epistles....

Nothing is more likely than that Christianity gained adherents among the Therapeutae, and that their institutions were adapted to the new religion, just as they seem to have been borrowed by the Jews from the Egyptians.[2154]

Hence, we discover again that the Therapeuts were "already ancient," that they were quite well suited to be Christians, and that they had already borrowed their institutions from Egypt. How much more did the Therapeuts borrow from Egypt? As demonstrated here, the answer would appear to be many major aspects of the gospel story.

In the New Testament itself emerge a few inferences of possible Therapeuts, including Apollos of Alexandria (Acts 18:24), who purportedly met up with Paul at the Greek city of Corinth, a site where many Alexandrian Jews engaged in commerce. Regarding Apollos and Christianity, Dr. Birger A. Pearson, a professor emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, remarks: If we recall that Apollos was an Alexandrian Jew and a learned and eloquent teacher of scripture (Acts 18:24-26), we have a plausible link between the religiosity of the Corinthians and that of Alexandrian Judaism as represented by Philo.[2155]

In Acts, Paul is depicted as teaching Apollos about Jesus, but it remains peculiar, in consideration of the miracle-making Christ's purported fame as outlined in numerous scriptures,[2156] that Apollos, a member of the large Jewish community in a major city not far from Judea, had never heard of Christ, as if he never existed!

Another possible connection exists with Paul's Ananias (Acts 22:12), who may represent a student of the Therapeuts at Alexandria, as may also the famous disciple Stephen. As concerns this development, de Bunsen remarks: ...Stephen, Paul, and Apollos we regard as promulgators of the universalist Alexandrian Gnosis of the Essenic Therapeuts, as applied to Christianity.[2157]

The disciple Stephen, who is made to give a long speech that is in reality obvious propaganda by the author of Acts, and who is portrayed as murdered in front of Paul, is also depicted at Acts 6:9 as debating with some Alexandrian Jews, demonstrating their importance in the religious scene of the time.

Could it be that Paul's own Syro-Gnostic Christ was syncretized with the Alexandrian-Philonic Logos at Corinth, and then spread by Apollos throughout the therapeutan collegia network? If the theory about Apollos is correct, then the Therapeutae branches would be the same as the Christian churches in Paul's letters. Since we know that there existed mystery schools and religious brotherhoods in these very cities addressed in the Pauline epistles, it would not be surprising to find them both representative of the Therapeuts and engaged in the creation of Christianity.

Regarding the Therapeuts and early Christians, Lillie concludes: Eusebius, St. Jerome, Sozomenes, and Cassien, all maintained that monasteries in Christendom were due to the Therapeut converts of St. Mark, the first Bishop of Alexandria.... It is important that no writer in the early Christian Church could see any difference between a Therapeut and a Christian monastery. Without a doubt the three grades of Christian ecclesiastics-the ephemereut or bishop, the presbyter, and the diakonos [deacon], were derived from the three grades of Therapeut monks.[2158]

From another early Church father we learn one more intriguing fact: "In the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy...Dionysius the Areopagite regularly uses the term 'therapeut'...in referring to monks."[2159] In his Ecclesiastical Hierarchy (6.1), "Dionysius," supposedly writing to the disciple of Paul named Timothy, speaks about the "sacred Order of the Monks"-indeed the highest initiates-who are deemed by "our Divine Leaders" either "Therapeutae" or "Monks."[2160] In fact, Dionysius claims that the term therapeut was the designation of the "third and highest grade of Christian initiation, the perfected adept," within the early church.[2161] In addition, some of Dionysius's letters are addressed to one "Gaius Therapeutes," and in another epistle (8), the Church father again refers to the Christian rank of "Therapeutae." While these texts are considered forgeries from the fourth to fifth centuries in the name of one of Paul's disciples at Athens, they do reflect a fairly early instance of associating the term "Therapeuts" with Christianity, with the intent of making the association appear to be much earlier, reflecting also the ancient Church "forgery mill" that shamelessly cranked out pious propaganda for centuries.

Concerning the identification of the Therapeuts with early Christians, Mead summarizes the issue thus: The question, then, naturally arises: At such a date can the Therapeuts of Philo be identified with the earliest Christian Church at Alexandria? If the accepted dates of the origins are correct, the answer must be emphatically, No. If, on the contrary, the accepted dates are incorrect, and Philo's Therapeuts were "Christians," then we shall be compelled to change the values of many things.

...The Therapeuts, however, were clearly not Christians in any sense in which the term has been used by dogmatic Christianity; Philo knows absolutely nothing of Christianity in any sense in which the word is used to-day. Who, then, were those Christian non-Christian Essene Therapeuts? The answer to this question demands, in our opinion, an entire reformulation of the accepted history of the origins.

