Comparison Between Zoorastrianism And Islam

Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion that is still practiced. Some people believe that there are about 140,000 people in the world who practice Zoroastrianism. It was founded in the area in the Middle East that is now called Iran. Zoroastrianism is considered by many to be the first monotheistic religion in the world. It is a very interesting religion and has influenced some of the other major religions in the world today.

Zoroastrianism was founded in the 6th century B.C. by a man named Zarathushtra . He lived in Persia. According to a legend his birth was predicted to happen and that the attempts were made by the forces of evil to kill him as a child. Zarathushtra preached monotheism in a land in which people worshipped many gods. He was targeted for his teaching, but finally won the support of the king. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Persian empires, until the 7th century B.C.

Zoroastrian's believe in a single god named Ahura Mazda. Ahura means "Lord" and Mazda means "Wisdom". The followers of Zoroastrianism are called Parsis. They are from Persia, from where they fled to escape persecution. Zarathushtra was the first person to believe in one god.

The website Religious Tolerance states that Zoroastrians live by the motto "Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds." They believe that their purpose in the world is to help Ahura Mazda make the world be a better pace. There are two ways of thinking in the world. Everyone is free to choose between good and bad, but only the ones who choose good will be able to achieve happiness. Zoroastrians pray at fire temples. They respect the fire because it is the symbol of their god. Zoroastrians have a holy book called the Gathas. The book contains the sacred hymns of the Righteous Zarathushtra. The Gathas are part of the Avesta which is a Zoroastrian religious book that was written centuries after Zarathushtra died. The Gathas are the only sacred part of the Avesta because they are Zarathushtra's actual words. Some animals such as dogs and hedgehogs are sacred to the Zoroastrians. The dog is sacred because of its obedience and usefulness to people. The ancient Zoroastrians believed that if someone harmed a dog his soul would never make it to heaven. The hedgehog is another sacred animal because the ancient Zoroastrians believed that their god created them because they eat ants.

When a person dies the soul is allowed to meditate on their past life for three days. Then the soul is judged. If the good thoughts, words, and deeds outweigh the bad the soul is taken to heaven. Otherwise, the soul is led to hell. Zoroastrians believe that the universe will go through three eras. The first era is creation. The second era is the present world were good and evil are mixed. People's good works will gradually change the world to the heavenly ideal. The final era is when good and evil will be separated from each other. A savior will be born of a virgin who will defeat evil. The name of the savior is Saoshyant. The dead will be resurrected and all sinners will be punished, then forgiven. The world will be perfect like it was before evil existed.

Christians share many of the same beliefs as the Zoroastrians. They both believe that a savior was born from a virgin. Zarathushtra was the prophet of the Zoroastrians and Jesus Christ was the prophet of the Christians. The Christians have a sacred text called the Bible and the Zoroastrians have a sacred text called the Avesta. They both have two parts to their text. The Christians have the gospels and the Zoroastrians have the Gathas. Zoroastrians worship at fire temples and Christians worship at churches. The Christians