Greco-Roman synchretizing of Greco-Roman cults with Judean text and misunderstood praxis to evolve a "new" religion

It is a recognized aspect of early Christianity that the early church, in order to survive, synchretized with pagan cults, incorporating their gods as "saints" in order to expand Church membership.  One of the more amusing synchretizations was the minor god of war Mithras who became Saint Mithras, patron of warriors.

it should not be assumed that synchretization was a later development, or was in any way randomly executed.  It was an essential part of the development, not just of church membership, but of basic doctrine.

It is common for early Church scholars to claim that Philo was not terribly important to early Christian doctrine because his use of the logos was common in the ancient world.  That argument is little more than a paper tiger:  Philo's writings contained far more than just the Logos, and, as we have seen, Philo's writings were the basis for the narrative surrounding the Last Supper, the virgin/whore dichotomy as evidenced in the Mary/Mary Magdalen narratives, the diminution of Africa, in addition to providing the "philosophical" basis on which Greco-Romans deemed it acceptable to usurp Judean writings, and writings which Greco-Romans used to demonize Judeans as part of the rationale legitimizing that usurpation.

The early Church synchretized Greco-Roman praxis with poorly understood and misinterpreted Judean praxis, all of which was synchretized with Philo's writings, which were understood as "judean philosophy."  Greco-Roman "mystery cults" were the basis for the early Church's insistence that the "mysteriousness" of Jesus' teachings could only be comprehended by believers.  The notion that the parables were somehow mystical utterances that could only be dimly perceived by those who had been accepted as participants in the cult is consistent with mystery cults as they operated in Greco-Roman society.

The construction of "faith" as something somehow superior to logic and reason was (and is) a manipulative device that was (and is) used by members to elevate their rhetoric into something is meant to be perceived as more significant than it would otherwise seem.  It is common today for pastors to tell their congregants "the opposite of faith is not unbelief;  the opposite of faith is certainty."

That is an absurdity that only succeeds when accompanied by an insistence that the obvious has some greater significance than can be perceived by ordinary, mortal eyes.  This gives the congregant the illusion that s/he is a part of something greater, more mysterious, more exalted than that which ordinary mortals can comprehend.  That is a pernicious fiction because it elevates any position taken by the community/denomination/organization to something that is above human critique and/or evaluation.