Wed 8 Jun 2005
Ahura Mazda interview on the Daily Show
Posted by Phil Harland. Categories: Apocalypticism , History of Satan , Mesopotamian and Israelite religions , Religion and popular cultureForgot to mention: Ahura Mazda (Lord Wisdom), the good god of Zoroastrianism who opposes the evil forces of Angra Mainyu, is to be interviewed on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart next week. There was a sneak peak last night in connection with the “This Week in God” segment, and it looks promising.
Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) was a prophet in Iran in the sixth century BCE or perhaps much earlier (c. 1400-1200 BCE according to some). Zoroastrianism was characterized by a thoroughgoing dualism (two-ism) of good and evil. Writing in the early second century CE, the Greek philosopher Plutarch summarized Zoroastrian teachings thus:
“Oromazes (Ahura Mazda), born from the purest light, and Areimanius (Angra Mainyu), born from the darkness, are constantly at war with each other. . . But a destined time shall come when it is decreed that Areimanius, engaged in bringing on pestilence and famine, shall by these be utterly annihilated and shall disappear; and then shall the earth become a level plain, and there shall be one manner of life and one form of government for a blessed people who shall all speak one tongue” (Plutarch, Isis and Osiris 370; trans. by Babbitt in Loeb Classical Library)
Scholars are generally agreed that there is an important relationship between Zoroastrian dualism and Jewish (and Christian) apocalypticism, but they disagree on precisely what that relation is. The Jewish (and Christian) apocalyptic worldview also speaks of an ongoing battle between a good force (God) and an evil one (Satan), ending in an ultimate punishment for evil and bliss for those on the right side, who will live in an eternal, wonderful kingdom (in Zoroastrianism this end-time situation is often called the “making wonderful”, by the way). Part of the problem in determining a relation is that although Zoroaster himself pre-dates our earliest cases of the Jewish apocalyptic worldview (which begin to appear in a full-blown sense from about 200 BCE), the vast majority of the writings associated with the teachings of Zoroaster–at least in the form we have them–date significantly later (check out Mary Boyce’s collection of Zoroastrian texts: Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism).
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January 7th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
[...] A rebellious fallen angel who later develops into a full-blown personification of evil (as Satan) first begins to appear clearly in our sources within the context of Jewish apocalypticism around 200 BCE (in book 1 of 1 Enoch). The story of this personified evil figure continues to develop and play an important role in early Christianity. Yet there are important predecessors in the Ancient Near East which help us to understand subsequent stories surrounding the figure of Satan. Among the predecessors is Ahriman (the opponent of Ahura Mazda) within Zoroastrianism, which I have discussed here in an earlier entry on this blog. [...]
October 12th, 2006 at 10:28 am
[...] If you are interested in reading further posts on this subject, click on my category for apocalypticism or on my category for the history of Satan (who plays a key role in the apocalyptic worldview). I also have a specific post which deals with Zoroastrian apocalypticism, which is an important factor in understanding the emergence of the apocalyptic worldview within Judaism and Christianity. [...]