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The Rise of Monotheism: Zoroastrianism and Judaism WHAP/Napp “The Jewish God was all-powerful and everlasting. Known as YHWH, or ‘The Eternal One,’ his name was rarely spoken; such was the awe and majesty surrounding him. He was eventually to be called ‘Jehovah’ by the Protestant reformers 2,000 years later. Jehovah protected the Jews on condition that they obeyed his precepts, his commandments. The first of the Ten Commandments proclaimed that there was only one god in the whole world. At a time when the typical religion had many gods – the temples of the Middle East were crowded with gods for each season and each purpose – the Jewish religion was unusual. Its members were instructed to bow down before no other god. Their God threatened to punish those people who were disloyal, even their children and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but rewarded the loyal by showing ‘steadfast love to the thousands of generations of those who love Me and keep my commandments.’ The Ten Commandments instructed the Jews how to conduct their lives. An underlying rule was that they must respect their neighbors and show them sympathy. They were commanded to honor their parents. They must not kill, they must not commit adultery. They must not tell lies about their neighbor, and not even think of stealing the neighbor’s ox and ass. It will be observed that the ox and ass, but not the sheep, were so mentioned. Vital as beasts of burden and high in price, the ox and ass were widely used for ploughing the fields and for carrying and hauling heavy loads. The rigid practice of Jews was to work only six days in each week and to worship and rest on the seventh day, which, according to their reckoning, was Saturday. One of the first wide-ranging laws of social welfare in the world, the Sabbath day of rest extended not only to householders but also to their servants, female and male. More than 20 centuries later the most advanced of the world’s social democracies were to introduce, for many employees, a working day limited to eight hours; but that recent experiment in social welfare was less significant than the six-day working week religiously adhered to by these children of Israel.” ~ A Short History of the World 1- What was unique about Judaism compared to other religions of the ancient world? ________________________________________________________________________ 2- Explain the covenant [agreement] between God and the Jewish people. ________________________________________________________________________ 3- Explain the significance of the first of the Ten Commandments. ________________________________________________________________________ 4- How did the Ten Commandments instruct the Jews to live [be specific]? ________________________________________________________________________ 5- What was the significance of the Sabbath? ________________________________________________________________________ 6- Compare Judaism and Hinduism [identify one difference/one similarity]. ________________________________________________________________________ 7- Compare Judaism and Buddhism [identify one difference/one similarity]. ________________________________________________________________________ 8- Identify two religions that Judaism strongly influenced? ________________________________________________________________________ 9- How did Judaism profoundly impact the history of the world? __________________ Notes: I. Zoroastrianism A. Arose during the height of the Persian Empire B. A Persian prophet, Zarathustra (Zoroaster to the Greeks), in possibly the sixth or seventh century BCE, preached a new religion C. Ideas received state support during the Achaemenid dynasty (558-330 BCE) D. Zarathustra had been appalled by the violence of recurring cattle raids E. Beliefs 1. A single, unique god, Ahura Mazda, ruled the world and was the source of all truth, light, and goodness 2. But Ahura Mazda was in a cosmic struggle with the forces of evil 3. Evil was embodied in the supernatural figure of Angra Mainyu 4. Ahura Mazda would eventually triumph when a final Savior would arrive and restore the world to its earlier purity and peace a) At the day of judgment, those who had joined with Ahura Mazda would be granted new resurrected bodies and eternal life in Paradise b) Those who sided with evil were condemned to everlasting punishment F. After the Prophet 1. Zoroastrianism was accepted within the Persian heartland and found some followers in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia 2. But never a missionary religion 3. The faith was weakened by Alexander the Great’s invasion of Persia but flourished again during the Parthian (247 BCE-224 CE) and Sassanid (224-651 CE) dynasties 4. However, the arrival of Islam led to the final decline of Zoroastrianism in Persia 5. A few believers fled to India where they became known as Parsis (Persians) and continue to practice their faith to the present times 6. Like Buddhism, Zoroastrianism vanished from its place of origin but unlike Buddhism, it did not spread in a recognizable form G. Contributions to World Religions 1. Conflict between good and evil 2. Idea of a last judgment and resurrected bodies 3. Belief in the final defeat of evil 4. The arrival of a savior (Messiah) 5. The remaking of the world at the end of time II. Judaism A. Developed among the Hebrews 1. According to Hebrew tradition, the prophet Abraham, led his people from Mesopotamia to Palestine 2. Over time, a portion of the Hebrews moved to Egypt where they were enslaved but then miraculously escaped to rejoin their kin in Palestine 3. By around 1000 BCE, the Hebrews established a small state that soon split into a northern kingdom called Israel and a southern state of Judah a) Israel was conquered by Assyria in 722 BCE and many of its inhabitants were deported to other regions b) In 586 BCE, the kingdom of Judah came under Babylonian control and its elite class was shipped off to exile 1) In Babylon, these exiles, now calling themselves Jews, retained their cultural identity and later were able to return to homeland 2) But identity lay in unique religious ideas 3) Through religion as opposed to empire-building, the Jewish people influenced world history B. Beliefs 1. The Jews had developed a distinctive conception of the divine a) Divine was singular, transcendent, personal, separate from nature b) Divine was engaged in history c) Divine demanded social justice/moral righteousness above sacrifices/rituals d) Ideas sustained a separate Jewish identity in both ancient and modern times e) Provided the foundation on which both Christianity and Islam were built Zoroastrianism Judaism Similarities: Differences: Strayer Question: What aspects of Zoroastrianism and Judaism subsequently found a place in Christianity and Islam? What was distinctive about the Jewish religious tradition? 1. The best translation of Ahura Mazda 6. Judaism can best be defined as is (A) Both a religious and an ethnic (A) God group (B) The Merciful One (B) A religious group (C) The Wise Lord (C) An ethnic group (D) The All Powerful (D) A polytheistic group 2. Zoroastrianism teaches that evil: (A) Does not exist (B) Is the work of the Persian gods (C) Emanates from Ahura Mazda (D) Is eternal and invincible 3. Zoroastrianism teaches that humans: (A) Can achieve perfection in this life (B) Are free to choose between good and evil (C) Will be judged by Mithra when they die (D) All of these 4. According to Zoroastrianism what will happen at the end of the world? (A) The struggle between good and evil will continue in a new creation (B) All traces of evil will be wiped out (C) The angles will become the guardians of humanity (D) Evil people will be sent to hell forever 5. At traditional Zoroastrian funerals the bodies of the dead are: (A) Buried in the earth (B) Cremated in the sacred fire (C) Consumed by vultures 7. According to Jewish beliefs, what is the one essential commandment? (A) To love God (B) To love Creation (C) To love oneself (D) To love all humans 8. Jews in exile from their homeland probably encountered Zoroastrians. Some scholars believe that Jewish belief in concepts such as ___________ may be Zoroastrian in origin. (A) Reward or punishment in an afterlife (B) An immortal soul (C) Final resurrection of the body (D) Any of these 9. Early prophets such as Elijah focused on the sins of worshipping other gods; later prophets emphasized the impending disastrous results of (A) Temple sins (B) Political sins (C) Social and moral sins (D) Any of these Comparative Thesis Statement: Zoroastrianism and Judaism ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________