Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest continuously practiced religions. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology that predicts the ultimate triumph of good. The religion arises from the mystical utterancces of Zarathustra, later written down by Sassanian priests in the 3rd Iranian empire.
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Zoroastrianism emerged out of the mystical experience and prophetic teachings of Zoroaster, who lived no later than about 1000 B.C. [1]
Zoroaster's original teachings are, technically, unknown and have to be reconstructed. As Boyce notes, "The Zoroastrian priests were long reluctant to use the alien art of writing to record their sacred texts, and no religious works exist whose written form can be attributed to earlier than the 3rd century A. C." [2] In addition, there is "no continuity of scriptural exegesis." [3]
Zoroastrianism exalts a benevolent deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord), as its supreme being.
Zoroastrianism instantiated the Zoroastrian Binary between good and evil. Prior to this, the pagan spiritualities in the region did believe in "demons," but these were mischievous and entities set on causing harm, and not examples of existential/binary evil. [4]
Cribbed from Wikimedia:
Major features of Zoroastrianism, such as messianism, judgment after death, heaven and hell, and free will may have influenced other religious and philosophical systems, including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Greek philosophy,[5] Christianity, Islam,[6] the Bahá'í Faith, and Buddhism.[7]
Zoroaster invented cosmic evil. Prior to Zoroaster, evil more of a nuisance..."the pagan Iranians, like the Indians of old, felt their world to be inhabited by innumerable lesser spirits, some kindly but many malignant. Some of these evil powers sought to enter a man's body and harm him directly. Others lurked about his homestead and fields, ready to make him stumble and fall, or to harm his cattle or blight his crops; and beyond, the untamed forest and plain were full of menace. 1 Evil threatened everywhere, but could be warded off by proper precautions, such as banning formulas or propitiatory gifts; and some men were held to have acquired power over these dark forces, to compel them to serve their own ends" [8] After Zoroaster, Angra Mainyu became representative of a cosmic evil in a struggle between good and evil.
Same insertion judgment justification for punishment.Boyce notes the shift from previous beliefs when she says that Zoroaster takes an earlier less moralistic pagan belief in the transition between death and life makes it into a robust process of judgment based on ethical achievements (Boyce, 2001: 27)
Another insertion, competition instead of cooperation. Shift change whereas before Zoroaster, cosmic cooperation was seen as necessary to “Maintain the world according to asha”1 (Boyce, 2001: 26), after Zoroaster, “perfection” would be attained, but only by passing through several thousand years of cosmic conflict. Fitted empire building activities civilization
For more see Chapter Three, Boyce's History Volume 1.
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Footnotes
- ↑ Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume One The Early Period. New York: E. J. Brill, 1996. p.xii
- ↑ Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume One The Early Period. New York: E. J. Brill, 1996. p.xii
- ↑ Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume One The Early Period. New York: E. J. Brill, 1996. p.21
- ↑ Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume One The Early Period. New York: E. J. Brill, 1996.
- ↑ "Greece iii. Persian Influence on Greek Thought". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ↑ Hinnel, J (1997), The Penguin Dictionary of Religion, Penguin Books UK; Boyce, Mary (2001), Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and practices, Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd
- ↑ Beckwith, Christopher I. (2015). Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia. Princeton University Press. pp. 132–133. ISBN 9781400866328.
- ↑ Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume One The Early Period. New York: E. J. Brill, 1996.p.85.
