Deck 9: Encountering Zoroastrianism: The Way of the One Wise Lord

Question 1

Zoroastrians use the date of the coronation of what Sassanian king in 631 C.E.as the first year of their calendar?

A)Xerxes
B)Alexander
C)Cyrus
D)Yazdgird

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In Zoroastrianism, what is the "Spirit of Destruction" called?

A)Ahura Mazda
B)Ava Ardvisur
C)Angra Mainyu
D)Spenta Mainyu

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The figure in the Zoroastrian symbol of the faravahar depicts:

A)The one and only God of Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda.
B)The founder of Zoroastrianism, Zarathustra.
C)An ordinary follower of Zoroastrianism
D)A supernatural opponent of Zoroastrianism.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What did NOT happen to Zoroastrians after its territories were conquered by Muslims?

A)Their religious liberty was restricted.
B)Up to three-quarters of their religious literature was destroyed, and many fire temples as well.
C)Most Zoroastrians willingly converted to Islam.
D)Zoroastrianism in Iran stayed strong because Muslims treated Zoroastrians well as a "people of the book."

Question 5

What is the first and basic Zoroastrian scripture?

A)Avesta
B)Quran
C)Kalpa Sutra
D)Bhagavad Gita

Question 6

In Zoroastrian belief, after a soul ascends to paradise, what spirit leads the soul to the golden throne of Ahura Mazda?

A)the Good Mind
B)the Good Thoughts
C)the Desirable Lordship
D)the Bounteous Spirit

Question 7

What Persian king changed the policy of tolerating different religions and ethnic groups?

A)Xerxes
B)Cyrus
C)Darius
D)Yazdgird

Question 8

Zoroastrian moral teachings focus on:

A)the goodness and supremacy of Angra Mainyu.
B)the preservation of good and the destruction of evil.
C)the liberation of the soul from the cycle of life and death.
D)the achievement of reincarnation through asceticism.

Question 9

Who is the "Wise Lord" and the only God worshipped by Zoroastrians?

A)Zarathustra
B)Ahura Mazda
C)Ava Ardvisur
D)Angra Mainyu

Question 10

Modern Iranian Zoroastrians blame the Sassanians for the decline of their religion because Iranian Zoroastrians believe that:

A)the strong moral essence of Zoroastrianism was compromised due to its misuse for political purposes by the Sassanian kings.
B)the forceful conversion of Zoroastrians to Hinduism by Sassanians drastically reduced the Zoroastrian population.
C)the burning of sacred Zoroastrian writings by Sassanian kings weakened the Zoroastrian principle of goodness.
D)the murder of Zoroastrian priests and scholars by Sassanians drove people away from the religion.

Question 11

After its role as the official religion of the Persian Empire, Zoroastrianism was then the official religion of what other empire?

A)Roman Empire
B)Parthian Empire
C)Mughal Empire
D)Sassanian Empire

Question 12

Which of the following best describes a tower of silence?

A)It is a stone funeral structure for the Zoroastrian dead.
B)It refers to a Zoroastrian place of worship.
C)It is a symbol of Zoroastrianism that stresses morality.
D)It is a stone figure that adorns the entrance of a Zoroastrian fire temple.

Question 13

Which of the following statements best describes Zarathustra?

A)It is the symbol of Zoroastrianism.
B)It is the name of the one true God worshipped by Zoroastrians.
C)It is the ancient name of the founder of Zoroastrianism.
D)It is the basic Zoroastrian scripture.

Question 14

The six benevolent, immortal beings who are intermediaries between Ahura Mazda and humanity are called:

A)Kshatriyas.
B)Bounteous Spirits.
C)Amesha Spentas.
D)Vaishyas.

Question 15

What is the name of the supreme evil spirit in Zoroastrianism?

A)Ahriman
B)Druj
C)Ormazd
D)Zoroaster

Question 16

Sam Daruwala is a follower of Zoroastrianism.His ancestors had travelled to India from Iran in the 900s C.E.Sam is most likely a:

A)Digambar.
B)Parsi.
C)Yoruban .
D)Shintoist.

