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Single Idea 7347
[filed under theme 29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 3. Zoroastrianism
]
Full Idea
Cyrus the Great was a Zoroastrian, believing in one, eternal, beneficent being, 'Creator of all things through the holy spirit'.
Gist of Idea
Zoroastrians believed in one eternal beneficent being, Creator through the holy spirit
Source
Paul Johnson (The History of the Jews [1987], Pt II)
Book Ref
Johnson,Paul: 'A History of the Jews' [Phoenix 1993], p.85
A Reaction
Is this the actual origin of monotheism, or did they absorb this idea from the Jews? The interesting bit is the fact that the supreme being (called Marduk) is 'beneficent', which one doesn't associate with these remote and supposed pagans.
The
16 ideas
from Paul Johnson
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7337
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In Mosaic legal theory, crimes are sins and sins are crimes
[Johnson,P]
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7339
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Because human life is what is sacred, Mosaic law has no death penalty for property violations
[Johnson,P]
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7340
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Mosaic law was the first to embody the rule of law, and equality before the law
[Johnson,P]
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7338
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Man's life is sacred, because it is made in God's image
[Johnson,P]
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7336
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A key moment is the idea of a single moral God, who imposes his morality on humanity
[Johnson,P]
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7341
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Sampson illustrates the idea that religious heroes often begin as outlaws and semi-criminals
[Johnson,P]
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7342
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Isaiah moved Israelite religion away from the local, onto a more universal plane
[Johnson,P]
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7348
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The Jews sharply distinguish human and divine, but the Greeks pull them closer together
[Johnson,P]
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7353
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The Pharisees undermined slavery, by giving slaves responsibility and status in law courts
[Johnson,P]
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7345
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In exile the Jews became a nomocracy
[Johnson,P]
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7344
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Judaism involves circumcision, Sabbath, Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, New Year, and Atonement
[Johnson,P]
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7347
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Zoroastrians believed in one eternal beneficent being, Creator through the holy spirit
[Johnson,P]
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7349
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Immortality based on judgement of merit was developed by the Egyptians (not the Jews)
[Johnson,P]
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7354
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The main doctrine of the Pharisees was belief in resurrection and the afterlife
[Johnson,P]
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7356
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Pious Jews saw heaven as a vast library
[Johnson,P]
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7355
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The Torah pre-existed creation, and was its blueprint
[Johnson,P]
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