Comparisons of tenets
Below is a chart between Zoroastrianism and
Nestorian Christianity which was one of the common religions during the time of
the Silk Road.
Nature of God |
Zoroastrianism
Monotheistic The supreme creator is Ahura Mazda Some say that Ahriman is also a god thus making it polytheistic, but Zoroastrians only acknowledge Ahriman as a spirit of evil not a god himself. Ahura Mazda created us hoping that we will help him in the universal battle. However, he gave us the gift of free will so that we could choose which side of the battle we can support and for our own reasons why. If he never gave us freewill, then we would only fight as ordinary pawns and Ahriman could create the same number of ‘pawns’ to fight back. |
Nestorian Christianity
Monotheistic The supreme creator is God, the I AM. His divine nature consist of God the Father, Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. They all act as one, not three different forms like the states of matter. God created us so we can glorify His name and have a close relationship between Him. He gave us free will so that our love for God is sincere and intimate. If we never had free will, then we would only be robots and the love between the Creator and created is one sided and meaningless. |
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Free will is overall given to us so that we could choose to support the Supreme being or not by ourselves. If we never received this gift, we would become emotionless robots and the relationship is mutual.
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Both gods are omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent as well as compassionate and just. They both represent the Light and everything that’s good or righteous.
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Dualism
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Both religions have the idea of an universal, constant battle/ conflict/ tension between the two opposite forces, good and evil represented by the Supreme Being and the spirit of evil.
Both also have cosmic dualism such as night and day. Both also have hymns and prayers that encourage us about the Supreme Being’s triumph over evil; the light will overcome the darkness.
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According to Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus says that the greatest two commandments is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In fact, all the writers and prophets from the Old Testament were all based on these two principles.
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In other words, we must glorify God in everything we do. Similar to the Zoroastrians, it is everything we say, think, and do. For the second commandment, our neighbor is anyone who needs help - even our enemies. This could be a contrast to Zoroastrianism because followers might think including a sinful enemy into their lives is polluted and evil.
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The physical world will end by a fiery comet.
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The physical world will end in flames of fire.
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Both saviors will come to make everything right and defeat death once and for all.
Interestingly, both saviors are born from a virgin. |