Today, I will continue from yesterday's discussion and focus on the cult of Isis. I will explore the initiation process for new members of the cult, the ways in which Isis was worshipped, and the role of Osiris, including his various other names. Additionally, I will highlight the parallels between the cult and the Roman Catholic Church, particularly their use of water baptism and communion, and demonstrate the similarities between the worship of the "Queen of Heaven" and the veneration of Isis/Urania in ancient pagan Rome.
Let's start by examining the differences between water baptism as practiced by Jesus and John the Baptist, the baptism rituals of the Roman Catholic Church, and the initiation ceremonies of the cult of Isis.
Please refer to the following pages to explore the act of baptism for yourself.
When examining verses such as Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:9–10, Acts 8:38–39, Romans 6:3–4, John 3:23, and Colossians 2:12, it becomes evident that baptism symbolized being buried with Jesus. This is why submersion in water, especially in the Jordan River, was practiced. Emerging from the water symbolized Jesus' resurrection, making the act of immersion and rising a powerful symbolic representation of both burial and resurrection.
According to the Bible, baptism does not grant forgiveness of sins!
In the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church however it states:
CC 1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin. In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God.
CC 1265: Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit
Now, let's examine the Isis-Osiris religion, focusing on their practice of ceremonial sprinkling and their understanding of baptism:
Initiation into the mysteries of Isis, known as the Isiac rites, often involved ritual purification with water, symbolizing the washing away of past impurities and spiritual rebirth. This purification was a preparatory step, aligning the initiate with the divine and ensuring readiness for the sacred knowledge to be imparted.
Apuleius, in his work The Golden Ass (also known as Metamorphoses), provides a detailed account of such an initiation. The protagonist, Lucius, undergoes a series of ritual purifications, including bathing and abstaining from certain foods, as part of his preparation for initiation into the cult of Isis. These rites are depicted as essential for cleansing the body and soul, facilitating spiritual regeneration, and establishing communion with the goddess.
This aligns with broader ancient practices where water served as a symbol of spiritual cleansing and rebirth.
The Bible never claims that water baptism can forgive sins; however, similar ideas are present in the teachings of the cult of Isis.
Let us take a deeply logical and theological approach to examine why water baptism, as a physical act, does not have the power to forgive sins.
Sin is fundamentally a spiritual and moral offense against God’s holiness (Psalm 51:4). It is not merely an action but a state of being, a corruption of the human will and heart that estranges humanity from its Creator. Sin is described in Scripture as a spiritual "death" (Romans 6:23) and rebellion against God (Isaiah 59:2).
Physical elements, such as water, are confined to the material world and lack the capacity to interact with the spiritual essence of sin. For water to wash away sin, it would require intrinsic spiritual properties that transcend its natural state as a chemical compound. Scripture provides no evidence that water has such intrinsic spiritual efficacy.
If sin is spiritual, its remedy must also be spiritual. A purely physical act, such as water baptism, cannot bridge the gap between the human soul and God. Only a spiritual act—God’s grace mediated through faith—can reconcile this separation.
The Principle of Causality
To argue that baptism forgives sins is to assert that a physical action can cause a spiritual effect. This proposition violates the principle of causality, which states that an effect cannot exceed the power or nature of its cause.
Water, as a physical substance, can cleanse the body but cannot affect the state of the soul. While baptism involves water, it is a symbolic act and not the causal agent of spiritual transformation. The spiritual cleansing of sin requires an agent capable of operating within the spiritual realm, namely, God’s grace.
The causal power to forgive sins lies not in the material act of baptism but in the divine will of God, activated by faith and repentance. To attribute this power to water would ascribe to it a property it does not logically possess.
The Non-Efficacy of Ritual Alone
If water baptism could forgive sins inherently, it would imply that salvation is contingent upon a human-initiated ritual, making forgiveness a transaction rather than an act of divine grace. This concept is inconsistent with the nature of grace as unmerited favor (Ephesians 2:8–9).
Furthermore, rituals without corresponding faith and repentance are explicitly condemned in Scripture. For example:
Isaiah 1:13–15: God rejects empty rituals performed without genuine repentance and a heart aligned with His will.
Matthew 15:8: Jesus critiques outward actions that lack inward devotion: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."
