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Zoroastrianism World History/Napp “By the time of Darius’s rule, about 2,500 years had passed since the first Sumerian citystates had been built. During those years, people of the Fertile Crescent had endured war, conquest, and famine. These events gave rise to a basic question: Why should so much suffering and chaos exist in the world? A Persian prophet named Zoroaster, who lived around 600 B.C., offered an answer. Zoroaster taught that the earth is a battleground where a great struggle is fought between the spirit of good and the spirit of evil. Each person, Zoroaster preached, is expected to take part in this struggle. The Zoroastrian religion teaches a belief in one god, Ahura Mazda. At the end of time, Ahura Mazda will judge everyone according to how well he or she fought the battle for good. Traces of Zoroastrianism – such as the concept of Satan and a belief in angels – can be found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. After the Muslim conquest of Persia in the A.D. 600s, the Zoroastrian religion declined. Some groups carried the faith eastward to India. Zoroastrianism also was an important influence in the development of Manichaeism, a religious system that competed with early Christianity for believers. The cult of Mithra, a Zoroastrian god, spread westward to become a popular religion among the military legions in the Roman Empire. Today, modern Zoroastrians continue to observe the religion’s traditions in several countries including Iran and India, where its followers are called Parsis.” ~ World History Identify and explain the following terms: Zoroaster Battleground between good and evil Ahura Mazda Manichaeism Mitrha Parsis “Zoroastrians believe that as soon as the breath has left it, the body becomes impure. Death is considered to be the work of Angra Mainyu, the embodiment of all that is evil, whereas the earth and all that is beautiful is considered to be the pure work of God. Instead of burying the corpse, Zoroastrians traditionally laid it out on s tower (dokhma or ‘Tower of Silence’) to be exposed to the sun and eaten by birds of prey such as vultures.” ~ BBC - Explain Zoroastrian funeral rites. Cosmic Battle - Cosmic dualism refers to the ongoing battle between Good (Ahura Mazda) and Evil (Angra Mainyu) within the universe - It is important to understand that Angra Mainyu is not God’s equal opposite, rather that Angra Mainyu is the destructive energy that opposes God's creative energy - God created a pure world through his creative energy, which Angra Mainyu continues to attack, making it impure - Aging, sickness, famine, natural disasters, death and so on are attributed to this - With cosmic dualism there is life and death, day and night, good and evil. - Life is a mixture of these two opposing forces History - When Zoroaster was thirty years old he had a divine vision of God during a ritual purification rite Prayers - Zoroastrians traditionally pray several times a day - Some wear a kusti, which is a cord knotted three times, - This vision to remind them of radically the maxim, “Good transformed his view Words, Good of the world, and he Thoughts, Good tried to teach this Deeds” view to others - They wrap the - Zoroaster believed kusti around the in one creator God, outside of a sudreh, teaching that only a long, clean, white one God was worthy cotton shirt of worship - They may engage - After twelve years, in a purification Zoroaster left his ritual, such as the home to find washing of the somewhere more hands, then untie open to new ideas and then retie it while reciting - He found such a prayers place in the land of Bactria - Prayers are primarily - The King heard invocational, calling Zoroaster debating upon and celebrating with the religious Ahura Mazda and leaders of his land, his good essence that and decided to runs through all accept Zoroaster's things ideas and made them the official religion - Prayers are said of their kingdom. facing the sun, fire or other source of - By the time of the light representing Persian Empire, Ahura Mazda’s Zoroastrianism was divine light and a well-established energy religion Worship - Purification is strongly emphasised in Zoroastrian rituals - Zoroastrians focus on keeping their minds, bodies and environments pure in the quest to defeat evil (Angra Mainyu) - Fire is seen as the supreme symbol of purity, and sacred fires are maintained in Fire Temples (Agiaries) - These fires represent the light of God (Ahura Mazda) as well as the illuminated mind, and are never extinguished - No Zoroastrian ritual or ceremony is performed without the presence of a sacred fire Zoroastrianism provides a solution to the so-called “problem of evil” by teaching that A. Ahura Mazda, as ultimate reality, is a force for evil as well as for good B. evil is only illusory and has no real effect on wise people C. there are two equally powerful divine beings locked in an eternal struggle of good versus evil D. ultimately order and goodness will win out over chaos and evil Zoroastrianism teaches that reality is divisible into two realms: A. Energy waves / atomic particles B. Good intention / evil intention C. Spirit and thought / matter and physicality D. Sky and heaven / earth and the underworld In which of the following did Zoroastrianism originate? A. Pakistan B. Iran C. North Africa D. Afghanistan The coming of Islam to Iran in the seventh century resulted in A. civil war between Iranian Muslims and Zoroastrians B. the rise of dynasties of Zoroastrian rulers who were sympathetic to Islam C. the marginalization of Zoroastrianism D. a synthesis of Islam and Zoroastrianism Today, the largest population of Zoroastrians is in A. Afghanistan B. North Africa C. Pakistan D. India Zoroastrianism shares teachings about __________ with Christianity and Judaism. A. dualism and a final judgment B. Ahuras and the sacredness of fire C. the daevas and the sacredness of fire D. the importance of the patriarchs of ancient Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Zoroastrians in India are known as A. Parsis B. Indians C. Zarathustri D. Zoroastri Zoroastrian reverence for fire means that A. candle flames are not extinguished but rather allowed to burn out B. cremation is the traditional means of disposing of the dead C. sacred fires in temples are ritually extinguished and relit at least once per year D. all of the above Unlike Hindus, Zoroastrians place corpses on A. towers of silence B. on fires C. in the ground D. None of the above Zoroastrians are A. monotheists and dualists B. polytheists and dualists C. atheists and dualists D. deists and dualists Zoroastrianism has influenced A. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism B. Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism C. Judaism, Christianity and Islam D. Theosophy, Sikhism and Deism - Identify the percentages of the following religious populations: Christianity: ___________ Islam: ___________ Buddhism: ___________ - Where do many Muslims live? - What religion is dominant in the Americas? - What religion is dominant in sub-Saharan Africa? - How have religions spread? - Identify two religions that spread beyond their places of origin? - Why do religious populations increase and decrease over time?