| Menu | The Mithraic Agenda | 4019.06 |
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"Ave Mithras Chrestus Aristus!" "Hail Mithras the Good and the Best!" THE MITHRAIC AGENDA Mithraism is about developing our ability - individually and in community - to bring about the good existence. We believe in the idea of a PARADISIUM - the ideal order of life - which exists in its ideal form 'in heaven' - or 'in the world of forms' as Plato would say - or 'in the Pleroma' . Our task is to work to make this divine ideal a reality in the world, i.e. to make this world like the divine one. Mithraists are people who explicitly take on this work under the leadership of Mithras. CHRISTIAN SPIRIT Like Mithras we need to be Chrestus (Good/Useful) - i.e. people devoted to the Good, and working successfully for it. ARISTOCRATIC SPIRIT Like Mithras we need to be Aristus (the Best) - i.e to have the best capability to make a difference , for pure desire to do good without the ability to make it happen is of limited use. Mithraists are spiritual aristocrats. We are thinking like aristocrats about the state of life and society, and how it might be better, and how we ourselves can help to make it better. MITHRAIC SOCIETY Mithraists dont work solely as individuals but must also come together in Mithraic Societies (bands of people sharing allegiance to Mithras and working co-operatively). Such bands have a long history in ancient Iran as well as in ancient Rome, for the earliest Mithras was (in our language) Mithras Sancus - the god of oaths and contract who guaranteed that each member could be trusted to deliver on their promises. EQUALITY People are not equal in their abilities - there will always be some who are stronger or smarter than others - and the way jobs and power are allocated should reflect this. However in some different sense there should be a spirit of equality in a Mithraic Society - a feeling that everybody matters - that 'we are all in it together'. |