The dilemma is one that cannot be avoided. It is chief of all problems which confront the student of Christian origins. The Therapeuts have been recognized throughout the centuries as identical with the earliest Christian Church of Egypt. They were known to Philo at the very latest as early as 25 A.D., and they must have existed long before. If the canonical dates are correct, they could not have been Christians, in the sense of being followers of Jesus; and yet they were so like the Christians, that the Church Fathers regarded them as the model of a Christian Church. We are, therefore, confronted with this dilemma; either Christianity existed before Christ, or the canonical dates are wrong. From this dilemma there seems to me to be no escape.[2162]

Hence, Mead understood this problem as acute to the study of Christian origins, possibly reflecting, in fact, that "Christianity existed before Christ." Mead is not alone in his queries, as others in modern times averred that the Therapeuts comprised the earliest Christian church at Alexandria. For example, Dr. Grant states: The best precedent for the Christian schools of Alexandria seems to lie...among the Therapeutae by the Mareotic lake, described in Philo's work On the Contemplative Life.... Such Therapeutae would be ready for Alexandrian Christianity.[2163]

As concerns this situation, Philo scholar Dr. David T. Runia, a master of Queen's College at the University of Melbourne, asks: How could Philo's description of his Therapeutae so closely resemble what we know about early Christian monasticism, although this movement does not appear to commence until some 3 centuries later?[2164]

And George Reber also raises pertinent questions: If Christian churches are not indebted to the Therapeutae for their form of church government, from what source do they derive it? Not from the Jews; not from Paul; not from the Apostles.[2165]

Conybeare likewise relates the problem with equating the Therapeuts with the Christians: But, asked Bolingbroke and Voltaire, if the Therapeutae and the Palestinian Essenes were so similar to Christians in their lives and self-discipline, as to have been actually considered to be Christians by the fathers of the fourth century, what became of the claims of that religion to be an entirely new revelation? If men had already by their unaided efforts made themselves so like the primitive Christians, that the fathers themselves could not distinguish them therefrom, and if they had already reached this pitch of saintliness before ever Christ was born into the world, what became of the supposed necessity for an incarnation of God, and for the gift of the Holy Spirit?[2166]

The solution to these various problems with identifying the Therapeuts and the first Christians in Egypt, as well as their texts as the basis of the canonical gospels and epistles, lies in a "radical" analysis of the data concerning Christian origins along strictly scientific lines, without fervent faith or blind belief in the gospel story preventing us from seeing the facts. What we discover when we look closely at the evidence is that the gospel story represents a largely fictional account begun towards the end of the first century, and reworked and reformatted until the end of the second century, at which point it was solidly written into history and backdated to the beginning of the first century.[2167] With these facts in mind, especially that there is no credible scientific evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ at any point, or for the existence of the four canonical gospels as we have them before the end of the second century, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall neatly into place.

One of the pieces would be the allegorizing "short works" of the Therapeuts depicted by Philo around 20 to 30 AD/CE that possibly discussed the coming messiah or a spiritual savior not yet incarnate, Hellenized texts that were later Gnosticized and historicized in several different directions until they eventually ended up codified in the four canonical gospels at the end of the second century. Another, of course, would be the pre-existing Church structure complete with hierarchy and holidays that existed in Egypt and elsewhere, known by the name of "Therapeuts" and other designations.

Viewing this situation scientifically and logically, factoring in all the correspondences between the Egyptian and Christian religions, could we not reasonably conclude that, rather than having been instituted by a supernatural Jewish son of God, a significant part of Christianity constitutes the natural outcome of a Hellenizing and allegorizing Jewish sect living outside of Alexandria, home of the famed library possessing half a million texts from around the known world, including many discussing religion and mythology?

Lake Mareotis.

As another piece of the puzzle of Christian origins, according to Philo the monastic class of persons existed around the Mediterranean, while "the" Therapeuts themselves specifically were headquartered at Lake Mareotis, a large and bustling waterway on the southern border of the city of Alexandria.

As we have seen, the existence of the Alexandrian Therapeuts has been questioned because they were evidently not named as such by anyone else, although in fact the term "therapeutae" was utilized to designate religious associations elsewhere, including on the small but important Greek island of Delos where Jews and Samaritans had a noticeable presence. Indeed, these systemata, synodoi, collegia or ecclesiae were found in numerous places, including the very sites where Paul allegedly founded "churches."

