religion help?

Question

is Zoroastrianism an ancient religion? is it still praticed out there?

Answer 1

Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion that follows the teachings of Zoroaster. Amazingly, it is still followed in some parts of the middle east.

Zoroastrianism is a small religion with about 140,000 members. Yet its importance to humanity is much greater than its current numbers might suggest, because:
bulletTheir theology has had a great impact on Judaism, Christianity and other later religions, in the beliefs surrounding God and Satan, the soul, heaven and hell, savior, resurrection, final judgment, etc.
bulletIt is one of the oldest religions still in existence,
bulletIt may have been the first monotheistic religion.

The religion was founded by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster in Greek; Zarthosht in India and Persia). Conservative Zoroastrians assign a date of 6000 BCE to the founding of the religion; other followers estimate 600 BCE. Historians and religious scholars generally date his life sometime between 1500 and 1000 BCE on the basis of his style of writing.

He lived in Persia, modern day Iran. Legends say that his birth was predicted and that attempts were made by the forces of evil to kill him as a child. He preached a monotheism in a land which followed an aboriginal polytheistic religion. He was attacked for his teaching, but finally won the support of the king. Zoroastrianism became the state religion of various Persian empires, until the 7th Century CE.

When Muslim Arabs invaded Persia in 650 CE, a small number of Zoroastrians fled to India where most are concentrated today. Those who remained behind have survived centuries of persecution, systematic slaughter, forced conversion, heavy taxes, etc. They now number only about 18,000 and reside chiefly in Yazd, Kernan and Tehran in what is now Iran. The 1991 census counted 3,190 Zoroastrians in Canada. The actual number is believed to be much higher.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/zoroastr.htm


Columbia University Press
Zoroastrianism

(zô´´rōăs´trēsymbolnĭzsymbolm) , religion founded by Zoroaster, but with many later accretions.

Scriptures

Zoroastrianism's scriptures are the Avesta or the Zend Avesta [Pahlavi avesta=law, zend=commentary]. The Avesta consists of fragmentary and much-corrupted texts; it is written in old Iranian, a language similar to Vedic Sanskrit. The major sections of the Avesta are four–the Yasna, a liturgical work that includes the Gathas ( "songs" ), probably the oldest part of the Avesta and perhaps in part written by Zoroaster himself; the Vispered, a supplement to the Yasna; the Yashts, hymns of praise, including the Khurda ( "little" ) Avesta; and the Videvdat, a detailed code of ritual purification, often erroneously called the Vendidad. Other sources of Zoroastrianism are Achaemenid inscriptions, the writings of Herodotus, Strabo, and Plutarch, and the commentaries on the Avesta written (6th cent. ) in Pahlavi, a Persian dialect used as a priestly language, under the Sassanids.

Origins and Beliefs

In its origins Zoroastrianism appears to have been the religious expression of the peaceful, sedentary communities of N Iran as opposed to the animistic polytheism of their enemies, the nomadic horsemen. Zoroaster consistently contrasts these two peoples as the People of Righteousness (asha) and the People of the Lie (druj). The religion was concerned with increasing the harvest and with protecting and treating kindly the domestic animals whose labors accomplished the production of food.

Gradually certain practices that Zoroaster appears to have deplored, such as the use of haoma (a narcotic intoxicant) in prayer and the sacrifice of bulls in connection with the cult of the god Mithra (a lesser god in Zoroastrianism), became features of the religion. It is not surprising, however, that former customs should be thus revived, because Zoroaster appears to have incorporated in his religion the old Persian pantheon, although very much refined. Instead of tolerating the worship of all the deities, however, he divided them into those who were beneficent and truthful and those whose malevolence and falseness made them abhorrent.

Heading the good spirits was Ahura Mazdah (also Ormazd or Ormuzd) [sovereign knowledge], in primitive Zoroastrianism the only god. Six attendant deities, the Amesha Spentas, surround him. These abstract representations, formerly the personal aspects of Ahura Mazdah, are Vohu Manah [good thought], Asha Vahista [highest righteousness], Khshathra Vairya [divine kingdom], Spenta Armaiti [pious devotion], Haurvatat [salvation], and Ameretat [immortality]. In time the Amesha Spentas became archangelic in character and less abstract. Opposing the good ahuras were the evil spirits, the daevas or divs, led by Ahriman. The war between these two supernatural hosts is the subject matter of the fully developed cosmogony and eschatology of Zoroastrianism.