This raises a critical question: Why are we baptizing infants who lack the capacity to offend God, understand the concept of right and wrong, or repent for sins they are unaware of committing? A baby, by its very nature, cannot comprehend what it means to sin against God, let alone possess the moral agency to make a conscious choice to turn away from wrongdoing.
Moreover, faith is a deeply personal and intellectual commitment, requiring an understanding of belief and trust in God. An infant, still in the earliest stages of cognitive development, cannot grasp abstract concepts such as faith, repentance, or divine authority. For example, a baby struggles even to distinguish between night and day, comprehend that objects exist when out of sight or recognize its own reflection in a mirror. Expecting such a being to participate meaningfully in an act symbolizing repentance and faith is not just illogical but entirely incongruent with the nature of baptism as depicted in Scripture.
Biblically, baptism is tied to repentance (Acts 2:38) and faith in Jesus Christ (Mark 16:16), acts that necessitate a conscious decision. Infants lack the capacity to repent, as repentance involves acknowledging sin and turning away from it. Similarly, faith requires an intellectual and volitional act of trust, which is beyond the capability of a child who cannot yet form sentences or understand complex ideas.
Without the ability to believe or repent, the infant cannot experience or express the spiritual realities that baptism symbolizes. Baptism, therefore, becomes a mere ritual devoid of its intended purpose and meaning.
From a logical perspective, baptizing infants not only conflicts with the biblical model but also reduces the sacrament to an empty formality, detached from the faith and repentance it is meant to signify. Such a practice raises the question: if the act is not understood, nor its meaning fulfilled, can it genuinely serve its intended purpose?
In the initiation and ceremonial practice of the cult of Isis, as described in accounts like Apuleius' The Golden Ass, the initiate did not need to demonstrate faith in the sense of intellectual belief or personal trust, as is emphasized in Christianity. Instead, the rituals were heavily focused on external acts of purification, submission to the priestly guidance, and participation in mystical rites.
The process was symbolic and ritualistic, intended to align the initiate with the divine will of Isis and prepare them for spiritual enlightenment or favour from the goddess. The emphasis was on the transformative power of the ritual itself rather than a prerequisite of faith or personal conviction on the part of the participant.
Those in the cult of Isis believed that the sacred waters of the Nile possessed life-giving powers, which were intrinsically linked to the rebirth of Osiris. These waters were thought to originate from the primordial ocean, the source of all creation, including the gods themselves. Within the Isiac cult, baptism was considered a regenerative rite, symbolizing renewal and spiritual transformation. The ultimate goal of the cult was to achieve "communion" with Osiris (associated with Dionysus in some syncretic traditions), allowing the initiate to partake in his immortality. By venerating Isis, the "Queen of Heaven," and through her supposed mastery of divine mysteries and magical arts (witchcraft), initiates believed they could attain immortal regeneration and transcend the mortal condition.
Hang on........
If water baptism were essential for forgiveness, it would create an ethical problem regarding the universality of salvation. Many people, due to physical, geographical, or historical circumstances, cannot undergo water baptism. For instance:
The thief on the cross (Luke 23:42–43) was assured of paradise without being baptized.
Entire groups, such as those living in remote or water-scarce regions, might lack access to baptism altogether.
If forgiveness were tied to water baptism, God’s offer of salvation would not be universally accessible, which contradicts the biblical teaching that God desires all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore, forgiveness must be grounded in something universally accessible—faith in Christ and God’s grace.
The Role of Faith:
Forgiveness in Scripture is consistently tied to faith, which is an inward, spiritual response to God’s grace. Faith operates in the immaterial realm of belief and trust, transcending physical actions. Romans 3:28 states, "A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Acts 10:43 reinforces this: "Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."
Baptism, without faith, is meaningless. It is an outward symbol of an inward transformation that has already occurred through faith. This is evident in the account of Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:44–48), where the Holy Spirit was received prior to baptism, demonstrating that forgiveness and salvation are initiated by faith, not the act of baptism.
If forgiveness is grounded in faith, then baptism serves as a visible expression of faith, not its cause. The logical priority of faith over ritual underscores that forgiveness is a spiritual transaction, not a physical one.
The Sufficiency of Christ’s Atonement
The Bible teaches that forgiveness is made possible solely through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9:22 states, "Without shedding of blood is no remission." Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate and sufficient act for the forgiveness of sins.