Question 17

Zoroastrianism was the official religion of the:

A)Roman Empire.
B)Parthian Empire.
C)Mughal Empire.
D)Persian Empire.

Question 18

Which of the following is an essential teaching of Zoroastrianism?

A)polytheism
B)dualism
C)celibacy
D)asceticism

Question 19

The symbol of the faravahar reflects what dimension of Zoroastrianism?

A)spiritual
B)artistic
C)hierarchical
D)moral

Question 20

Modern philosopher Karl Jaspers gave this name to the period from 600 to 400 B.C.E.when many religions and value systems were founded.

A)Vedic Period
B)Golden Age
C)Devotional Period
D)Axial Age

Question 21

Which of the following should be done during a Zoroastrian funeral ritual?

A)The body should be burnt on a funeral pyre.
B)Care should be taken to protect the earth from direct contact with bodies of the dead.
C)Placement of the body in a tower of silence should be done during the night.
D)The body should be washed and wrapped in a simple red garment.

Question 22

What is a reason that Indian and Iranian Zoroastrians developed differences in their rituals and festivals?

A)They worshipped different gods.
B)The former group was influenced by Islam and the latter group was influenced by Hinduism.
C)They were separated in Asia for more than a thousand years.
D)The former group believed in the Bounteous Spirit and the latter group believed in the Deceitful Spirit.

Question 23

Many Zoroastrians believe that the "golden age" of their religion was during the rule of the:

A)Sassanian Empire.
B)Greek Empire.
C)Roman Empire.
D)Parthian Empire.

Question 24

Zoroastrianism is called the" faith of kindred marriage" because:

A)it stresses that a Zoroastrian must marry another within the faith.
B)it promotes a deeper understanding of God through its teaching of asceticism.
C)it encourages interfaith marriages among its believers.
D)it accepts people who are willing to convert to the faith.

Question 25

The compacted, single-word name of Ahura Mazda is:

A)Ahriman.
B)Druj.
C)Ormazd.
D)Zoroaster.

Question 26

In Zoroastrian belief, a way of erasing negative effects at one's personal judgment is through:

A)the renunciation of one's sins.
B)the transfer of merits from the Zoroastrian saints.
C)the extensive singing of hymns from the Avesta.
D)the performance of animal sacrifices to please the God.

Question 27

What is the name of the famous artifact from the time of Cyrus's rule that still survives today?

A)Cyrus Tablet
B)Cyrus Cylinder
C)Cyrus Script
D)Cyrus Decree

Question 28

In the Avestan language, "Hukhta" means:

A)good thoughts.
B)good words.
C)good deeds.
D)good habits.

Question 29

The main ceremony conducted by Zoroastrian priests is called the:

A)Yasna.
B)Agnihotra.
C)Nowruz.
D)Navjote.

Question 30

Why is a "four-eyed" dog with a spot above each eye used in a Zoroastrian funeral ritual?

A)To frighten evil spirits into fleeing
B)To purify the soul of the dead person
C)To act as a guard to ensure the uninterrupted completion of the funeral ritual
D)To remove obstacles to ensure the reincarnation of the dead person

Question 31

In Zoroastrian belief, the soul hovers above the body for three days after death and leaves on the fourth day to face judgment on the:

A)Chinvat Bridge.
B)Tower of Silence.
C)River Styx.
D)Zoroaster Passage.

Question 32

Reformist Zoroastrians differ from the main body of Zoroastrians in that reformist Zoroastrians:

A)accept children of mixed marriages into the faith.
B)prohibit non-Zoroastrians from entering the fire temples.
C)perform animal sacrifices to please Ahura Mazda.
D)do not seek converts from other faiths.

Question 33

Which of the following is the sacred thread tied around a Zoroastrian's body at initiation?

A)haoma
B)patet
C)kusti
D)gris-gris

Question 34

In a traditional Zoroastrian funeral ritual at a tower of silence, the bones of a dead person are swept into a large stone box in the central well in the tower to:

A)guard them until they are buried in the earth.
B)preserve them reverently until the resurrection.
C)preserve them for feeding later to the "four-eyed" dog.
D)protect them until they are offered to the sacred fire in the fire temple.