The entire history of the universe, past, present, and future, the religion teaches, is divided into four periods, each of 3,000 years. In the first period there was no matter; the second preceded the coming of Zoroaster; and in the third his faith is propagated. The struggle between good and evil rages during the first nine millennia, and humans help Ahura Mazdah or Ahriman according to whether their conduct is good or evil. Each person after death crosses the Chinvato Peretav [bridge of the separator], which spans hell. If he is reprobate, the bridge narrows and he tumbles to perdition, but if he is worthy of salvation he finds a wide road to the realm of light. In the fourth period of the universe a savior, Saoshyant, will appear, the dead will rise for their final reward or punishment, and good will reign eternally.

Zoroastrianism should be regarded as quasi-dualistic, rather than (as sometimes described) wholly dualistic, since it predicts the ultimate triumph of Ahura Mazdah. This god may be represented in the form of the pure natural substances that he has created, notably fire but also water and earth. The special veneration shown to fire and its use in religious ceremonies has led to the erroneous belief that the Zoroastrians were fire worshipers. The care taken to avoid contaminating these natural substances led to great elaboration of the purification ritual.

History

The religion's priests, successors to the pre-Zoroastrian Magi, acquired great power by their command of the techniques of purification. The priests also had great influence on the government in the first period of Zoroastrianism, that under the Achaemenids, when it was for a time the state religion. Alexander's conquest of Persia and the collapse of the Achaemenids destroyed the privileged position of Zoroastrianism. Little is known of the religion for the next 500 years, except that an offshoot, Mithraism (stemming from the worship of Mithra), was taking hold farther west. Zoroastrianism reemerged (c. 226) under Ardashir I, who established the Sassanian dynasty and fostered a general revival of Achaemenian culture. For four centuries Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sassanids, and it successfully met the challenge of nascent Christianity and, later, of heretical Manichaeism. In the mid-7th cent. Persia fell to Islam, and Zoroastrianism virtually disappeared. Aside from the Parsis of India, fewer than 10,000 persons (concentrated in Yazd and Kerman, Iran) practice the religion today. Zoroastrianism affected Judaism (particularly during the time of the Captivity) and, through Gnosticism, Christianity.

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Zoroastr

Answer 2

Yes, it is Persian and still practiced. Three of its astrologer priests (Magi) were said to follow a star and bring Jesus gifts in his manger, although some Bibles and Christians avoid this by saying "wise men". The Zoroastrians have a clear idea of a war between good and evil, and it is only after they are said to have helped the Jews escape from Babylon that we see that idea in Judaism and later Christianity. Zoroaster (the fouder) is also called Zarathustra, and is the main charaxcter of one of Nietzsche's works.

Answer 3

faith:- faith is a equipment of ideals and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. there are a number of faiths interior the worldwide at present. a number of those religions are of present day beginning place yet maximum of them are very old. actually all of us be responsive to from history that guy has constantly had a faith. Even the primitive adult adult males living in caves or jungles had some style of religion. The concepts and rituals in guy's faith have consistently stepped forward and develop into greater rational and state-of-the-artwork as time went on. The primitive religions of the Cave guy and the Bush guy gave upward thrust to the well known religions of the previous 3 thousand years. at present, the significant religions of the worldwide contain: worldwide faith ----- Originated in Zoroastrianism ----- Iran Confucianism ----- China Hinduism ------ India Taoism ------ China Jainism ------ India Judaism ------ Neat East Christianity ------ close to East Islam ------ close to East Buddhism ------- India Shinto ------- Japan those are the great religions of the worldwide which at the instant are not purely in charge for all our amassed wealth of information, philosophy, ethics, and social and ethical codes, yet have stimulated the way of life, the language and the ethical attitudes of only approximately each and every guy or woman living at present. distinction between non secular and Non non secular Peoples. a million. The non secular human beings believe in some thing whilst the others do not. 2. The non secular human beings carry out specific acts of worship whilst the others do not. 3. The non secular human beings look to persist with a undeniable code for his or her social and ethical behaviour whilst the others do not. 4. The non secular human beings come across a purpose of life and characteristic a different philosophy in direction of it, whilst the others do not.

Answer 4

When Muslim Arabs invaded Persia in 650 CE, a small number of Zoroastrians fled to India where most are concentrated today. Those who remained behind have survived centuries of persecution, systematic slaughter, forced conversion, heavy taxes, etc. They now number only about 18,000 and reside chiefly in Yazd, Kernan and Tehran in what is now Iran. The 1991 census counted 3,190 Zoroastrians in Canada. The actual number is believed to be much higher.

