“The Holy Scripture teaches people love and goodness. The Lord proclaims that He “is love.” On my own behalf, I will add that, for sure, the Bible also teaches morality. After all, without morality, a person loses humanity and turns into a mammal, and the numerous covenants (laws) given in the Bible are nothing more than morality - the principles of human relationships, existence in society. Right?
Well, let's go through the Pentateuch of Moses (the first five books of the Old Testament) and look there for confirmation of the above. And I would like to start with morality. For the Bible says more about this than anything else. This is how we will go: first the section on MORALITY, then on KINDNESS AND LOVE. I will quote from the Bible indicating the book, chapter, verse (line), and you can then compare what is written here with the Bible, if you have one. Similar research can be carried out in other books, and in the New Testament, too. Perhaps we will do this later, but for now we will limit ourselves to the Pentateuch, which, for a start, will be quite enough. So let's get started...
Poems about morality.
BEING
9.
Noah punishes his grandson for his drunkenness and his sons' lying:
20 Noah began to till the land and planted a vineyard;
21 And he drank wine and became drunk, and lay naked in his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness, and went out and told his two brothers.
23 And Shem and Japheth took the robe, and putting it on their shoulders, went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned back, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
24 Noah woke up from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,
25 And he said, Cursed is Canaan; He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.
26 Then he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; Canaan will be his slave;
27 May God spread Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; Canaan will be his slave.
12.
Abraham puts his wife under Pharaoh. Cowardice and prostitution are honored:
9 And Abram rose up and continued to go south.
10 And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down to Egypt to live there, because the famine had increased in that land.
11 And as he approached Egypt, he said to Sarah his wife, “Behold, I know that you are a woman of beautiful appearance;
12 And when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife.” and they will kill me, but leave you alive;
13 Say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me for your sake, and so that my soul may live through you.
14 And it came to pass, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman;
15 Pharaoh’s officials also saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and she was taken into the house of the Pharaohs.
16 And it was good for Abram for her sake; and he had flocks and herds, and donkeys, and male and female servants, and mules and camels.
17 But the Lord smote Pharaoh and his house with heavy blows because of Sarai Abram's wife.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “Why have you done this to me?” Why didn’t you tell me that she is your wife?
19 Why did you say, “She is my sister?” and I took her as my wife. And now here is your wife; take [it] and go.
20 And Pharaoh gave commandment to the people concerning him, and they brought him out, and his wife, and all that he had, [and Lot with him].
19.
Lot gives away his virgin daughters!? (with living sons-in-law) to perverts to be torn to pieces. And by the way, are your sons-in-law okay too?
4 Before they had gone to bed, the city dwellers, the Sodomites, from young to old, all the people from all parts of the city, surrounded the house
5 And they called Lot and said to him, “Where are the people who came to you for the night?” bring them out to us; we will know them.
6 Lot went out to their entrance and locked the door behind him,
7 And he said to [them], “My brothers, do no evil;
8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known a husband; I’d rather bring them out to you, do with them what you please, just don’t do anything to these people, since they came under the roof of my house.
Here about sons-in-law: 14 And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, Arise, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But his sons-in-law thought he was joking...
19.
The daughters turned out to be worthy of their father:
30 And Lot went out from Zoar and lived in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. And he lived in a cave, and his two daughters were with him.
31 And the elder said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no man on earth who has come in to us according to the custom of all the earth;
32 Let us therefore make our father drink wine, and sleep with him, and raise up a descendant from our father.
33 And they made their father drink wine that night; and the eldest went in and slept with her father [that night]; but he did not know when she lay down and when she got up.
34 The next day the eldest said to the younger: Behold, I slept with my father yesterday; Let's give him wine to drink that night too; and you go in and sleep with him, and we will raise up a tribe from our father.
35 And they made their father drink wine that night; and the youngest came in and slept with him; and he did not know when she lay down and when she got up.
36 And Lot's two daughters became pregnant by their father.
20.
Abraham liked the pimping business on his prostitute wife:
1 Abraham went up from there to the south and settled between Kadesh and Shur; and was in Gerar for a while.
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. [For he was afraid to say that this was his wife, lest the inhabitants of that city should kill him for her.] And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3 And God came to Abimelech by night in a dream and said to him, “Behold, you will die for the woman whom you have taken, for she has a husband.”
4 But Abimelech did not touch her and said: Master! will you really destroy [who did not know this] an innocent people?
5 Was it not he himself who said to me, “She is my sister?” And she herself said: he is my brother. I did this in the simplicity of my heart and the purity of my hands.
6 And God said to him in a dream: And I know that you did this in the simplicity of your heart, and kept you from sinning against Me, and therefore I did not allow you to touch her;
7 Now return your wife to her husband, for he is a prophet and will pray for you, and you will live; and if you do not return it, then know that you and all yours will certainly die.
8 And Abimelech arose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and spake all these words in their ears; and these people [were all] very afraid.
9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us?” How did I sin against you, that you brought a great sin on me and my kingdom? You did things to me that are not done.
10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What did you mean when you did this thing?
26.
Isaac decided to follow in his father's footsteps and make a fortune through the prostitution of his own wife. But he didn’t turn out to be a pimp. Who tries to rob the same person twice?
6 Isaac settled in Gerar.
7 The inhabitants of the place asked about [Rebekah] his wife, and he said, “This is my sister; because he was afraid to say: my wife, lest they kill me, he thought, the inhabitants of this place for Rebekah, because she is beautiful in appearance.
8 But when he had lived there for a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out the window and saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife.
9 And Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, this is your wife; How did you say: she is my sister? Isaac said to him: because I thought that I should not die for her sake.
10 But Abimelech said [to him], “What is this that you have done to us?” As soon as one of [my] people had not copulated with your wife, you would have led us into sin.
27.
Her own mother deceives her eldest son for the sake of her younger one:
5 Rebekah heard Isaac speaking to his son Esau. And Esau went into the field to get and bring game;
6 And Rebekah said to her [younger] son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father say to your brother Esau:
7 Bring me game and prepare food for me; I will sing and bless you before the face of the Lord, before my death.
8 Now, my son, obey my words in what I command you:
9 Go to the flock and take me from there two good kids, and I will prepare from them your father’s food, the kind he likes.
10 And you will bring it to your father, and he will eat, to bless you before he dies.
29.
The amazing adventures of Jacob for his wife, as well as about his family life:
15 And Laban said to Jacob, “Will you serve me for nothing, because you are a relative?” tell me what to pay you?
16 And Laban had two daughters; eldest name: Leah; youngest name: Rachel.
17 Leah was weak-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful in form and beautiful in face.
18 Jacob fell in love with Rachel and said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your youngest daughter.”
He worked for seven years and got his chosen wife:
23 And in the evening Laban took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and [Jacob] went in to her.
24 And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to be a maid for his daughter Leah.
25 In the morning it turned out that it was Leah. And [Jacob] said to Laban: What hast thou done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? why did you deceive me?
26 Laban said, “In our place they don’t do this, to give the younger one away before the older one;
27 Finish this week, then we will give you that week for the service that you will serve with me for another seven years.
28 And Jacob did so, and ended the week. And [Lavan] gave Rachel his daughter to him to wife.
30.
And here about family life and traditions of God’s chosen people:
1 And Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, and Rachel was jealous of her sister, and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, otherwise I will die.”
2 Jacob was angry with Rachel and said to [her], “Am I God, who did not give you the fruit of your womb?”
3 She said, “Behold my maid Bilhah; come in to her; Let her give birth on my knees, so that I too may have children by her.
4 And she gave Bilhah her maid to him to wife; and Jacob went in to her.
5 Bilhah [Rachelin's maid] conceived and bore Jacob a son.
6 And Rachel said, God judged me, and heard my voice, and gave me a son. Therefore she called his name Dan.
7 And Bilhah Rachel's servant conceived and gave birth to another son for Jacob.
8 And Rachel said, I fought mightily with my sister, and prevailed. And she called his name Naphtali.
9 Leah saw that she had ceased to bear children, and she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her to Jacob as a wife, [and he went in to her].