Question 35

The first Zoroastrian "congregation" was formed by seven believers in New York City in:

A)1929.
B)1900.
C)1920.
D)1938.

Question 36

When the towers of silence fell into disuse in Iran, Zoroastrians there have disposed of the bodies of their dead by:

A)burying them in natural water.
B)cremating them in special crematoriums.
C)burying them deeply in rocks.
D)burying them in special graves.

Question 37

Zoroastrians have typically called Alexander the Great:

A)Alexander the Anxious.
B)Alexander the Mediocre.
C)Alexander the Conqueror.
D)Alexander the Accursed.

Question 38

Which of the following statements is true of the Appointed Place Fire?

A)It may be tended by an approved layperson when no ritual is being performed with it.
B)It is consecrated by eight priests in a ritual that takes up to three weeks.
C)It involves the gathering of sixteen different fires from sixteen different sources.
D)It requires a gathering and mingling in one urn of fires from representatives of the four traditional classes in Zoroastrian society.

Question 39

What controversial practice has been done by Zoroastrians in India in recent years?

A)placing the bodies of their dead in towers of silence when there are no vultures to devour them
B)burying the bodies of the dead in ordinary cemeteries
C)cremating bodies of the dead on open pyres, as Hindus do
D)cremating bodies of the dead in modern crematoriums

Question 40

What is the Zoroastrian house of worship called?

A)tower of silence
B)gurdwara
C)manastambha
D)fire temple

Question 41

A three-level hierarchy of Zoroastrian priests developed among the magi under the:

A)Parthian Empire.
B)Roman Empire.
C)Sassanian Empire.
D)Persian Empire.

Question 42

Briefly explain the reasons why many Zoroastrians are apprehensive about the future of their faith.

Question 43

Briefly explain the ritual aspects of traditional Zoroastrianism in the context of the fight between good and evil.

Question 44

The Zarathushtrian Assembly, based in California, advocates the traditional form of Zoroastrianism.

Question 45

Traditionally, Zoroastrians are encouraged to marry outside the religion to gain converts.

Question 46

Briefly explain the role of the Zoroastrian priest.

Question 47

According to Zoroastrian belief, the highest level of sacred fire is the:

A)Fire of Victory.
B)Appointed Place Fire.
C)Fire of Fires.
D)Eternal Fire.

Question 48

Zoroastrian websites often have matchmaking areas to encourage the faithful to:

A)attend the fire temples more often.
B)give money to support Zoroastrianism.
C)keep up ties with Zoroastrians in India and Iran.d.marry other Zoroastrians.
D)marry other Zoroastrians.

Question 49

The Zoroastrian immigrants from Iran in North America speak :

A)Gujarati
B)Hebrew
C)Gurmukhi
D)Farsi

Question 50

Zoroastrians believe that the universe is composed of two competing forces, good and evil.

Question 51

_________ Zoroastrians more often open their temples to non-Zoroastrians.

A)Traditional
B)Reformist
C)Conformist
D)Orthodox

Question 52

Describe moral dualism in the context of Zoroastrianism.

Question 53

Zoroastrians believe that the spirit known as the Druj can deceive people into believing that something evil is actually good.

Question 54

The book Thus Spoke Zarathustra is about Zoroastrianism.

Question 55

The sacred liquid offered in the fire sacrifice to Ahura Mazda is called:

A)haoma.
B)kusti.
C)amrit.
D)gris-gris.

Question 56

Describe the traditional funeral ritual of Zoroastrianism.

Question 57

In the Avestan language, Humata means:

A)good thoughts.
B)good words.
C)good deeds.
D)good habits.

Question 58

In Zoroastrianism, the _________ is consecrated by thirty-two priests in a ritual which takes almost a year.

A)Fire of Victory
B)Appointed Place Fire
C)Fire of Fires
D)Eternal Fire