What is the origin of Christ

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Christianity  is based on the belief in Christ as savior and redeemer incarnated as a  one-time mortal in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. The term  "Christ", however, existed long before it came to mean "Messiah", as shall be demonstrated in this article.  Thus, the Christ of Christianity did not suddenly appear around the time the  Christian Jesus was purported to have lived, nor were the connotations of  savior new or unique. Much of Christianity's religion, savior, gospel  stories, symbols, holidays, rituals and doctrines were borrowed, adopted and  adapted from pre-existing religions, philosophies and histories prior to the  first known Christians in history (See also Who was Jesus of Nazareth).

  

  

The name Christ  (Kriste) can be traced back to before the Christian Era. Christ is the  anglicized form of the Greek word, Khristos. By comparing Christian  gospel writings in various languages, scholars conclude that Khristos is  equivalent to the Hebrew word, Messiah which translates as the  anointed one; the kingly savior. But Christos as Chrestos was known  long before the Christian Era, having connotations of a savior; healer.  Chrestos was associated with pre-Christian savior types such as Mithra and  Osiris. Earlier roots of the word are found in Oahspe, which reveals that  Kriste, has origins in an ancient Ahamic word equivalent to Knowledge.  (According to Oahspe, the Ahamic language existed even before ancient Hebrew,  stemming from original Fonecian (Phoenician, first "Phoenetic" language) and was a precursor  of ancient Hebrew and other Semitic languages.

  

  

Likewise, the  written symbols for Christ, existed long before they were appropriated by  early Christians. Unlike the later Catholic symbol of a man on a crucifix,  the earliest Christian symbols for Christ did not represent the man Jesus,  but were representative of the word/name Kh-r(i)-stos. For the  Christian Gnostics (whom scholars believe were the first Christians), the word  represented the heavenly redeemer with no association to any mortal form. The  mortal form, or representative of Christ as Jesus, was later adopted by the  Roman Emperor, Constantine, at the first Council of Nicea in 325 C.E. (See  Who was Jesus of Nazareth).

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The ancient monogram adopted by Christians to denote Christ consisted of the Greek Letters - Chi Rho, being the Greek letters X (kh, h) and P (R, Rho). A similar monogram, also appropriated to denote Christ, was made up of the Greek letters Tau (T) and Rho (R) which in Christianity, later became known as the Staurogram.



The  Chi Rho




The  Staurogram


Both of these  symbols were known and used before Christianity.  The Tau Rho, appropriated in Christianity, became the Staurogram, symbolizing the crucified savior on a Tautic Cross. The  pre-Christian era Caduceus and Ankh can both be constructed with the Tau  Rho symbol. The Tau is also known as the Tautic Cross which  forms the Greek letter T.

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In pre-Christian era mythology, Mercury, the messenger of the Gods, carried the Caduceus. According to Wikipedia, ancient Egyptians symbolized divinity by serpents. The sun and moon, considered to be deities, were represented by two serpents, male and female. The Tautic Emblem represented the union of Sun and Moon (image to left), The caduceus has two serpents forming the lunar crescent and solar circle (image to right). The arms of the cross are depicted as wings which represent the hovering of the divine spirit over the mundane elements or corporeal lower worlds. Thus mundane elements are represented by the shaft of the cross.



The ancient Egyptian Symbol for Mercury carries the crescent of Jupiter and also depicts the horns of the bull.



In this ancient caduceus, is seen the symbol for Mercury.

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The Ank symbol  represented Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt. Also known as the Key of Life and the Crux Ansata. It represents the power to give and sustain life.



Christianity appropriated the Crux Ansata symbol to represent Christ as the way to attain eternal life. This particular depiction appears in a 4th Century Coptic Christian Codex (book) of the New Testament.  



In Oahspe, the Ankh symbol represents an Angelic source of Light or simply Angel of Light. This symbol is from the Divan Seal which dates back to the time of Cpenta Armij, around 3900 B.C.E. Its meaning is Hoe'dan -- manner of prophecy (to man from an angelic source of light).

Both the Caduceus  and Ankh display the cross bar. On the caduceus, the cross bar takes the form  of wings. Both the Caduceus and the Ankh carry a head atop the Tau. Keeping  in mind that Rho is equivalent to Resh (meaning head in ancient Hebrew), it  becomes apparent that these ancient ubiquitous power symbols and their  meanings were appropriated into Christian symbology. According to Oahspe, a  meaning for the figure T, as in Tau, represents the power of the bull with  its horns, unlike later Christian connotations in which it became imbued  with references to the crucifix. Thus in Christian symbology, a symbol which  began as representing eternal life, came to symbolize a means of death. Also  representing a means of death is the sword which is formed by P (Rho)  over T (Tau) denoting a downward pointing sword, which echoes Christ's  announcement that he does not come to bring peace but a sword.  

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The Chi Rho was used long before it was appropriated in Christianity. Here it appears between the legs of the eagle on this coin minted by Ptolemy III in the 3rd century B.C.E. Ptolemy of Alexandria was a follower of Serapis (a Hellenic-Egyptian syncretism of Osiris and Apis the Bull).

As is evidenced by Ptolemy's coin, the Chi Rho monogram (kh-r-stos), was known and used among the Greeks before it was appropriated in Christianity. It had also been used by Greek scholars as a marker to denote good passages in papyri, i.e. those which are considered good wisdom and knowledge. Plato, who lived around 429-347 B.C.E. expounded on the X in Chi Rho, which shows that the concept of the world soul/Sophia of the early Christian Gnostics already existed previously among the Hellenic Philosophers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Rho


In Christian  Gnosticism, both symbols came to signify the savior whose name was Christ. In  early Gnosticism He was the revealer of Knowledge. In Valentinian Gnosticism,  Chi Rho, the two Greek letters, represent the union of Christ  (masculine) upper and Sophia (feminine) lower. The World Soul is represented  in the letter X (kh). The second letter P (Rho) has its  roots in the Hebrew, Resh denoting Head.

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The first cross used by Emperor Constantine had verticals and cross bars all of equal length. It was such a cross that he saw in his vision and had painted on his soldiers shields before they proceeded into battle and won the Roman Empire. (In Hoc Signo Vinces -- In This You Shall Conquer)