10 And Zilpah the servant of Leah [conceived and] bare Jacob a son.
After 14 years, Jacob gathered with his entire family home:
31 And Laban said [to him], “What shall I give you?” Jacob said [to him], “Don’t give me anything.” If you just do to me what I say, then I will again feed and guard your sheep.
32 Today I will go through all your flock of sheep; Separate from it every spotted and spotted animal, every black animal from the sheep, and also spotted and spotted from the goats. Such cattle will be my reward [and will be mine].
33 And my justice will speak for me before you the next time when you come to see my reward. Any goat that is not speckled or spotted, or any sheep that is not black, is stolen from me.
34 Laban said to [him], “Very well, let it be done according to your word.”
35 And he separated that day the spotted and spotted goats, and all the speckled and spotted goats, all that had some white on them, and all the black sheep, and gave them into the hands of his sons;
36 And he set a distance between himself and Jacob for three days' journey. Jacob tended the rest of Laban's flocks.
37 And Jacob took fresh twigs of poplar, almond and sycamore, and [Jacob] cut white stripes on them, stripping off the bark until it was white, which was on the twigs,
38 And he laid the cut rods before the cattle in the watering troughs, where the cattle came to drink, and where, when they came to drink, they conceived before the rods.
39 And the cattle conceived before the bars, and the cattle were born speckled, and speckled, and spotted.
40 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the cattle facing Laban's spotted and all the black cattle; and he kept his flocks separately, and did not put them together with Laban's cattle.
41 Whenever strong cattle conceived, Jacob placed rods in troughs before the eyes of the cattle, so that they would conceive before the rods.
42 But when weak cattle conceived, they did not lay. And the weak cattle went to Laban, and the strong cattle to Jacob.
43 And the man became very, very rich, and he had many flocks [and herds], and female servants, and male servants, and camels, and donkeys.
31.
After Jacob robbed his father-in-law, he had to run away. Moreover, during the escape, the loving daughters also stole his father’s idols. I think that the idols themselves were parallel to them, but they were made of gold. Laban caught up with the fugitives:
26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done?” Why did you deceive me and take away my daughters as prisoners of war?
27 Why did you run away secretly and hide from me and not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and songs, with a tambourine and a harp;
28 You did not even allow me to kiss my grandchildren and my daughters; you did it recklessly.
29 There is power in my hand to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me yesterday and said: Beware, do not say anything good or bad to Jacob.
30 But even if you went away, because you were impatient to be in your father’s house, why did you steal my gods?
34.
Here we are talking about incredible meanness and cruelty in response to repentance:
1 Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2 And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, and took her, and lay with her, and did violence to her.
3 And his soul clinged to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the maiden and spoke according to the maiden’s heart.
4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Take me this maiden to wife.
5 Jacob heard that [the son of Hamor] had dishonored Dinah his daughter, but because his sons were with his cattle in the field, Jacob was silent until they came.
6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.
7 But the sons of Jacob came from the field, and when they heard it, the men were upset and burned with anger, because he had dishonored Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter, and that was not the right thing to do.
8 Hamor began to speak to them, and said: Shechem, my son, has joined his soul to your daughter; give her to him as a wife;
9 become related to us; Give your daughters for us, and take our daughters for yourselves [for your sons];
10 and live with us; This land is [vast] before you, live and trade in it and take possession of it.
11 And Shechem said to her father and her brothers, If only I could find favor in your sight, I will give whatever you say to me;
12 appoint the greatest vein and gifts; I will give, whatever you tell me, just give me the girl to wife.
13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit; and they said this because he dishonored Dina, their sister;
14 And they said to them [Simeon and Levi, brothers of Dinah, sons of Leah]: We cannot do this, to marry our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for it is dishonorable for us;
15 Only on this condition will we agree with you [and settle with you], if you are like us, so that all your males will be circumcised;
16 And we will give our daughters for you, and take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you, and we will be one people;
…
24 And all that went out of the gates of his city obeyed Hamor and Shechem his son: and all the males were circumcised, all that went out of the gates of his city.
25 On the third day, while they were sick, the two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinin's brothers, each took his sword and boldly attacked the city and killed all the males;
26 And they killed Hamor himself and Shechem his son with the sword; and they took Dinah from Shechem's house and went out.
27 The sons of Jacob came to the slain and plundered the city because they had dishonored their sister.
28 They took their flocks and herds, and their donkeys, and whatever was in the city, and whatever was in the field;
29 And all their wealth, and all their children, and their wives, they took captive, and they plundered everything that was in [the city and everything that was in] the houses.
EXODUS
11.
About the moral character not only of the Jews themselves, but also of their Lord. They simply robbed the Egyptians before fleeing under the influence of hypnosis:
1 And the Lord said to Moses, I will bring another plague on Pharaoh and on the Egyptians; after that he will let you go from here; when he releases [you], he will drive you away from here with haste;
2 Tell the people [secretly] that every man from his neighbor, and every woman from her neighbor, beg for silver and gold [and clothing].
3 And the Lord gave mercy to [His] people in the sight of the Egyptians, [and they gave to him;] and Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of [Pharaoh and] Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of [all] the people.
21.
Here is an interesting example from the laws (covenants) given by the Lord:
20 But if a man strikes his servant or his maidservant with a rod, and they die under his hand, then he must be punished;
21 But if they survive a day or two days, then they should not punish him, for it is his money.
So, if they die from beatings in a couple of days, then screw them... Could the true God give such covenants - what do you think?
Poems about love and kindness.
First, about how the Jews themselves were educated, and how they dealt with their disobedient brothers and fellow tribesmen.
EXODUS
32.
First lesson:
27 And he said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword on his thigh, go through the camp from gate to gate and back again, and kill every man his brother, every man his friend, every man his neighbor.
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and about three thousand of the people fell that day.
NUMBERS
16.
Lesson two:
1 Korah the son of Isaac, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron, the sons of Eliab, and Abnan the son of Peleth, the sons of Reuben,
2 They rose up against Moses, and with them from the children of Israel two hundred and fifty men, the leaders of the congregation, those who were called to the assemblies, men of renown.
3 And they gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, It is enough for you; the whole community, all are holy, and the Lord is among them! why do you put yourselves above the people of the Lord?
…
20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
21 Separate yourself from this congregation, and I will destroy them in a moment.
…
49 And fourteen thousand seven hundred men died of the slaughter, besides those who died in the cause of Korah.
25.
Lesson three:
5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, Every man kill his men that cling to Baal Peor.
6 And behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought the Midianite woman to his brothers, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, as they wept at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
7 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, when he saw this, stood up from among the congregation and took a spear in his hand,
8 And he went after the Israelite into the bedchamber, and pierced both of them, the Israelite and the woman, into her womb: and the slaughter of the children of Israel was ceased.
9 And those who died from the defeat were twenty-four thousand.
Well, now about love for other peoples:
NUMBERS
31.
This chapter is definitely about love... for underage girls:
7 And they went to war against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed all the males;
8 And with their slain they slew the kings of Midian: Ebiah, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, and they slew Balaam the son of Beor with the sword [along with their slain];
9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, and all their livestock, and all their flocks, and all their goods, as spoils.
10 And all their cities in their dominion, and all their villages, they burned with fire;
11 And they took all the captured goods and all the spoils, from man to beast;
12 And they brought the captives and the spoil and the captured things to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp, to the plains of Moab, which is by the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
13 And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the congregation went out of the camp to meet them.
14 And Moses was angry with the captains of the hosts, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the war,
15 And Moses said to them, [why] have you left all the women alive?
16 Behold, according to the advice of Balaam, they were a reason for the children of Israel to depart from the Lord to please Peor, for which there was defeat in the company of the Lord;
17 Therefore kill all the male children, and kill all the women who knew a man in a man’s bed;
18 But keep all the female children who have not known a man’s bed alive for yourselves;
DEUTERONOMY
12.
