Final answer:
Dying and resurrected gods preceding Christ are found in ancient mythologies and mystery religions. Early Christian art included images that parallel the themes of death and resurrection in Christianity. Attempts to find direct doctrinal influence or ritual practice parallels between Christianity and mystery religions have been largely unsuccessful.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dying and resurrected gods preceding Christ are commonly found in ancient mythologies and mystery religions. These gods, such as Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, and Attis, were believed to have died and then been brought back to life. The story of Jonah from the Old Testament, who was swallowed by a fish and then spit out after three days, was also seen as a prefiguration of Christ's death and resurrection.
Early Christian art often depicted images of Jonah, Daniel in the Lion's Den, the Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace, and Moses Striking the Rock, among others, which were seen as parallel to the themes of death and resurrection in Christianity.
While there are verbal parallels between early Christianity and the mystery religions, such as the theme of salvation, attempts to find direct doctrinal influence or ritual practice parallels have been largely unsuccessful.