CHAPTER V

THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND OTHER RELIGIONS

The Universal Mission of Christianity 165

I. Christianity and Ancient Religions 165 The resemblances and their significance 166 Clemen's "religious-historical" principles 168 1. The Virgin Birth and its alleged parallels 169 2. The worship of Christ and the worship of the Emperor: origin of the "Kyrios" title 172 3. Paul and the Mystery Religions 177 Pauline doctrine of the Sacraments and of dying and rising with Christ 180 The Pauline vocabulary: views of Reitzenstein 185 Why did Christianity conquer the Roman Empire? 192

II. Christianity and Modern Religions 193 The missionary propaganda 194 Dangers of compromise 195 The Christian _Plerosis_: the fulfillment of the great religious ideas of the race 197