1 These are the statutes and laws that you must be careful to observe in the land that the Lord God of your fathers is giving you as a possession all the days that you live in the land.
2 Destroy all the places where the nations that you will conquer served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills, and under every green tree;
3 And destroy their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and burn their groves with fire, and break in pieces the images of their gods, and destroy their name from that place.
And here, in fact, is the result. It clearly and unambiguously states why this particular people was chosen by the Lord and for what purposes:
DEUTERONOMY
9.
1 Hear, O Israel: you are now going beyond the Jordan to go and take possession of nations that are larger and stronger than you, great cities with fortifications reaching to the heavens,
2 a [great] people, numerous and tall, the sons of Anak, of whom you know and have heard:
3 Know now that the Lord your God goes before you like a consuming fire; He will destroy them and cast them down before you, and you will drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord told you.
4 When the Lord your God drives them out from before you, do not say in your heart that because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me to take possession of this [good] land, and that because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord is driving them out from before you;
5 It is not because of your righteousness, nor because of the uprightness of your heart, that you go to inherit their land, but because of the wickedness [and iniquity] of these nations, the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and to fulfill the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac. and Jacob;
6 Therefore know [now] that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God gives you to take possession of this good land, for you are a stiff-necked people.
So who there argues that the Lord punishes because He loves? The Lord does not punish! He destroys! And the people of Israel are his weapons! How much of a dreamer or liar do you have to be to find another meaning in these lines?
I assure you, the other books are about the same thing.
In my comments, I deliberately do not use the word God, but only Lord. I am sure that God, the true creator, cannot be the destroyer of his own creation in such a sophisticated way. God is mentioned in the Bible only in the first chapter of Genesis, where He appears precisely as the CREATOR. Next, we are dealing with a forgery, where another character was attached to the name of God - the LORD (the master with his slaves - the Jews). So he is the ideological inspirer and leader of countless vile and bloody deeds, the description of which constitutes “holy scripture.”
For the difference between God and the Lord, see here:
There is no higher topic for reflection than the knowledge of God and His relationship with man.
I. THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
A. There are many false teachings about God, and some theories even deny His existence completely.
1) Deism. This doctrine acknowledges the existence of God, but denies the fact that God sustains creation.
2) Atheism denies the existence of God without explanation or evidence.
3) Skepticism hesitates and questions the existence of God, especially the God He reveals Himself to be in Scripture.
4) Agnosticism. This school does not deny God, but denies the possibility of knowing Him.
5) Pantheism teaches that everything is God, and God is everything.
6) Tritheism teaches that there are three different gods.
7) Dualism speaks of the existence of two gods that are equivalent to each other: the god of good and the god of evil.
8) Monotheism is a system of religious beliefs based on Monotheism. It is held by Christians and the devil (James 2:19)
B. The Bible does not seek to prove the existence of God; this fact is taken for granted in Scripture. He was before all things created: “in the beginning God created.” The first verse of the Bible begins with the postulate of the existence of God before creation: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Here the fact of the existence of God is stated, which does not require proof. In Psalm 14:1 the person who says there is no God is called a fool. This verse needs to be linked to John 1:1-5, which clearly states that Jesus was with God before creation; this fact proves His eternal Sonship. The Holy Spirit also took part in the creation of the world: “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Thus, the Triune God created heaven and earth.
C. However, it is not only the Bible that confirms the existence of God.
1) Man has always believed in the existence of a “higher mind.”
2) Every creation has a Creator. The universe could not have happened on its own.
3) The amazing structure of the world around us requires a limitless Designer.
4) Since there is good and evil in the world, there is also a moral law that draws the line between good and evil. And if there is such a law, then there must be a Legislator.
5) Due to the fact that man is a rational and moral being, the Creator must be several orders of magnitude higher in order to create Him.
II. THE NATURE OF GOD.
- God is spirit (John 4:24). That is, He does not consist of matter and does not have a physical nature. God is invisible, but He can manifest Himself to man in a visible way. In the person of Jesus Christ, God came to earth in the flesh (John 1:14-18, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3).
- God is Light. “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
- God is love. “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8).
- God is a consuming Fire. “For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).
- God hates. “These are the six things that the Lord hates, even seven are an abomination to His soul” (Proverbs 6:16).
- God hears. “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are upon their cry” (Psalm 33:16).
- God is a Person. Proper names are used to refer to Him (Exodus 3:14, Matthew 11:25). God has personal attributes such as: knowledge (Isaiah 55:9-10), emotions (Genesis 6:6), will (Joshua 3:10).
- God is One. Scripture clearly teaches that there is only one God (read 1 Timothy 2:5). The teachings of polytheism are false and contrary to logic. There can only be one Supreme Mind.
- God is one in three Persons. The Bible teaches that God is one and at the same time consists of three Persons, each of which is Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This mystery cannot be comprehended by the human mind, yet it can be believed because the Word of God teaches so. The word “Trinity” itself is not in the Bible, but the doctrine of the Trinity is confirmed by the following texts: 1) the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17); 2) the great commission (Matthew 28:19); 3) the blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:13. The Father is called God in Romans 1:7. The Son is called God in Hebrews 1:8. The Holy Spirit is called God in Acts 5:3-4.
III. PROPERTIES OF GOD.
It is difficult to define God. One of the best ways in this case is to describe some of His properties and qualities. When we describe a person, we mention his hair, eyes, height and other characteristic features. The Bible tells us about God in much the same way. So, we call the properties of God His unchanging characteristics.
- God is omnipresent. This means that God is everywhere and there is no place where God is not (Jeremiah 23:24).
- God is omniscient. In other words, He knows everything. God knows all the thoughts and deeds of man (Proverbs 15:3). He knows everything that happens in nature, even the death of a small bird (Matthew 10:29). Even though the universe is vast and limitless, God knows the history of every grain of sand and speck of dust.
- God is omnipotent. All power belongs only to Him. He created the universe and now rules it by His power. There is nothing He cannot do. (Matthew 19:26)
- God is eternal. He has no beginning and He will never cease to be. When Moses asked God: “...behold, I will come to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’” And they will say to me: ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?” God answered Moses: “I am Jehovah.” He did not answer “I was” or “I will be.” He is eternal and He lives: “I am” (Exodus 3:13-14).
- God is unchangeable. “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6).
- God is holy. He is absolutely pure and sinless. God hates sin and loves goodness (Proverbs 15:9-26). He must separate Himself from sinners and punish sin (Isaiah 59:1-2).
- God is fair. All His actions are right and just. He keeps all His promises (Psalm 119:137).
- God is love. Even though God hates sin, He loves sinners (John 3:16)
Note: When we approach God in prayer, we use respectful words to show our reverence for Him. It is not appropriate to address God in the same way as friends or colleagues. If you had the opportunity to visit the residence of the President or King, how would you address him? Let us remember that we come before the King of Kings every time we pray.
What does the Bible teach?
Earlier in the book, it was mentioned more than once about the instructions and recommendations that God gives through the Bible. Let's think a little more about this topic, because it is delving into the teachings of the Lord that helps to know His character.
