Zoroaster

Zoroaster (Zarathustra) was a prophet and religious figure in the ancient Persian territory now known as Iran. The exact dates of his life are widely debated among scholars. He is said to have lived anywhere between 1800 and 600 BCE. He founded Zoroastrianism, which was practiced widely in the Persian Empire and is still practiced today in the Par si community of India. The major text of this religion is the Avestas, which consists of small groups of hymns or poems. The Gathas are said to be the oldest and most important of these groups, because they are thought to be written by Zoroaster himself. The basic teachings of these texts are that there is one Supreme Being and a cosmic struggle between good and evil spirits. He is considered to be the earliest philosopher to discuss individual morals and the basic principles of right and wrong. If Zoroaster truly lived in 1200 BCE or earlier, then he is the founder of the first religion based on revealed scripture.

What is known about the life of Zoroaster comes from a collection of historical documents, including the Gathas. Pliny the Younger writes of him 9 times in his Natural History. He was married 3 times and had three sons and three daughters. He started his ministry at the age of 30. The first converts to his religion were his wife, his children, and one of his cousins. He converted the King Vishtaspa, who helped to spread his religion throughout the Persian Empire. He died at the age of 77 fighting in a holy war.

By the age of 40, Zoroaster had seven revelations, each one devoted to one of the seven attributes of the Godhead; these attributes are God the Eternal Light, the Good Mind, Righteousness, Dominion, Piety, Weil-Being, and Immortality. He believed that the Supreme Being was a spirit and could not be represented in an image. These are the cornerstones of his faith. Zoroaster believed that there was a constant struggle between good and evil. He preached that humans were free to choose between right and wrong and that these decisions would affect their afterlife. In his teachings, people are seen as weak against temptation, but strong virtue makes it possible to overcome evil. Evil is said to be a delusion and an unawareness of the existence of good. Atheism is considered a great sin against God because it [Page 1460]influences others away from the truth of God's goodness. In the Gatbas, Zoroaster identifies good and bad actions primarily on their consequences for humanity in general. In doing so, he defined a code of ethics in writing for the first time.

Zoroastrianism long predates Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the influences are clear in the similarities. Each of these religions speaks of a Creation in 6 days, humans driven from paradise, immortality of the soul, an omnipotent god, and a great flood. Some scholars believe that the Jewish Pharisees come from the word Parsi and that this sect was influenced by Zoroaster's followers in ancient Babylon. Zoroastrianism was the religion of the Magi, mentioned in the New Testament as having visited the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

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