Week 23 Question - Theological question

[Jill1034]

I was reading my teacher's notes and it struck me how similar Zoroastrianism is to Christianity. Is this another example of common grace? Why isn't this religion discussed more or is it in future weeks? It seems odd to me that this religion would be so similar to Christianity and be prevelant at the start of Christianity and not discussed more. I say this not about your curriculum but by all sources. I've never heard of it. I'm not saying that I am super worldly, but I do have some basic world knowledge and this doesn't seem even remotely familiar to me. Is there a reason why its not discussed more?

Another question, are the Magi used in the Old Testament as a response to the Zoroastrian? Is there significance to the Magi coming to see Jesus, the king of kings?

I have grammar students but I am just curious for myself and for when I teach them in higher levels.

Jill

[Pat]

I was reading my teacher's notes and it struck me how similar Zoroastrianism is to Christianity. Is this another example of common grace? Why isn't this religion discussed more or is it in future weeks? It seems odd to me that this religion would be so similar to Christianity and be prevelant at the start of Christianity and not discussed more. I say this not about your curriculum but by all sources. I've never heard of it. I'm not saying that I am super worldly, but I do have some basic world knowledge and this doesn't seem even remotely familiar to me. Is there a reason why its not discussed more?

First, I'm not convinced that it really shares a huge amount with Christianity. Sure the superficial descriptions we read about do seem similar: one good God who creates everything, etc. But in looking at the details in the Wikipedia article, I see striking differences: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism As an example, take this paragraph on the creation of the world:

According to the Zoroastrian story of creation, Ahura Mazda existed in light in goodness above, while Angra Mainyu existed in darkness and ignorance below. They have existed independently of each other for all time, and manifest contrary substances. Ahura Mazda first created seven abstract heavenly beings called Amesha Spentas, who support him and represent beneficent aspects, along with numerous yazads, lesser beings worthy of worship. He then created the universe itself in order to ensnare evil. Ahura Mazda created the floating, egg-shaped universe in two parts: first the spiritual (menog) and 3,000 years later, the physical (getig). Ahura Mazda then created Gayomard, the archetypical perfect man, and the first bull.^[39]

This doesn't really sound like Christianity to me (or more precisely, the Jewish creation story). In looking over the whole article, I find the more detail I read, the less similarity I find.

I think the answer to why you don't hear more about this religion today is the small number of adherents. The Wikipedia article says less than 200,000. Like anything, when you have a small amount of something in the world you are less likely to hear about it. I was aware of this religion prior to using Tapestry, but I'm kind of a geeky walking encyclopedia of semi-useless knowledge. I think it's even mentioned in the first Ghost Busters movie (not totally sure, I'd have to go back and watch the movie to figure that out).

Another question, are the Magi used in the Old Testament as a response to the Zoroastrian? Is there significance to the Magi coming to see Jesus, the king of kings?

I have grammar students but I am just curious for myself and for when I teach them in higher levels.

Jill

I don't think so. I think they are generally considered to Persians who were known for their astronomical knowledge.

You may wish to explore this website: http://www.tektonics.org/

He has a lot of articles on what are called "copy cat" theories about various religions and Christanity. Here's a page that at least collects a bunch of his articles: http://www.tektonics.org/copycathub.html Here's an overall summary article: http://christianthinktank.com/copycat.html He even has a page on Zoroastrian and Christanity: http://www.tektonics.org/copycat/zoroaster.html