Page:History of Zoroastrianism.djvu/361

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
328
THE ACTIVE PROPAGANDA OF THE FAITH

gravates immorality.[1] Men become of evil disposition through it.[2] Those who belong to this faith cannot be said to be related to the Prime Source.[3] Such violent attacks on the beliefs of a race which had settled in Persia from the very early period of her history show us the bitterness of feeling that must have prevailed between Zoroastrians and Jews. A later writer, confounding Kai Lohrasp with Nebuchadnezzar, states that one of the meritorious deeds done by Lohrasp was that he destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the Jews.[4]

Christian propaganda in Iran. Christianity had entered Persia during the Parthian period, and the Sasanians found the creed of Christ more or less current when they established their empire. Of all the alien faiths in Persia, Christianity was the most aggressive. The pertinacious attempt of the Christians to win over converts to their faith from the ruling nation, often caused shedding of human blood. There was a state of perennial war between Sasanian Persia and Byzantine Rome, which had embraced Christianity. The sympathy of the Christian population naturally went to their Roman co-religionists and caused disturbances in Persia. Moreover, the fanatic zeal of the priests on both sides fomented communal strife, which often resulted in the destruction of the Zoroastrian fire-temples and Christian churches, and the consequent persecution of the Christians. Great as are the resemblances between the fundamental teachings of the two religions, their ethical systems show a glaring distinction. Christianity exalted monastic virtues, and glorified celibacy. The Zoroastrian priests vehemently denounced the foreign priests who preached a mode of life which clashed with their ethics.[5] Reckless utterances of the Christian priests often aggravated the ill-feeling between the two peoples, and violent scenes ensued. An enthusiastic bishop once regaled his congregation by saying that the soul of the king would, in his future life, be born in hell-fire with Satan, whereas the Christians would be translated to heaven,[6] while another patriarch urged the Roman bishops to free them from the accursed rule of the

  1. ↑ Dk., vol. 6, p. 357, 358.
  2. ↑ Dk., vol. 4, p. 257.
  3. ↑ Dk., vol. 4, p. 267.
  4. ↑ Mkh. 27. 64, 67; see also Jackson, Zoroaster, p. 209.
  5. ↑ Wigram, op. cit., p. 64; Elisacus. op. cit., p. 13.
  6. ↑ Wigram, op. cit., p. 43.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.