Similarities Between Zoroastrianism Christianity And Islam
The Commonality of World Religions: Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam
DaJanea M. Gatlin
Nicholls State University
The Commonality of World Religions: Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam
All over the world today and even at each of our cores, religion has been practiced at its best for billions of years. With the soul-searching need to explain the beginning of the world, universe, and everything else within it, mankind has been trying to tell the world who God is, what should be believed supremely, how things should be in our everyday lives, what makes individuals special, etc. However, many men along with their beliefs, values, and traditions have paid costly consequences due to the many or few yet distinct differences …show more content…
In fact, the stories and visions of these prophets are similar and have a connection. For example, it was prophesized that the Zoroastrian prophet, Zarathustra, and Jesus Christ would both be born of a virgin by super natural occurrences. The concept of a prophet being born a virgin’s birth is a monumental comparison between Zoroastrian and Christian beliefs. In the Christian Bible, Jesus was born from a virgin who named Mary. While Zoroastrianism prophecies do not relate to Islam in many ways, Christianity can be frequently compared to Muslim beliefs. Specifically, an angel, archangel, or angelic being, Gabriel, is recorded in both sacred texts of Christianity and Islam. According to Voorst (2013), Muhammad Ibn, the prophet of …show more content…
Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam are all Middle Eastern religions at most and may have had some intermingling with each other. For example, during the disperse of Zoroastrianism into the Persian and Sassanian Empire, Zoroastrianism might have influenced the Jews or Jewish ideas (pertaining to Christianity) while being held in Babylon. What can be proven is the decline and takeover of Zoroastrianism after the Muslims had overthrown the Sassanian Empire (Voorst, 2013, p. 208 -211). A particular example of the possibility of influence is the mentioning of the “magi” or men from the east that had been recorded honorably giving gifts of myrrh and frankincense to Jesus as a baby. Voorst (2013) supports this relation by acknowledging that the wise men mentioned in the Christian Bible and the same gifts were given by priests in Zoroastrianism (p. 206). This possible coincidence does draw a connection in history concerning this event, not only possibly proving its occurrence but also, the possible coming together of Zoroastrianism and Christianity. This example might be an explanation of why all of these creation stories, vision stories, etc. sound so similar, especially since Islam and Christianity spread in the same area and even at different periods. However, they each have definite
DaJanea M. Gatlin
Nicholls State University
The Commonality of World Religions: Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam
All over the world today and even at each of our cores, religion has been practiced at its best for billions of years. With the soul-searching need to explain the beginning of the world, universe, and everything else within it, mankind has been trying to tell the world who God is, what should be believed supremely, how things should be in our everyday lives, what makes individuals special, etc. However, many men along with their beliefs, values, and traditions have paid costly consequences due to the many or few yet distinct differences …show more content…
In fact, the stories and visions of these prophets are similar and have a connection. For example, it was prophesized that the Zoroastrian prophet, Zarathustra, and Jesus Christ would both be born of a virgin by super natural occurrences. The concept of a prophet being born a virgin’s birth is a monumental comparison between Zoroastrian and Christian beliefs. In the Christian Bible, Jesus was born from a virgin who named Mary. While Zoroastrianism prophecies do not relate to Islam in many ways, Christianity can be frequently compared to Muslim beliefs. Specifically, an angel, archangel, or angelic being, Gabriel, is recorded in both sacred texts of Christianity and Islam. According to Voorst (2013), Muhammad Ibn, the prophet of …show more content…
Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam are all Middle Eastern religions at most and may have had some intermingling with each other. For example, during the disperse of Zoroastrianism into the Persian and Sassanian Empire, Zoroastrianism might have influenced the Jews or Jewish ideas (pertaining to Christianity) while being held in Babylon. What can be proven is the decline and takeover of Zoroastrianism after the Muslims had overthrown the Sassanian Empire (Voorst, 2013, p. 208 -211). A particular example of the possibility of influence is the mentioning of the “magi” or men from the east that had been recorded honorably giving gifts of myrrh and frankincense to Jesus as a baby. Voorst (2013) supports this relation by acknowledging that the wise men mentioned in the Christian Bible and the same gifts were given by priests in Zoroastrianism (p. 206). This possible coincidence does draw a connection in history concerning this event, not only possibly proving its occurrence but also, the possible coming together of Zoroastrianism and Christianity. This example might be an explanation of why all of these creation stories, vision stories, etc. sound so similar, especially since Islam and Christianity spread in the same area and even at different periods. However, they each have definite