To assert that baptism forgives sins would diminish the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement by implying that an additional act is necessary. This would contradict Jesus’ declaration on the cross: "It is finished" (John 19:30), signifying the completeness of His redemptive work.
The Bible explicitly states that "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). The remission of sins is tied to the life given through the shedding of blood, symbolizing the cost of sin (Leviticus 17:11). Wine, as a non-living, non-blood substance, lacks the capacity to fulfill this requirement.
Even if the wine were metaphorically associated with blood, it cannot serve as a substitute for the actual bloodshed that Christ provided on the cross. Metaphors cannot replace the real, sacrificial act required for atonement.
Forgiveness is intrinsically linked to faith in Christ's atoning blood, not to any physical act such as the consumption of wine. It is through faith alone that we receive the grace of God, fully dependent on the finished work of Christ's sacrifice. Neither baptism nor any other ritual can add to or replace the all-sufficient atonement accomplished by His death and resurrection. Christ’s sacrifice stands as the sole means by which sins are forgiven, leaving no room for supplementary acts to achieve what has already been completed once and for all.
Christ’s glorified body is not capable of physically shedding blood because it no longer undergoes decay or suffering. His resurrected body is described as imperishable and eternal (1 Corinthians 15:42–44). Thus, the claim that His blood could be newly infused into wine during the Eucharist conflicts with the very nature of His glorified existence. Christ’s blood, shed on the cross, fulfilled its purpose once and for all, and the eternal nature of His sacrifice lies in its efficacy, not in its repetition.
Furthermore, the notion that Christ could continually shed His blood from an eternal realm into wine on Earth introduces logical contradictions. Being outside time and space means Christ’s actions are not sequential or temporally bound. If He is eternally present in the moment of His crucifixion, the shedding of His blood remains a historical event, not an act that can be duplicated or extended into the present. To assert otherwise would imply that His sacrifice is incomplete and needs repetition, a view that directly contradicts the teachings of the New Testament.
What I find particularly fascinating about the cult of Isis is the requirement for its priests to take vows of chastity, a practice that bears a striking resemblance to the vows taken by Roman Catholic clergy. However, this tradition starkly contrasts with the life of Peter, who is regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as the first pope. The Gospels make it clear that Peter was married, as seen in Matthew 8:14–15, where Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. This detail underscores a significant departure between the practices of the early apostles, as recorded in Scripture, and the later ecclesiastical traditions developed by the Roman Catholic Church. The vow of chastity, as required of Roman Catholic priests, has no direct biblical foundation and is more reflective of practices seen in certain ancient religions, like the cult of Isis, rather than the apostolic example set by Peter.
On an entirely different note, the concept of apostolic succession presents significant inconsistencies. If we follow this reasoning, Paul, who died after Peter, did not succeed him, raising questions about the continuity of this supposed lineage. Additionally, as stated in 1 Corinthians, 500 individuals were witnesses to the resurrection, yet none of these witnesses became successors of Peter (1 Corinthians 15:6). Instead, the line of apostolic succession curiously shifted to members of wealthy Roman families—an ironic development, given that the Roman Empire was responsible for persecuting and martyring early Christians.
What is even more striking is that the Bible and true Christianity make no mention of a hierarchical priesthood in the New Testament Church. Instead, the New Testament emphasizes the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9), where every Christian has direct access to God through Christ, without the need for an intermediary.
In contrast, the hierarchical priesthood appears prominently in pagan traditions such as the cult of Isis and the worship of the "Queen of Heaven," where structured priestly orders were central to their religious practices. This parallel raises questions about how such a model came to be integrated into later institutional Christianity, given its absence in the biblical foundation of the faith.
Another intriguing observation: the recurring symbolism of the sun in Roman Catholic temples. Sun rays are prominently featured, including in the Jesuit emblem, which is surrounded by sun rays. This is worth noting in light of my previous post discussing connections between the Jesuits and the occult. In the initiations of the cult of Isis, the votary was believed to undertake a celestial journey, mirroring the sun's path. According to ancient cosmology, the sun was thought to descend into the subterranean regions each night. At the culmination of the initiation, the initiate would don fine linen garments, carry a lighted torch, and wear a garland of flowers on their head, with petals radiating outward like the sun's rays.
