Deck 10: Zoroastrianism

Question 1

What does the following Key Term mean:
-Ahura Mazda

Answer 1

The supreme God of Zoroastrianism; the "Lord Wisdom."

Question 2

What does the following Key Term mean:
-Angra Mainyu

Answer 2

"Hostile Spirit," the adversary of God and of all that is good.

Question 3

What does the following Key Term mean:
-Avesta

Answer 3

The sacred text of Zoroastrianism.

Question 4

Zoroastrianism is considered the smallest of world religions, with perhaps no more than _________ adherents worldwide.

A) three million
B) 19,000
C) 5,000
D) 190,000

Question 5

Which of these countries has the largest population of Zoroastrians?

A) India
B) China
C) Singapore
D) Australia

Question 6

Zoroastrianism was once the official religion of which of these empires?

A) British
B) Ottoman
C) Iranian
D) Japanese

Question 7

Which of these is the name for the Zoroastrian deity Lord Wisdom?

A) Indo-Irania
B) Ahura Mazda
C) Zarathustra
D) Angra Mainyu

Question 8

Which of these is not a characteristic of the true Zoroastrian God? "asserted, is uncreated, eternal, wholly just, _________"

A) completely just
B) uncreated
C) eternal
D) immanent

Question 9

Ahura Mazda created which of these?

A) angels
B) Holy Immortals
C) Angra Mainyu
D) heaven and hell

Question 10

Which of these is true of human beings in Zoroastrianism?

A) They do not have free will.
B) They have free will.
C) They will always choose good.
D) They will always choose evil.

Question 11

Zarathustra taught that there is a hereafter in which individuals are judged according to the amount of ________ in their time on earth.

A) people they converted
B) children they had
C) good deeds
D) good and evil they produced

Question 12

According to scholar Mary Boyce, Zoroaster was the first person to teach the doctrines of a(n) ________ as well as other doctrines found in the Abrahamic religions.

A) afterlife
B) individual judgment
C) ritual practice
D) monogamous marriage

Question 13

What is the collection of Zoroastrian scripture called?

A) The Avesta
B) The Sutras
C) The Laws of Zarathustra
D) The Zoroaster

Question 14

In their burial ritual, Zoroastrians have traditionally exposed bodies in "Towers of Silence" so that ____________.

A) they are not buried when the Last Judgment happens
B) they will degrade over time
C) they will mummify
D) they will be eaten by vultures

Question 15

In Zoroastrian temples, ________ is a symbol of divine presence and moral purity.

A) the cross
B) fire
C) blood
D) water

Question 16

For Zoroastrians, during the Final Judgment the good people will pass through ________ unharmed, but the evil ones will be consumed.

A) the river Styx
B) the center of Hell
C) a river of molten metal
D) a wall of sacred fire

Question 17

Another name for heaven in Zoroastrianism is

A) the Sky House.
B) the House of Perfection.
C) the Pillars of Fire.
D) the House of Best Purpose.

Question 18

Zoroastrians believe that after death, people's souls must pass over the ________, which crosses over hell far below.

A) First Fire Temple
B) the Rainbow Bridge
C) Chinvat Bridge
D) the Silent Bridge

Question 19

According to Zoroastrian rites of birth, the mother, after she has given birth, should avoid contact with fire, ________, and the baresman (i.e., the sacred ceremonial apparatus) of the house.

A) babies other than her own
B) smoke
C) men
D) water

Question 20

What does scholar Ariane Sherine argue is the biggest issue facing Zoroastrianism today?

A) homosexual rights
B) dwindling membership
C) doubt among followers
D) destruction of the Fire Temple

Question 21

Which of these is not an element of the strictly religious part of the Zoroastrian wedding ceremony, as performed by the officiating priests?

A) preliminary benedictions
B) circumambulation of the Fire Temple
C) joint address by the two officiating priests
D) questions to the marrying couple and the witness on either side

Question 22

A large part of the Avesta consists of the Yasna, which contains which of these?

A) acts of worship
B) civil laws
C) poems
D) hymns and chants

Question 23

Which of these is regarded as the cardinal duty of Zoroastrians?

A) performing rites at the Fire Temple
B) missionizing and converting
C) good thoughts, good words, and good deeds
D) populating the world

Question 24

In India Zoroastrians are known as Parsis.

Question 25

Zoroastrianism is probably the oldest of the prophetic world religions, dating back more than thirty thousand years.

Question 26

The founder of Zoroastrianism was Zarathustra, also called Zoroaster.

Question 27

According to Zoroastrian history, Zarathustra received a revelation from Angra Mainyu when he was thirty years old.

Question 28

Ahura Mazda created everything in the world.

Question 29

The "Holy Immortals" were created to promote good and fight evil.

Question 30

Zoroastrians have free will and must choose for themselves which side they will take in the struggle of good versus evil.

Question 31

Zoroastrians believe that the more people who convert to Zoroastrians the better the future on Earth will be.

Question 32

Zoroastrians believe that after the Last Judgment the earth will release the bones of the righteous, who will then receive an immortal resurrected body.

Question 33

Some Zoroastrians fear that their three-thousand-year-old religion may soon die for lack of adherents.

Question 34

Zoroastrians believe that at the end of time, Ahura Mazda will raise the dead, beginning with the first human named Adam.

Question 35

One of the challenges of life for Zoroastrians is knowing which of the primal spirits is good and which is evil.

Question 36

The Ten Prayers are essential to Zoroastrianism; adherents recite them repeatedly.

Question 37

After prolonged contact with the Hindus in India, the present-day followers of Zarathustra have adopted several Hindu marriage customs and ceremonies.

Question 38

According to the Zoroastrian burial ritual, the dead body is shown to a dog with two eyelike spots just above the eyes.

Question 39

According to the Zoroastrian belief, the holy spirit of the dead does not take an interest in the living.

Question 40

One of the leading world religions for a millennium, Zoroastrianism is best known for its fire temples.

Question 41

In the Zoroastrian view, evil in the world is the same philosophical and theological problem that it is in the three major Western religions.

Question 42

Zoroastrianism's influence on some of the main ideas of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam has been far greater than many contemporary believers realize.

Question 43

Explore the significance and use of fire in Zoroastrian rituals.

Question 44

Discuss what we know about Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrianism.

Question 45

What is the "morality play" at the heart of Zoroastrianism?

Question 46

Describe the Last Judgment and what happens to the humans who are still living at that time.

Question 47

Discuss the characteristics of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu and how these characteristics guide the followers of Zoroastrianism in their daily lives.