Hi again, I've been away a couple of days.
My father will be glad to know about your conversion to Zoroastrianism, he's very concerned about Zoroastrianism's dwindling numbers.
Its great that you've found a religion which brings meaning to your life, everyone should be allowed to believe in ay faith or no faith, as long as they don't use their religion as a tool of oppression or terror.
Thank you for the nice message, it is very true.
I don't get it. I am not having a go, but perhaps you can explain it as you suggest something here that is similar that has always confused me with religious folk.
How do people pick & chose a belief system - isn't it a matter of what is true, rather than a question of preferred choice?
e.g. I like the idea of there being a God, does that mean I should become a theist?
Or does having a weak spot for minority religions that have survived great persecutions make it true?
In my mind, God is a transcendent being. Transcendence cannot be approached with an empirical, scientific mindset - because when something is reduced to empirical knowledge it ceases to be transcendent. Therefore there is a basic barrier between faith and knowledge which cannot be resolved for a beliver (PS. I'm paraphrasing from Stanislaw Lem's book
Microworlds).
However, the cosmological argument is a very strong case for the existence of some kind God... While the problem of evil posed by Epicurus etc. is a good argument that God isn't responsible for everything happening around us. I believe Charles Darwin (like David Attenborough ) held an agnostic view of the world because of his study of parasites that seemed too vicious to be the work of a benificient creator.
Zoroaster's religion makes the most sense to me, as it explains the universe as a place of conflict between good and evil spirit, a dualistic worldview.
The destruction of Zoroastrian civilisation in Persia was one of the greatest crimes of Islam, in my opinion. It is inspiring that Zoroastrians still persist despite all the persecutions. I may even convert to the Zoroastrian religion in the future, perhaps.
A few years ago I was writing a story about a fictional world where the brightest civilisation was a mixture of Greek and Zoroastrian elements. It's unfinished, and I'll return to it later in my life.
Persian civilization was very impressive though fell into a decline even before the Arab conquest, bleeding themselves dry with border conflicts and opressing their subjects.
Anyway, it sounds like a good story, I'd like to see it someday.
Topic: Aksel