Zoroaster's Eternal Battle: Light Vs. Dark
Eternal Battle: Light vs. Dark Since the beginning of time there have been countless battles, and they end almost as fast as they start. There is one battle that continues and carries on with each new era. Although the conflict is different throughout time, it is as constant as the rising sun. It is as simplistic as the moon and ocean, day and night, or yin and yang. The balance of our souls is scaled through our free will and the choices we make according to the ancient Iranian religion, Zoroastrianism. According to the BBC, Zoroastrianism was a belief that came to existence by a man named Zoroaster who was said to instill the belief that humanity could choose between good and evil. Zoroaster taught that each person had the
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If a person's good choices and deeds overshadow the bad, they would go to heaven. If they made more bad deeds, that person would go to one of the several levels of hell, depending on his or her degree of wickedness just like in Dante’s Inferno. Also within his religion, Zoroaster brought to the populace’s attention the existence of angels, demons, and saviors, ideas that are shared in
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Augustine of Hippo, in relation to Zoroastrianism, was attracted to the beliefs of the teachings of Manichaeism, named for a Persian named Mani who had taught on another
form of Zoroastrianism. This taught the existence of the power of light, and a dark and evil presence that opposed the light. Manichaeism taught that there are two eternal gods of equal power, and that the universe is the battlefield of an unending conflict between light and darkness, good and evil, knowledge and ignorance, body and soul.
Augustine’s mother, Monnica, was a Christian, and his father a pagan, but before his death he converted to Christianity. His mother brought Augustine up as a Christian, and …show more content…
On another note, in the Christian belief we are not guaranteed a place in heaven by the deeds we complete, good or bad, nor are we condemned to hell by the bad deeds we commit because we can be redeemed, and this is another reason why I think Augustine felt so enamored with Christ because He was merciful, and not judgmental. In Christianity there is no good or evil, just sin, and because Jesus died for our sins we have the ability to ask for forgiveness because of the self-sacrifice Jesus made for
If a person's good choices and deeds overshadow the bad, they would go to heaven. If they made more bad deeds, that person would go to one of the several levels of hell, depending on his or her degree of wickedness just like in Dante’s Inferno. Also within his religion, Zoroaster brought to the populace’s attention the existence of angels, demons, and saviors, ideas that are shared in
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Augustine of Hippo, in relation to Zoroastrianism, was attracted to the beliefs of the teachings of Manichaeism, named for a Persian named Mani who had taught on another
form of Zoroastrianism. This taught the existence of the power of light, and a dark and evil presence that opposed the light. Manichaeism taught that there are two eternal gods of equal power, and that the universe is the battlefield of an unending conflict between light and darkness, good and evil, knowledge and ignorance, body and soul.
Augustine’s mother, Monnica, was a Christian, and his father a pagan, but before his death he converted to Christianity. His mother brought Augustine up as a Christian, and …show more content…
On another note, in the Christian belief we are not guaranteed a place in heaven by the deeds we complete, good or bad, nor are we condemned to hell by the bad deeds we commit because we can be redeemed, and this is another reason why I think Augustine felt so enamored with Christ because He was merciful, and not judgmental. In Christianity there is no good or evil, just sin, and because Jesus died for our sins we have the ability to ask for forgiveness because of the self-sacrifice Jesus made for