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ALLEGED QUOTE: "The devil, whose business is to pervert the truth, mimics the exact circumstances of the
Divine Sacraments. He baptises his believers and promises forgiveness of sins from the Sacred Fount, and
thereby initiates them into the religion of Mithras. Thus he celebrates the oblation of bread and brings in the
symbol of the resurrection [the cross]. Let us, therefore, acknowledge the craftiness of the devil who copies
certain things of those that be Divine."
Though I have seen this quote on at least 20 skeptic websites, a source is never provided by those who distribute
it. After searching Tertullian's works manually and electronically for over a week, I was finally able to locate its
origin. The quote is found in Tertullian's work The Prescription Against Heretics:
"By the devil, of course, to whom pertain those wiles which pervert the truth, and who, by the mystic rites of his
idols, vies even with the essential portions of the sacraments of God. He, too, baptizes some-that is, his own
believers and faithful followers he promises the putting away of sins by a layer (of his own). And if my memory
still serves me, Mithras there, (in the kingdom of Satan,) sets his marks on the foreheads of his soldiers,
celebrates also the oblation of bread, and introduces an image of a resurrection, and before a sword wreathes a
crown." Chapter 40 (XL)
During my search, I also found a similar passage in regards to the alleged quote mentioned above:
"They cheat themselves with waters which are widowed. For washing is the channel through which they are
initiated into some sacred rites of some notorious Isis or Mithras... We recognise here also the zeal of the devil
rivalling the things of God, while we find him, too, practising baptism in his subjects. What similarity is there? The
unclean cleanses! The ruiner sets free! The damned absolves! He will, forsooth, destroy his own work, by
washing away the sins which himself inspires! These (remarks) have been set down by way of testimony against
such as reject the faith. If they put no trust in the things of God, the spurious imitations of which, in the case of
God's rival, they do trust in. Are there not other cases too, in which, without any sacrament, unclean spirits brood
on waters, in spurious imitation of that brooding of the Divine Spirit in the very beginning?" On Baptism Chapter 5
CONCLUSION: Tertullian acknowledges the pagans adopting their own versions of certain Christian rites but he
also refers to their rituals as a spurious imitation and speaks of the devil rivalling the things of God. Tertullian
never claims Christianity copied paganism. In fact, he emphasizes it was the other way around! Furthermore,
like Justin Martyr, Tertullian explains the symbolism behind such rites is different from those of Christianity.
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