All Holy Scripture teaches people love and goodness. The Lord declares that He "is love » 1 . Unfortunately, due to poor knowledge of the Bible, many believers think that during the Old Testament, God was more cruel, but in the New Testament, in the person of Jesus Christ, God became kind. However, it is not. God says through Scripture that He is unchangeable: "I am the Lord, I I'm not changing » 2 .And this can be seen if you carefully study the Scriptures. Many are confused by the fact that the Lord destroyed the first people with a flood, destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the tribes living in the land of Canaan, where He wanted to settle His people. But people who think this way miss a number of important biblical texts. Holy Scripture shows that antediluvian humanity was destroyed because a terrible thing reigned in its midst. « corruption… So what All the thoughts and thoughts of their hearts were evil at all times » 3. At the same time, the Lord wanted people to repent, to which Noah called them for 120 years while he was building the ark. According to the calculations of some researchers, there would be enough space in the ark for all the people living on our planet at that time. Or this ark could be a standard for the construction of similar ones. Similar spiritual degradation occurred in Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible describes that the inhabitants of these cities were extremely cruel, depraved, that is, morally dead. The same applies to the Canaanite tribes. The Holy Scripture says that the Lord did not destroy these people until the measure of them "lawlessness... not filled » 4 . Scripture does not hide the fanaticism and obscenity that took place among those peoples. They practiced, for example, interrelated sexual relations, including between parents and children. They did not disdain copulation with animals. In addition, they sacrificed their own children to the pagan gods, which was especially disgusting to God. That is why the Lord eloquently proclaims the judgment against them: “The land has become defiled, and... overthrew myself...living on it» 5 . Imagine what would have happened if the Lord had not destroyed those nations?! Then their moral decline, characterized by extreme cruelty and immorality, would spread like an infection throughout the entire Earth. People would still have died, destroying themselves, but their extinction would have been more painful. Sometimes a well-intentioned surgeon is forced to amputate a limb in which the blood is contaminated in order to save the rest of the body.
People's doubts about the goodness of God are also caused by the illnesses and suffering that occur on Earth. However, we must not forget that death and grief entered our planet along with sin. The reason for this was the choice of our ancestors and the efforts of Satan, who settled on Earth. And today, unfortunately, the devil still has influence on the destinies of people, walking on our planet and "looking for someone to devour» 6 .
Sometimes the Lord Himself is forced to intervene in our lives and allow some pain. But He, unlike Satan, pursues exclusively good goals, because sometimes we simply need to be stopped so that we do not take the wrong step in life. Sometimes we need to be “knocked out” from the frantic rhythm of life so that we have the opportunity to think about the Creator and our spiritual state. And sometimes, to bring some reason to help understand the bad deed committed. The Lord has one goal - for us to live a happy, righteous life here and now, and then remain with Him in a wonderful eternity. The Apostle Paul spoke about the justice and purpose of punishment from God:
"Lord, whom loves, punishes him;... Any punishment at the present time seems not joy, but sadness; but after taught through him brings forth the peaceful fruit of righteousness" 7 .
So, let's return to the teaching of the Lord, which, as I hope you are convinced, is based not on cruelty, but on love. Sometimes it is expressed in direct instructions from God, called commandments, and sometimes in the stories of people whose lives are described in the pages of the Bible. By analyzing the life circumstances in which the characters of Scripture found themselves, the decisions they made and the ensuing consequences, one can draw the correct conclusion regarding how important it is in practice to compare one’s actions with the teachings of God.
Today, for example, there is an opinion that polygamy is allowed, because King David had several wives. But there are texts of Scripture that directly say that a husband should have only one wife: “A man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife his; and they will one flesh » 8 . The words of the Lord are difficult to interpret in two ways, because it is specifically written here "to cleave to his wife"(and not to wives), and "they will be one flesh" with his wife, and not one flesh between many wives and one husband.
But some believers, including even heroes of the faith, did not always listen to the teachings of God and acted according to their own discretion, for which they themselves later suffered misfortunes. The mentioned David, for example, never had peace in his family. Thus, one of his sons abused his sister, born from another mother, for which he was killed by his own brother; another son rebelled against his father in order to take the throne from him, etc. All his life, David himself, his children and wives did not have peace, and the fault of this was the king’s unfaithful act. Moreover, David not only closed his eyes to the Lord’s advice, he did not analyze the experience of his predecessors. Before him, for example, Jacob (Israel) also had several wives. And his story was quite instructive: the wives quarreled over their husbands, and the children were jealous of their father for those sons who were from his beloved wife. As a result, they committed a serious crime - they sold their brother Joseph into slavery. These and many other examples clearly show that life itself proves the wisdom of God's instructions.
1 Bible, New Testament, 1 John 4:8
2 Bible, Old Testament, book of the prophet Malachi, 3:6
3 Bible, Old Testament, Genesis 6:5
4 Bible, Old Testament, Genesis 15:16
5 Bible, Old Testament, Leviticus, 18:25
6 Bible, New Testament, 1 Peter, 5:8
7 Bible, New Testament, Hebrews 12:6,11
Zoroastrianism is a very ancient religion, named after its founder, the prophet Zoroaster. The Greeks considered Zarathushtra a sage-astrologer and renamed this man Zoroaster (from the Greek “astron” - “star”), and his creed was called Zoroastrianism.
This religion is so ancient that most of its followers have completely forgotten when and where it originated. Many Asian and Iranian-speaking countries have claimed in the past to be the birthplace of the prophet Zoroaster. In any case, according to one version, Zoroaster lived in the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. e. As the famous English researcher Mary Boyce believes, “based on the content and language of the hymns composed by Zoroaster, it has now been established that in fact the prophet Zoroaster lived in the Asian steppes, east of the Volga.”
Having emerged on the territory of the Iranian Plateau, in its eastern regions, Zoroastrianism became widespread in a number of countries in the Near and Middle East and was the dominant religion in the ancient Iranian empires from about the 6th century. BC e. until the 7th century n. e. After the conquest of Iran by the Arabs in the 7th century. n. e. and the adoption of a new religion - Islam - Zoroastrians began to be persecuted, and in the 7th-10th centuries. most of them gradually moved to India (Gujarat), where they were called Parsis. Currently, Zoroastrians, in addition to Iran and India, live in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Aden, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, as well as in the USA, Canada and Australia. In the modern world, the number of followers of Zoroastrianism is no more than 130-150 thousand people.
The Zoroastrian faith was unique for its time, many of its provisions were deeply noble and moral, so it is possible that later religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, borrowed something from Zoroastrianism. For example, like Zoroastrianism, they are monotheistic, that is, each of them is based on the belief in one supreme God, the creator of the universe; faith in prophets, overshadowed by divine revelation, which becomes the basis of their beliefs. Like Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in the coming of the Messiah, or Savior. All these religions, following Zoroastrianism, propose to follow sublime moral standards and strict rules of behavior. It is possible that the teachings about the afterlife, heaven, hell, immortality of the soul, resurrection from the dead and the establishment of righteous life after the Last Judgment also appeared in world religions under the influence of Zoroastrianism, where they were originally present.
So what is Zoroastrianism and who was its semi-mythical founder, the prophet Zoroaster, what tribe and people did he represent and what did he preach?
ORIGINS OF RELIGION
In the 3rd millennium BC. e. East of the Volga, in the southern Russian steppes, lived a people whom historians later called Proto-Indo-Iranians. These people, in all likelihood, led a semi-nomadic life, had small settlements, and grazed livestock. It consisted of two social groups: priests (servants of the cult) and warrior-shepherds. According to many scientists, it was by the 3rd millennium AD. e., in the Bronze Age, the proto-Indo-Iranians were divided into two peoples - the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, differing from each other in language, although their main occupation was still cattle breeding and they traded with the settled population living to the south of them. It was a turbulent time. Weapons and war chariots were produced in large quantities. Shepherds often had to become warriors. Their leaders led raids and robbed other tribes, carrying away other people's goods, taking away herds and captives. It was during that dangerous time, approximately in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e., according to some sources - between 1500 and 1200. BC e., lived the priest Zoroaster. Endowed with the gift of revelation, Zoroaster sharply opposed the idea that force rather than law rules society. The revelations of Zoroaster compiled the book of Holy Scriptures known as the Avesta. This is not only a collection of sacred texts of the Zoroastrian faith, but also the main source of information about the personality of Zoroaster himself.
SACRED TEXTS
The text of the Avesta that has survived to this day consists of three main books - Yasna, Yashty and Videvdat. Extracts from the Avesta make up the so-called “Small Avesta” - a collection of everyday prayers.
