tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post109651126409780552..comments2024-03-19T01:48:39.709+00:00Comments on Power and Control: Up the RevolutionM. Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09508934110558197375noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post-1096671527147396922004-10-01T22:58:00.000+00:002004-10-01T22:58:00.000+00:00I don't think Zoroastrianism can properly be consi...I don't think Zoroastrianism can properly be considered 'pagan' any more than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are 'pagan.' Indeed, Z-ism (It's just easier to type it that way) is essentially the forgotten and nearly-extinct foundation of the Big Three Western Religions.<br /><br />Z-ians have had a tumultuous history w/r/t Islam. Persia was Zoroastrian, and at the time of Christ it was the largest unified religion in the world. It even rated a sort of 'cameo' appearance in the gospels (The "Magi" from the East are obviously Z-ian clerics, and several apocryphal scriptures from the late roman era state this openly), but by the 6th century it had evidently ossified into a great big semi-corrupt mess. When Islam headed East into Persia, it appealed to Z-ians who wanted to put all the caste and social crap that had accreted around the simple message of Zoroaster a couple millenia ago (This is a recurring theme in religions, btw.) and Islam appealed. Many converted. In the 10th century, Islam instituted a purge, and those who wouldn't convert would die. All copies of the Z-ian holy scriptures were destroyed. A lot of devout Z-ians evacuated to india, others went to ground at home. The religion survived, but only in very remote places, and in a somewhat degenerate form (the survivors were able to reconstitute about a third of their scripture from memory, but the remaining 2/3rds are lost to us.) and they've eeked out an existence as 3rd class citizens down to the present. <br /><br />There are only 30K or 40K Z-ians in Iran and Iraq, and about 170,000 in India.<br /><br />Just thought you and your readers might be interested.<br /><br />Mahatma Randy<br />http://www.mahatmarandy.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post-1096573868514231582004-09-30T19:51:00.000+00:002004-09-30T19:51:00.000+00:00FWIW, my understanding is that Zoroastrianism actu...FWIW, my understanding is that Zoroastrianism actually underpins a lot of Iranian Shiism, so it isn't like importing some kind of alien belief system.<br /><br />-praktikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post-1096515431657896612004-09-30T03:37:00.000+00:002004-09-30T03:37:00.000+00:00I wish it were true, but for about 10 years we hav...I wish it were true, but for about 10 years we have heard this before.<br /><br />My hope is that my government (the US) will finally realize that instead of negotiating with nonexistant "moderates" we should be supporting the opposition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com