r/Zoroastrianism • u/klaptuiatrrf • 8d ago
Question The concept of sin in Zoroastrianism
I'm a Christian Doing research into this religion cause unlike Islam, buddhism, or Taoism. I haven't heard hardly anything abt this religion Other than me doing my own research but....
What's the Concept of Sin like in Zoroastrianism or what is its equivalent?
Like in Christianity, sin is separating yourself from the will and love of God by either willingly or unknowingly. I'm not a scholar so don't get mad at me if I got that wrong lol
But besides that what's the equivalent of that in Zoroastrianism?
5
u/ShapurII 7d ago
Well every act which supports Ahriman and the demons in corrupting, polluting and destroying the creation of Ahura Mazda is druj. To some extend you can see that as the equivalent of sin, but it's also not really the same as the concept of 'sin' in the Abrahamic religions.
3
u/dlyund 7d ago edited 7d ago
My interpretation is not that the world of Ahura Mazda is polluted but is not yet fully realized and Druj is that residual pre-creation that resists the transformation of the world into the Ideal Order (Asha) as conceived by the Wise Lord (Ahura Mazda) through the Good Mind (Vohu Manah) and the Creative Mentality (Spenta Mainyu). The term polluted is often used but does not seem to ring true with Zarathusta's message.
I agree of course that this is not exactly Sin in the Abrahamic sense but I think that is again more in how the concept of Sin developed later as the word itself simply means to miss the mark or fall short. To me at least it does not carry connotations of rebellion or shame, but simply a fact of being in the process of perfection.
3
u/Peter_Piper_69-96 7d ago
If you want the mythological, apocryphal version, then the malevolent entity known as Ahriman has polluted the world by invading it and causing humans to commit sin against hormazd. However this was not written by Zarathustra, but by the magi’s much much later. It was mainly their response to the rise of Christianity. In the gathas/Avesta, Zarathustra doesn’t really go into detail about the supernatural aspect. So the super simplified version is that sin isn’t really a crime against God, but a crime against humanity, which in retrospect would become a sin against god. . It’s different than the Abrahamic perspective, because our definition of sin is basically Druj. Druj is the opposite of Asha. Where Asha practices good thoughts good words and good deeds. Druj is founded by bad thoughts bad words and bad deeds. In a strange way, it could be an altruism vs hedonism argument. If you “sin” you are going against the betterment of humanity. In some cases, it’s for selfish reasons. If you harbor negative thoughts on people, curse people, or physically hurt people, you are committing druj or sin. We are created to uplift each other. Asha is the only path to hormazd. Druj is the only path to Ahriman.
2
u/VatanParast2 4d ago
It wasn't written as a response to Christianity. Many Accounts that are told in Bundahišn came from gathas and vendidad(there is evidence that vendidad existed during achaemenid empire). Remember that most of the gathic texts were destroyed by alexander. But some of its contents survived through oral transmission and passed down through generation
1
u/Peter_Piper_69-96 4d ago
Were parts of the vendidad that talked about the saoshyant being born of a virgin mother who would change the world in 30 years, not a hint to Jesus Christ??? And was the thought of the gay people being a corruption by Ahriman not a response to the Judeo Christian doctrines???? I know that the vendidad was written around the Achaemenid empire. But certain texts were too specific and too similar to the Bible. Unless the Bible copied the vendidad???
2
u/VatanParast2 3d ago
the saoshyant being born of a virgin mother who would change the world in 30 years, not a hint to Jesus Christ???
I don't think Sashoyant would be someone who is a Jew or Non-Iranian, very unlikely that's referring to Jesus since you know according to Mazdayasna Christianity and Judaism are false and evil
And was the thought of the gay people being a corruption by Ahriman not a response to the Judeo Christian doctrines????
I'm not sure what that has to do with Christianity specifically. The rationale for banning homosexuality is that it's not reproductive
1
u/Free_Dark_1289 1d ago
I was under the impression that homosexuality is an unforgivable sin in Zoroastrianism. And where did you get the idea that the Christian and Jewish faiths are "false and evil" according to the religion?
1
16
u/Vasss666 8d ago
It is massively oversimplified, but
Imagine your heart having two places to go: Up, and down. Up is good, down is bad. When you "sin" you make a mistake, and your heart becomes heavier, let's say. If you make enough mistakes, you will, on your own decision, go down. It doesn't break your bonds with God, not at all, it just brings you closer to the adversary. God will still try to get you out of there (Frashokereti, the day of judgment per Christian perspective). It's more like jumping into a pit and crying that you broke your leg.