Zoroastrianism

 The ways Zoroastrianism/ Mazdayasna influenced Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Paganism, and Greek philosophy, are astronomical to think about. My understanding of the central themes surrounding Monotheism is that Zarathushtra/ Zoroaster was a priest of the pre-Zoroastrian religion of Iran and had an awakening, a vision from a being of pure light and goodness. The recognition of one true God, Ahura Mazda. The notion of following one God was brand new to the world, it was the start in belief of monotheism.   This helps inform, shape, and define the rituals, beliefs, teachings, and practices of the thriving religions of today.  

Ahura Mazda: uncreated, eternal Wise Lord. The lord or order, completely good, light, the creator, ruth, loving, infinitely wise, creator of the world, and all good things. They are supported by the six Amesha Spentas, Holy Immortals that are normally compared to Arch-Angels in Christianity (another way Zoroastrianism has helped the define some beliefs in Christianity). 

Angra Mainyu: the destructive spirit, the complete polar opposite of Ahura Mazda. They are darkness, is deceit, death, the destroyer, they gave the world disease. Angra Mainyu gave the world lies. They are the corrupting parasites seeking to destroy Ahura Mazda’s creation and are responsible for all negative things in the world. They made the oceans salty, turned the Earth’s ground into a desert, killed the first human, and polluted fire with smoke. Angra Mainyu also has evil minions known as daevas.

Duality of good and evil: Zoroastrians believe everything is a battle between the opposites of light and dark. Human beings need to choose between the truth and the lie. When Ahura Mazda created the physical world (the Getig), Angra Mainyu crawled into this world and polluted it. 

 The core belief of Heaven and Hell is another example of how Zoroastrianism helps to influence the practices of the thriving religions of today.

Zoroastrians believe that when a person dies, their soul leaves their body. The soul is led to the Bridge of Judgement where above the bridge lies heaven and below lies hell. The soul is then weighed on a scale and depending on the balance of good to evil deeds the soul ascends to heaven (Abode of Song) or hell(Duzakh).

Dakhma (Tower of Silence) is a structure used in funeral practices to expose the human corpse to the elements for decomposition.  This aids to avoiding contamination of the soil and Earth.  Carrion birds, usually vultures, come to complete the decomposing cycle and this, help later return the body to the Earth, completing the circle.