Judaism and Christianity are both major monotheistic religions in today's world. Upon taking a closer look at these western religions one can't help but notice a common thread running through them. The concepts of "one omniscient God" (monotheism) and "final judgement" (resulting in spending an eternity in heaven or hell), are ever present. How do these largely practiced belief systems have so much in common? Who is responsible for creating the basic ideology of millions of believers today? The answer to these questions may lie with a man who lived, possibly, thirty-five hundred years ago.Zoroastrians are the followers of the Achaemenian prophet or priest Zarathustra (or Zoroaster as the Greeks called him). (For clarification, I will use present day Iran in place of the Achaemenian Empire). Due to invasions of Iran and the destruction of their libraries, there are no sources to pinpoint the exact time frame of Zoroaster's life. According to documents that survived the eradication, Zoroaster flourished "258 years before Alexander the Great..."(Frye 27). Alexander the Great sacked the Iranian capitol in 330 BC. Subtracting 258 years from that date would conclude the prophet was born circa 628 BC. Other scholars estimate his birth around 1400 BC. Where Zoroaster was born and lived is almost as uncertain as when he lived. Arab scripts state that "...Zaratusht arose from Ragh..." which researchers have concluded as Rhages, or present day Tehran Iran. (Finegan 86) The area in which he lived had an economy based on animal husbandry. Nomads who frequently raided those people were viewed by Zoroaster as evil men, and called them "followers of the lie". So begins the basis of Zoroaster's theology.To understand the overwhelming effect Zoroastrianism had on the people of the ancient Middle East, one must look at their belief system. Iran, as well as the entire Middle East, was a land where many pagan gods and goddesses were being ...