The reality of the Therapeuts has also been under suspicion because, if, as Philo states, they remanded all of their assets to their families and friends, they could not maintain themselves. Regarding the Therapeuts and their financial considerations, Conybeare remarks: The statement of Philo that the Therapeutae divested themselves of their property before joining the ascetic community, must not be taken too literally. Their houses, however humble...must have cost something. So must their common sanctuary, and even their diet of bread and salt and hyssop, though it was the everyday diet of the humbler inhabitants of Egypt. And if the statement at 483. 4, 5, that wine was not taken by them at their banquets on the Day of Pentecost and on its eve, be taken to mean that on other occasions they did allow themselves the use of wine, this would involve some further expense; even though the neighbourhood in which they lived was noted for the excellence and plenty of its wine. It is possible, however, that their co-religionists who remained in the world contributed to the support of so holy a confraternity. We can infer from Philo's references in the De Profugis that it was the rich in particular who joined the brotherhood. Probably they gave up the bulk of their fortunes, retaining just enough for their necessary wants.[2168]

A feasible solution to the Therapeutan financial needs lies in the fact that Lake Mareotis was famous in ancient times for its wine production and the quality of its grapes, constituting a huge wine-making area full of grapevines and large grape-growing estates. Concerning Lake Mareotis, Strabo (17.1.14) reported that "the vintages in this region are so good that the Mareotic wine is racked off with a view to ageing it."[2169] It is possible, therefore, that this Therapeutan community comprised vintners who made their living growing grapes and making wine.

With this fact of Alexandrian wine-making, we are reminded instantly of the New Testament tale of the wedding feast at Cana, which-not surprisingly-appears only in the (Egyptian) Gospel of John (Jn 2:1-11). The amphorae that would have held those 130+ gallons Jesus purportedly miraculously conjured up for the already half-drunk guests could also have been manufactured at Lake Mareotis, since there was an amphora-making industry there as well.

Naturally, fishing was likewise a big enterprise at the lake, which may explain in part the central focus in the gospels on fish. Indeed, Jesus himself was called ichthys, Greek for "fish," deemed by Tertullian the "Great Fish."[2170] Interestingly, the speaker in a number of Coffin Texts is likewise the "Great Fish,"[2171] and, as we may have expected, there were sacred fish in the Egyptian religion, such as the oxyrhynchus.[2172] The fishy theme in the gospels also evidently has to do with the precessional Age of Pisces, into which we just happened to enter around the era when Christ allegedly walked the Earth. Indeed, not a few people have suggested that, rather than being a real person, Jesus Christ symbolizes the mythological "avatar" of the Piscean Age.

In any event, the finances of the Therapeuts could easily have been handled by commerce in local products, as well as donations from the Jewish population at Alexandria, including the wealthy Philo and his family, especially his brother Gaius Julius Alexander the "alabarch" or governor of Jews in that city, said to be the "richest man in the world" at the time.[2173]

The Hybridizing Emperor?

During the centuries surrounding the era when Philo wrote about the Therapeuts, Greeks and Jews engaged in "extensive rioting" at Alexandria, which likely explains the push for their unification through the worship of hybrid gods such as Serapis. It is in this fractured environment that the idea for Christianity likewise evidently began to become formulated. Of course, various religious movements in Judea and Syria, as well as at Rome, also constituted factors in what eventually became Christianity. Indeed, Antioch and Jerusalem may be considered the "birthplace" of certain Christian ideas, while Alexandria served as the crucible of the Christian religion.

In 37 AD/CE, Emperor Caligula appointed as king of Judea the hated Herod Agrippa I-who owed a great deal of money to Philo's wealthy brother in Alexandria[2174]-an act that was the source of much Jewish unrest. This selection probably served as the seed of the anti-Herodianism that eventually made its way into Christianity, a new religion specifically created to remove these thorny issues from the Empire. After Judea broke out into troubles during the last half of the first century, Vespasian was appointed governor of Palestine by Emperor Nero (37-68 AD/CE). Once in Palestine, Vespasian was "surrounded by flatterers" and those who freely applied to him "the omens which were supposed to popularly point to a Jewish deliverer and Messiah."[2175] Jewish general and historian Josephus, who knew Vespasian personally, having essentially surrendered to him, evidently found it expedient to spread the rumor that the future emperor was the "fulfillment of prophecy and the world's savior."[2176] An apparently fictional account of the time depicts a Jewish faction led by Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai determining that Vespasian was the "king" predicted at Isaiah 10:34.[2177]

Moreover, rumor has it that when future emperor Vespasian went to Mt. Carmel in Judea to visit priests in 69 AD/CE, he specifically discussed creating a hybrid religion that would unite Judaism and Paganism. The site of Mt. Carmel had been used for religious purposes as far back as 3,500 years ago, if not much earlier. By the time Vespasian visited Mt. Carmel, the altar to the Jewish tribal god Yahweh was being shared by the Greek god Zeus, among others. As stated by van der Toorn: In the fifth or fourth century BCE, Pseudo-Scylax described Mount Carmel as "the holy mountain of Zeus"...

