Essay on Zoroastrianisms Role in Christianitys Development

Zoroastrianisms Role in Christianitys Development Christianity is one of the most popular religions of the early 21st century. Through the course of Christianitys first millennia it was able to rise from its original twelve followers to become the state religion of Rome and the mighty empire which it held. However, unbeknownst to many, the concepts that exist in Christianity and Judaism (the religion from which Christianity spawned) were initially conceived by the nearly dead religion of Zoroaster. Christianity is closely modeled after the Zoroastrains beliefs in the afterlife, redemption, judgment, duality of deities, apocalypse and messiahs. Whether Christianity adopted or coincidentally shared the beliefs of the†¦show more content†¦When Zoroaster died they waited patiently for the apocalypse to come. After a few years had passed they decided it would occur at the end of a millennia.1 Although Christians will argue that their religion is monotheistic, virtually all other religions argue to the contrary. Muslims a nd Jews both consider the Christian Holy Trinity to be clear evidence of tri-theism. This is a view which has great weight to it. If God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all gods, then it seems logical to say that indeed the Christians are tri-theists. This is belief in three gods is shared by the Zoroastrians, who believe that Ahura Mazda, Spenta Mainyu and Anghra Mainyu are all gods. Christians and Zoroastrians both believe in a cosmic dualism. This dualism manifests itself in the struggle between two non-empirical beings which represent good and evil. This is a corner stone of both religions. The follower becomes a soldier in the struggle for good, whereas non-believers are told they are working for the evil deity. It is also promised that good will eventually triumph over evil at the onset of the apocalypse. All though the two religions both possess this dualism, there is one subtle difference between the two. In the Zoroastrian faith the two forces are represented entir ely by gods. The evil Anghra Mainyu against the good Spenta Mainyu and Ahura Mazda. However, in Christianity the force of good is a god, whereas the evil force is a mere spirit