Zarathustra

[FireFromHeaven]

What is the Church’s opinion of Zarathustra or Zoroaster? Is he a false prophet or was he a prophet from God guiding humans towards Him?

 

[Fan_of_Francis]

What is the Church’s opinion of Zarathustra or Zoroaster? Is he a false prophet or was he a prophet from God guiding humans towards Him?

Yet another human who was led by their own mind by their own desires. Anything that takes us away form Christ is not from God.

 

[Vouthon]

Zoroaster was not a false prophet IMHO. He was a just man who had a vision while bathing which led him to turn aside from idols and come to believe in one Supreme God, whom he named Ahura Mazda. His religion influenced both Judaism and Christianity.

Simply because he was not a Jew does not mean that as a pre-Christian sage he could not have been a genuine prophet.

The Magi who visited the infant Jesus were most likely Zoroastrians. Cyrus the Great was most likely a Zoroastrian.

I regard him as an inspired prophet.

 

[FireFromHeaven]

So there is no official position. He does seem like a prophet as he got so much right. The main thing his religion lacks is a requirement for faith. Yet from what I remember neither does Judaism.

 

[Stillness]

He was likely a religious reformer who saw what he thought were errors in the riligious beliefs of the time and wanted to change them. Somewhat like how Guatama Buddha saw what he thought were errors in traditional Hindu beliefs and attempted to reform them.

 

[FireFromHeaven]

Off topic I know but what is a nihilist? I have never heard of this. What are your beliefs? Is it atheistic or theistic? If theistic mono or poly?

 

[Stillness]

Off topic I know but what is a nihilist? I have never heard of this. What are your beliefs? Is it atheistic or theistic? If theistic mono or poly?

Nihilism generally makes an assumption of an atheistic universe. The term “nihilism” is somewhat ill-defined, but the broad idea is that absolute knowledge can’t be obtained, and because the assumption is made that there is no objective source of purpose in reality, there is no true purpose.

 

[OxygenMan]

I don’t think the Church has an official position on Zoroaster, but I think he truly sought to be a good man and his religion included some elements of natural law that he was able to perceive. He valued virtue and aiding the sick and poor. I think he was probably a virtuous man, as virtuous as a pagan could have been.

 

[Theophorus]

So there is no official position. He does seem like a prophet as he got so much right. The main thing his religion lacks is a requirement for faith. Yet from what I remember neither does Judaism.

Not specifically on Zarathustra, but the church holds to a view that there can be truth, albeit incomplete truth, in other religions and philosophical movements. God as creator of the universe is reflected in the universe and degrees of truth about God can be found from natural human reason. this coupled with mans natural desire for God and the revelation of the old testament, means that “seeds of the word” can be found out with the Church. Hope this is of help

 

[sjorsvanhens]

There are some remarkable similarities between Christianism and the religion of Zoroaster. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Around Ahura Mazda is a whole hierarchy of spirits, corresponding very closely with our “angels”.

The moral teaching is closely akin to our own. Stress is constantly laid on the necessity of goodness in thought, word, and deed (humata, hakhta, hvarshta) as opposed to evil thought, word, and deed (dushmata, duzhukhta, duzhvarshta). Note the emphatic recognition of sin in thought. Virtues and vices are enumerated and estimated much as in Christian ethics.

At the end of time, the approach of which is described in the Pahlavi literature in terms strikingly like those of our Apocalypse, will come to the last Prophet, Saosyant (Saviour) under whom all occur the Ressurection of the Dead (Frashokereti), the General Judgment the apokatastasis or renewal of the whole world by the great conflagration of the earth and consequent flood of burning matter.

Source: newadvent.org/cathen/02154a.htm

 

[sjorsvanhens]

Not specifically on Zarathustra, but the church holds to a view that there can be truth, albeit incomplete truth, in other religions and philosophical movements. God as creator of the universe is reflected in the universe and degrees of truth about God can be found from natural human reason. this coupled with mans natural desire for God and the revelation of the old testament, means that “seeds of the word” can be found out with the Church. Hope this is of help

Yes, like Justin Martyr wrote:

We have been taught that Christ is the first-born of God, and we have declared above that He is the Word of whom every race of men were partakers; and those who lived reasonably are Christians, even though they have been thought atheists

I think of Zoroaster as a melchisedeckian figure of some sorts, a Christian before Christ.

 

[FireFromHeaven]

-]/-]

Nihilism generally makes an assumption of an atheistic universe. The term “nihilism” is somewhat ill-defined, but the broad idea is that absolute knowledge can’t be obtained, and because the assumption is made that there is no objective source of purpose in reality, there is no true purpose.

Ok thanks and thank all of you for your answers.

 

[truthseeker32]

I have no issue seeing Zoroaster as a pre-Jewish prophet who helped get things going in the right direction. The development can be seen as Zoroastrianism->Judaism->Christianity, since the former influenced the latter in each case.

 

[Eric_Hilbert]

Let’s remain on topic guys.

 

[Publisher]

Yet another human who was led by their own mind by their own desires. Anything that takes us away form Christ is not from God.

How could he lead anyone away from Christ? He lived centuries before Jesus of Nazareth.

 

[DavidFilmer]

I notice that you have recently asked a similar question about Methodists, Adventists, Calvanism, Baptists, Lutherans, Zarathusterism, Zoroastrianism, Rastafarianism, Confucianism, and Islam.

You seem very inquisitive, and appear to have a substantial amount of free time to devote to research of topics that would fill the Library of Alexandria. Please forgive me for also noting that your questions are also indicative that you are a troll, and should be ignored.