In 1952 Avi-Yonah published a late second- or early third-century ce inscription on a big marble votive foot, found in the monastery of Elijah (on the north-west side of mount Carmel), with a dedication to the "Heliopolitan Zeus of the Carmel."..[2178]

Vespasian's "all-important meeting" on Mt. Carmel included the governor of Syria, Mucianus, as well as Basilides, a priest who was possibly a representative of the very wealthy nephew of Philo of Alexandria,[2179] Tiberius Julius Alexander, the procurator of Judea under Claudius who later became prefect/governor of Egypt and Alexandria, eventually electing Vespasian emperor.[2180] Tiberius's father was one of the only Alexandrian Jews granted Roman citizenship, which made Tiberius a citizen as well.[2181] According to Josephus (War, 6.236), in what would seem a blasphemous act of betrayal, Tiberius became commander under Vespasian's son Titus and helped destroy Jerusalem, including the very temple his Jewish father had assisted in building.[2182]

According to the Roman historian Tacitus (c. 56-c. 117 AD/CE), during this auspicious occasion on Mt. Carmel the priest Basilides sacrificed an animal and, after examining its entrails, told Vespasian: "Whatever are your designs, whether to build a house, to enlarge the boundaries of your lands, or increase your slaves, a mighty seat, immense borders, a multitude of men, are given to you."[2183] This prophecy of good fortune and abundance was spread far and wide by Vespasian's underlings, to the effect that the Roman politician gained great esteem and confidence.

After this famed episode, Vespasian journeyed to Alexandria, where he entered the Serapeum alone, when suddenly Basilides appeared miraculously in front of him, along with "sacred leaves, chaplets, and cakes."[2184] After this apparition, says the Latin historian Suetonius (69/75-c. 130 AD/CE) in "The Deified Vespasian" (The Live of the Caesars, 8.7.2), Vespasian performed the miracles of healing a blind man and a lame man in the name of Serapis.[2185] Regarding Basilides, who was depicted by Suetonius as Vespasian's "freedman," Suetonius editor Forester notes: Tacitus describes Basilides as a man of rank among the Egyptians, and he appears also to have been a priest, as we find him officiating at Mount Carmel... This is so incompatible with his being a Roman freedman, that commentators concur in supposing that the word "libertus," although found in all copies now extant, has crept into the text by some inadvertence of an early transcriber. Basilides appears, like Philo Judaeus, who lived about the same period, to have been half-Greek, half-Jew, and to have belonged to the celebrated Platonic school of Alexandria.[2186]

The fact of a half-Greek, half-Jew member of the Alexandrian Platonic school influencing the Roman Emperor is significant in our quest to determine how the Egyptian religion came to be rehashed in Christianity, since the latter faith largely constitutes a combination of Greek, Jewish and Egypto-Alexandrian ideology and mythology.

Also included in this analysis is a comparison of Vespasian's use of spittle to heal a blind man with the same miracle as Christ was said to have done at John 9:6, in a text that post-dates this episode with Vespasian. It is interesting to note that this spittle incident of curing a blind man occurs in the (Egyptian) gospel of John[2187]-as if to compete with this famous miracle at Alexandria by Vespasian-the canonical text of which was nowhere to be found until the end of the first century, by conservative estimates. In reality, there is no hint of the existence of the canonical gospel of John as we have it until the end of the second century, so this famed spittle healing of Vespasian's was known to Alexandrians for over a century before hearing about the same miracle of Jesus Christ via John's gospel. Once more, it must be remarked that the gospel of John appears to have been written specifically to win over the Alexandrian followers of Egypto-Greco-Jewish-Gnostic religion by usurping their myths and legends and reworking them to revolve around a fictional Jewish messiah.

In actuality, it is quite evident from the blithe ignorance of all those involved in this story, including Vespasian and other emperors of the first century, that no such miracle-making godman as portrayed in the gospel tales had made any impact upon anyone, as if he never existed.[2188] For example, when Vespasian was in Judea making pretenses to messiahship, one might imagine he would be besieged with agitators who believed that the messiah had already come, especially if Christ had not only existed but had done all the astounding miracles said of him, including healing the sick, multiplying fishes and loaves, raising other people and himself from the dead, with the bodies of "saints" pouring out of their graves and wandering the streets of Jerusalem, as well Christ ascending to heaven! Yet, there is no mention in any history of the era of any such agitation-which might have originated in the Jerusalem church, one might think, if it had really existed as such at the time. The gospel depiction of the Jewish and Roman milieus of the time of Jesus's purported advent becomes absurd and naive when the true history and politics of the region are understood.

