Clivedurdle

Came across something claiming this guy might be responsible for belief in Angels, end of the world, the world created by Satan.(Dualism?)

It seems Shiite moslems in Iran still celebrate their new year using Zaruthustrian religious ideas.

It seems that apocalyptic thinking in Judaism evolved during the Babylonian exile when Judaism was in direct relationship with this religion for several centuries, and Christianity as a Judaic apocalyptic cult is also directly based on the ideas of this guy.

Comments?

Straight Hate

Anything I've read seems to suggest the same thing, but one difficult point is the conflicting reports of when exactly Zarathustra lived (if he did), and at what point the Ahura Mazda/Angra Mainyu duality started to influence Judaism.

I am hoping there is someone here who can either confirm or correct my words.

NearNihil Experience

Check out Zoroastrianism(spelling?). Zoroaster is the Persian name for Zarathustra, I think. Been awhile since I hit up on Ancient religions. And the dualism influence on Judaism and Xtianity, angel and demons, jives with what I've heard and read.

emotional

They celebrate Nouruz (New Year, though literally the phrase means "New Day") with a new goldfish as a symbol of rebirth.

"Satan" meant "obstacle" or "obstructor" at first (the Biblegod puts three men whom He calls "obstacles", "setanim", against King Solomon). The apotheosis of Satan as an anti-God came later and was definitely influenced by the Zoroastrian idea of the struggle between the Good God and the Evil Anti-God (Ahura Mazda and Angru Meinyu respectively).

Heaven, hell and the final judgement are also Persian ideas. There is no mention of an afterlife in the OT; it is an acquired belief, from Zoroastrianism.

godfry n. glad

For a scholastic source on the development of apocalyptic thought within Jewish and Christian dogma, see Norman Cohn's _Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come_

I found it an excellent source to explain the syncretic accretion of apocalyptic thought from Persian sources by Jewish religious and philosophical thinkers during their forced exile in Babylon.

It might be available through your local public library. If not, or if you prefer to purchase your books, it is most definitely available from the likes of Amazon.com or other online vendors. Now in second edition, too!

godfry n. glad

ax

Is this the character fredrick neitzche based the title of one of his books around?

Jet Grind

Yes, it is. And I think his name is spelled FRIEDRICH.

RED DAVE

Thee are many like this:

Zoroastrian Website

RED DAVE

Mashriqi Mercenary

Its the other way round zoroaster is the greek rendering of avestan zaradusdt or zarathustra. He was born between 10 century and 7th century B.C Some place his birth in northern Afghanistan and some in the northwest region of todays Iran on the southwest coast of Caspian in what is Iranian Azerbaijan. In any event, he was either a Bactrian or a Median not a Persian. However both Bactrians and Median were linguistically also Iranian peoples. Since his earliest recorded works or Avestan Gathas were in Avesta, a parental language more prevalent in what is today afghanistan and where most of its progenal languages are still spoken, thats the reason some scholars trace his origin in the central asian highlands rather than the caucuses.
Also zoroaster is beleived by some to have been a group of priests rather than a single person.

godfry n. glad

Thanks for the info, Mashriqi.

I find the above interesting, do you have some source citations for the "some" who believe so?

This is very strongly held to be the case for Lao Tsu and has recently come to the fore for the works of Kungfu Tsu (Confucius).

I'm not surprised that it would also be posited for the Zarathustra figure.

godfry