“Yasna” consists of 72 chapters, 17 of which are “Gatas” - hymns of the prophet Zoroaster. Judging by the Gathas, Zoroaster is a real historical person. He came from a poor family from the Spitama clan, his father's name was Purushaspa, his mother's name was Dugdova. His own name - Zarathushtra - in the ancient Pahlavi language can mean "possessing a golden camel" or "one who leads a camel." It should be noted that the name is quite common. It is unlikely that it belonged to a mythological hero. Zoroaster (in Russia his name is traditionally pronounced in the Greek version) was a professional priest, had a wife and two daughters. In his homeland, the preaching of Zoroastrianism did not find recognition and was even persecuted, so Zoroaster had to flee. He found refuge with the ruler Vishtaspa (where he ruled is still unknown), who accepted the faith of Zoroaster.
ZOROASTRIAN DEITIES
Zoroaster received the true faith by revelation at the age of 30. According to legend, one day at dawn he went to the river to get water to prepare a sacred intoxicating drink - haoma. When he was returning, a vision arose before him: he saw a shining being - Vohu-Mana (Good Thought), who led him to God - Ahura Mazda (Lord of decency, righteousness and justice). The revelations of Zoroaster did not arise out of nowhere; their origins lie in a religion even more ancient than Zoroastrianism. Long before the start of the preaching of the new creed, “revealed” to Zoroaster by the Supreme God Ahura Mazda himself, the ancient Iranian tribes revered the god Mitra - the personification of the treaty, Anahita - the goddess of water and fertility, Varuna - the god of war and victories, etc. Even then, religious rituals were formed , associated with the cult of fire and the preparation of haoma by priests for religious ceremonies. Many rites, rituals and heroes belonged to the era of “Indo-Iranian unity”, in which the proto-Indo-Iranians lived - the ancestors of the Iranian and Indian tribes. All of these deities and mythological heroes organically entered the new religion - Zoroastrianism.
Zoroaster taught that the supreme deity was Ahura Mazda (later called Ormuzd or Hormuzd). All other deities occupy a subordinate position in relation to him. According to scientists, the image of Ahura Mazda goes back to the supreme god of the Iranian tribes (Aryans), called Ahura (lord). The Ahura included Mitra, Varuna and others. The highest Ahura had the epithet Mazda (Wise). In addition to the Ahura deities, who embodied the highest moral properties, the ancient Aryans revered devas - deities of the lowest rank. They were worshiped by part of the Aryan tribes, while most Iranian tribes considered the devas to be the forces of evil and darkness and rejected their cult. As for Ahura Mazda, the word meant “Lord of Wisdom” or “Wise Lord.”
Ahura Mazda personified the supreme and all-knowing God, the creator of all things, the God of the firmament; it was associated with basic religious concepts - divine justice and order (asha), good words and good deeds. Much later, another name for Zoroastrianism, Mazdaism, became somewhat widespread.
Zoroaster began to worship Ahura Mazda - the all-knowing, wise, righteous, just, who is the original and from whom all other deities came - from the moment he saw a shining vision on the bank of the river. It led him to Ahura Mazda and other light-emitting deities, beings in whose presence Zoroaster “could not see his own shadow.”
This is how the conversation between Zoroaster and Ahura Mazda is presented in the hymns of the prophet Zoroaster - “Gathah”:
Asked Ahura Mazda
Spitama-Zarathustra:
"Tell me, Holy Spirit,
Creator of carnal life,
What from the Holy Word
And the most powerful thing
And the most victorious thing,
And most blessed
What is most effective?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ahura Mazda said:
"That will be my name,
Spitama-Zarathushtra,
Holy Immortals name, -
From the words of the holy prayer
It is most powerful
It's the poorest
And most graciously,
And most effective of all.
It is the most victorious
And the most healing thing,
And crushes more
Enmity between people and devas,
It is in the physical world
And a soulful thought,
It is in the physical world -
Relax your spirit!
And Zarathushtra said:
"Tell me this name,
Good Ahura Mazda,
Which is great
Beautiful and best
And the most victorious thing,
And the most healing thing,
What crushes more
Enmity between people and devas,
What is most effective!
Then I would crush
Enmity between people and devas,
Then I would crush
All witches and wizards,
I wouldn't be defeated
Neither devas nor humans,
Neither sorcerers nor witches."
Ahura Mazda said:
“My name is Questioned,
O faithful Zarathushtra,
Second name - Stadny,
And the third name is Powerful,
Fourth - I am the Truth,
And fifthly - All Good,
What is true from Mazda,
The sixth name is Reason,
Seventh - I am Reasonable,
Eighth - I am the Teaching,
Ninth - Scientist,
Tenth - I am Holiness,
Eleven - I am Holy
Twelve - I am Ahura,
Thirteen - I am the Strongest,
Fourteen - Good-natured,
Fifteen - I am Victorious,
Sixteen - All-Counting,
All-seeing - seventeen,
Healer - eighteen,
The Creator is nineteen,
Twentieth - I'm Mazda.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pray to me, Zarathushtra,
Pray during the day and at night,
While pouring libations,
As it should be.
I myself, Ahura Mazda,
I'll come to your aid then,
Then help you
Good Sraosha will also come,
They will come to your aid
And water and plants,
And righteous Fravashi"
(“Avesta - selected hymns.” Translation by I. Steblin-Kamensky.)
However, not only the forces of good reign in the universe, but also the forces of evil. Ahura Mazda is opposed by the evil deity Anhra Mainyu (Ahriman, also spelled Ahriman), or the Evil Spirit. The constant confrontation between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman is expressed in the struggle between good and evil. Thus, the Zoroastrian religion is characterized by the presence of two principles: “Truly, there are two primary spirits, twins, famous for their opposition. In thought, words and action - they are both good and evil... When these two spirits first clashed, they created being and non-being, and what awaits in the end those who follow the path of lies is the worst, and the best awaits those who follow the path of goodness (asha). And of these two spirits, one, following lies, chose evil, and the other, the Holy Spirit... chose righteousness.”
Ahriman's army consists of devas. Zoroastrians believe that these are evil spirits, sorcerers, evil rulers who harm the four elements of nature: fire, earth, water, and firmament. In addition, they express the worst human qualities: envy, laziness, lies. The fire deity Ahura Mazda created life, warmth, light. In response to this, Ahriman created death, winter, cold, heat, harmful animals and insects. But in the end, according to Zoroastrian dogma, in this struggle between two principles, Ahura-Mazda will be the winner and destroy evil forever.
Ahura Mazda, with the help of Spenta Mainyu (the Holy Spirit), created six “immortal saints” who, together with the supreme God, make up a pantheon of seven deities. It was this idea of seven deities that became one of the innovations of Zoroastrianism, although it was based on old ideas about the origin of the world. These six “immortal saints” are some abstract entities, such as Vohu-Mana (or Bahman) - the patron of cattle and at the same time Good Thought, Asha Vahishta (Ordibe-hesht) - the patron of fire and the Best Truth, Khshatra Varya (Shahrivar) - patron of metal and Chosen Power, Spenta Armati - patron of the earth and Piety, Haurwatat (Khordad) - patron of water and Integrity, Amertat (Mordad) - Immortality and patron of plants. In addition to them, the companion deities of Ahura Mazda were Mitra, Apam Napati (Varun) - Grandson of the Waters, Sraoshi - Obedience, Attention and Discipline, as well as Ashi - the goddess of fate. These divine qualities were revered as separate gods. At the same time, according to Zoroastrian teaching, they are all the creation of Ahura Mazda himself and, under his leadership, they strive for the victory of the forces of good over the forces of evil.
Let us cite one of the prayers of the Avesta (“Ormazd-Yasht”, Yasht 1). This is the hymn of the prophet Zoroaster, dedicated to the God Ahura Mazda. It has reached the present day in a significantly distorted and expanded form, but is certainly interesting, since it lists all the names and qualities of the supreme deity: “Let Ahura Mazda rejoice, and Anhra turn away -Mainyu is the embodiment of Truth by the will of the most worthy!.. I glorify with good thoughts, blessings and good deeds Good thoughts, Blessings and Good deeds. I surrender to all blessings, good thoughts and good deeds and renounce all evil thoughts, slander and evil deeds. I offer you, Immortal Saints, prayer and praise in thought and word, deed and strength, and the life of my body. I praise the truth: Truth is the best good.”