In any event, even after Vespasian's time, the unrest accelerated, with the destruction of the Jewish temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD/CE under Vespasian's son, Titus, and lasting well into the second century in Palestine and at Alexandria. During the reign of Trajan, the Jews continued to rabblerouse, seriously rebelling in 115 and then battling with Christians, even participating in the death of the bishop of Jerusalem in 117.[2189] Regarding the Jewish population at Alexandria, Dr. Runia remarks: There is...general agreement...that the dramatic events of 115-117 must have formed a watershed in the relations between Jews and Christians in the city. The Jewish community was pulverized to such a degree that all intellectual vitality was lost, and Hellenistic Judaism as it had developed in Alexandria appears virtually to have died out.[2190]

In The Jews of Egypt, papyrologist Dr. Joseph Meleze Modrzejewski, a professor of Ancient History at the Sorbonne, proposed that "if primitive Christianity had not left any marks on Egyptian soil until the end of the second century, it was because it had been annihilated along with the entire body in which it was immersed-the Jewish community of Alexandria."[2191] At this point, Jewish Egyptian Christianity ceased and was replaced by Pagan Egyptian Christianity. Dr. Pearson does not find this perspective of "total rupture" to be convincing, however. In reality, the promulgation of this hybrid religion became even more urgent in Alexandria after the revolt against Trajan in 116. By this time, the rudiments of the messianic faith of Judea had been grafted onto Philo's Logos, and numerous elements of Paganism began to be incorporated into the tale. It is only in the early part of the second century that the major aspects of the Christian myth find their way into literature. Previously, we see only the Jewish Gnostic efforts by Paul and others, whose works do not reflect the gospel story as historical.[2192] The Gnostic synthesizing efforts, in fact, are far more abundant at this time than are the Judaizing and historicizing endeavors found in later Christianity.

As demonstrated throughout the present work, much of Christianity can be shown to have its origin in Egypt, including and especially during this time. Regarding this troubled period, Ellen Brundige remarks: Christian thought was both refined and bizarrely altered during this turbulent era in Alexandria. Introduced by the Alexandrian St. Mark according to tradition, it was initially mistaken by the Emperor Hadrian as a troublesome offshoot of the cult of Serapis. Indeed, the Eucharist, resurrection, and reverence to the Mother were developed in Alexandria during this period, and seem to have echoes in the cult of Serapis, with its Dionysian-style feasting and resurrection, and his consort Isis/Cybele/Demeter.

As can be seen, rather than representing parts of a "true story," the "Eucharist, resurrection, and reverence to the Mother" are considered to have been "developed" at Alexandria, based on the cult of Serapis. Indeed, Christianity was perceived by Hadrian as an offshoot of that cult, an observation we believe was not mistaken.

While there may have been Christians at Alexandria during this period, those at Rome were so few that Hadrian's predecessor Trajan apparently had not even heard of them, if we accept as genuine the letter to him by the Roman historian Pliny the Younger (61/63-c. 113), who felt the need to explain to the emperor what Christians were.[2193]

During Hadrian's time some 20 years later, in 135 AD/CE, the Jewish homeland was nearly completely destroyed, with the resultant end of Israel as a nation. It was at this point that Christianity as we know it truly began to be formulated, with various factions jockeying for position until the end of the second century when Catholic efforts essentially began to dominate within the Roman Empire, culminating with the officialization of the religion in the fourth century by Emperor Constantine. During this time-in particular in the critical second century-the religious concepts of Egypt, especially at Alexandria, exercised a great deal of influence on the organized Christian effort.

In actuality, the influence of the Egyptian religion upon the Roman rulers of the era was profound, beginning before the common era and, as noted, into the first century with Chaeremon and continuing. As historian and archaeologist Dr. Margarita Tacheva remarks: There is no room for doubt that the presence of many learned men from Egypt who maintained close contact with the emperors (e.g. Chaeromon of Naucratis or Dionysos of Alexandria in the period between the mid-1st and mid-2nd century ad) contributed to the popularity of the Egyptian cults at the Imperial court.[2194]

Tacheva further states that the peak of this popularity of Egyptian religion among Romans occurred during the time of the emperors Antoninus Pius (reigned 138-161 AD/CE) and Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161-180 AD/CE)-precisely when the Alexandrian Gnostic-Christian efforts evidently bore the fruits of the canonical gospels, among other texts. Again, the fascination with all things Egyptian began much earlier, including among the elite, such as Augustus's daughter, Julia (39 BCE-14 AD/CE), who was "wild about Egyptian motifs, which she used in the decoration of her villa at Boscotrecase."[2195]

The emperor Tiberius (42 BCE-37 AD/CE) was a follower of the Egyptian religion to such an extent that at Philae he created depictions of himself "smiting the enemies" in the sight of Isis, Horus, Hathor and a god named a.[2196] Tiberius's reign occurred precisely during the purported advent of Christ, whose alleged miraculous endeavors, had they really occurred, would hardly have failed to impress the followers of the highly metaphysical and supernatural Egyptian religion. Yet, from all evidence, Tiberius was completely oblivious to Christ's alleged existence.

