(June 28, 2010 at 10:50 am)Minimalist Wrote:Quote:It should be true becouse persian's religion is similar to judaism in so many aspects.
Bingo. Davies notes at one point that the Persians would have had no trouble recognizing their god, Ahura Mazda, in the newly-minted Yahweh that the "Exiles" took back to Jerusalem.
But didn't Ahura Mazda have an evil opponent, a devil who's name escapes me right now? Satan wasn't an opponent of Yahweh until the NT, when heaven and hell were invented. It also seems like the Persians had a concept of the afterlife, which the Jews lacked until later in the OT. The Jewish faith also seemed to have Egyptian influences as well.
I don't deny that the Persians influenced what later became Christianity. In fact, that's obvious looking at the similarities with Zoroasterianism. I'm just asking if Davies has any account for the differences.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
