One of the biggest questions regarding Zoroastrianism is, what is it? Most of the western population has never even heard the word let alone know what it is or what it pertains to. In short, Zoroastrianism is yet another religion similar to that of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. For those of you who can't understand why I categorize these other religions as similar, do some reading. You'll find out that Christianity, Judaism and Islam have alot in common....infact, so much that it might scare you. Well, once again, I the Blasphemer is back with another article. Yes, yes, it's been awhile so please forgive me for not posting any new ones as of late.

Zoroastrianism is what can be considered the forefather of Christianity. It is known as one of the oldest monotheistic religions known to history.....and not only religious history but contemporary as well. Today, in India it's known as "Parsism", and other parts of the world as "Mazdaism" or "Zarathustrism". As with many religions, it spawned from the areas of what is now considered the modern day middle east. Our good 'ol buddies, the Persians invented this one, and to narrow it even further, it was a guy by the name of Zarathustra.......hence, "zoro(zara)"-astrianism. So why in the hell do I say that this religion may just well be the forefather to Christianity? That my dear readers, I will explain below. For you readers who might be a Christian, open up your mind for this one moment and don't be so stubborn in your belief for what I'm about to say might be "blasphemous" to some.

In Zoroastrianism, there is but one god. This god was known to its followers as Ormazd or Ahura Mazda......but of course, as with many gods, he (or she, or it), had many names, but to name them all is too tedious so I'll just stick with these common ones. And of course, since there happens to be this one god of light, goodness, joy and all the other fluffy-happy stuff, there has to be a god of just the opposite. As the saying goes, "if there's an up, there must be a down". Its name.....Ahriman. It's sounding alot like a god damn japanese video game! Of course, there are different theories as to Ahriman even being the "opposite" god or force. But all and all, one can get an idea of the concept. The reason why I'm comparing this religion to that of Christianity, Judasim and Islam is for the fact that so many of the basic ideas and principles of those three are also found in Zoroastrianism. One of the biggest and most obvious is the fact that it is a monotheistic religion...meaning that there is only one god...(or atleast one central and important god). In Christianity and Judaism, we call this god God. In Islam, it is called, Allah. In Zoroastrianism, it is called, Ormazd. But that's not what makes it a comparison. No, infact, I mention this because this one and ultimate god is said to have created everything known to existence and then some. And this god resides "above" somewhere.....a heaven of sort.

We can also look at each ones last "messiah" or "word of god" or "chosen one". In Christianity, he is called, "Jesus". In Islam, he is "Mohammad" and in Zoroastrianism, he is "Zarathustra". Alas, in Judaism, the concept of "messiah" or "word of god" is tossed out the door since they don't believe that their god can be represented by any human being, thus, Jesus to them was no more than a prophet. But all three of those mentioned are considered the messenger of his god or sometimes even the god himself/itself in tangible form. Of course, between Islam, Judaism and Christianity, you'll have the usual bickering over who was the true last word of god...if any at all. However, the most convincing facts that make these religions comparible, related and/or a "spawn" is the fact that they share so many very similar stories and basic principles of how mankind should live, behave and ultimately....exist. The first one that I have to mention are the bibles, or religious text. In Christianity, it is called, "Holy Bible". In Judaism, it is known as, "Torah" and "Talmud". In Islam, "Qu'ran" and in Zoroastrianism, "Avesta". I won't be getting into the exact details of these comparisons but only throw them at you just as tid-bits of information.

Since we're on the subject of holy books, it's also no surprise that the stories contained in those books would be similar. And are they? Hell ya they are! Infact, for this part, I'm only going to compare Zoroastrianism to Christianity.......since that's what this article is about. Just about every story found in the beginning to the end of the Christians bible can also be found, nearly word for word in the Zoroastrian texts. And yes, the Zoroastrian beliefs preceeds Christianity. In almost all religions, there will be a beginning story, but with Christianity and Zoroastrianism, they are so strikingly similar, one cannot help to ponder thoughts of "heresy". Then of course, the creation of man stories are very much alike as well. But without going into much more detail, I'm just going to lay down a few more comparisons:

I've listed just a handful of scary similarities. Of course, there are differences as well, but for the sake of this article, no need to get into those. But reading of the similarites that are mentioned, it makes one ponder, "So who borrowed from whom"? Well, in the end........that, is completely up to the reader to contemplate. Until next time............peace and goodwill to   all  ....... some men!