HEAVENLY COUNTRY OF AHURA-MAZDA
Zoroastrians say that in ancient times, when their ancestors still lived in their country, the Aryans - the people of the North - knew the way to the Great Mountain. In ancient times, wise people kept a special ritual and knew how to make a wonderful drink from herbs, which freed a person from bodily bonds and allowed him to wander among the stars. Having overcome thousands of dangers, the resistance of earth, air, fire and water, having passed through all the elements, those who wanted to see the fate of the world with their own eyes reached the Staircase of the Stars and, now rising up, now descending so low that the Earth seemed to them like a bright point shining above , finally found themselves in front of the gates to heaven, which were guarded by angels armed with fiery swords.
“What do you want, the spirits who came here? - the angels asked the wanderers. “How did you find out the way to the Wonderful Land and where did you get the secret of the sacred drink?”
“We learned the wisdom of our fathers,” the wanderers answered, as they should, to the angels. “We know the Word.” And they drew secret signs in the sand, which made up a sacred inscription in the most ancient language.
Then the angels opened the gates... and the long ascent began. Sometimes it took thousands of years, sometimes more. Ahura Mazda does not count time, and neither do those who intend to penetrate the treasury of the Mountain at any cost. Sooner or later they reached its peak. Ice, snow, a sharp cold wind, and all around - the loneliness and silence of endless spaces - that's what they found there. Then they remembered the words of the prayer: “Great God, God of our fathers, God of the whole universe! Teach us how to penetrate into the center of the Mountain, show us your mercy, help and enlightenment!”
And then from somewhere among the eternal snow and ice a shining flame appeared. A pillar of fire led the wanderers to the entrance, and there the spirits of the Mountain met the messengers of Ahura-Mazda.
The first thing that appeared to the eyes of the wanderers who entered the underground galleries was a star, like a thousand different rays fused together.
"What is this?" - asked the wanderers of the spirits. And the spirits answered them:
“Do you see the glow in the center of the star? Here is the source of energy that gives you existence. Like the Phoenix bird, the World Human Soul eternally dies and is eternally reborn in the Unquenchable Flame. Every moment it is divided into myriads of individual stars similar to yours, and every moment it is reunited, without decreasing either in its content or in volume. We gave it the shape of a star because, like a star, in the darkness the spirit of the Spirit of spirits always illuminates matter. Do you remember how falling stars flash in the autumn sky? Similarly, in the world of the Creator, every second the links of the “soul-star” chain flare up. They crumble into fragments, like a torn pearl thread, like raindrops, fragments-stars fall into the worlds of creation. Every second a star appears in the inner sky: this, having reunited, “ soul-star" rises to God from the worlds of death. Do you see two streams of these stars - descending and ascending? This is true rain over the field of the Great Sower. Each star has one main ray along which the links of the entire chain, like a bridge, pass over the abyss. This is the “king of souls,” the one who remembers and carries the entire past of each star. Listen carefully, wanderers, to the most important secret of the Mountain: out of billions of “kings of souls,” one supreme constellation is made up. In billions of “kings of souls” before eternity there abides One King - and in Him is the hope of all, all the pain of the endless world...” In the East they often speak in parables, many of which conceal the great mysteries of life and death.
COSMOLOGY
According to the Zoroastrian concept of the universe, the world will exist for 12 thousand years. Its entire history is conventionally divided into four periods, each lasting 3 thousand years. The first period is the pre-existence of things and ideas, when Ahura-Mazda creates an ideal world of abstract concepts. At this stage of heavenly creation there already existed the prototypes of everything that was later created on earth. This state of the world is called menok (i.e. “invisible” or “spiritual”). The second period is considered to be the creation of the created world, that is, the real, visible, “inhabited by creatures.” Ahura Mazda creates the sky, stars, Moon and Sun. Beyond the sphere of the Sun is the abode of Ahura Mazda himself.
At the same time, Ahriman begins to act. It invades the firmament, creates planets and comets that do not obey the uniform movement of the celestial spheres. Ahriman pollutes the water and sends death to the first man Gayomart. But from the first man were born a man and a woman, who gave rise to the human race. From the collision of two opposing principles, the whole world begins to move: waters become fluid, mountains arise, celestial bodies move. To neutralize the actions of “harmful” planets, Ahura Mazda assigns good spirits to each planet.
The third period of the existence of the universe covers the time before the appearance of the prophet Zoroaster. The mythological heroes of the Avesta act during this period. One of them is the king of the golden age, Yima the Shining, in whose kingdom there is “neither heat, nor cold, nor old age, nor envy - the creation of the devas.” This king saves people and livestock from the flood by building a special shelter for them. Among the righteous of this time, the ruler of a certain territory, Vishtaspa, is also mentioned; It was he who became the patron of Zoroaster.
The last, fourth period (after Zoroaster) will last 4 thousand years, during which (in each millennium) three Saviors should appear to people. The last of them, Savior Saoshyant, who, like the two previous Saviors, is considered the son of Zoroaster, will decide the fate of the world and humanity. He will resurrect the dead, defeat Ahriman, after which the world will be cleansed with a “flow of molten metal,” and everything that remains after this will gain eternal life.
Since life is divided into good and evil, evil should be avoided. Fear of desecration of the sources of life in any form - physical or moral - is a hallmark of Zoroastrianism.
THE ROLE OF HUMAN IN ZOROAASTRIANISM
In Zoroastrianism, an important role is given to the spiritual improvement of man. The main attention in the ethical doctrine of Zoroastrianism focuses on human activity, which is based on the triad: good thought, good word, good deed. Zoroastrianism taught a person to cleanliness and order, taught compassion for people and gratitude to parents, family, compatriots, demanded that he fulfill his duties towards children, help fellow believers, and take care of the land and pastures for livestock. The transmission of these commandments, which became character traits, from generation to generation played an important role in developing the resilience of Zoroastrians and helped them withstand the difficult trials that constantly befell them over many centuries.
Zoroastrianism, giving a person the freedom to choose his place in life, called for avoiding doing evil. At the same time, according to Zoroastrian doctrine, a person’s fate is determined by fate, but his behavior in this world determines where his soul will go after death - to heaven or hell.
THE FORMATION OF ZOROAASTRIANISM
FIRE WORSHIPERS
The prayer of Zoroastrians has always made a great impression on those around them. This is how the famous Iranian writer Sadegh Hedayat recalls this in his story “Fire Worshipers.” (The narration is told on behalf of an archaeologist working on excavations near the town of Naqshe-Rustam, where an ancient Zoroastrian temple is located and the graves of ancient shahs are carved high in the mountains.)
“I remember well, in the evening I measured this temple (“Kaaba of Zoroaster.” - Ed.). It was hot and I was pretty tired. Suddenly I noticed that two people were walking towards me in clothes that Iranians no longer wear. When they came closer, I saw tall, strong old men with clear eyes and some unusual facial features... They were Zoroastrians and worshiped fire, like their ancient kings who lay in these tombs. They quickly collected the brushwood and put it in a pile. Then they set it on fire and began to read a prayer, whispering in a special way... It seemed that it was the same language of the Avesta. Watching them read the prayer, I accidentally raised my head and froze. Right in front of me, on the stones of the crypt, "The same sienna was carved, which I now, thousands of years later, could see with my own eyes. It seemed that the stones came to life and the people carved on the rock came down to worship the incarnation of their deity."
The worship of the supreme deity Ahura Mazda was expressed primarily in the worship of fire. This is why Zoroastrians are sometimes called fire worshipers. Not a single holiday, ceremony or rite was complete without fire (Atar) - the symbol of God Ahura Mazda. Fire was represented in various forms: heavenly fire, lightning fire, fire that gives warmth and life to the human body, and, finally, the highest sacred fire, lit in temples. Initially, Zoroastrians did not have fire temples or human-like images of deities. Later they began to build fire temples in the form of towers. Such temples existed in Media at the turn of the 8th-7th centuries. BC e. Inside the fire temple there was a triangular sanctuary, in the center of which, to the left of the only door, there was a four-stage fire altar about two meters high. The fire was carried along the stairs to the roof of the temple, from where it was visible from afar.
