Sunday, March 17, 2013

Blog Post 22 - Ancient Western Religions


1.       In ancient Iran, which is now Persia during the 5th or 6th century BC.
2.       After Persia was conquered by the Greek general Alexander the Great in 328 BC.
3.       An angel called Good Thought appeared to him and brought the Wise Lord, Ahura Mazda, he recognized him as the one true god.
4.       Gathas are the oldest part of the sacred text which is called Avesta written by Zarathustra.
5.       Ahura Mazda is eternal and universal goodness, controlling the cosmos and the destiny of human beings.
6.       Ethical dualism is the belief in universal forces of good and evil.
7.       The Lie is the evil force.
8.       Humans must choose between truth and the Lie, between the beneficent spirit and the hostile spirit.
9.       Shortly after death individuals undergo judgment. The ethical records of individuals are read and judged. The good are allowed to enter paradise, while the evil are cast down to the abyss.
10.   Its ethical demands include such principles as caring for livestock and fields.
11.   The Zoroastrians who lived in India.
12.   The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer.
13.   It means they are “of human form.”
14.   Aeschylus celebrated Zeus’s great power and wisdom. His works portray Zeus as ruling with order and justice. For example, the play Agamemnon explains human suffering as being a necessary part of the divine plan of Zeus.
15.   An oracle was a sanctuary favored by a particular god, who communicated in some manner to those who visited the site. The most famous oracle was at Delphi where the Greeks sought the wisdom of the god Apollo.
16.   Three basic aspects
a.       Individuals had to choose to become initiates and they went through some form of initiation ritual.
b.      Initiates experienced a personal encounter with the deity.
c.       Initiates gained spiritual renewal through participation in the religion and as with the most mystery religions hope for a better afterlife.
17.   The Eleusinian Mysteries.
18.   The god Dionysus is associated with fertility, vegetation specifically wine.
19.   To lead a pure life through vegetarianism and other ascetic practices so that the soul might eventually escape the body and fully realize its divinity.
20.   Truth exists independently of any bodily or material evidence consisting of Forms or Ideas, which are eternal and perfect.
21.   Ideas that the material, bodily world is an imperfect reflection of the world of Forms, dependent on them for all its qualities.
22.   Both were called Savior, and the intimacy of the worshipers’ relationship with Asclepius bore a strong resemblance to the relationship with Christ celebrated by Christians.
23.   The supernatural powers that were the ancient Roman equivalent of deities.
24.   Jupiter, the sky god.
25.   Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Neptune, Mercury and Saturn.
26.   It was believed to help ensure the welfare of the Roman state.
27.   Mithraism and Eleusinian
28.   The theme of life overcoming death through the power of Isis was central to the goddess’s cult. Ositis’s powerful position as god of the underworld likewise contributed.
29.   He encouraged the worship not of himself but of his genius or guardian spirit.
30.   The Roman grew suspicious of the Christians because of their refusal to worship on behalf the emperor.


No comments:

Post a Comment