So fascinated was the infamous emperor Caligula with Egypt that he enjoyed imitating the pharaohs "(to the point of marrying his sister Drusilla!) and even considering making Alexandria his new capital."[2197] Regarding other imperial influences, Hornung states: Claudius was also positively disposed toward Egyptian religion, and Nero expressed interest in the sources of the Nile. Nero also had an Egyptian teacher, Chaeromon, who saw to the dissemination of Egyptian knowledge at Rome. According to Suetonius, Otho (69 C.E.) was the first Roman emperor to participate publicly in the cult of Isis. Notwithstanding his well-known stinginess, Vespasian dedicated a large statue of the Nile to Rome, after a Nile miracle occurred during his visit to Alexandria in the year 69. Together with his son Titus, he spent the night before their triumph over Judea (71 C.E.) in the temple of the Roman Isis, which was first depicted on Roman coins that year. Titus is probably the anonymous "pharaoh" depicted in front of the Apis bull in the catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa in Alexandria. From the reign of Domitian on, Apis was represented on imperial coins.[2198]

To reiterate an important fact, according to Josephus (Wars, 7.123) our hybridizing emperor Vespasian and his son Titus spent the night before their victory over the Jews in a temple to Isis.[2199]

Hornung continues with the list of emperors involved in some manner with Egypt and Egyptian religion, such as Trajan and Hadrian, the latter of whom actually "promoted Alexandrian religion" in a variety of ways including building Egyptian temples, while his young lover, Antinous, was sacrificed in the Nile and later depicted as a pharaoh.[2200] As we have seen, the Egyptomania did not end there, as the two next emperors, Antoninus Pius and Commodus, were very fond of Egypt, the latter giving the Isis cult "considerable state support."[2201] The last emperor to visit Thebes was the inquisitive Septimus Severus (145-211 AD/CE), in 199 AD/CE, when, according to the account (76, 13) of contemporary Roman historian Cassius Dio (c. 155 or 163/164-c. 229 AD/CE), Severus "took away from practically all the sanctuaries all the books that he could find containing any secret lore" and evidently enclosed them in the tomb of Alexander the Great, "in order that no one in future should either view Alexander's body or read what was written in the above-mentioned books."[2202] This activity was followed sometime later by emperor Diocletian (244-311 AD/CE) burning whatever may have been left of Egypt's "secret lore."[2203] Also according to Dio, just prior to arriving in Egypt, Septimus had sojourned in Palestine, "where he sacrificed to the spirit of Pompey," leaving us to wonder whom he visited and what was discussed there.

In consideration of all that we have learned here, from the blatantly obvious influence of the Egyptian religion on Christianity to the fact of the canonical gospels not concretely appearing in the historical record until the end of the second century, could it be that what was contained in these "secret books" of Egypt would further prove the Christian religion to be the remake of the Egyptian?

Under such circumstances as described here, it is obvious why an emperor or emperors would make efforts to synthesize the many faiths of Rome to unify the empire under one state religion, as we contend happened with Christianity.[2204]

The Library of Alexandria.

The city of Alexandria where so much religion making occurred represented one of the greatest seats of learning in the ancient world. The renowned Library of Alexandria comprised several buildings evidently spread out over a large area of the city, including the smaller collections in the Serapeum and in the Caesareum. There was also apparently a massive study hall near what is called the Bruchium or Bruchion that may likewise have been part of the University of Alexandria, which included the older Mouseion or Museum as well. Although according to Plutarch (Caesar 43.6) the library was destroyed in 48 BCE during a battle with Julius Caesar,[2205] it appears enough of it remained, or was replenished by the plundering by Marc Anthony of the Pergamum library, to retain its significance in the ancient world, since a few decades later the historian Strabo conducted his own research in the Museum, which he deemed the "finest library known in antiquity."[2206] The collection remained intact until the destruction by Emperor Aurelian in the last quarter of the 3rd century AD/CE. A portion of the library was said to have been preserved in the Serapeum until its devastation by Christians under Emperor Theodosius (347-395 AD/CE), although historian Marcellinus (325/330-c. 391 AD/CE) claimed it too had been destroyed by Caesar in 48 BCE.

Regarding the extensive Alexandrian library system, beginning with the Museum, which evidently housed the bulk of the library, Brundige states: Here 100 scholars lived, carried out new scientific research, published, lectured, performed the first systematic study of Greek literature (inventing the notions of accents and of grammar, a mixed blessing to some), edited, critiqued, and collected all Greek classics, and also gathered translations of Assyrian, Persian, Egyptian, Jewish, Indian, and other nations' literature, having nearly a million works in its holdings during the late Ptolemaic period. A second "daughter" library, the Serapeion, was soon established in the temple of Serapis, a popular god invented by the Ptolemies as a synthesis of Zeus, Pluto, Osiris, and the Apis bull. This library, found in the Rhakotis or Egyptian sector, was open to all, not just to royally pensioned scholars, and had copies of many of the Museum's scrolls.

