Lord of the Cosmos: Mithras, Paul, and the Gospel of Mark

Certainly a valid theory. The frantic Christian apologist who reviewed this work prior to me is absolutely right in saying that the earliest evidence of Mithraism dates to around 80 AD. However, that happens to be the same time period to which many scholars ascribe the composition of the books that later came to make up the New Testament. And beyond all of the belly-aching, please keep in mind that even if their modern counterparts would like to laugh off the similarities between Christianity and the Mysteries, the ante-Nicene church fathers certainly took the issue quite seriously, as is evidenced in their writings. Check the book out.