Zoroastrianism

[NATO AIR]

Any thoughts or observations on the original monothestic religion?

I was reading my textbook for my Persian Studies class I am taking and came upon this religion. Further reading of other books has led me to agree that it did have a profound impact on the religions of Christians, Jews and Muslims, perhaps even Buddhists.

http://www.beliefnet.org/index/index_10035.html

Founder: Zarathustra (in Greek, Zoroaster) was a Persian prophet who at the age of 30 believed he had seen visions of God, whom he called Ahura Mazda, the creator of all that is good and who alone is worthy of worship. This was a departure from previous Indo-Persian polytheism, and Zarathustra has been termed the first non-biblical monotheist (though monotheism in Zoroastrianism never took on the absolute quality that it assumed in Judaism and Islam). Though there is disagreement among scholars as to exactly when and where Zarathustra lived, most agree that he lived in eastern Iran probably around the sixth century B.C.E.

Main Tenets: Zoroastrian theology is strongly dualistic. In his visions, Zarathustra was taken up to heaven, where Ahura Mazda revealed that he had an opponent, Aura Mainyu, the spirit and promoter of evil. Ahura Mazda charged Zarathustra with the task of inviting all human beings to choose between him (good) and Aura Mainyu (evil). Consequently, Zoroastrianism is a highly ethical religion. Zarathustra taught that humans are free to choose between right and wrong, truth and lie, and light and dark, and that their acts, words, and thoughts would affect their lives after death. He was thus the first to promote a belief in two heavenly judgments: of the individual soul right after death and of all humankind after a general resurrection. His ideas of heaven, hell, and the resurrection of the body profoundly influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Later Zoroastrianism conceived of an opposition between body and soul, though there was no suggestion in its theology that the body was evil and the soul was good. A wandering preacher from Mesopotamia named Mani developed those theories into an extreme form of dualism called Manichaeism.

Main Sacred Text: The Zoroastrian "Avesta" ("Book of the Law") is a fragmentary collection of sacred writings divided into: liturgical works with hymns ascribed to Zarathustra; invocations and rituals to be used at festivals; hymns of praise; and spells against demons and prescriptions for purification. Compiled over many centuries, the Avesta was not completed until Persia's Sassanid dynasty (226-641 C.E.).

Principal Center: Zoroastrianism all but disappeared in Persia after the Muslim invasion of 637 C.E. Only about 10,000 survive in remote villages in Iran, but over the centuries many sought religious freedom in India.

 

[IControlThePast]

I would agree with your conclusions. Also Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzsche might catch your interest.

 

[GotZoom]

Any thoughts or observations on the original monothestic religion?

I was reading my textbook for my Persian Studies class I am taking and came upon this religion. Further reading of other books has led me to agree that it did have a profound impact on the religions of Christians, Jews and Muslims, perhaps even Buddhists.

Hey Darin...sounds good to me!

".....visions of God, whom he called Ahura Mazda, the creator of all that is good and who alone is worthy of worship."

 

[IControlThePast]

Hey Darin...sounds good to me!

".....visions of God, whom he called Ahura Mazda, the creator of all that is good and who alone is worthy of worship."

I saw that and thought the same thing, but did not post it

 

[YoungChristian]

Noticing the similarities of this religion with Judaism, and also that there was a religion that had many of the same qualities in China around the same time, it is possible that God had other chosen people at some point that is not mentioned in the Old Testament. Possibly because they failed when the Jewish people did not, or, I don't really have all the answers. haha...but just food for thought.

 

[dmp]

Hey Darin...sounds good to me!

".....visions of God, whom he called Ahura Mazda, the creator of all that is good and who alone is worthy of worship."

 

[5stringJeff]

Zoroastrainism differs from the three major western religons in this: in Zoroastrianism, Good and Evil are equally matched; in Judaism/Christianity/Islam, God is infinitely more powerful than the devil.

 

[NATO AIR]

Zoroastrainism differs from the three major western religons in this: in Zoroastrianism, Good and Evil are equally matched; in Judaism/Christianity/Islam, God is infinitely more powerful than the devil.

Looking at the state of affairs in the world throughout history, I sometimes wonder if Zoroastrianism doesn't have it right.

I've read their holy writs say God wins the final battle against evil. True?

 

[5stringJeff]

Looking at the state of affairs in the world throughout history, I sometimes wonder if Zoroastrianism doesn't have it right.

I've read their holy writs say God wins the final battle against evil. True?

Yes, God does eventually win. But it's not like He barely wins, by the skin of His teeth. The devil is a created being (according to J/C/I), and therefore is underneath the Creator.