hereas the teaching of Jesus had been the announcement of
the kingdom of God, the illustration of its character, and the
insistent call to men to repent, the central teaching of the disciples
in Jerusalem became the claim that Jesus was the Messiah. But the
passage from Jerusalem to Antioch had produced still greater changes.
After all, the teaching of the disciples in Jerusalem contained no
elements foreign to Judaism. It was probably considered by the Jewish
authorities as the erroneous application to Jesus of opinions which,
rightly or wrongly, were widely held among the Jews; but nothing in it
represented concession to Hellenism. As soon as Hellenism was
suspected the Christians were at once driven out. In Antioch, on the
other hand, much that was distinctly Jewish was abandoned, and
Hellenistic thought adopted, so that Jesus became the divine centre of
a cult. It is incredible that he should have been so regarded by the
Jews of {74} Jerusalem; it is impossible that he should not have been
by Gentiles.

It is remarkable that Paul and the other Antiochean missionaries were
willing to accept this development, and to make themselves the
enthusiastic agents of its propaganda; but they clearly did so, and the
point is of extreme importance for the history of Judaism.[1] The only
alternative to large concessions to the position of the Dutch radicals
is to admit that in the Diaspora the Hellenising of Jews had proceeded
more rapidly and far deeper than has as a rule been supposed.

The result is clear, however obscure the process may be; Christianity
became a Graeco-Oriental cult, offering salvation, just as did the
other mystery religions. It competed with them for the right of
succession to the official religion of Rome, and ultimately it
triumphed. To understand the situation it is necessary to comprehend
the general nature of these cults, and to see the points of likeness
and difference in Christianity.

In general all the mystery religions assumed the existence of a Lord,
who had passed through various experiences on earth, and finally been
glorified and exalted. He had left behind the secret of obtaining the
same reward, in the form partly of knowledge, partly of magical
ceremonies. His followers knew this secret, and admitted into it those
whom the Lord was willing to accept. The initiated obtained {75}
protection in this world, and a blessed immortality after death. The
Lord was probably not usually