Contrary to popular belief that depicts the origins of Christianity as having sprung up in a primitive vacuum of ignorance of the outside world, it was in this environment of monumental scholarly efforts involving hundreds of thousands of texts from as far east as India, at least, and encompassing practically all known literate cultures that Christianity truly was born. Knowing these facts, the popular picture of Christian origins with a babe in the manger in the little town of Bethlehem becomes erroneous at best and delusional at worst.

As concerns the cosmopolitan learning environment represented by the Alexandrian Library, Brundige also remarks: An intriguing dialogue between Pagan, Jewish, and, later, Christian thought developed among the scholars of Alexandria, as religious thought was refined and ideas adapted not only from the other theologies common in Alexandria, but from the Zoroasterism of Iran, and even through the founder of Neoplatonism, Ammonius, Buddhism and Hinduism from India.

In such an atmosphere, populated by various cultures and ethnicities, it would be highly logical to suggest that the many educated Jews, Hebrews, Israelites and Samaritans were likewise engaged in endeavors to refine and adapt religious thought from around the known world. Within the walls of the Library of Alexandria, therefore, existed numerous texts that quite possibly would have been used in the creation of Christianity, particularly vis-a-vis the Hellenized Egypto-Jewish community thriving there despite all odds and motivated by adversity to renew and reestablish itself. Indeed, we maintain that just such activity of refinement and adaptation, as evident from the writings of Philo and others, produced Christianity.

Philo of Alexandria.

One of the writers whose works undoubtedly existed in the Library of Alexandria was Philo Judaeus, who repeatedly wrote about spiritual doctrines that would be familiar to followers and students of the Christian religion. Yet, Philo wrote before Christianity was created and was most definitely an influence on the Jewish religious thought that likewise preceded the true genesis of Christian religion. Although Philo was an Alexandrian native, his writings were widely disseminated and esteemed within both the Jewish and Gentile spiritual communities in Egypt and elsewhere-likely because of his own and his family's personal wealth, which would make such a costly endeavor possible. That Philo was influential within both Judaism and Christianity has been a source of great study over the centuries, and for the most part has been proved satisfactorily, although there remain those apologists who in spite of all evidence continue to deny the many obvious correspondences between Philonic ideology and Christianity.

Concerning the clear connection between Philo and the Christian religion, Dr. Pearson relates: [Theologian Dr.] Attila Jakab argues that it is among the Jews of education and Hellenistic culture-the spiritual heirs of Philo-where the first Christians must be sought. People of education and means, they probably included proselytes and God-fearers. They were the inheritors and transmitters of the works of Philo and of the Septuagint Bible. Their openness to Hellenistic culture also provided an environment in which Christian Gnosticism could thrive.[2207]

Thus, Philo is indicated as a link between Judaism and Christianity-rather than the latter constituting a stunning, new "divine revelation" from God. Regarding the relationship of both religions to Philo, Runia states: Various scholars have pointed to the undeniable continuity between Judaism and early Christianity in Alexandria. In Philo a number of varieties of Judaism (even including an apocalyptic strain) are visible, and these may have exerted various kinds of influence on nascent Alexandrian Christianity.[2208]

When we look closely, the facts reveal that Philo's writings unquestionably preceded the publication of any Christian work, that he possessed no apparent knowledge whatsoever of Christ, Christians or Christianity, that his work was popular in some of the very places where Christianity gained its greatest momentum, and that he was wealthy enough to be influential in his lifetime and long after. Knowing the fact that his writings bear an astounding amount of serious correspondences to Christianity, we can hardly go wrong by asserting that Christianity is founded in significant part on the writings of Philo.

Space here will only permit us to explore a few more instances of the concepts in the massive works of Philo that evidently found their way into Christianity-or that served as a basis for that faith in considerable part. As one example of Philo's pre-Christian "Christianity," in "On the Confusion of Tongues" (De Confusione Linguarum, XXVII, 146), the philosopher describes a "son of God": ...And even if there be not as yet any one who is worthy to be called a son of God, nevertheless let him labour earnestly to be adorned according to his first-born word, the eldest of his angels, as the great archangel of many names; for he is called, the authority, and the name of God, and the Word, and man according to God's image, and he who sees Israel.[2209]

As we can see from this one paragraph-and there are many other pertinent passages in his lengthy writings-Philo possessed the seed of Christianity without having any inkling whatsoever that anything or anyone remotely resembling his ideology had ever existed. It is doubtless that Philo's son of God and Logos philosophy existed before Christianity was ever heard of, serving, we contend, as a major foundation for the creation of that religion, which truly took place during the second century, based upon not only Philo but also Gnosticism and the Egyptian religion, among other mythologies and ideologies around the Mediterranean.