Under the first kings of the Persian Achaemenid state (VI century BC), probably under Darius I, Ahura Mazda began to be depicted in the manner of a slightly modified Assyrian god Ashur. In Persepolis - the ancient capital of the Achaemenids (near modern Shiraz) - the image of the God Ahura Mazda, carved by order of Darius I, represents the figure of a king with outstretched wings, with a solar disk around his head, in a tiara (crown), which is crowned with a ball with a star. In his hand he holds a hryvnia - a symbol of power.
Rock-carved images of Darius I and other Achaemenid kings in front of the fire altar on the tombs at Naqshe Rustam (now the city of Kazerun in Iran) have been preserved. In later times, images of deities - bas-reliefs, high reliefs, statues - are more common. It is known that the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II (404-359 BC) ordered the erection of statues of the Zoroastrian goddess of water and fertility Anahita in the cities of Susa, Ecbatana, and Bactra.
"APOCALYPSE" OF THE ZOROASTRIANS
According to Zoroastrian doctrine, the world tragedy lies in the fact that there are two main forces at work in the world - creative (Spenta Mainyu) and destructive (Angra Mainyu). The first personifies everything good and pure in the world, the second - everything negative, delaying a person’s development in goodness. But this is not dualism. Ahriman and his army - the evil spirits and the evil creatures created by him - are not equal to Ahura Mazda and are never opposed to him.
Zoroastrianism teaches about the final victory of good in the entire universe and the final destruction of the kingdom of evil - then the transformation of the world will come...
The ancient Zoroastrian hymn says: “At the hour of resurrection, all who lived on earth will rise and gather to the throne of Ahura Mazda to listen to justification and petition.”
The transformation of bodies will occur simultaneously with the transformation of the earth, at the same time the world and its population will change. Life will enter a new phase. Therefore, the day of the end of this world appears to Zoroastrians as a day of triumph, joy, fulfillment of all hopes, the end of sin, evil and death...
Like the death of an individual, the universal end is the door to a new life, and the judgment is a mirror in which everyone will see a real yen for himself and will either go to some new material life (according to the Zoroastrians, to hell), or take a place among the “ a transparent race” (i.e., transmitting rays of divine light through themselves), for which a new earth and new heavens will be created.
Just as great suffering contributes to the growth of each individual soul, so without a general catastrophe a new, transformed universe cannot arise.
Whenever any of the great messengers of the supreme God Ahura Mazda appears on earth, the scales tip and the coming of the end becomes possible. But people are afraid of the end, they protect themselves from it, and with their lack of faith they prevent the end from coming. They are like a wall, blank and inert, frozen in their many-thousand-year-old heaviness of earthly existence.
What does it matter if perhaps hundreds of thousands or even millions of years will pass before the end of the world? What if the river of life will continue to flow into the ocean of time for a long time? Sooner or later, the moment of the end announced by Zoroaster will come - and then, like images of sleep or awakening, the fragile well-being of unbelievers will be destroyed. Like a storm that is still hidden in the clouds, like a flame that lies dormant in the firewood while it is not yet lit, there is an end in the world, and the essence of the end is transformation.
Those who remember this, those who fearlessly pray for the speedy arrival of this day, only they are truly friends of the incarnate Word - Saoshyant, the Savior of the world. Ahura-Mazda - Spirit and Fire. The symbol of a flame burning at a height is not only an image of Spirit and life, another meaning of this symbol is the flame of a future Fire.
On the day of resurrection, each soul will require a body from the elements - earth, water and fire. All the dead will rise with full consciousness of the good or evil deeds they have committed, and sinners will weep bitterly, realizing their atrocities. Then, for three days and three nights, the righteous will be separated from the sinners who are in the darkness of ultimate darkness. On the fourth day, the evil Ahriman will be reduced to nothing and the almighty Ahura Mazda will reign everywhere.
Zoroastrians call themselves "awake". They are the “people of the Apocalypse”, one of the few who fearlessly await the end of the world.
ZOROAASTRIANISM UNDER THE SASSANIDS
Ahura Mazda presents a symbol of power to King Ardashir, 3rd century.
The strengthening of the Zoroastrian religion was facilitated by representatives of the Persian Sassanid dynasty, whose rise apparently dates back to the 3rd century. n. e. According to the most authoritative evidence, the Sassanid clan patronized the temple of the goddess Anahita in the city of Istakhr in Pars (Southern Iran). Papak from the Sassanid clan took power from the local ruler - a vassal of the Parthian king. Papak's son Ardashir inherited the seized throne and, by force of arms, established his power throughout Pars, overthrowing the long-ruling Arsacid dynasty - representatives of the Parthian state in Iran. Ardashir was so successful that within two years he subjugated all the western regions and was crowned “king of kings,” subsequently becoming the ruler of the eastern part of Iran.
TEMPLES OF FIRE.
To strengthen their power among the population of the empire, the Sassanids began to patronize the Zoroastrian religion. A large number of fire altars were created throughout the country, in cities and rural areas. During Sassanian times, fire temples were traditionally built according to a single plan. Their external design and interior decoration were very modest. The building material was stone or unfired clay, and the walls inside were plastered.
Fire Temple (presumable construction based on descriptions)
1 - bowl with fire
3 - hall for worshipers
4 - hall for priests
5 - internal doorways
6 - service niches
7 - hole in the dome
The temple was a domed hall with a deep niche, where the sacred fire was placed in a huge brass bowl on a stone pedestal - the altar. The hall was fenced off from other rooms so that the fire was not visible.
Zoroastrian fire temples had their own hierarchy. Each ruler owned his own fire, which was lit during the days of his reign. The greatest and most revered was the fire of Varahram (Bahram) - a symbol of Righteousness, which formed the basis of the sacred fires of the main provinces and major cities of Iran. In the 80-90s. III century All religious affairs were in charge of the high priest Kartir, who founded many such temples throughout the country. They became centers of Zoroastrian doctrine and strict observance of religious rituals. The fire of Bahram was capable of giving people the strength to win good over evil. From the fire of Bahram, fires of the second and third degrees were lit in cities, from them - the fires of altars in villages, small settlements and home altars in people’s homes. According to tradition, the fire of Bahram consisted of sixteen types of fire, taken from the home hearths of representatives of different classes, including clergy (priests), warriors, scribes, traders, artisans, farmers, etc. However, one of the main fires was the sixteenth, his I had to wait for years: this is a fire that occurs when lightning strikes a tree.
After a certain time, the fires of all altars had to be renewed: there was a special ritual of cleansing and placing a new fire on the altar.
Parsi cleric.
The mouth is covered with a veil (padan); in hands - a short modern barsom (ritual rod) made of metal rods
Only a priest could touch the fire, who had a white cap in the shape of a skullcap on his head, a white robe on his shoulders, white gloves on his hands, and a half mask on his face so that his breath would not defile the fire. The priest constantly stirred the fire in the altar lamp with special tongs so that the flame burned evenly. Firewood from valuable hardwood trees, including sandalwood, was burned in the altar bowl. When they burned, the temple was filled with aroma. The accumulated ash was collected in special boxes, which were then buried in the ground.
Priest at the sacred fire
The diagram shows ritual objects:
1 and 2 - cult bowls;
3, 6 and 7 - vessels for ash;
4 - spoon for collecting ash and ashes;
THE FATE OF THE ZOROASTRIANS IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND IN MODERN TIMES
In 633, after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of a new religion - Islam, the conquest of Iran by the Arabs began. By the middle of the 7th century. they almost completely conquered it and included it in the Arab Caliphate. If the population of the western and central regions adopted Islam earlier than others, then the northern, eastern and southern provinces, remote from the central authority of the caliphate, continued to profess Zoroastrianism. Even at the beginning of the 9th century. the southern region of Fars remained the center of Iranian Zoroastrians. However, under the influence of the invaders, inevitable changes began that affected the language of the local population. By the 9th century. The Middle Persian language was gradually replaced by the New Persian language - Farsi. But the Zoroastrian priests tried to preserve and perpetuate the Middle Persian language with its writing as the sacred language of the Avesta.
