Zoroastrianism was a huge influence on the formation of Christianity. There are multiple links between the two religions while Zoroastrianism pre-dates Christianity by hundreds of years. The evidence found through archaeological discovery and from the beliefs of present day Zoroastrianists points to one conclusion: that although Christianity and Zoroastrianism are seen as two very different religions, their cosmologies are so intertwined that is hard to tell which came first until looking at the physical evidence. The core beliefs are similar and how each religion predicts what will happen at the end of time are, as well. For some Christians, it hard to look at the evidence without it shaking their beliefs, but by taking an outsider’s perspective, one can begin see that religions are evolving throughout the millennia. Three main topics arise when comparing the two religions: the creation story, the story of the savior, and the revelation story. The relationships between these two religions shows that religions may not only be divinely inspired, but also inspired from past religions. This gives people the idea that faith evolves through the ages to better suit the current culture or state of society.
Creation is seen in Christianity as a sacred story that explains not how, but why people exist in this universe. Depending on the sect of Christianity, it is taken literally, or it is seen as a story that teaches the lesson of their god’s great love for mankind. Christians
This essay has also illuminated the profound similarities between Zoroastrianism and the modern Abrahamic faiths and concluded that Zoroastrianism can be regarded as the foundation upon which Judaism, Christianity and Islam build their systems of faith. Today, the majority of Zoroastrian followers can be found in the Indian city of Mumbai but a significant community of Parsees also live across the United Kingdom. In Iran itself it was reported by Agence France Presse that in the 2011 census 25271 people identified as Zoroastrians.
One key element Zoroastrianism and Judaism share is a monotheistic view on God. Both share in the belief that there was creator for everything, and this creator has numerous names in both religions. While they may share this view, Zoroastrianism also believes in a dualistic view for good and evil (pg. 229). Zoroaster taught that two spirits stemmed from the creator Ahura Mazda. Whether one chose to follow Spenta Mainyu – the Beneficent Spirit, or Angra Mainyu – the Evil Spirit, determined their fate regarding heaven and hell. The afterlife is another key element they share. While Judaism does not believe in a heaven or a hell, they do believe in Sheol which is the place of the dead. Sheol is a place of darkness where both the righteous and
All in all creation stories are a load of bull and should only be taken figuratively and read when discussing how they influenced the religion or culture. As in religion in general it is only a moral code to help humans make the right decisions and to have something to look forward to i.e. the afterlife which doesn’t really exist.
God. The Christian worldview has God at the forefront of all creation. God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), he created all that walks, all that talks, and all the beasts on Earth. In
Religion has been a major focal point in any society and in any culture. Starting from the first civilizations in Sumer and Ur to the vast metropolitans of today like New York and London, religion has been around and played a key part in lives of people. Possibly two of the oldest religions in the world, Judaism and Zoroastrinism share distinct qualities that are still alive today. Both religions are practiced but Zoroastrianism is not as popular as it once was. Meanwhile, Judaism is one of the world’s largest religions. These two religions are similar in the way that they are designed and practiced throughout history.
The Thoughts of Brahma and the Christian creation stories in the book of Genesis have similarities and differences (Genesis Chapter 1). In both creation stories, a divine being creates the world and all of the beings that inhabit it. Some differences are that in the Christian faith, God takes an active role in up keeping and sustaining the earth. In the Hindu
There are several differentiating wild theories of the beginning of the universe. Christianity became one of the most establishing religions that was heavily influenced by the belief of creation. Jewish people, especially believed thatthe creator of the universe was unique and
Everyone has their own beliefs, whether it's worshipping an object, a higher being, or a prophecy. But what society didn't know is that many religions connect and intertwine with one another. As seen through history, older religions began around the same time and because of such close contact, a similarity in beliefs arose. As each community grew, so did its religious influence, spreading to different areas and cultures resulting in an evolution in their faiths. Seen in early stages, encounters between religions like Zoroastrianism and Judaism developed similar teachings.
Over the course of human history every society, even the most culturally isolated of civilizations, has developed some form of faith-system for interpreting and understanding the spiritual and material worlds. Thousands of such systems have existed over the centuries, and as tribes and cultures expanded, these faith-systems inevitably met each other face-to-face and clashed. Two thousand years ago there was a particularly important collision; one between the Roman stoic and the gentile Christian. At this time in Western civilization, Christianity was just planting its seeds and beginning to grow, whereas stoicism was already legitimate in its foundation and strong in its following (Stavrianos 100). One might wonder
Christians may disagree amongst themselves on how the universe and the earth were created, but the communal belief between the groups is that God created everything. The timeline and the process in which it was done are debated between the various groups of Christianity. In Genesis we discover that it takes God six days to create the earth, heaven, universe, and all the species found on Earth (Genesis 1-2). In the beginning God is introduced as the creator and he reins supreme over his creations. Later on in the Bible God’s attributes and characteristics are presented to the reader. In addition to being the creator he is also all knowing, enteral, loving, compassionate, forgiving, and good (Diffey, 2014,). In Christianity God is the Father and mankind is referred too as his flock. God enjoys walking with, conversing, and tending to his flock. God created
The book written by author “Peter Clark” mainly for general public and students to give them brief idea about how Zoroastrianism was founded and along the way it also gives the detail explanation of their principal of the religion. Author Peter Clark also briefly explains the influence of Zoroastrianism on other religion such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Author Peter Clark also talks about “A living faith – Zoroastrianism
There seems to be a strong connection between Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity. They are all monotheistic religions, where in Judaism they believe in Abraham, and there is one God and one creator, the one and only that will ever exist. , in Christianity they believe in the Holy Trinity, which is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and in Zoroastrianism they believe in Ahura Mazda their one God, Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest monotheistic religion there is. Christianity’s religious text is the Holy Bible, Zoroastrianism’s religious text is Zend Avesta, and Judaism’s religious text is the Tanakh, also known as the Jewish Bible, and the Torah. Christianity is mainly in Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Zoroastrianism is a religion founded by a priest named Zarathustra Spitma or Zoroaster far back in the 1200BCE, with the principle belief of an almighty God or “the One” Ahura Mazda and the context of a cosmic battle between the good and evil forces.
It is known that Christianity formed and branched out from Judaism. The Religion of Zoroastrianism is older than Judaism yet their seem teaching are very similar It could be said that Judaism therefore Christianity was influenced by the teachings of Zoroastrianism. Judaism teaches that people are born pure and sinless and throughout their can fall in to sin similar to Zoroastrianism. Christianity changes this with the belief in the original sin with make everyone born in sin and have have to walk the path of righteousness to be free of sin.
What were the communal aspects of Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism and how did they differ from each other? Lapidus (2002) explains that Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism have a lot in common. First, all were transcendental. They say that beyond the world of this life there is a higher world, the realm of the divine, to be attained either through ethical action or through faith in God. The religions explains that the God produced the whole world and continue to rule it.