This Philonic portrayal thus represents a close description of the character called Jesus Christ, whom we find in the later Christian writings. Even though it was his passion to study and write about his beloved Israel and Judaism, and he was in position to be well connected and informed about the goings on within the Jewish community around the Mediterranean, Philo was completely oblivious to the claims that, precisely when he was writing these words, the son of God and "first-born word" was allegedly walking the Earth, causing great tumult and uproar with his miracles, manifestations and troubles for the orthodox Jewish priesthood! Philo's homebase of Alexandria was a mere 300 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies, and, at some point, Philo made a "pilgrimage" to "temple of his native land" at Jerusalem ("On Providence," II, 64).[2210] Yet, there exists nary a word from him about Christ, Christians or Christianity.

In "On the Migration of Abraham" (De Migratione Abrahami, I, 6), Philo describes the Word in greater detail: ...What, then, can it be except the Word, which is more ancient than all the things which were the objects of creation, and by means of which it is that the Ruler of the universe, taking hold of it as a rudder, governs all things. And when he fashioned the world, he used this as his instrument for the blameless arrangements of all the things which he was completing.[2211]

Once again, Philo portrays "the Word" or Logos in a very similar manner as applied to Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, when the Word purportedly became incarnate a few hundred miles away in Philo's ancestral homeland, he was completely unknown to the Jewish philosopher!

In "Who Is the Heir of Divine Things" (XXXIV, 165), Philo speaks of God thus: "And he apportioned cold and heat, and summer and spring, the different seasons of the year, divided by the same dividing Word."[2212] In the same treatise (XLII, 205), Philo remarks: And the Father who created the universe has given to his archangelic and most ancient Word a pre-eminent gift... And this same Word is continually a suppliant to the immortal God on behalf of the mortal race...and is also the ambassador, sent by the Ruler of all, to the subject race. And the Word rejoices in the gift, and, exulting in it, announces it and boasts of it, saying, "And I stood in the midst, between the Lord and you..."

The Word as depicted basically represents the mediator between God and man, precisely as was said of Jesus (1 Ti 2:5). Yet, again, there is no acknowledgement from Philo that his alleged contemporary, Jesus of Nazareth, fulfilled this very role.

Philo continues to speak of the "divine word" and the "sacred word," which is responsible for many things in the cosmos, both the divisions and the bindings, sounding much like the Gnostic Horos. Even the "manna from heaven," so important for the survival of the Israelites in the small stretch of desert during the 40 years Moses allegedly led them around in circles, constitutes the "word of God."[2213]

In "On Dreams That They Are God-Sent" (De Somniis, XV, 85), in reference to the biblical patriarch Joseph's supposedly "symbolical language," the Alexandrian sage states: But according to the third signification, when he speaks of the sun, he means the divine word, the model of that sun which moves about through the heaven...[2214]

Thus, according to Philo, per Plato as well, the Word is the sun, just as we claim Christ-the remake in large part of the Egyptian sun gods Osiris and Horus-to have symbolized.

Even the virgin birth may have been incorporated into the gospel story not only because of the miraculous births of so many other gods and legendary men but also because of Philo's influence. As we have seen, the miraculous birth was a part of the mysteries, as explained by the Jewish writer. Philo also focused heavily on virginity itself, including the God-bestowed "born-again" virginity, as well as many other instances, as described by Conybeare: The Words virgin, virginity, ever-virginal, occur on every other page of Philo... It is indeed Philo who first formulated the idea of the Word or ideal ordering principle of the Cosmos being born of an ever-virgin soul, which conceives, because God the Father sows into her his intelligible rays and Divine see, so begetting His only well-loved Son the Cosmos. [2215]

The writings of the Church fathers themselves demonstrate familiarity with Philo's writings, including and especially the influential Clement of Alexandria, who was quite aware of the Jewish philosopher's works and found them to be useful to Christian doctrine, as can be readily seen in the extensive study done by Dr. Annewies van den Hoek, Lecturer in Greek at Harvard Divinity School, entitled Clement of Alexandria and His Use of Philo in the Stromateis and published in 1988 by E.J. Brill.

Concerning the correspondences between Christ's purported teachings and the doctrines of Philo, Dr. Alvar Ellegrd, a historian at the University of Goteburg, remarks: ...Why should Jesus, as a Jew from Galilee, who according to the myth had never set foot outside Palestine, exhibit so many points of agreement with the learned hellenised Egyptian Jew? Again, the problem disappears if the Gospel story is rejected as history, and the Diaspora matrix of Christianity is admitted.[2216]

In the end, Philo's very Christian-sounding theology preceded the formation of Christianity and quite likely contributed to it in major ways, as one part of the patchwork of religious, mythological and mystical concepts evidently rolled into one state religion.