Where Do Religions go When They Die


I did not know the religion of Zoroastrianism was still alive. It is but not for long. The list of religions that once dominated parts of the world, ruled empires and were thought to have bright futures is long. They include the Egyptian beliefs, Norse, Roman pantheon and many others. What happened during their final years? What did the last living believer in each think before he/she died? They all just died and tip toed away quietly. 

Zoroastrianism has many good things going for it. It has two gods, one good and the other evil. They are evenly matched so the triumph of good over evil is not preordained. This is a better explanation of good and bad behavior than Christianity. 

While Zoroastrianism has existed for over 2,500 years, it has never learned the basic technique of survival. That is to mirror the culture around it. The small number of remaining believers are just as fanatical as some Christians, Jews and Muslims we know.

These fanatic beliefs include that only a child born of two Zoroastrians can become one. Children of mixed religious heritage are out of luck. Converts without a blood line need not apply. Zoroastrians do not proselytize. "We believe in quality, not quantity" a believer said. Believers in the faith get angry at proposals to change. Within Christianity the Shakers did not have sex or children and died out. They anticipated converts but were unsuccessful.

In a world of capitalist thought, dying religions make sense. Believers pay for the preacher. If he is not saying what they like why should they pay him. There is no reason to spend their lives building a belief system for future generations. If they are going to be dead when their religion dies why should they care?

We see parts of Christianity that refuse to bend to accommodate changing times. When those who follow these dead end beliefs die their revenue to their church will die with them. 

It would be good to know who that person it that will turn out the lights. Like with other religions probably no one will know.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make som
Read more

The Religious Capitol Invaders May Yet Win

Image
So much about U.S. society and religion can be learned from the Civil War and what happened afterwards. After its defeat, the South started a myth about the unethical soldiers from the North. The South fought for principles of God and states rights. The North did not. It was the South, this propaganda told the country, that had the high moral ground.  The Capitol invaders, encouraged by Trump, swallowed the myth that Biden's election was stolen. Thus, they think they held and still hold the high moral ground. This was reinforced by the cross and prayers during the invasion. Even with Trump is gone, we will see political opportunists like Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley stroking crowds and feeding the same lies as Trump. Like "the South will rise again" these gullible followers will talk of victory over the unclean. After the Civil War the South rallied around the phrase, Lost Cause. For decades, and maybe to this day, there are ceremonies remembering fallen martyrs, Re
Read more

Father Frank Pavone, the Ultimate Crook

Image
Recently, the Vatican defrocked Frank Pavone. His diehard fans are outraged. This is because he cleverly manipulated his fans and the press all the while living well from donations and, apparently, abusing some women. By making abortion the "sin" of the century, and himself the main opposition to this one sin, he himself could get away with any sin he pleased.  As the link points out, Pavone was the perfect priest for the Trump era. Trump is so self-important laws have no role in his life. He felt accountable to no one. Women were there to be had. Pavone and Trump are interchangeable.  Pavone was very successful raising money. In his mind, abortion was so important in Catholic beliefs and he was so important in anti-abortion the money he raised opposing it was his to do with what he liked. The Catholic Church, the brand name he used to raise this money, thought the money belonged to it. When he gave the Vatican the bird, it gave him walking papers. With polls showing the majo
Read more