Interestingly, Osiris, who was central to the Isis cult, corresponds to Dionysus in Greek mythology, Bacchus in Roman tradition, and has ties to Liber, the Roman god of freedom and revelry. This connection sheds light on the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty, which can be interpreted as an homage to these ancient deities. It suggests that certain elite groups, through secret societies like Freemasonry, may intertwine occult traditions with structures like Catholicism, using the guise of Christianity to pursue self-deification.
The parallels between the cult of Isis and this pursuit are striking. The Isis cult claimed that initiates would embody the sun god Osiris-Ra, or Lucifer—a figure associated with enlightenment and divinity. This reflects the same lie Satan told in the Garden of Eden: that humans could "become like gods" (Genesis 3:5). To "divinize" human nature is metaphorically to shine like the sun. Even the Bible describes Satan as appearing as an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). This sheds new light—pun intended—on the pervasive sun imagery within Roman Catholic temples and suggests that such symbolism might represent a deeper, esoteric meaning. The Alexandrian religion, brought to Rome, assured salvation in the Roman world, but its blending with pagan symbols may tell a more complex story.
The role of bones in ancient religious practices is both fascinating and deeply symbolic. In Egyptian religion, the preservation of the body, including bones, was paramount for ensuring life after death. The process of mummification reflected this belief, as the physical body was considered essential for the soul's journey in the afterlife. In the mythology of Osiris, Isis’s role in reassembling his dismembered body further emphasized the sanctity of the physical form, which included bones as a symbol of permanence and resurrection. While the cult of Isis does not explicitly highlight bones in its rituals, the broader Egyptian reverence for the body and its connection to spiritual transformation cannot be ignored.
Interestingly, this veneration for bones carries echoes in other religious traditions, including the Roman Catholic Church. Not so strangely, Catholic altars often contain relics, particularly bones of "saints", enshrined beneath them.
The presence of bones in religious rituals and spaces highlights a common thread: the belief in the enduring sanctity of physical remains as a bridge between the earthly and the divine. Whether in the cult of Isis, where the physical body was vital for spiritual renewal, or in Catholic tradition, where relics symbolize the presence of the holy, bones have remained a potent symbol of continuity, sanctity, and connection to the divine. This curious parallel reveals how deeply ingrained these ideas are across different spiritual traditions, blurring the lines between ancient and modern religious practices.
Bones are associated with certain forbidden practices in the Bible, which can be tied to witchcraft, necromancy, and idolatry. The use of bones, or other remains of the dead, is condemned in Scripture when connected to occult rituals, attempts to communicate with the dead, or pagan worship.
Can someone explain how Roman Catholicism aligns with true Christianity? Apart from the belief in the Trinity and the resurrection of Jesus, much of their additional doctrines seem to lack a basis in Scripture. These include practices like baptism as a ritual for infants, the pervasive sun imagery, a hierarchical priesthood with no scriptural foundation, the veneration of the "Queen of Heaven," relics such as bones under their altars, and the Eucharistic practice of drinking wine imbued with the supposed essence of Christ—a concept reminiscent of the Isis-Osiris cult tied to Osiris. It raises the question of whether these practices obscure the truth of the gospel, as the Bible warns against such influences. Osiris, often linked to Lucifer, and the Queen of Heaven, associated with figures like Isis (Lilith), appear to have parallels in these traditions, leaving much to critically examine.
And we observe the Pope engaging in interfaith dialogue with Islam, whose flag often features the crescent moon. The moon is historically tied to Isis in ancient Egyptian mythology, where it symbolizes renewal, femininity, and the natural rhythms of life. Its waxing and waning phases were viewed as representations of her regenerative powers (witchcraft). This connection reflects her role as a goddess of magic, motherhood, and healing, as well as her association with Osiris, whose mythological resurrection is deeply linked to her divine influence.
Revelation 18:23:
"And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."
This verse is part of a larger passage describing the fall of Babylon, a symbol of a corrupt and idolatrous system that leads people astray. The "sorceries" mentioned here (Greek: pharmakeia, often associated with deception or magic arts) imply the use of manipulative or corrupt means to deceive the nations and lead them away from truth.
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