the similarities are uncanny! this is from wiped.DOA
Zoroastrians believe that there is one universal and transcendental God, Ahura Mazda. He is said to be the one uncreated Creator to whom all worship is ultimately directed. Ahura Mazda's creation?evident as asha, truth and order?is the antithesis of chaos, which is evident as druj, falsehood and disorder. The resulting conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict.
The religion states that active participation in life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. This active participation is a central element in Zoroaster's concept of free will, and Zoroastrianism rejects all forms of monasticism. Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail over the evil Angra Mainyu or Ahriman, at which point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end. In the final renovation, all of creation?even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to "darkness"?will be reunited in Ahura Mazda, returning to life in the undead form. At the end of time, a savior-figure (a Saoshyant) will bring about a final renovation of the world (frasho.kereti), in which the dead will be revived.
No. Correlation doesn't equal causation. There is, however, some scholarly debate about how much Zoroastrianism influenced Judaism during the time of the Babylonian Exile. Any similarities would have been channeled through something like that, since Christianity ultimately comes from Judaism. But, again, that theory is much debated.
Satan knew of Jesus and when Satan along with the other angels were cast out of Heaven and o earth, they spread pagan religion similar to Christianity before Christianity came into existence. oh and by the way if Christianity is just another pagan religion then why didn't it die out or come close to dieing out along with the other pagan religions
you act as if kippedDODurce, its not, anyone can write whatever they want, and its usually innacurate, go to a more trustworthy site, or read a respected book about it
All religions use pieces of the religions that come before them to be able to attract more converts from the previous religions, try checking out the story of Mithra which comes from Zoroastrianism, that's where the bible writers got most of the story of Jesus from.
"Zoroastrianism is sometimes called the world's oldest prophetic religion. It's certainly one of the earliest religions founded by one person. Scholars are not certain when the founding prophet Zarathustra actually lived. Some believe Zarathustra lived in the 6Th century B.C.E., while others trace his writings to the 14Th or 13Th centuries B.C.E." Many religions have similarities in beliefs and traditions; however, it does not mean that one evolved from another. Hindusim is considered the oldest, so it is possible that other religions evolved from it. "Nobody knows with accuracy how the first religions evolved. By the time that writing had developed, many religions had been in place for many millennial and the details of their origins had been forgotten."
Christianity came originally from Judaism. However, Zoroastrians may have an influence on Judaism and have in turn included some beliefs from other religions,
Short answer: The evidence is that Zoroastrianism was an important source for Christianity, but not the only or biggest influence.
Explanation:
When Christianity began in Judea during the first century, there was a lot of interest in world religions throughout the Roman empire. An interesting article in Scientific American (listed below) described dozens of sects. The main ones were:
Hebrew (Judaism) - Taught strict monotheism. The Torah became core scriptures of Christianity (Old Testament). The Christian mass (service) follows the order of the Jewish synagogue service: opening Psalms, annual cycle of readings from Torah & Prophets, remembrance of sacrifice (Musaf), doxology (Kaddish), closing prayers. The Communion service came from the Passover Seder: wash hands, eat unleavened bread & wine, miracles, God saving from bondage. The main Christian holidays are re-interpretations of the Hebrew holy days, and mainly follow the lunar calendar:
. Pesach (Passover) -> Easter (Pascua) (was moved to Sunday)
. Succot (Booths) -> Tabernacles
. Shavuot (Weeks) -> Pentecost.
. Shabbat (Sabbath) -> weekly day of rest & worship (moved to Sunday)
Some also would add:
. Chanukah (winter festival of lights, on Nissan 25) -> Christmas (changed to Dec 25)
. Yom Kippur (Atonement Day) -> idea of Lent, fast & repent to purify & awaken spirit
Zoroastrianism - Introduced the concept of absolute good (God) and absolute evil (Satan), battling to win over the universe. The Christian story of a battle in Heaven, when Lucifer and fallen angels were thrown into Hell, is not in the Torah. Satan is mentioned in a few places (e.g. Jonah), but not as the source of all evil; it never became a core belief of Judaism. For Christians it became a core idea.
Mithraism - A Zoroastrian sect that was widespread in the Roman empire. They believed that Mithra, the Sun god's son, came to earth as prophesied by Magi, born at the winter solstice. He let himself be sacrificed to save the world and returned to life on the 3rd day. During a second coming at the end of the world, he will defeat evil and establish his kingdom on Earth. Mithraism had 7 sacraments, Communion with bread & water, eating flesh & blood of the sacrifice, the cross as sacred symbol, and Sunday was its holy day. Paul (Saul) had many Mithraic concepts in his writings. Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, was a follower of Mithraism and merged much of it into the new state religion. He shifted the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, and Christmas to winter solstice.
Parasim (Pharisees) - This scholar-teacher sect gave rise to rabbis. When the Temple was destroyed, they taught that Temple sacrifice was replaced by prayers, study, the synagogue service, and living by religious ideals. These also became core concepts in Christianity, that the new religion replaced the old Temple sacrifices. Many of the sayings of Jesus, such as the Golden Rule and Love Thy Neighbor, were very similar to teachings of the rabbis, as recorded in the Talmud's Pirke Avot (Chapters of Fathers).
Essenes - A Jewish sect, which viewed the body as the source of sin, avoided pleasures and became Nazirim (Nazirites) who didn't drink alcohol or cut their hair. They fasted, emphasized celibacy, having no children, and the monastic life. They were probably the source of these concepts in Christianity.
All religions inherit from their predecessors. You could draw family trees of religions. I find this totally fascinating!
Keep in mind, "The whole is more than the sum of the parts" -- a home is more than a pile of building materials. How the parts are put together and given new meanings is called Inspiration. That is where people of faith dwell.
DId Christianity come from Zoroastrianism?