Until the middle of the 9th century. No one forcibly converted Zoroastrians to Islam, although pressure was constantly put on them. The first signs of intolerance and religious fanaticism appeared after Islam united most of the peoples of Western Asia. At the end of the 9th century. - X century the Abbasid caliphs demanded the destruction of the Zoroastrian fire temples; Zoroastrians began to be persecuted, they were called Jabras (Gebras), i.e. “infidels” in relation to Islam.
The antagonism between the Persians who converted to Islam and the Zoroastrian Persians intensified. While Zoroastrians were deprived of all rights if they refused to convert to Islam, many Muslim Persians held important positions in the new administration of the caliphate.
Brutal persecution and intensified clashes with Muslims forced the Zoroastrians to gradually leave their homeland. Several thousand Zoroastrians moved to India, where they began to be called Parsis. According to legend, the Parsis hid in the mountains for about 100 years, after which they went to the Persian Gulf, hired a ship and sailed to the island of Div (Diu), where they lived for 19 years, and after negotiations with the local rajah settled in a place called Sanjan in honor of their hometown in the Iranian province of Khorasan. In Sanjana they built the Atesh Bahram fire temple.
For eight centuries, this temple was the only Parsi fire temple in the Indian state of Gujarat. After 200-300 years, the Parsis of Gujarat forgot their native language and began to speak the Gujarati dialect. The laity wore Indian clothing, but the priests still appeared only in a white robe and a white cap. The Parsis of India lived separately, in their own community, observing ancient customs. Parsi tradition names five main centers of Parsi settlement: Vankoner, Varnav, Anklesar, Broch, Navsari. Most of the wealthy Parsis in the 16th-17th centuries. settled in the cities of Bombay and Surat.
The fate of the Zoroastrians remaining in Iran was tragic. They were forcibly converted to Islam, fire temples were destroyed, sacred books, including the Avesta, were destroyed. A significant part of the Zoroastrians managed to avoid extermination, who in the 11th-12th centuries. found refuge in the cities of Yazd, Kerman and their environs, in the regions of Turkabad and Sherifabad, fenced off from densely populated areas by the mountains and deserts of Dashte-Kevir and Dashte-Lut. The Zoroastrians, who fled here from Khorasan and Iranian Azerbaijan, managed to bring with them the most ancient sacred fires. From now on, they burned in simple rooms made of unfired raw brick (so as not to be conspicuous to Muslims).
The Zoroastrian priests, who settled in the new place, apparently managed to take away the sacred Zoroastrian texts, including the Avesta. The best preserved liturgical part of the Avesta is due to its constant reading during prayers.
Until the Mongol conquest of Iran and the formation of the Delhi Sultanate (1206), as well as the Muslim conquest of Gujarat in 1297, ties between the Zoroastrians of Iran and the Parsis of India were not interrupted. After the Mongol invasion of Iran in the 13th century. and the conquest of India by Timur in the 14th century. These connections were interrupted and resumed for some time only at the end of the 15th century.
In the middle of the 17th century. The Zoroastrian community was again persecuted by the Shahs of the Safavid dynasty. By decree of Shah Abbas II, Zoroastrians were evicted from the outskirts of the cities of Isfahan and Kerman and forcibly converted to Islam. Many of them were forced to accept the new faith under pain of death. The surviving Zoroastrians, seeing that their religion was being insulted, began to hide the fire altars in special buildings that did not have windows, which served as temples. Only clergy could enter them. The believers were on the other half, separated from the altar by a partition, allowing them to see only the reflection of the fire.
And in modern times, Zoroastrians experienced persecution. In the 18th century they were forbidden to engage in many types of crafts, sell meat, and work as weavers. They could be traders, gardeners or farmers and wear yellow and dark colors. To build houses, Zoroastrians had to obtain permission from Muslim rulers. They built their houses low, partially hidden underground (which was explained by the proximity of the desert), with domed roofs, without windows; There was a hole in the middle of the roof for ventilation. Unlike Muslim dwellings, living rooms in Zoroastrian houses were always located in the southwestern part of the building, on the sunny side.
The difficult financial situation of this ethnic-religious minority was also explained by the fact that in addition to general taxes on livestock, on the profession of grocer or potter, followers of Zoroaster had to pay a special tax - jizia - which they were assessed as “infidels”.
The constant struggle for existence, wanderings, and repeated relocations left their mark on the appearance, character and life of the Zoroastrians. They had to constantly worry about saving the community, preserving the faith, dogmas and rituals.
Many European and Russian scientists and travelers who visited Iran in the 17th-19th centuries noted that Zoroastrians differed in appearance from other Persians. Zoroastrians were dark-skinned, taller, had a wider oval face, a thin aquiline nose, dark long wavy hair and thick beards. The eyes are widely spaced, silver-gray, under an even, light, protruding forehead. The men were strong, well-built, strong. Zoroastrian women were distinguished by a very pleasant appearance, beautiful faces were often encountered. It is no coincidence that Muslim Persians kidnapped them, converted them to their faith and married them.
Even in clothing, Zoroastrians differed from Muslims. Over the trousers they wore a wide cotton shirt reaching to the knees, belted with a white sash, and on their heads a felt cap or turban.
Life turned out differently for the Indian Parsis. Education in the 16th century The Mughal Empire in place of the Delhi Sultanate and the rise to power of Khan Akbar weakened the oppression of Islam over non-believers. The excessive tax (jiziyah) was abolished, Zoroastrian clergy received small land plots, and greater freedom was given to different religions. Soon Akbar Khan began to move away from orthodox Islam, becoming interested in the beliefs of Parsees, Hindus and Muslim sects. During his time, disputes between representatives of different religions took place, including with the participation of Zoroastrians.
In the XVI-XVII centuries. The Parsis of India were good cattle breeders and farmers, grew tobacco, made wine, and supplied sailors with fresh water and wood. Over time, the Parsis became intermediaries in trade with European merchants. When the center of the Parsi community Surat came into the possession of England, the Parsis moved to Bombay, which in the 18th century. was the permanent residence of wealthy Parsis - merchants and entrepreneurs.
During the XVI-XVII centuries. ties between the Parsis and the Zoroastrians of Iran were often interrupted (mainly due to the Afghan invasion of Iran). At the end of the 18th century. In connection with the capture of the city of Kerman by Agha Mohammed Khan Qajar, relations between Zoroastrians and Parsis were interrupted for a long time.
03.03.2017 14:35:20
Christians call the Bible the collection of books that make up the Holy Scriptures, that is, the totality of cult, religious and philosophical books. These books are recognized by the Christian Church as inspired, as they were written by the Holy Fathers under the influence and with the help of the Spirit of God. The word "byblos" is translated from Greek as "book".
The Bible in one volume contains 77 books with 2 or more pages and consists of 2 parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The biblical books are very diverse in their content and form. The main philosophical and religious purpose of the Bible is educational. It is to make a person spiritually better and purer. According to Christian Bible teaching, a person should do good, love God and his neighbors. This is the only way a person can achieve happiness and salvation.
On the eve of Orthodox Book Day, there was a conversation about all this with fifth-graders of the Education Center of the village. Volovo (school No. 2). The head of the children's library, Lyudmila Isaeva, introduced the schoolchildren to the Children's Bible and read aloud some Bible stories: “The Creation of the World,” “How the First Man Violated the Will of God,” “The Ship of Noah.”
Using an interactive whiteboard, the children watched Orthodox cartoons with great attention: “The Creation of the World” and “The Bell.” Then the students were asked to play a little: name words or phrases that mean good deeds that the Bible teaches us.
After thinking a little, the guys began to say the following words out loud: help your neighbor, obey your parents, tell the truth, don’t envy, forgive if possible, don’t be greedy, do good, don’t say bad words, etc.
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