-Caveat Lector- From: thew <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Muslims - coming after Christianity may well have "Satanists". but the >conversation was origins of Satanism. there is no satanism in the Jewish >worldview. there is no Satanism in the Persian religions.
While there is no 'satanism' in Persian religions, the concept of a dual nature of good and evil attributed to deities IS a decidedly Persian concept, which was quite prominent in both Zoroasterism and Mithraism, two religions which had a definite influence on Christianity. Prior to Zorasterism and Mithraism (and later, Christianity), religions presented gods as just 'being' -- they were not necessarily good or evil, they just 'were'; if one placated a certain god or goddess, that deity then lent their protection and benediction to the worshippers -- hopefully. One could never be quite sure how one's personal deity was going to act or react -- the gods and goddesses were believed to be quite an arbitrary and changeable lot, and one may find oneself at the mercy of a deity's ire even if one had done nothing wrong... Most ancient religions believed that gods and goddesses ruled actual physical places; hence, a certain city would be devoted to a certain god or goddess to whom one made supplications when in that city, even if one were raised in another area where a different deity ruled altogether. One's own god, and the gods of one's allies, were 'good'; the gods of ones enemies were by default 'bad', but these peoples would not have understood the concept of 'good' and 'evil' beyond whether a god or goddess belonged to oneself or to one's enemies; IOW, gods and gods were not intrinsically 'good' OR 'evil', just omnipotent... It was the Hebrews, Zoroasters, and Mithrans who introduced the concept of one god who ruled over everything, who was everywhere at every moment. It was the Zoroasters and Mithrans who introduced the concept of a 'good' god and an 'evil' god, who were intrinsically 'good' or intrinsically 'evil', and never deviated from being 'good' or being 'evil'... These concepts entered into the Greek world due to Alexander's conquests, and subsequently were worked into 'heretical' offshoots of existing religions, like Christianity. (BTW, Zoroasterim and Mithraism also had the concept of 'the son of God' being born to a human woman via virgin birth, who was subsequently killed and rose from the dead, long before Christianity came along)... >to call someone a "Satanist" and by that mean they worship a being of pure >evil, is originally a Christian concept. period. As I pointed out above, the concept of a deity of pure evil is not solely Christian, indeed it is not even originally Christian; Zoroasterism and Mithraism introduced those concepts, and so one could, in theory, worship a being of 'pure evil' in those religions. But actual satanism IS a Christian concept, since Satan (by that name) is only found in Judeo-Christian literature. June <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