Answer 5

I came to know about this religon through Yahoo answers eventhough it claims that it is an olc religion. I had a look on this religion, it claims that there is only one God
http://www.zoroastrianism.cc/
and it contradicts it's belief when it says"
OCRT Statement of Belief:
"We are a multi-faith group. As of 2006-JAN, we consist of one Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. Thus, the OCRT staff lack agreement on almost all theological matters: belief in a supreme being, the nature of God, interpretation of the Bible and other holy texts, whether life after death exists and what form it takes, etc."
http://www.religioustolerance.org/statbe...
How can there be one God to believe in when Athiest say they don't belive in any God, Christians Say three Gods, Hindus have several Gods. Muslims have one God?

What I see is this is a group which has taken from the existing religions, rules & regulation of various contries and put them all togather so there sources are mainly from Christianity, Islam and Judaism and current rules & regulation of many contries.

Another contradiction:
Quotation:
"Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed world-religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly, than any other single faith." Mary Boyce.
In an Introduction to this religon it says:
Zoroastrianism is a small religion with about 140,000 members. Yet its importance to humanity is much greater than its current numbers might suggest, because:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/zoroas...
how can an oldest religion have only 140,000 members?!! There should have been more than that when you compare it with Christianity, Islam and Judaisum.

I don't know but you may research and find out who this God is and who this messanger is. But as for me I have already got my right path an I don't want to go back to dark ages nor do I want a light brighter than Islam's light because I'm completly satisfied with this light and I'm already in peace of mind and soul.

Answer 6

The primary religion in Iran today is the Shia sect of Islam but the far older faith of the prophet Zoroaster is still openly practiced, particularly in the central and northwestern regions of the country. Zoroaster's name in its original form is found in the sacred scripture the Avesta as Zarathushtra. It is not possible to say exactly when he lived but contemporary scholarship has mostly agreed upon the dates of 660-583 BC, with his birthplace being in the region of northwestern Iran now known as Azerbaijan. Similar to other great sages of archaic times, Zoroaster's life is part history and part legend. Tales are told of signs in the sky announcing his coming, of marvels and omens attending his birth, and of acts of power that he performed as a young boy. Around the age of twenty he withdrew from the world to seek the divine through study, wandering and solitary meditation in remote mountain areas. At the age of thirty he experienced the first of seven mystical visions from which he developed his spiritual philosophy and initiated his ministry. In these visions, an angelic entity by the name of Vohu Manah appeared to Zoroaster and escorted him to the throne of the Creator, Ahura Mazda. The wisdom teachings he received from Ahura Mazda are given in the form of seventeen hymns, the Gathas, contained in the Avesta scripture. The Zoroastrian religion has three central commands of Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds.

Zoroaster was born in an age of agriculturalists and his religion is therefore deeply associated with the natural world. Besides its emphasis on the eternal conflict of good and bad, Zoroastrianism is also characterized by nature worship, by deification of the sun, moon and stars, and by scrupulously followed injunctions regarding the protection of the earth. In the Zoroastrian faith, reverence is shown to the Creator Ahura Mazda both directly and through the veneration of his various creations and their supernatural guardians. Fire is believed to pervade the other six principal creations and is always present at Zoroastrian ceremonies. During their prayers, believers face towards a fire, or else towards the sun or the moon, which are regarded as heavenly fires and as Ahura Mazda himself. Fire is, however, not regarded as a symbol but as a holy being that comes to man's assistance in return for nourishment and worship. The veneration of fire is also equated with the invocation of truth in the mind and heart of the believer.

More can be founbd at:

http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/zoroastrian.htm

Answer 7

Yes, it is an ancient religion. It is still practiced in Iran and parts of India.

Answer 8

I would google it and research it.

It has to be old, I've never heard of it. LOL.

As for it being practiced, I wouldn't doubt that it is by someone, somewhere.

Just remember:

Isa 43:10 Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isa 43:11 I, [even] I, [am] the LORD; and beside me [there is] no saviour.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Hope you've made the right decision before it's too late for YOU.

Dear Old Dad

Answer 9

here's i link to the wikipedia page on it with the history ect. ect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

Answer 10

i know its a practiced religion in ancient times i don't know if its still practiced nowadays