"One person of integrity can make a difference." Elie Wiesel

The Rise of Monotheism The movement towards a distinctive monotheistic religious tradition with a distinct emphasis on ethical values emerged in the Middle East It found expression in Zoroastrianism and in Judaism While these religions did not spread widely, the principle of monotheism influenced the development of Christianity and Islam

Zoroastrianism Arose during the height of the Persian Empire A Persian prophet, Zarathustra (Zoroaster to the Greeks), in possibly the sixth or seventh century BCE preached a new religion His ideas received state support during the Achaemenid dynasty (558-330 BCE) Zarathustra had been appalled by the violence of recurring cattle raids He offered a new worldview

According to Zarathustra, a single, unique god, Ahura Mazda, ruled the world and was the source of all truth, light, and goodness -But Ahura Mazda was in a cosmic struggle with the forces of evil -Evil was embodied in the supernatural figure of Angra Mainyu -Ahura Mazda would eventually triumph when a final Savior would arrive and restore the world to its earlier purity and peace -At the day of judgment, those who had joined with Ahura Mazda would be granted new resurrected bodies and eternal life in Paradise -Those who sided with evil were condemned to everlasting punishment

Zoroastrianism was accepted within the Persian heartland and found some followers in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia But it was never a missionary religion The faith was weakened by Alexander the Great’s invasion of Persia but it survived and flourished again during the Parthian (247 BCE-224 CE) and Sassanid (224-651 CE) dynasties However, the arrival of Islam led to the final decline of Zoroastrianism in Persia A few believers fled to India where they became known as Parsis (Persians) and continue to practice their faith to the present times

Like Buddhism, Zoroastrianism vanished from its place of origin but unlike Buddhism, it did not spread in a recognizable form But the presence of Jews in the Persian Empire led to an exposure to Zoroastrian ideas -Conflict between good and evil -Idea of a last judgment and resurrected bodies -Belief in the final defeat of evil -The arrival of a savior (Messiah) -The remaking of the world at the end of time

Judaism Judaism developed among the Hebrews According to Hebrew tradition, the prophet Abraham, led his people from Mesopotamia to Palestine Over time, a portion of the Hebrews moved to Egypt where they were enslaved but then miraculously escaped to rejoin their kin in Palestine By around 1000 BCE, the Hebrews established a small state that soon split into a northern kingdom called Israel and a southern state of Judah.

Israel was conquered by Assyria in 722 BCE and many of its inhabitants were deported to other regions In 586 BCE, the kingdom of Judah came under Babylonian control and its elite class was shipped off to exile In Babylon, these exiles, now calling themselves Jews, retained their cultural identity and later were able to return to their homeland -Identity lay in unique religious ideas -Through religion as opposed to empire-building, the Jewish people influenced world history

Jews believed their god, called Yahweh, was a powerful and jealous god who demanded exclusive loyalty (“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” – The First of the Ten Commandments, moral and ethical rules of Judaism) A difficult commandment because as Jews turned from pastoralism to agriculture were attracted to the fertility gods of neighboring peoples But over time, monotheism triumphed Came to believe in a covenant with Yahweh -In return for sole devotion and obedience, Yahweh would consider the Jews his chosen people, favoring them in battle, causing them to grow in numbers, and bringing them prosperity and blessings

Increasingly Yahweh was seen as a lofty, transcendent deity of utter holiness and purity, set far above the world of nature, which he created But people could communicate actively with Yahweh unlike the ultimate reality found in Daoism or Hinduism In addition, Yahweh was transformed from a god of war to a god of social justice and compassion for the poor and marginalized, especially in the pronouncements of the Jewish prophets such as Amos and Isaiah

The Jews had developed a distinctive conception of the divine – singular, transcendent, personal, separate from nature, engaged in history, and demanding social justice and moral righteousness above sacrifices and rituals These ideas sustained a separate Jewish identity in both ancient and modern times This understanding of God provided the foundation on which both Christianity and Islam were built

Strayer Questions What aspects of Zoroastrianism and Judaism subsequently found a place in Christianity and Islam? What was distinctive about the Jewish religious tradition?