Jesusism - Just Another First Century Mystery Cult

[RoadRunner79]

So, Road, what you’re saying is that short of a smoking gun directly linking Christian belief and practice to some other mystery cult, you choose to believe that God’s Eternal Truth and Salvation Plan for humanity just happens to share a variety of traits that were commonly found in contemporary mystery cults in that particular region of the world — not to mention an atoning blood sacrifice, also a cult trope common in antiquity.

That’s some coincidence!

I am saying, that I think you need some evidence or reason to make that leap from similarity to correlation/causation.  
I think your coincidences are vague to the point that some question their usefulness as a category at all.  And that when you look closer there is quite a bit of difference, which must be accounted for.

I think that there is a reason, why no one is offering specifics for the arguments when asked ( where, when, who/what).  And that these are important to make the historical connection that is being attempted to be made.  The specifics of what is being claimed do matter.  A large portion of the mystery religions, didn't appear prominently in history until after Christianity.  I think that is of some note, concerning the matter.

I do think that there may be some similarities, and even there may be instances, where the choice of presentation is influenced by other religions around Christianity.  John's introduction of the Logos for instance, I think was influenced, but when looking at the specifics and the context, I don't think that it indicates that John is presenting anything other than a purely Christian doctrine. 

I would encourage people, to look at these things more closely.   Ask who is being compared; ask when (how do the things proposed line up chronologically), and ask what is a logical conclusion from the facts that we have.  Much of what is being said as being similar is more parsimonious and more easily explained, by looking back to Judaism, from which both history and self-proclamation both make a much easier connection.