Olympian Community Interfaith

And when we say also that the Word, who is the first-birth of God, was produced without sexual union, and that He, Jesus Christ, our Teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propound nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you esteem sons of Jupiter. For you know how many sons your esteemed writers ascribed to Jupiter: Mercury, the interpreting word and teacher of all; Æsculapius, who, though he was a great physician, was struck by a thunderbolt, and so ascended to heaven; and Bacchus too, after he had been torn limb from limb; and Hercules, when he had committed himself to the flames to escape his toils; and the sons of Leda, and Dioscuri; and Perseus, son of Danae; and Bellerophon, who, though sprung from mortals, rose to heaven on the horse Pegasus. For what shall I say of Ariadne, and those who, like her, have been declared to be set among the stars? And what of the emperors who die among yourselves, whom you deem worthy of deification, and in whose behalf you produce some one who swears he has seen the burning Cæsar rise to heaven from the funeral pyre? And what kind of deeds are recorded of each of these reputed sons of Jupiter, it is needless to tell to those who already know.

Justin Martyr

The First Apology, Chapter XXI

In The First Apology, Justin Martyr (100-165 CE) sought to explain Christianity to the Roman Emperor Antoninus, his Senate and his sons in hopes of halting their persecution of Christians. He explained the beliefs of the nascent faith, and pointed to commonalities in religious understanding and civic virtue.

Christians were believed to immoral and godless criminals, traitors and cannibals. And Justin sincerely believed that his efforts would humanize Christians in Roman eyes.

In the twenty first chapter, he presented the argument that the miraculous birth, remarkable life, horrible death, resurrection and apotheosis of Jesus was not in essence much different than the equivalent incidents in the lives of the sons of Jupiter, of which they were familiar.

Justin, who was later canonized, also attempted to defend Christianity through the philosophical writings of Socrates, Plato and other Pagan luminaries. He also spoke of an original religion which predated Christianity, yet proclaimed many of its truths.

Although Justin did not succeed in his day, his attempts were truly heroic. Perhaps we can learn from his mistakes. In his zeal, Justin often demonized the Roman gods and denounced the common practices of the Empire's citizens. He called rites he did not an endorse wicked and labeled spiritual understandings differing from his own blasphemy. This is not the best way to communicate your views. Intolerance does not encourage tolerance, nor does it open the door to increased dialogue and better understanding.

For the purpose of maximizing Interfaith Dialogue we will henceforth stand firmly on the Theosophic and Theurgic aspects of our Olympian spirituality. These emerged publicly during the Hellenistic Age (Alexander through Cleopatra and into the Roman Era) in the melting-pot of the Mediterranean and have integrated aspects of many religions and spiritualities, including the three major Abrahamic traditions, over the millennia.

In the light of Theosophy and Theurgy, these seemingly contentious systems of belief are reconciled and harmoniously serve humanity's highest spiritual aspirations.

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