Zoroastrians Essays - Zoroastrianism, Monotheistic Religions, Demons

Zoroastrians Zoroastrians believes that Ahura Mazda is the one, good, and eternal god. A constant battle rages between a good and an evil force, and the good is to be worshipped. The term Ahura originally referred to 33 ruling gods in ancient, pre-Zoroastrian religions in Persia and India. Between Ahura Mazda and the humans is by a number of Attributes, called Amesha Spentas or Bounteous Immortals. Within the Gathas, which is the original Zoroastrian sacred text, these Immortals are sometimes described as concepts, and are sometimes personified. Zoroastrianism is based on the classic epic of good versus evil. Ahura Mazda or Ormuzd (the good and wise god) and Angra Mainya or Ahriman (the evil god) are always in conflict, but Ahura Mazda is assured eventual victory. The resulting cosmic conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity who is required to choose which to follow. Man was created by Ahura Mazda with free will; therefore, man takes part in the conflict between good and evil. It is necessary for all men to do what is right to not only enter heaven, but to help good triumph in the world. By a true confession of faith, by every good deed, word and thought, by constantly keeping pure his body and his soul, he impairs the power of Ahriman and strengthens the might of goodness, and establishes a claim of reward upon Ahura Mazda. By a false confession, by every evil deed, word and thought, and defilement, he increases the evil and renders service to Ahriman. Ahura Mazda, symbolized by fire and a winged ring, is expected to return and destroy all wicked people in a flood of molten metal. The end of the world will constitute the destruction of Ahriman and the resurrection of the dead into a creation of paradise on earth. Fire, seen as the ultimate symbol of Ahura Mazda, remains to this day a precious and sacred element representing the continuing presence of Ahura Mazda. Hence, in Zoroastrian shrines, the ritual flame must never be allowed to extinguish: the flame carries such import that the physical structure of the temple centers around maintaining its life. Due to the sacredness of the flame, the fire is dependant upon the priests to remain lit, these priests are required to constantly purify themselves in order not to contaminate it. Required is the use of the padan, a covering for the mouth and nose to prevent the priest's exhaled breath or saliva from making the sacred fire impure. So pure is the flame that in India, even the presence of a non-Zoroastrian in a consecrated place (such as the location of the fire or even the temple itself) is regarded as a contamination. Bibliography Encyclopedia.com. HP. 2000 [copyright]. Online. The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Third Edition Available: http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/14202.html 03 Jan 2001 McGuinness, J Peter. Zoroastrianism. HP. 1999 [Copyright]. Online. Peter J McGuinness. Available: http://zoroastrianism.homepage.com. 03 Jan 2000 Religion

Gatsby - nick carroway essays

Gatsby - nick carroway essays Nick Carraways character is both part of the story and at the same time the medium through which we perceive it. One must assume that because he is an independent character he is not a completely objective source of information. As everything in the novel passes through him there is no other un-biased source of information, so one must interpret his thoughts and opinions carefully. There is also another important factor about Nick Carraways narration that should be considered; he is a fictional character created by Fitzgerald and used by him as a tool for narration so anything that Carraway relates to the reader is simply Fitzgerald communicating to the reader by proxy. There fore he is telling the reader what Fitzgerald wants us to know, so his narration is at least reliable in that sense, although perhaps not always completely clear and objective he is nevertheless fundamentally reliable. Whether or not Nick Carraway is a likeable character or not is very central to the novel. One must ask whether Fitzgerald wants us to like him or not. This will govern the way that the reader interprets the opinions and descriptions that he relates to us. Crucially, the judgements that Nick sometimes passes on people will carry much more weight if the reader actually finds Nick an amenable character. Nicks opinions of him self are interesting...he tries to be as impartial as possible...he sees himself as an extremely tolerant person, willing to hear people out....says he does this from the advice of his dad...he likes people to be well behaved....he is perhaps slightly hyporitcal when he says that everything Gatsby represents he regards with unlimited scorn but then goes on to speak of his admiration for the man. Nicks opinions of himself can be very revealing, the first two pages of the novel are very interesting as he reflects upon his own character. His opinions of himself are quite high, he even admits to being so ...