Essay on Zoroastrianism's Role in Christianity's Development

In the Roman Civilization where the prevalent worship of Roman gods were impersonal and did not provide a moral base or a message of hope, in the fourth century Christianity was formed, born as a movement within Judaism. Christianity emphasized the personal relationship between God and people, slowly spread through the Roman Empire until ultimately dominating the western culture. Three of the several factors that aided to the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire were: the central beliefs and value of Christianity, prominent figures, and Christianity appeal to women. Christianity offered hope to many, for it was the time of grace and freedom, the time to rebuild the future and

Christianity teaches that God suffered and died on the cross for our sins. If you follow him and trust him you will live forever once you die. 2.2 billion people are christians which is 23% of the world’s population. Christianity developed out of Judaism in the 1st century(patheos.com). The cross, the crucifix, and the Ichthys are the main symbols of christianity. The bible is a holy book of christianity there are also the new and old testaments. Women’s homes were used as a place to go to church. Women couldn’t be priests but they could join groups called widows or deaconesses. In 1910 two-thirds of the christians lived in Europe, today about a quarter of all christians live in Europe. Some holy days of Christianity are Easter, Lent, Palm Sunday, and Ash Wednesday. Judaism and Christianity are similar because they use the same holy book, the book is worded differently.

Christianity, the world's largest religion, with over 2 billion followers, about a third of the world's population, was at one point almost completely wiped out, but managed to come back to dominate the ancient world. What began as Judaism in the 1st century AD, Jesus of Bethlehem, the Messiah who performed miracles including walking on water, healing, resurrection, fishing and creating thousands of fish and bread for the people from only a couple and dying for our sins. Christianity took hold of the ancient world because of eternal life, compassion and equality for people.

Judaism and Christianity are key religions in the history of our world, and are still around today. Both of these religions are monotheistic, believing in only YHWH, the God of Abraham. However, if we look deeper, there are many more similarities and differences in these two religions. Some things that are comparable are their political figures, their holy works, and social beliefs.

Christianity was born and flourished in an empire where the common language was Latin and Greek. Two important people like Paul and Constantine further influenced and were a major part of the development of Christianity. The history of the Jews leading up to the time of Jesus had a major impact on the development of Christianity. “When Christianity was clearly identified as a distant religion, the new religion was considered by its members to be the fulfillment of Judaism rather than a new religion.” “Since Jesus was a Jew and preached to the Jews, Christianity was closely linked to Judaism.” The development of Christianity was due to several historical, political, and social circumstances.

Although the Christians worship only one God, they see him as three people. This includes God

The creation myths of these religions indicates that they are all monotheistic. In the Judeo-Christian account of creation, God created heaven and earth and separated the light from the darkness, on the first day . On the second day, He separated the waters from the sky. On the third day, He created the land and vegetation. On the fourth day he made the Sun, Moon and stars. On the fifth day He created the creatures of the seas and the birds. On the sixth day

Zoroastrianism is the belief in one god being Ahura Mazda, the creator of all that is good and who alone is worthy of worship. Zoroastrianism became the official religion

Greece and Persia’s religion is one factor that makes both of these empires so diverse from each other. During the Achaemenid Period, the main religion of Persia at the time was Zoroastrianism, which the Iranian prophet and reformer Zoroaster founded in the 6th century B.C.E. At the time the royal family brought in Zoroastrianism to Persia, and since the royal family believed in it, most of the people of the Persian Empire choose to believe in it too. Greece on the other hand, did not have a religion until 146 B.C.E when Christianity entered the empire. Before Christianity had entered Greece, they believed in their mythological stories. Each myth or story had a lesson to be learned by the reader.

I believe there are some beliefs from Zoroastrianism that overtime made their way into early Rabbincal Judaism and therefore into modern Judaism. These connections are possibly due to the similar time frame between the creation of both religions, as well as both Zoroastrianism and Judaism being based out of the Middle East. Some similarities these religions share include: both have Pagan influence by connecting with location and nature; neither acknowledge/mention Jesus; both are monotheistic in belief; claim their God is all knowing and the creator; believe in/use angels in teachings; view women and men as equals; are convinced there will be no second coming; and lastly, practice prayer and doing good deeds. There are also some main differences

Christianity is one of the most dominant religions in the world today and has a long and complex history. Although Christianity has its roots in Judaism, it was greatly influenced by the culture of the Greeks and Romans it developed in. The Greco-Roman world was polytheistic and full of deities that were petty and faulted. As a young religion Christianity shares aspects with the religions around it, namely in the central stories. Eventually Christianity spread through the Roman Empire and to the rest of the world.

Zoroastrianism one of the most ancient religions of the world found sometime before 650 B.C in Persia by the prophet known as Zoroaster. The religion of Zoroastrianism is based mainly on two aspect of life. The people who tell the truth are on the side of Asha, and are known as the people of righteousness. The others, who are known as the people of the lie, or druj, followed the dreary way of evil. Zoroastrianism is a polytheistic religion which shows people ways of life but lets the person make a choice of truth or lie. But, it is also believed in Zoroastrianism that a judgment day will occur when good will defeat evil. In this great battle, Ahura Mazda, the lord wisdom would fight Angra Mainya, the fiendish spirit for control over the world. During this war between good and evil, Ahura Mazda and his assistant would defeat the evil Angra Mainya. Furthermore, all evil would be eliminated on earth in an ordeal in which fire and molten metal would burn away all evil and only leave behind good.

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.

The rise, development, and spread of monotheism (the belief in one God), is one of the most significant and fascinating dimensions of human civilization. The three major monotheistic faiths are Judaism, Christianity and Islam, these religions have spread to other kingdoms throughout the world by use of missionaries.

Christians believe the image of God to be three Gods merged into one. The Trinity’s components are the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and they are all equal. Each form of God has the same attributes of all-powerful, all-knowing, always present,