Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity

Zoroastrianism had many impacts on other religions after Persia spread under the rule of Cyrus the Great and conquered the abutting countries. At its time, Zoroastrianism was a religion/concept rather popular in Iran, not truly known to other places around until the rise of the Persian Empire (96). Zoroastrianism was a set of beliefs centered on, Ahura Mazda. Known as the "Creator" in Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda represented candor, and order. He was the supreme deity of Zoroaster's teachings and beliefs; he who prevented turmoil and conflict from subjugating all that was good and preventing evil to proliferate into such a mass that it would envelop everything and bring demise to all that existed. Zoroastrianism was what is considered a dualistic religion, since it was a whole consisting of two sides which were in a long going dissent (99).

Christianity was another religion which was beget after the death of Jesus. It was said that Jesus was the Messiah and the son of god, who would come and aid mankind and save them from doom. There are many similarities between Christianity and Zoroastrianism which can easily be spotted, since Zoroastrianism was one of the largest influences upon Christianity. Among the many similarities between both religions one of them is, they're both dualistic. As mentioned, Zoroastrianism was considered a dualistic religion as it had to do with the fight between Ahura Mazda, truth and good will, and Angra Mainyu, wickedness and corruption (99). Zoroastrianism states that Ahura Mazda is to always fight against its creation, Angra Mainyu in order to make Earth a cloister. This is very similar to the concept of Christianity, the battle between God and the Devil, otherwise known as good and evil. The basis of the dilemma between good and evil in Christianity and Zoroastrianism can be seen as similar as well.

In Christianity, the altercation between God and the Devil is said to have began after Lucifer was expelled from Heaven after disobeying God, leading to the fight between both. In Zoroastrianism, after the birth of Angra Mainyu, a fight arose between Ahura Mazda and its creation as Angra Mainyu wanted to have control over everything. Although these are some of the larger influences that Zoroaster's beliefs had on Christianity there is one more which is very noticeable. The concept which was passed from Zoroastrianism to Christianity was, the belief of that in the end good will subdues evil, and everything will come to an end. In Zoroastrianism, it states that after 12,000 years of battle Ahura Mazda will prevail over the wicked, in which everything will then undergo a catharsis and time will cease to exist. This is seen in Christianity which says that at one point in time, God will conquer the Devil and the Messiah will come and collect all the souls which have fought for the greater good (99). These are the many influences that Zoroaster's concepts have had on Christianity.

Zoroastrianism is very influential to other religions as well, not just to Christianity. Through the practices of Judaism we can see that Zoroaster's concepts impacted it greatly. For example, we can see that they both believed in angels. One major similarity between both was that Zoroastrianism explained that a savior would come to save all those who believed in Ahura Mazda. This is strikingly alike to the belief in Judaism which assumed that eventually a Messiah would come in the aid of the Jews. We believe that Zoroastrianism's belief in the Saoshyant later influenced the Jewish belief that a Messiah was fated to come and save those who were faithful (99).

All in all, it was clear that Zoroastrianism was very influential towards Christianity and Judaism, which is why we can acknowledge the countless similarities between the three.